Selected Aspects Involved in the Optimization of Cranes with Pivoting Booms

Certain crane operations – hoisting/lowering the payload connected to a slewing jib – require a nonlinear description to take Euler and Coriolis forces into account, the impacts of which should already be minimised at the stage of selection of the system parameters and mechanism structure. Optimal sets of parameters for the crane mechanisms thus obtained were optimised for the full range of slewing motion. It is demonstrated that the selection of the geometric dimensions of the structural elements of the hoisting mechanisms, i.e. the slewing system and counterbalances, enables the horizontal track error load to be minimised whilst the forces acting on the mechanism and inducing its vertical movement can be reduced. Thus, for the assumed lifting capacity and distance jaunt we get the structure of the crane mechanism that guarantees the minimal consumption of energy.