A graphical approach for the determination of outrigger loads in mobile cranes.

In the present work, a new method for the determination of the outrigger loads in mobile cranes is proposed. The approach adopted assumes the mobile crane as a rigid body and the ground having a linear elastic behavior. The outrigger reactions are determined, using the concept of complete support pattern, through the calculation of the area of triangles constructed within it. The main feature of the method is that the determination of the outrigger reactions can be done by means of graphical considerations with the advantage to perform the task quickly and without the use of complicated calculations. The knowledge of the outrigger pattern, the resultant of all the forces applied and the center of mass of the system crane-payload are only needed as input data. Although the method is suitable for cranes with an outrigger system of any number and shape, the simplification deriving from the use of the graphical approach is fully available only for an outrigger system with four outriggers having a specific shape. These configurations, however, represent the most common configuration found in real applications. The validity of the method proposed has been proven comparing the results with data available in the cranes' manuals and with actual reactions of the outriggers of a mobile cranes operating on site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]