NEW CARGO CRANES IN THE PORT OF HAMBURG

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00423R001500610003-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 18
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 26, 1999
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: January 1, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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GENERAL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE
NAPLES - 1954
NEW CARGO CRANES IN THE PORT 07 I-ATBURG
by Baudirektor Dr.-Ing. Hans Neumann, Hamburg.
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CPYRGHT Pew Largo Cranes in the Port of ciambur
by Baudirektor Dr.-Ing. Hans Neumann, Hamburg
In appraising the following paper on the development of dockside cranes in Germany
during the past years it should be borne in mind that the considerations are based
specifically on the development of crane design in the Port of Hamburg. On the one
hand. this is because Hamburg, being the largest German ocean port, has long taken a
leading position in this field among the German ports, and secondly, because the
author from his professional work, is familiar with. the development at Hambur,
Furthermore, the problems with which the German seaports arc concerned can be most
appropriately explained by the Hamburg example.
In the reconstruction of the installations of the Port of Hamburg after World War I
it was frequently objected. that the capital needed. for the mechanical equipment
proper of the loading installations represented an increasing percentage of the
total cost (incl, quaywalls, sheds,-roads, trackage), The question whether the Ger
man seaports, and more particularly Hamburg, should be equipped with dockside crane
to handle the cargo, or whether one should follow the example set by the USA, i.e.,
handling the cargo by ships' gear only, need not be discussed here because this
question has already been broadly investigated with the result that the use of dock
side cranes is generally held to offer more advantages. Therefore, if the capital
outlay for the mechanical loading equipment was to be curtailed, such a reduction
had. to be effected by other measures.
General considerations.
The first step was to ascertain the number of wharf cranes required. This question
is closely interrelated. with that whether in the case of wharves equipped with sheds
preference should be given to the full portal or the semi-portal. At this point the
opinions of the German seaports diverge. Whereas at Bremen the semi-portal crane
used there for many years past is being adhered. to, Hamburg, in reconstructing its
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CPYRGHT
port after the war, mode; its decision in favour of the full-portal crane.
For a bettor understanding of the development in this field I may briefly refer to
the modification of the quay section during the past 15 years. Prior to World. War
II, the major part of the cargo was transported to and from the port of Hamburg via
the Elbe river. This is why the port of Hamburg plan shows large water areas in
the port basins, and (on account of the small extent of rail traffic at that time),
usually not more than one, rarely two, tracks on the waterside of the quay sheds.
This scene was completely changed after World War II, The iron curtain separated
Hamburg from its natural hinterland. and its waterway connections. The goods had to
be transported. by rail or motor truck instead of barges, and the voluam of material
to be loaded directly from railway to ocean ship and vice versa. increased rapidly.
Consequently, the port organization was compelled to extend. the wharf track system
and to effect the separation of railway from road, traffic. As a consequence, the
typical Hamburg quay section after 1,045 provides for 3 tracks on the waterside,
whereas the landside of the quay shed is reserved for motor truck traffic.
This modification of the quay section entailed, an alteration of the crane system.
Under the loading conditions prevailing in Hamburgg-,o it is desirable that the sheds
should be provided with wide loading ramps on the watersiicde. If semi-portal cranes
as generally used earlier at Hamburg were installed., they had. to be of a span of
over 25 m.. They would. be too heavy and. too difficult to manoeuvre. It was there-
fore, decided that full-portal cranes should. be installed.. throughout. This decisio
brought some further essential advantages.
First, the sub-soil of the Port of Hamburg; is of rather poor bearing quality so tha
any structure must be based. on pile foundations which of course are subject to vary
ing degrees of subsidence. The waterside portal leg; of a semi-portal crane is sup-
ported on the quay wall, while the landsi;'e rail runs upon a crane runway placed on
a separate foundation along the she('. As a consequence
in the course of many year
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the centre distance between the crane rails of the semi-portal cranes formerly
generally used in Hamburg showed. a substantial change. In contrast to this, the
two runway rails of the full-portal crane are placed on a single structure, nomely
the quay wall. Moreover, the overlapping of loading tracks and loading ramp of the
shed by the semi-portal is a disadvantage especially if a number of cranes are re-
quired to operate closely side by side for quick service on a seagoing ship.
Finally, the uniform track gauge of the full-portal cranes (6 in. at Hamburg) en-
ables the cranes to be relocate(' at will in any part of the port by means of a float
ing crane, to meet a special loading demand.
The experience gained with full-portal cranes justifies these measures. At some
points of the quay the railway service track crosses the crane rails. To permit
the cranes to run safely over the crossings, the landside track wheels of the por-
tals have no flanges while the watersic'.e wheels are of the dcuble-flange type for
proper guidance of the cranes. This arrangement has proved to be very satisfactory
in actual practice. There have been hardly any cases where the loading operations
were interfered with by the approach of railway cars because it is the general prac-
tice here to serve the railway cars before or after the working shifts or during
working intervals.
The number of cranes to be placed on the wharf thus is influenced by the type of
portal, since a smaller number of permanent cranes are needed on the she(' if it is
possible to increase their number quickly if required by relocating cranes working
on less busy portions of the wharf. The high mobility of modern cranes facilitates
such an interchange of cranes on a long, wharf stretch from one shed to another.
These considerations led'.. to a change of the density of cranes. Whereas in earlier
times it was the practice at Hamburg to provide abt. one crane per 20 in length of
shed, this is now about 25 - 28 m, for modern wharf sheds, anc.'..efforts are being
made to increase this figure to 30 in, although the port management is keenly opposed
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to this development.
Further considerations aiming at a reduction of the cost of mechanical equipment
had to deal with the wharf cranes themselves. It was attempted to rid the crane of
any dispensable parts, retaining only what is absolutely necessary for satisfactory
crane operation. Proceeding from this basis, harbour boards, service engineers and
crane manufacturers discussed. the possible extent to which such simplification of
crane design could be carried. consistent with the specific duties of the wharf crane
The result was a certain typification of cranes permitting the cranes to be manu-
factured. in greater series than before. Thus it has been possible for the first
time in the history of Gorman cram: engineering to effect kind of a series produc-
tion of dockside cranes, the components of the cranes being largely manufactured
with the aid of jigs and fixtures so that the unit price per crane could be lowered..
The Hamburg Port Authority purposely refrained from developing a standard crane
that could. have been built by any of the crane manufacturers. It was considered
appropriate to establish only the basic guiding principles and. let the crane indus-
try itself evolve the best typo of crane on this basis. In this way free engineer-
ing development was not handicapped and the crane industry had. the chance of making
use of its know-how and experience gained. elsewhere for the benefit of the best
solution to this problem.
The basic requirements poses'... by the Hamburg; Port Authority includes' the provision
that in the new crane designs the curb ring principle hitherto prevailing on the
cranes installed in the port should be departed from because it had been found that
the race rollers arranged tangentially in relation to the 'race circle were worn in
strenuous operation, causing increased. maintenance costs. Moreover, the king pin
necessary in this type of crane for the centering; of the revolving superstructure
prevents any access to the revolving; part through the centre of the crane. As dis-
(i later the des. i)tion of the typos developed by the several crane manu-
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CPYRGHT
manufacturers, the solution has been to support the slewing portion of the crane
either on a. slowing column in the portal or on a ,double ball race designed to re-
sist the tip-over moments.
As to the design of the jib, the single-link typo of jib has been generally pre-
ferred. to the double-link jib for the carrying capacities and radii required for the
handling of piece-goods. The jib drive should be always positive in order to enable
the crane operator to safely handle the load at any time.
The crane portal width should. he of a minimum in order to enlarge the wharf area
that can be served by the crane.
Constructional Details.
Many of the details of the cranes have been improved, as compare(' with earlier crane
designs. The hoist, for example, was formerly t.rivcn by a special low-speed motor
manufactured to special order, while it is now the practice to use a standard motor.
The increased motor speed necessitates the provision of a multi-reduction gear drive.
All gearing is of the unit type with rears operating in an enclose('. oil case. The
motors are invariably flangc; mounted. Special care has been taken to permit all
components to be easily dismounted, for repair,
The worm gear drives of the slowing. mechanism have been replaced with spur gear
units. The unit construction enables the drives to be readily interchanged and re-
pairs to be carried out in the shop.
Band brakes have been replaced. with double post or multiple plate brakes.
Gear rims for the slowing Lear made of grey iron are no longer satisfactory under
the increasing stresses to which modern cranes are subjected and therefore have been
replaced with pin wheel drives or machine cut gear rims.
The control of the cranes was uniformly arranged in such a way that the crane driver
operates the hoist controller (hoisting and. lowering; movements) with the right hand
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and the universal control lever for level-J.uffing; and slewinf with the left hand'
the directions of movement of the universal control lever corresponding to the r~-
spective crane movements. The crane travel controller, which is not so frequently
operates'., is controlled, by a hafc.'wheelo
As regards the hoist, an electric contactor-operated brake lowering control is now
fenerally used. The working speeds of the several movements are medium speeds
(hoisting: 40 m/min.). The number of duty cycles in the case of the dockside cargo
crane has been about 20 per hour since decades so that the secondary times (attach-
ing and detaching of load, waiting) rather than the relative operatinf; period of
the motors are preponderating, Any substantial increase of the working speeds
would greatly enhance, the heist of the mechanisms without an increase in the ton-
nages handled.
Most of the new types have small machine cabs in order to simplify the design of the
superstructure and minimize the tail rae'ius of the crane. The encloses' unit drives
for hoisting, slowing and luffing can be located out of Coors at the points most
suitable for their respective duties. With such an arrangement the crane cab usually
needs only accept the access opening through the centre of the crane, and the elec-
trical gear.
The d.riverts cab which projects as far as possible in the, direction of the jib has
been desi;ned. with particular care. Lergo glass windows afford the operator an
unobstructed view of the entire working area, the jib head pulley and the wharf area
directly underneath.
The painting of the cranes in Northern climate demands particular care. In this re-
too, new approo.ches were taken. Large portions of the crane consist of light-
gauge plates. Some years ago this material was in short supply in this country so
that the plates were used as soon as they left the rolls, without the so-called
rolling skin having been removes'. If the red lead' painting was applied. immediately,
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large portions of the rolling skin were liable to pool off later on along with the
point so that corrosion of the lig h.t plates woulc constitute a severe danger to the
structure. It was not possible to remove the rolling skin by sane' blasting; because
in view of the short delivery times the mechanical parts had to be mounted simul-
taneously with the structural steelwork. Thus, the only way out was to allow the
rolling skin to rust until it scaled. off. This idea proves1 to be a. dull success,
for it takes a little loss than one year for the scale to loosen sufficiently that
it can be easily removed. The. surfaces need merely be brushes'. off and the struc-
ture can then be prepared for painting,
The new crane types selected for manufacture.
In designing,; the crane, wide la:ttitude was E;rantcc'.. to the German crone manufacturers.
Working conjointly with the Port Authority and the Port Management of Hamburg the
crane industry developed. new designs of which those describes'. later were selected
for manufacture. The number of cranes orderer: of each type was based on the con-
sideration that on the one hand it was planne,,1 that la.r,e series of cranes of the
same type should be ordered one.. that each wharf section should, be equipped with only
one type of crane, not merely because of the uniformity of outward appearance, but
also with a view to changes of crane operators and',. ready inspection and maintenance.
The DEMAG Crane.
The new dockside crane created by Messrs. DEMAG of Duisburg, has a carrying capacity
of 3 tons at a radius of 22,1 m. The lines of the crane make it clear even to the
layman how the load is distributed from the slender jib through the slowing part
down to the portal so that an aestetically satisfactory style of construction re-
sults. First of all, this type of crane is characterizes'. by its three-legged por-
tal. The three-point support of wharf cranes has been discussed. in Hamburg; as long
as 25 years ago without this idea being materialize-'. The three-legged portal of-
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fers certain advantages where the ground or foundation is liable to subside so that
the crane rails vary in level. D _,spite such movements of the grcund the portal
remains at all times statically d.etcrminotc.- Also, it offers more freedom for the
crossings of the crane rails with the waterside tracks. The distance of the tip-
over line from the centre of gravity of the three-legged. crane is of course shorter
than in the case of a four-legged crane because of the smaller base of the triangle
forme(' by the three legs. The resulting lower stability of the three-legged portal
is compensate(':. for by ballast weights in the portal legs which are of welded, bent
plate construction. For this purpose the legs are filled, with concrete all the way
up, and. only one of the legs is driven. The portal is sufficiently rigid, so that
a single drive is entirely adequate. The centre distance between the runway rails
at Hamburg has been uniformly arranged at 6 m. at which the ballast necessary for
sufficient stability can still be easily placed in the legs. If the centre distance
between runway rails is 5 in. or less, a detailed recalculation must reveal whether
sufficient ballast can be places'.. in the lefts or whether it will be necessary to use
a four-legged portal.
The upper part of the crane revolves upon an double ball race capable of resisting
both compressive forces and tensile forces (tip-over moments). Hence the diameter
of the ball race can be held to a smaller dimension anc''. the tail radius of the
revolving part can be reducer.'. Thus it is possible to move the cranes closely to-
_?ether when it is necessary, for example, to engage two or three cranes simultan-
eously on one hatch of the seagoing ship. Moreover, the axis of rotation of the
crane can be placed. close to the wharf edge . The ball race which requires little
attention, gives undangorous access to the crane through the centre of the ballrace
even while the crane is working, the access stairway being suspended. from the slow-
ing part of the crane within the ball race, rotating along with the crane.
In the construction of the jib which was to be made very light, advantage was taken
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of the experience gained in the construction of aeroplanes. Accorc'.in{gly, the jib
e of construc-
was made of t~ mrr, gauge bent plates welded. according to the shell-typ
tion in which the load-carrying members consist of the outer plating itself rather
than of a steel framework merely covered by a skin of sheet metals. In this way it
has been possible to construct a jib of a length of 28 m, weighing 3c9 tons, The
smooth surfaces of the jib and the portal permit convenient painting and do away
with any inaccessible points easily attacked by corrosion.
The jib is driven by a segment rack and pinion arrangement, the dead weight of the
jib being equalized by a sliding counterweight suspended from two parts of rope.
It slides vertically along the rear member of the superstructure of the crane as
the jib is raised and lowered. A specially desi nee' luffinf system of the rope
equalizing type ensures a horizontal movement of the load during luffing, the ropes
being guided three times between the jib head pulley and. the pulley block in the
head of the superstructure.
The machine cab is mounted. on the lower platform o.nc'. accommodates the slowing
mechanism, the electrical control elements and the driver's compartment. The upper
platform, which forms the roof of the cab, supports the hoist and luffinf gear.
Since the cranes must be frequently relocated, the Port Authority made the provi-
sion that means be provided by the crane manufacturers permitting the crane to be
conveniently handled as a whole by means of a floating crane, It was impracticable
to weld' lifting eyes for the total crane weight to the portal because with the
DEMAG design the eyes would be difficult to reach. The very practical solution
acloptec'. by DEM G consists of two tubes fitted to a horizontal cross member of the
crane superstructure in which are inserter? the pins of a lifting device attached,
to the hook of a floating crane. This device permits the dockside crane to be sus-
pended within a few minutest time and. to be transported by the portal crane. This
is possible because the double boll race is desi.ne