Implementation of Combined Loading to Calculate Ground Bearing Pressure under Crawler Crane Tracks

Abstract

Modular projects in the construction industry employ high-capacity crawler cranes. Due to the significant increase in the weights of modules in recent years, ensuring the integrity of ground support under the crane tracks is paramount for avoiding collapse, which ultimately results in dire consequences for the workers and the project. Consequently, the first order of business is to determine the expected pressure under the tracks to determine the ground support necessary. Typically, the ground bearing pressure (GBP) is computed using the fundamentals of statistics at the four edges of the crane (left front and rear and right front and rear), assuming the track width is under uniform loading. However, finite-element analysis (FEA) shows that the GBP values vary even for two corners of an edge (widthwise). In contrast to the traditional four-point approach, the present study proposes a new methodology to not only calculate the GBP at all the eight corners of crawler tracks, but also to calculate the GBP anywhere on the track area, which can establish the GBP profile in detail.