Meclumics Research Communications, Vol. 23, No. 4, pp.

395--400, 1996
Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Scie~e L ~
Pergamon Frinted in the USA. All rights ~
0093-6413/96 $12.00 + .00

PH S0093-6413(96)00037-7

A LOAD CONTROL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE CRANES

Tuna BALKAN
Department of Mechanical Engineering, CAD/CAM/Robotics Center,
Middle East Technical University, 06531, Ankara, Turkey

(Received 21 May 1996; accepted for print 3 June 1996)

Introduction

Safe load control systems or moment limiters are very important in crane safety. They are mainly
used for detection of combined moment of lifting load and boom tare weight and for comparison
of this actual moment with the rated moment. In addition to these basic features, boom angle
detector, boom length detector for telescopic booms, over-front position detector and with or
without outriggers detector can also be used in such control systems in order to increase safety,
comfort and efficiency. Cranes not fitted with the safe load contol system are generally provided
with a load meter which gives hook load read-out from a load cell, and an indicator which shows
boom angle and the permissible load.

Cranes as a mechanical system are in general closed-chain mechanisms with flexible members.
In most of the techniques used for determination of the hook load, the dynamic equations of the
system should be solved [1, 2]. However, if the hook load is obtained by measurement of wire
rope tension, the solution is not necessary. In all other cases, the measurement of the load is
dependent on the configuration of the crane and accuracy varies depending on the measurement
technique. In the design of load control systems one of the most important points is the
modelling of the crane and identification of parameters. In general, the data differs from crane to
crane due to kinematic model, manufacturing tolerances, environmental conditions, aging and
wear. If the control system is going to be applied to a brand new crane, then the data supplied by
the manufacturer can be used. However, especially for old machinery and even for new systems,
the data should be directly obtained from the specific crane itself. In general, acquisition and
processing of data and calibration of system are the most difficult task in applications. In this
paper, a microprocessor based control system is introduced with a calibration software which
makes the system suitable to many kinds of similar cranes, earth moving machinery and fire
engines by using appropriate software. The control software can easily be updated when the
types of the transducers and control law are changed.

Model of the Test Crane

The schematic representation of the test crane used for the application of the control system and
the simplified model for elementary motion and force analysis are shown in Fig. 1. The boom
supporting rods and the offset in the piston boom connection are neglected in this model so that
the crane can be represented with a simple four-link mechanism.

395
396 T. BALKAN

C A

~'11~\ _ Ao A = c \ x _t~[_~,r~
~ _ ~ ~ ~ ) i~Ao: a N ~ - - - ~ '3A°

( _ _ ~-Go:b "X\.(~i
. . , *oA=s ...... o
B0

FIG. 1 Schematic Representation of the Test Crane and Simplified Model for Elementary
Calculations

Determination of Load Based on Oil Pressure

It is necessary to determine the oil pressure in the hydraulic actuator if the load is going to be
determined by a method based on the oil pressure. The free body diagrams drawn for this
purpose are shown in Fig.2. The boom and the actuator are modelled as rigid beams where Wb,
Wp and Wc represent the weight of the boom, the weight of the piston and the weight of the
cylinder, respectively. It is assumed that the boom has uniform cross-sectional area. However, its
center of mass can be taken at a position other than the midpoint. The inertial effects and weight
of the oil in the hydraulic cylinder are neglected for elementary calculations since these
parameterts do not effect the load curves under normal operating conditions of the crane.
mX
P

Y ~ A o y

Box
P
FIG.2 Free Body Diagrams of the Model
 LOAD CONTROL FOR MOBILE CRANES 397

The relation between the boom angular position 0 and actuator angular position a can be
determined from the geometry given in Fig.1 as

k sine + sin 7
tano~ = (1)
k cos O - cos-/
where
c
k = and - / = t a n -l a (2)
~a2+b 2

The piston force F can then be found by simultaneously solving the four of nine equilibrium
equations obtained by using the three free body diagrams as [3]

F = 1 d c cos I1 cos
csin------~ { c ° s 0 L ( W b + W ) + s [(s-0.5e)Wp

+ 0 . 5 e W e ] } + Wpsinet (3)
where
k s i n ( 0 + T)
IB=a-0 and s - (4)
c sin I~

and d, L and e denote location of center of mass and length of the boom, length of the actuator
piston and rod, respectively. The actuator is a double acting hydraulic ram. If the pressures Pl in
the piston side and P2 in the shaft side are monitored by using pressure transducers, then the
piston force F can be determined and the hook load can easilly be calculated by using Equation
3. However, Equation 3 involves weight of the boom, weight of the actuator and their center of
masses. As the actuator piston moves, the center of mass of the actuator changes. In addition, if
the friction in the joints and the actuator is considered, it is obvious that the exact value of the
load can never be obtained due to the uncertainities in those quantities. In order to eliminate the
uncertainities, it is better to measure the piston force F due to the all above mentioned effects and
to use this data in the control system. The data can be obtained by using a data acquisition system
or built-in calibration software by moving the boom up or down and covering the whole region
of interest. Typical inertial effects are also included whenever such a procedure is applied. If the
value of the piston force without hook load corresponding to current configuration is subtracted
from the value of the piston force in the loaded case, then the force due to the hook load remains
only. Thus, Equation 3 can be simplified, by replacing Wb, Wp and We with zero, yielding a
piston force proportional to hook load W. This results in proportional pressure changes for
changes in hook load for a certain configuration of the system. The hook load can then be
expressed in terms of measured quantities and crane parameters as

W = cAsin._____..~ [Pl - P2 (1 As
Lcos0 - ~-)] (5)

where A and As represent the cross sectional areas of the actuator piston and shaft, respectively.

l;)~lcrmination of Load Based on Strain

An alternative method to determine the load is the measurement of strain by using strain gages.
Instead of being based on oil pressure, which can be inaccurate, moment input can be taken
398 T. BALKAN

electrically directly on the boom or at the boom support point and boom angle is detected in
relation to the ground. In this method, the load can easily be obtained in terms of the boom
angular position and measured strain on the boom or boom joint. However, since the strain
depends on axial force and bending moment the location of measurement point of the strain
becomes very important. The strain e at a certain section of the boom can be written as

My H
= I - ~ + ABE-
~ (6)

where M, H, y, Ab, Ib and Eb denote bending moment and axial force at the section, distance of
the measurement point from the neutral axis of the boom, cross sectional area, area moment of
inertia and modulus of elasticity of the boom, respectively.

Since the strain depends on the bending moment and the axial force at a section, it is better to
select a section on the boom between points A and C instead of Ao and A. In the latter section,
the effects of piston force transmitted to the boom will be seen and this force includes the effects
of the weights of the actuator piston and cylinder. Also, as it is seen from Equation 3 it is not a
simple function of the boom angular position. However, in the former section, the boom can be
accepted as a simple cantilever beam for a certain configuration. The free body diagram of the
boom section is shown in Fig.4 where d represents the location of the measurement point from
the boom joint. The moment M and the axial force H can then be easily found by writing
equilibrium equations as

M = ( L - d ) cos0 (-L~Ld W b + W ) (7)

H = sin0 ( L L d W b + W ) (8)

H M V

FIG.4 Free Body Diagram of the Boom Section

If a strain gage is used to measure the strain, then the measured strain includes both bending
moment and axial force effects. However, one can read only the strains due to bending moment
or axial force by selecting proper locations for strain gages. This selection considerably reduces
the complexity of the resulting equations. The elimination of one of the strain components can be
realized by applying the strain gages on top and bottom of the boom where the same strain is
obtained with different signs since the upper part of the boom is in tension and the lower part of
the boom is in compression. A full Wheatstone bridge can be used with two additional gages to
increase the magnitude of the output signal which also allows temperature compensation. In such
a configuration, the strain due to axial force component is eliminated resulting a simple
 LOAD CONTROLFOR MOBILECRANES 399

expression for the load. If the data corresponding to unloaded case is obtained by moving the
boom up or down as in the previous method, then the effect of boom weight is eliminated. Thus,
the expression for the hook load can be written as

£Eblb
W = (9)
y (L-d)cos0

where all the parameters except e and 0 are constant and e denotes the total strain due to four
gages. Therefore, knowing the strain and angular position of the boom for a certain
configuration, the load can easily be obtained. It should be noted that, for a constant load, E and
cos 0 vary in such a way that Equation 9 gives a constant value for different boom
configurations.

Load Control System and Imnlementation

The control system checks whether the allowable load for a certain boom angular position is
exceeded or not. The allowable values are supplied by the manufacturer as a function of radius
which corresponds to a certain boom angular position. The radius, R is defined as the distance
measured from vertical axis of rotation of the crane to the tip of the hook in the horizontal plane.
In case of the control system based on hydraulic oil pressure, it is assumed that the pressures in
the hydraulic actuator are measured by pressure transducers with built-in amplifiers and the
angular position of the boom from horizontal plane is measured by using a pendulum type
potentiometer with oil-based internal damping. Therefore, a voltage proportional to boom
angular position is generated and damping prevents possible oscillations of the pendulum due to
the boom oscillations. The block diagram of the control system is shown in Fig.5.

The control system is implemented to a mobile test crane [4]. The pressures in the hydraulic
actuator are measured by two pressure transducers with built-in amplifiers and the angular
position of the boom from horizontal plane is measured by using a pendulum type potentiometer.
Therefore, electrical signals proportional to boom angular position and pressures in the hydraulic
actuator are generated. The signals are fed to a field programmable microcontroller including an
8-bit A/D converter and an EEPROM memory which is used for program storage, self-
calibration, set-up parameters, option selection and look-up tables.

The results obtained have shown that, even a simple and static model used for on-line
calculations is fairly good for applications and it is not necessary to use a complicated dynamic
model [5]. The main advantage of the reduced model is the reduced capacity for data storage and
simple microprocessor instructions. The variables used for calibration are stored in EEROM of
the controller and can easily be changed by connecting a computer to RS232 interface whenever
calibration is necessary. There are a variety of built-in options, such as checking the travelling
mode radius of the crane, which can be made available to the user by using this interface. The
display refresh rate can also be adjusted in order not to see possible oscillations in the measured
load due to environmental conditions. The crane configuration such as free on wheels, front, rear
and blocked is obtained by the sensors.

Conclusion

In this article, a control system is introduced to check the tipping load for mobile cranes. The
system is also used for accurate measurement of the hook load. Therefore, if necessary, it
eliminates an extra measurement of the hook load by using a separate weighing system.
 T.B~K~

Measurement methods based on hydraulic oil pressure in the actuator and boom strains are given
with elementary calculations. It is shown that in order to simplify the calculations necessary for
determination of the hook load, the boom tare weight as a function of boom angular position
should be subtracted from the measured values. This method also allows the inclusion of the
specific properties of the mobile crane under consideration. A microcontroller based control
system for applications is also introduced. The control system is applied to a mobile test crane
and it is seen that the assumptions are acceptable.

Mechanical] ~ _ ~ Data Transmit I Selection of I

System [ and Receive [ Operation Mode]
Software
4,
IPressure and Angle I
4,
EEROM i" I
I T~ansducers I I
~~ -q
ID~'~ay]
Filter ~'~ "-- I

I Calc~ations ]

I Display'"

]Stop Boom
[Lowering II i[st°~
Loi~d~iMsaXD.iLp~;d, inl

FIG.5 Block Diagram of the Control System

References

1. Krez, H., "Elementary Calculations of Jibs for Mobile Cranes", ME 62 ACTA Polytechnic
Scandinavia 1971).
2. Posiadala, B. et al., "Motion of the Lifted Load Brought by a Kinematic Forcing of the Crane
Telescopic Boom", Mec. Mach. Theory, Vol. 25, No. 5, p. 547 (1990).
3. Balkan, T., "A Control System for Mobile Cranes", Proc. of 6th International Machine
Design and Production Conference, p. 9 (1994).
4. COLES Cranes Ltd., "Technical Data Sheet M. 7347", Sunderland, England (1983).
5. Balkan, T., "A Moment Limiter for Mobile Cranes", Heavy Vehicle Systems, Int. J. of Vehicle
Design, Vol. 2, No. 2, p. 174 (1995).