ABCs

Of Foundation
Loadings Under
Cranes
by Ron Kohner, PE

CRANE
FOUNDATION
LOADINGS

Allowable Bearing Capacity of the soil at a

given site is a loading intensity which is so

limited that it provides an adequate factor of

safety against soil rupture and also insures

that settlement due to static loading will not

exceed the tolerable value.
Basic Soil Engineering
by
B.K. Hough

250 TON CRAWLER CRANE GROSS WEIGHT

Counterweight

140000 lbs.

Machinery Deck

83000 lbs.

Carbody

48000 lbs.

Crawler Sideframes

94000 lbs.

Boom

25000 lbs.

Hook Load

110000 lbs.

TOTAL

500000 lbs.

250 TON CRAWLER CRANE BEARING FOOTPRINT

Bearing Length (First-Last Track Roller ) 22.2 ft.

Track Shoe Width

50 in.

Average (Minimum) Bearing Pressure

500000 lbs.
22.2 ft. x 12 in./ft. x 50 in. x 2

= 19 psi (2736 psf)

Gap
Contact

Cross-bolting

Hardwood Crane
Mats on
Compacted Fill

Mats under outriggers to

reduce point pressures on
ground

Outrigger Pad
Steel Float

Hardwood Crane Mats

No Cribbing Needed Under Outrigger

Pads on Deeply Frozen Ground

How Much Mat Width Is

Effective In Distributing
Load To The Soil?

It Depends On What
Type Of Soil The
Mats Are Placed On

High Crawler
Track Loads

Minimum
Effective Width

45o

Maximum Effective Width

Theoretical Effective Mat

Width

Limited Soil Contact

No Settlement

High Crawler
Track Loads

High Soil Pressures

Strong, Hard Soil Does Not Yield to

Distribute Load Under A Mat

Crawler Track Settles This

Amount Under Load
(Crane Out Of Level?)

High Crawler
Track Loads

Soil Compresses - Full Mat Width In

Contact With Soil
(Uniform Pressure Distribution)

Mat Stronger Than Soft Soil

Depth of Mat Settlement

Over Gas Line

Gas Burning
From Cracked
Underground Line

Crane

Proper Mat
Use

High Crawler
Track Loads
Track Centered On Mat

Mats & Crane

Leveled

Full Mat Width In Contact With Soil Bearing Pressure Less Than Allowable For Soil
(Uniform Pressure Distribution)

Mat Stronger Than Soil

Ski lift headgear

Embankment edge

High Crawler
Track Loads
Weak Mat Bends
Under Load

Crawler Track Has

Settled This Amount
(Crane Out Of Level?)

Soil Compresses - Full Mat Width In

Contact With Soil
(Uneven Soil Pressure Distribution)

Soil Stronger Than Mat

High Crawler
Track Loads

Undersized Timbers

Weak Timbers Bend - Soil Pressures Concentrate In

The Center Until Soil Yields - Timbers Break!

Mat Timbers Too Weak

Outrigger
Beam

Broken
Cribbing
Concrete
Slab

Cribbing/Matting Can Fail By:

Bearing (Crushing at the surface)
Bending
Horizontal Shear (Splitting Longitudinally)

High Crawler
Track Loads

Mat Tilts Up Reducing Soil

Contact And Further
Increasing Bearing Pressure

Soil Compresses Under High End Bearing Pressure

Crawler Track Off Center On Mat

THE CRANE

THE RIGGING

What Could Fail ?

A Lift Plan Must Consider
The Foundation
The Crane
The Load
The Rigging

THE LOAD

&

The WORK Plan

THE FOUNDATION

A comprehensive lift plan covers:

Soil How will the crane be supported?

Soil Key Questions

What loads will the tires/outriggers/crawler tracks
put on the soil?
Can the soil withstand the tire/outrigger/crawler
track loadings?

Will matting or cribbing be necessary?

Has the surface been properly prepared and
leveled?
Are there underground cavities or utilities?

Manitowoc Ground Pressure Estimator

Grove CompuCrane
Liebherr LICCON
Link Belt Internet Website
3D Lift Plan

Ground penetrating radar

used by a skilled operator can detect
subsurface discontinuities

This PowerPoint presentation

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permission.