Crane runway packages

Scope of supply

A crane building needs a runway that carries moving wheel loads, lateral surge and longitudinal braking forces, and that survives millions of load cycles. World Steel designs and fabricates the crane runway together with the frame, so that the column, bracket and runway beam are checked as one load path. The package is offered with the primary frame or as a separate structural steel supply.

• Runway beams: built-up or rolled I-sections, with cap channels or surge plates for heavier cranes.
• Crane brackets welded or bolted to the frame columns, or stepped columns for heavy cranes.
• Crane rails (square bar or ASCE / DIN / JIS rails) with clips and elastomeric pads.
• End stops, buffers, runway bracing and longitudinal bracing for braking forces.
• Tie-backs, splice plates, high-strength bolts and conductor-rail supports where specified.

Options and variants

The crane supplier provides wheel loads, wheel spacing, duty class and buffer forces; these drive the runway design. Overhead cranes are supplied by specialist manufacturers such as Konecranes, either by the client or coordinated by World Steel.

Materials, fabrication and finishes

Runway beams are welded from plate such as ASTM A572 Grade 50, AS/NZS 3678 Grade 350 or EN 10025-2 S355 with notch toughness chosen for the service temperature. Because fatigue governs, web-to-flange welds are typically full-penetration or carefully profiled fillet welds, made by submerged arc welding and inspected by ultrasonic or magnetic particle testing at the frequency the code requires. Camber, sweep and rail straightness are checked against the tighter tolerances for crane runways. Finish is the same paint system as the frame. See automatic welding of built-up members.

Compliance by market

Crane data and classification

The runway is designed for a specific crane. Before design starts, World Steel needs the crane supplier's data, ideally in a standard data sheet:

See crane runway beams and brackets for crane types, classes and runway design notes.

Documentation, packing and quotation

Deliverables include runway design calculations with fatigue checks, runway layout and details, rail and clip schedule, NDT reports, MTCs and survey tolerances for erection. Long runway beams are shipped on flat racks or in 40 ft high-cube containers, with rails bundled separately.

A quotation can be prepared quickly when the enquiry states the project location and the code to be used. Please send:

1. Crane type, capacity, span, duty class and number of cranes per runway.
2. Wheel loads, wheel base, buffer forces and rail type from the crane supplier.
3. Hook height and runway length.
4. Whether the crane itself is to be supplied or coordinated by WSC.

World Steel returns a priced scope with a clear inclusions and exclusions list, the design basis assumed and a typical lead time. Enquiries go through the export supply team in Ho Chi Minh City.