Lifting Beam Design
Lifting Beam Design
(OP)
Anybody has a basic example of a lift beam design or knows any handbook or any Excel sheet?
I know about David Ricker paper but looking for something more straight forward and basic
The load is hung with vertical slings below each end of beam and the beam is hook from top (single pick) via two angeled slings. The slope of sling as well of the length of slings on top of beam is not provided and I don't know what I use.
I probably need the slope to determine the axial load to the beam
Any direction, information is very much appreciate it
Also I am wondering these beams are not laterally supported even at any location so we even cannot claim the unbraced length is the full length of beam, am I correct or missing something
Love to learn more about these beams and lateral support of them too
Thank you
I know about David Ricker paper but looking for something more straight forward and basic
The load is hung with vertical slings below each end of beam and the beam is hook from top (single pick) via two angeled slings. The slope of sling as well of the length of slings on top of beam is not provided and I don't know what I use.
I probably need the slope to determine the axial load to the beam
Any direction, information is very much appreciate it
Also I am wondering these beams are not laterally supported even at any location so we even cannot claim the unbraced length is the full length of beam, am I correct or missing something
Love to learn more about these beams and lateral support of them too
Thank you






RE: Lifting Beam Design
The unsupported length would be the full length of the beam.
Allowable stresses and safety factors come from ASME BTH and corresponding ASME standard (B31.-something).
RE: Lifting Beam Design
If you need to design it, you may want to look at SWL and 5:1 safety factor.
RE: Lifting Beam Design
See ASME b30.1 design of below the hook lifting devices for lifting beam design although the ricker paper is about as straight forward as it gets. Note there is an errata out there on the ricker paper.
RE: Lifting Beam Design
You are incorrect that all spreaders are bought off the shelf items. Custom spreaders are very commonly engineered items for those who work with/for construction companies.
The ASME standard mentioned by JStephen above (design of below the hook lifting devices) is the go to reference in North America.
RE: Lifting Beam Design
www.SlideRuleEra.net
www.VacuumTubeEra.net
RE: Lifting Beam Design
Off the shelf vs fabricated is a matter of application. If an appropriate beam can be rented or pulled out of a contractor's yard, that's by far more economical. But sometimes, you need a custom geometry (so the slings below the spreader can be straight) or more capacity than is widely available -- and then a fabricated beam may be required.
Note that there are testing and special fabrication requirements for below-the-hook devices (like lifting beams) that make that more onerous and expensive than a typical construction device.
Regarding the slings above the beam -- for a rented beam, these may be part of the package. But if not, the slings will come in increments of 10' length (in the US), and the length is typically chosen so that the angle between the horizontal beam and the sling are at least 60* to keep the axial load in the beam reasonable. That assumes you have enough hook height with the crane chosen for the lift -- if not, I've seen angles as low as 45* used, but that requires some extra thought. Many beams are rated for different capacities based on the angle of the slings used.
Regarding lateral support -- for a "spreader beam" where the top and bottom slings coincide at the end of the beam, the supported load is assumed to keep the beam from rotating and provide lateral "support". The total spreader beam length is then taken as the unbraced length for LTB.
For a "lifting beam", the bottom slings are cantilevered out some distance from the point where the top slings connect to the beam. That's not necessarily as straightforward for unbraced length, depending on who you talk to. The theory is a little fuzzy here though -- so many beams are fabricated from closed sections to avoid the issue entirely (among other concerns).
RE: Lifting Beam Design
Closed sections (generally pipe) are common for both spreaders and lifting beams in my experience. If it works with a 12" HP section though, the contractor has a bunch lying in a yard somewhere.
The latest edition of Galambos does deal with cantilevered lifting beams explicitly. If there is another source with opinions that differ from those published there, I would appreciate information on that.
RE: Lifting Beam Design
Do you mean Galambos in the Stability Design Criteria, or his "Structural Stability of Steel" text?
Other methods I'm aware of are based on some academic papers by Kitipornchai or Helwig and his group at UT Austin. I'll have to take a look to see how those compare to Galambos.
RE: Lifting Beam Design
The text I should have referenced is "Guide to Stability Design Criteria for Metal Structures," by Zeimian. It only specifically addresses the situation of a lifting beam with a single line at the centre of the lifting beam, and references other works for numerical solutions when dealing with two slings.
I'll have a look for the Kitipornchai and Helwig papers.
RE: Lifting Beam Design
This link might help
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/747814.pdf
“Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater.” Albert Einstein
RE: Lifting Beam Design
RE: Lifting Beam Design
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_docu...
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_docu...
RE: Lifting Beam Design