Crane Rail Fastening System Assessment including Bolt Pretension

The Modelling Process

Solid model geometry was provided by Gantry Railing in the form of a Parasolid CAD file. The FEA simulations were conducted using ANSYS Structural software. The ANSYS Workbench user interface enabled the geometry to be imported and de-featured efficiently before defining and solving the analysis. Bolt pre-tension, crane rail loads and the connection to the ground were all conveniently applied directly to the geometry. Frictional contact was specified to model a self tightening mechanism within the clip design.

Bolt Pretension Analysis

The Results

The powerful post-processing features within ANSYS Workbench were used to display stresses and safety factors which were reported to Gantry Railing. Resultant stresses and safety factors were used to advise where Gantry Railing may wish to make further design improvements.

FEA Stress Results under Applied Loading

November 2006