DESIGN AND TREATMENT OF HOISTING HOOKS

The construction and treatment of a hook intended for a crane or hoist involves
a problem deserving of careful consideration. This fact has impressed itself upo
n the writer from his experience in lawsuits arising from damages caused by the
failure of a defective hook.
To make a hook safe for the purpose for which it is intended two important requi
sites must be fulfilled
1.
Correct design.
2.
Proper treatment.
The design is guided to a large extent by the service which the hook is to perfo
rm; that is, whether the hook will be subjected to high or low, frequent or rare
stresses, and whether the hook is likely to be loaded above its normal capacity
.
Hooks on small cranes and hoists, of about 2 to 3 tons' capacity, may be loaded
to full capacity several times every day; while hooks on cranes of 50 tons' capa
city may carry full load at remote intervals only. Due to the repeated stresses
on small hooks, occurring, possibly, under extreme temperatures, the hook may be
come fatigued and liable to break. It is, therefore, advisable to keep the stres
ses low in comparatively small hooks to provide a factor of safety.
This precaution can readily be observed with hooks for small loads, as the size
would scarcely render them unwieldy. But as the size of the hook increases it be
comes necessary to increase the stress; that is, the load per square inch or cro
ss section, in order to avoid the construction of a clumsy hook. A high stress i
s permissible with high loads because they are applied to the hook less frequent
ly than in the case of small hooks and light loads. We may consider a stress of
15,000 lbs. per sq. in. as safe for a 50-ton hook as a stress of 10,000 lbs. per
sq. in. on a 10-ton hook.
The material for a hook may be ordinary steel, cast steel or wrought iron; depen
ding on the load the hook is to carry. For small loads where a hook of ample siz
e, yet not bulky, can be constructed, cast steel may be used. But for heavy load
s a ductile material, having practically the same elastic limit for compression
and tension, should be selected.