The Design of Mechanisms for Gantry Crane Experimental Rig

This report discusses the background and current research done on the chosen topic, which is design of mechanisms for gantry crane experimental rig. The objective of the project is to come up with a design of mechanisms to drive the gantry cranes motions for an experimental crane rig. The scope of study focused on proposing a design of mechanism for the gantry crane designed for Mechanical Engineering Department of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS based on the limitation of the gantry frame dimension. Gantry cranes are widely used in shipping terminals to handle freight containers. Advances in controlling the crane load sway has been achieved by conducting experiments in laboratory. However, the problem is the Mechanical Department of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS does not have the gantry crane test rig for experimental purpose. Technique that is going to be used is proposing design of mechanism for the gantry crane by performing analysis on the crane operations. Justification on fundamentals that determine the gantry frame structural rigidity and flexibility due to the load is also being studied. This technique integrates the critical parameters that affect the performance of the driving mechanisms of the gantry crane. The parameters are being identified and manipulated in order to achieve the best driving mechanism. AutoCAD and ANSYS will be used in modeling and analyzing the gantry crane test rig. A gantry crane test rig will be constructed to perform an experiment to test the validity of the model. An enhanced mechanism of gantry cranes operations is essential for further research work, especially on the development of an automatic crane controller.