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0.7 CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT
0.7.1 MOBILE TOWER CRANES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
1. The continuous search for construction equipment that results in convenient, cost effective and
quality construction has yielded many solutions. One such solution, which has come out of this
search, is the tower crane. The continuous ongoing research and development work has improved
the conventional tower crane in many aspects. The improved version with an in built power
generating unit and a self-propeller has offered a new concept to the construction industry.
2 Self propelled, self-erecting/folding, independent, mobile tower crane model SP453 which has been
introduced by Stanford Engineering Limited in collaboration with MANITOU BF of France is one such
equipment which has multifarious applications at construction sites. In addition there are a number of
reputed manufacturers in the country of tower cranes.
Advantages of self-propelled tower crane over a conventional one are many. These are discussed
hereafter.
3 A conventional tower crane consists of basically a mast, jib, and a trolley, upper carriage which can
slew clockwise and anti-clockwise 360 degrees. As it does not have any power source to feed itself, it
is entirely dependent on external power source. Furthermore, all the conventional tower cranes
cannot be moved from one point to another with ease. For movement of conventional tower crane,
either rails have to be provided or the crane mounted on a trolley with wheels to be moved away by a
powerful prime mover like truck. Moving on rail is a cumbersome procedure, which involves extra
expenditure, in buying and laying rails as per the requirement. This exercise is time consuming and
reduces productivity. Further, the crane might have to be moved along a curve or a bend for which
laying the rails will be more difficult and expensive. If these conventional tower cranes are mounted
on a trolley with wheels for being towed by a truck through a tow bar, then following two shortcomings
are faced:
(i) Firstly a bulky design and chassis ballast along with box ballast makes it imperative to move a
conventional crane on a plain road/ground or a road on a construction site before the completion of
construction work is not always possible and it is like putting the cart before the horse.
(ii) The use of truck for towing purpose increases the total overall length for transportation, which is,
measured from rear point of crane to the front point of the truck. Because of this increased transport
length, maneuverings the crane is extremely difficult on construction site which has limited space, and
it is only logical to expect obstacles in the form of building material heaps etc.
4. Self propelled, independent mobile tower cranes offset these disadvantages by the provision of an
integrated prime mover, an articulated chassis and an improved modern design which can be divided
mainly into two parts:
a) A carrier unit and (b) A crane unit.
Crane is mounted on a carrier unit and can be taken by this carrier unit from one destination to
another without any problem. The carrier unit mainly consists of tractor as prime mover and a trailer,
which is permanently linked, with the tractor through an articulated joint. The carrier unit also has a
power-generating unit mounted at the rear part of the tractor. Because of this articulated chassis the
carrier unit is capable of negotiating rough terrain and it will not require level ground or road for
plying/over the site.
5. The carrier unit has a hydraulic skid steering system, located close to the articulated joint, which
results in a very short turning radius and effortless steering operation. With this short turning radius, a
crane can be maneuvered very easily on a construction site. The integral provision of prime mover
also results in a short overall transport length. Therefore,. A short turning radius, a short overall
transport length and capability of negotiating the rough terrain help the crane to have access to almost
all points of requirements on any site.
6. All conventional tower cranes are dependent on outside electric power source for operation. In the
event of the unavailability of any such source at side or erratic electric power supply, (which is a
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common happening in our country), all these cranes will come to a halt, stopping the construction
activity totally. A self propelled crane has an inbuilt Alternator which gets its power from PTO shaft of
the prime mover i.e., the tractor. The power generated is greater than the requirement of the crane,
extra power is used for running of electric hydraulic mixers, vibrators, site lightening etc. if the outside
electricity source is available then the crane can be fed from the same and in that event the full output
of Alternator can be used for any other purpose like welding and fabrication work etc on site.
7. When the self-propelled crane is being fed from an outside electric source (which means alternator
is not used), then carrier unit can be taken away from the crane. The crane will stand on its four
outriggers, and carrier unit can be totally delinked from the crane and driven out. The carrier unit in
such a situation can be used as a carting vehicle for moving building material from one destination to
another. The carrier unit, being basically an articulated chassis unit, can be maneouvered very easily
all over the construction site for transportation of material from one work station to another.
8. From the above comparison it becomes very obvious that the self propelled tower crane is basically
three equipments in one, a tower crane, power generating unit and an articulated chassis carrier unit.
Each of these can be independently or in conjunction with each other, depending upon the
requirement and site conditions. A self-propelled tower crane has many more features as follows:
(i) It is a self erecting and folding type tower crane which can be fully erected and folded within 10-15
minutes. The erection and folding procedure is actuated with the help of kinematic-rope-sling-
mechanism without any extra manual aid.
(ii) The three functional motions viz. Hoisting up and down, trolley forward and backward on jib
clockwise and anticlockwise 360 degree slew of upper chassis are powered by three individual
electric motors and all these functions can be operated simultaneously as well as independently.
Hoisting motor is a double speed motor, which gives two speeds for hoisting i.e. 15 mtrs/min. (low
speed hoisting) and 30 mtrs/min (high speed hoisting). Trolleying speed is 33 meters / min, and
slewing speed is 1 RPM.
(iii) All functions are operated through a cord remote control pod. This remote control pod facilitates
the operator to position himself at a strategic point for being able to see both the picking as well as
dumping points. This increases production as well as the operators efficiency.
(iv) To take care of wind pressure on the crane (when it is in unfolded conditions) due to increase in
velocity of wind, the slew gear box has been provided with a steering till, loosening in which makes
the crane to free wheel in the direction of wind to reduce the wind pressure, hence off-setting the
danger of toppling the crane.
(v) It can use various attachments for tackling all sorts of problems on a construction site. It can use
a concrete bucket (2 buckets capacities are available i.e. 200 litres and 400 litres for taking care of
one bag mix and two bag mix respectively), fork, cage, platform, double sling etc. It can be used for
lifting bricks, cement bags, shuttering material, wooden planks, building steel etc. from ground level to
the required higher level.
(vi)The maximum lifting capacity of SP 453 (offered by M/s Stanford Engineering.) is 1.5 tons at 7.5
mtrs, radius and 500 kgs, at 18 mtrs radius. The lifting capacity will vary between 7.5 mtrs and 18
mtrs radius from 1.5 tons to 500 kgs. The under hook height in horizontal jib position is 15.5 mtrs and
the same can be increased to 23.9 mtrs, by keeping the jib in luffed position. Trolleying is possible in
luffed position and suitable arrangements have been incorporated to maintain the level even in lufted
jib position.
(vii) SP 453 crane can be used for diverse applications: multi storey building; construction of houses
and complexes; fabrication of cooling towers; erection, fabrication & construction of industrial sheds
and plants; material handling in open grounds; mass concreting jobs; canal lining; dam construction;
on ports and in ship yards for ship building and repairs; in erection of transmission towers etc. etc.
8. Since its inception, tower cranes have effectively replaced the builders hoist from the construction
sites all over the world because of their obvious advantages. A self-propelled crane being a
technically advanced tower crane can do the same more effectively. One crane can replace a number
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of builder hoists, as it is capable of doing concreting and other construction jobs at many different
workstations in a day. It also reduces the cost of labour by removing the labour chain which is
required in case of builder hoists, as they transport the concreting mix vertically only between the
points of feeding and dropping the mix.
9. Looking at all these benefits and advantages which can be achieved out of mobile tower cranes, it
will not be wrong to say that a new era has been ushered in Indian construction industry with the
advent of all terrain, independent, self folding/erecting, self propelled, mobiles tower cranes

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0.7 CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT
0.7.2 ELEVATORS IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
1. Construction elevators for the Indian Construction Industry will be a totally new concept since till
now our industry has been employing the age-old method of handling material manually on the heads
of labourers. Our industry has not even come to the level of towing the material in wheelbarrows and
using other simple mechanical equipment to reduce the efforts put in by human beings. This has
primarily been the effect of low wages paid to the construction labour especially in the case of small
contractors and for buildings with low height.
2. For high rise buildings, slight progress has been made by incorporating a builders hoist, which
involves very primary and old technology to lift bulk material like cement, concrete, etc. Though this
has resulted in slightly easing carrying of the material, supervisors or engineers still find it very hard
going to the upper levels of these buildings because it is virtually impossible for them to climb 14/15
storeys of a building, at least 4/5 times a day. This results in neglecting supervision of the upper
floors of the buildings. It has generally been observed that the quality of workmanship on the lower
floors is far better than that on the upper floors. This has necessitated construction elevators for
handling men and material.
3. The technology for manufacture of rack and pinion elevators has been imported from U.K. The
European construction industry has been using these elevators for more than 50 years now, where
the construction workers, by law, do not carry any thing on their heads. Their main method of
handling building material like bricks, cement, steel, etc. is primarily through construction elevators.
The elevators in question are quite large and have a carrying capacity of up to 1500 kgs. or 20
passengers at one time. They do carry mixed loads of passenger-cum-goods also.
4. The main advantage of rack and pinion elevators is that they can start working right from the very
first day the work on the construction site begins. They can stand on their own base and go up to18
meters without any support. After that a support is required at an interval of 18 meters. The load of
the elevators is not transmitted to the building which gives the support and as such the building under
construction supports the elevator also. The dead weight of the elevator always falls on its own base.
It has two fairly large doors to suit the requirements of the construction industry.
5. Adequate safety measures are provided in rack & pinion lifts for the safety of passengers. Over
speed governors are also provided so that in case of any failure of equipment the elevator comes to a
stop within a fall of about 2 meters.
6. Rack & pinion elevators are provided in modular construction. Each module is 2.5 mtrs in height.
The construction of these modules is such that the height of the system can be increased by 2.5
meters within about 10 minutes time. For ease of erection of these elevators a jib crane is provided
on top of the cage and the panels are lifted with the help of this jib crane and kept in proper positions
before fixing the latch pins. The foundation of this elevator is also extremely simple and requires only
8 bolts grouted on a concrete base.
7. Using the same tower of this elevator, concrete skip can also be provided on the other side of the
tower, which can run independently without disturbing the passenger cage. This skip can carry about
1.5 tonnes of concrete in one charge and can travel at a speed of about 40 meters/min.

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8. With the provision of such an elevator at any construction site the speed of work is enchanced
considerably resulting in early completion of the building with satisfactory supervision on all floors.
For very high structures like cooling towers and chimneys this type of elevator can be made to travel
even on the inclined/curved surfaces. Rack & pinion elevators can go up to a height of 600 meters.
These elevators are available in different sizes from 250 kgs to 1500 kgs capacity. The electrical
circuits and components of these elevators are quite simple and electrical technicians who are easily
available at site can do maintenance.
Table 1 gives the advantages of R & P elevators over conventional elevators. These elevators have
just been introduced in the Indian Industry and we expect a very bright future as all progressive
companies will possess them shortly.
Table 1
Advantages of rack & pinion elevator over a conventional elevator
Ordinary elevator Rack & pinion type elevator
It requires a machinery room for housing the It does not require any machine room.
machinery.
It can be used only after the complete building It can be used right from the first day when the
and the lift room have been made building work starts.
This is a permanent installation. This can be moved from one site to another, if
required.
This stops only at predetermined levels. This can stop anywhere, in-between levels or
wherever we want to stop it.
It has only one door. This has two doors opposite each other for ease
and quickness of operation.
It has complicated circuitry. This is extremely the simple and does not require
the expertise of the elevator company to maintain
it.
This is quite fragile and requires maintenance This is fairly rugged and is made completely of
every now and then. sheet whereby maintenance is eliminated.
This requires erection crew for the erection of the This is a elf erecting type and with the help of the
equipment. jib crane provided on top of the cage.
Calculating the cost of machine room etc., it This is comparatively very cost effective.
works out to be quite expensive.

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