MATERIAL OPTIMISATION OF A CRANE HOOK

A MINI PROJECT IN

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

By: PARITOSH S. MHATRE

STATEMENT
A lifting hook is a device for grabbing and lifting loads by means of a device such as a hoist or crane. Crane Hooks are highly liable components that are typically used for industrial purposes. It is basically a hoisting fixture designed to engage a ring or link of a lifting chain or the pin of a shackle or cable socket. The aim of the project is to study the stress distribution pattern of a solid crane hook for a given load using finite element method and to design a hollow crane hook for the same load and same material resulting in about same stresses and deformation and thus achieving efficient material utilization

METHODOLOGY ADOPTED
1. Design of a solid Crane Hook in CATIA and testing it in ANSYS under a load of 5000N. 2. The Stresses induced are observed and marked using PROBE command. 3. Design of a hollow Crane Hook of variable cross section based on stress pattern observed in solid hook in CATIA and testing it in ANSYS under the same load for the same material. 4. The stresses induced are observed and percentage volume reduction is calculated. 5. Based on the observed stress pattern of the above trial, decision on further trials by reducing the thickness of hook further would be taken.

TESTING CONDITIONS (Same for all the trials):

Material: Structural Steel Meshing: Relevance 50 Support: Top surface Load: -5000 N (Y component)

SOLID CRANE HOOK

DESIGN:

VOLUME=2.655e-003 m

RESULTS:

HOLLOW CRANE HOOK (TRIAL 1)

DESIGN:

VOLUME=2.5448e-003 m

RESULTS:

MATERIAL SAVED =

HOLLOW CRANE HOOK (TRIAL 2)

DESIGN:

VOLUME=2.3865e-003 m

RESULTS:

MATERIAL SAVED =

CONCLUSION:
Adopting the above methodology the comparison of results of the 3 trials can be summarized as: Max. Deformation Max. Equivalent Stresses Volume Material Saved SOLID 1.3017e-004 m 1.3112e+007 Pa 2.655e-003 m HOLLOW 1 1.3003e-004 m 1.3006e+007 Pa 2.5448e-003 m 4.18% HOLLOW 2 1.298e-004 m 1.3006e+007 Pa 2.3865e-003 m 10.11%

Thus as seen from the results, material can be used efficiently by proper designing of the hollow hooks keeping in mind the response of the solid hook for the applied load. From the second trial 10.11% material can be saved, which implies 11 hollow hooks from the material of 10 solid hooks. The ANSYS report of the solid and hollow hook (trial 2) is attached. Further material optimization can be achieved by further careful trials.