Crane Runway Systems for Steel Buildings

Overhead cranes need a structure that supports their wheels, keeps their rails aligned and carries the forces they generate as they lift, travel and brake. The crane runway system provides this. It includes runway beams, rails, brackets or crane columns, stops and the bracing that carries longitudinal crane forces to the foundations.

Top-running cranes run on rails fixed to runway beams supported by brackets on the main columns, or by stepped or separate crane columns for heavier duty. Underhung cranes and monorails hang from the bottom flange of beams suspended from the roof structure.

Crane loads are dynamic and repeated. Vertical wheel loads include impact allowances, lateral loads arise from trolley movement and longitudinal loads from braking. Repeated loading also brings fatigue into the design, especially for higher duty classes. Deflection and alignment limits for crane buildings are usually stricter than for ordinary buildings.

For these reasons the crane runway must be designed together with the frames. The owner provides the crane capacity, span, duty class, wheel loads and hook height from the crane supplier. The project engineer then designs runway beams, connections and bracing to the governing code.

World Steel supplies crane runway systems as part of the building package, including runway beams, brackets, rail clips where specified and crane stops. The crane itself and its rails are often provided by a specialist crane supplier, with interfaces coordinated during design.

A request for quotation for a crane building should include the crane data sheet from the crane supplier, the number of cranes, runway length, hook height and any future crane plans. Without this information, the runway and frames cannot be designed correctly.