Crane Rail Expansin Joints 3

[BMPC]

I am looking for specifictions and requirements for crane rail expansion joints. I work in an industrial complex and we have many large buildings with overhead cranes without expansion joints, I want to get up to speed on the requirements for when we construct a new building.

 

[ToadJones]

look at AISC Design Guide 7
and
AIST Technical Report 13

 

[ToadJones]

I'm sorry...I have read your post again and realized you are specifically talking about the rail itself.

In short, do not put expansion joints in the rail. Although many have tried to do this with some success, there simply is no good system for it. The rails will wind up cracking at the joints and you will cause undue wear on the crane wheels. The common practice now is to thermite weld the rail joints and allow the rail to grow longitudinally towards the crane stops. The space required for the rail to grow can be a difficult thing to calculate since, along with the crane rail itself expanding, the building does as well.

I believe the subjectt is covered in the attached paper...by one of the foremost industrial building designers.

 

[paddingtongreen]

Same as Toad.
Even before thermite joints, I was taught to use splices with no allowance.

Michael.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

 

[ToadJones]

Pad- you're right. Mechanical splices can work well and last for years. The splices are set up to mechanically draw the two ends of the rail very tightly together. Aside from the obvious splice bars, it can be hard to see the splice in the rail itself when done properly.