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A Calculation Method of Crane Deflection
Considering the Boom Gap
Jian-Qi An∗ , Hao Qi† , Wei-Rong Liu† and Min Wu∗
∗
School of Automation, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China
Email: anjianqi@cug.edu.cn
† School of Information Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410083, China
Abstract—The traditional analytical method has low precision
and narrow application range. The calculation process of the
finite element method is complex. And the deflection calculation
methods, which are widely used in current, do not take the
vertical offset produced by the boom gap into account. This
paper puts forward a calculation method of crane deflection
considering boom gap. Firstly, the decomposition of the crane
load is carried out along the radial and tangential direction
of the boom, and the deflection produced by each component
force is respectively calculated with Moore integral. Then the
influence of the boom gap on the crane deflection is analyzed.
And the deflection correction method when considering boom gap
is put forward. Finally the total deflection of the boom and the
hook location considering boom deflection can be obtained. This
calculation method can improve the precision of the deflection
calculation. And it can be applied to the lifting simulation
platform. The experimental results indicate that the accuracy
of deflection calculation is improved by this method.
Index Terms—deflection calculation, boom gap, Moore inte-
gral, lifting simulation.
I. I NTRODUCTION
Lifting machinery is one of the indispensable equipment
for the modern production. It can effectively reduce the
labor force, improve production efficiency and speed up the
automation construction of the world. And it has already been
the national key engineering projects for most countries. As
the scale of modern production becomes larger and larger and
the competition of the international market becomes more and
more fierce, the requirement of the lifting safety and quality
becomes higher and higher.
Boom deflection refers to the linear displacement along the
vertical direction of the centre axis of the boom, when the
boom begins to deform [1]. The boom deflection has a great
influence on the lifting in the process of the lifting operations,
especially when the load is large tonnage. So the precise
calculation of boom deflection before lifting is the premise
of the lifting safety and quality [2].
The main calculation methods of boom deflection are the
traditional analytical method and the finite element method at
present [3]. The traditional analytical method includes method
of inertia matrix transformation, superposition method [4]–[6],
This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation
of China under Grant No. 61203017, and by the Fundamental Research Funds
for the Central Universities, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) under
Grant No. 2015349120.
Corresponding Author: Min Wu, Fax: 027-87175075.
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integral method [7], etc. The variable cross-section beams are
generally equivalent to uniform beams in the calculation of
the traditional analytical method [8]–[10]. The finite element
method includes small finite element displacement method and
large finite element displacement method [11]. The beam ele-
ment is used to simulate a boom. Then the model construction
is created in the finite element software. Finally the deflection
is calculated after applying load at the end of crane boom.
The calculation of the traditional analytical method is simple
and only need a little time. But this method does not have
definite error range. And it is only suitable to a certain standard
of mechanical structure [12], [13]. The result of large finite
element displacement method is closer to the actual situation,
because the additional bending moment has been taken into
account. But this method is complex and need long time. It
is not suitable for all situations. In addition, there is a certain
gap which is produced by the boom assembly between booms.
And this boom gap will not only affect the angle of elevation
of each boom, but also form an additional vertical offset in the
end of each boom [14], [15]. The offset will finally emerge
by means of the boom deflection. The deflection calculation
methods which are widely used in current do not correct the
error produced by crane boom gap [16], [17].
This paper puts forward a calculation method of crane
deflection considering boom gap. Firstly, the crane load is
decomposed according to the independent action principle of
force. The load can be decomposed into a vertical component
force which direction is vertical to the boom direction and
a parallel component force along the boom direction. Then
the deflection produced by each component force is calcu-
lated with Moore integral respectively. Finally, the additional
deflection produced by the crane boom gap is calculated.
And the deflection of each boom is corrected with additional
deflection. The total deflection of crane boom is obtained. The
experimental results indicate that this method can improve the
accuracy of the deflection calculation.
II. THE DEFLECTION DECOMPOSITION
CALCULATION BASED ON MOORE INTEGRAL
The boom deflection can not be calculated by Moore
integral directly, because the gravity direction is perpendicular
to the ground down all the time and the angle of elevation of
the crane boom changes constantly in the process of lifting.
This paper makes the crane boom equivalent to the variable
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cross-section beams. Then the load is decomposed into vertical L1
component force and parallel component force. The deflection

L*
DS
produced by each component force is calculated with Moore
integral respectively. Finally the total deflection of crane boom L2

can be obtained.
The crane boom is different from the general cantilever
beam. The self-weight of the crane boom has a great influence
on the deflection because it is very heavy. In this paper, the

L
self-weight of the boom is transformed into the force at the
end of the boom, which is calculated together with the weight
of load. It can improve the credibility of the algorithm and
simplify the complexity of the calculation.

A. Conversion coefficient calculation of the boom self-weight

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Boom self-weight belongs to the uniform force. The boom ;P
self-weight is transformed into the force at end of the boom
according to the principle of lever balance in this algorithm.
Fig. 1. The schematic diagram of the boom deflection
Firstly, the location of the center of gravity of the crane boom
should be obtained.
Where Gi , (i = 1, 2, · · · n) is the self-weight of n sections
force at the axial direction of the boom. P and Q both have
of crane boom respectively. LCi = init LGi , (i = 1, 2, · · · n)
the influence on the boom deflection. M is the moment at the
is the distance between the center of gravity of each section
tail of the boom. P and M of each section can be calculated
of the boom and the tail hinge point, when the boom is not
with Moore integral respectively. There are
stretched out. The location of the center of gravity of the crane
boom is 1
n F = (MLoad + MHook ). (5)
n
LGi = LCi + li ni . (1)
i=1 P = (MLoad + MHook ) cos α + γMBoom cos α. (6)
li , (i = 1, 2, ...n) is the maximum length of the i section of the M = (MLoad + MHook )L2 sin α − F L1 . (7)
crane boom which is stretched out. ni , (i = 1, 2, ...n) refers
to the percentage of the boom which is stretched out. Where MLoad is the crane lifting load. MHook is the weight of crane
Gi , (i = 1, 2, ...n) is the weight of the i section of the boom. hook and pulley block. MBoom is the self-weight of the crane
The total weight of the boom is boom. F is the tension of the crane hoister. n is the ratio of
n crane hook. L1 is the radius of the up pulley. L2 is the radius

MBoom = Gi . (2) of the down pulley. α is the angle of elevation of the main
i=1 boom.
The deflection caused by the crane load is
So the distance between the centre of gravity of the boom
n  L−Zi−1  L−a
and the tail hinge point of the boom along the axial direction (px + M )x (p1 x + M1 )x
of the boom is LLoad = dx+ dx.
i=2 L−Zi
EIi L−Z1 EIi
n
(8)
lC = Gi LGi /MBoom . (3)
Ii (i = 1...n) is the inertia moment for each section of the
i=1
boom to the x axis. E is the elastic modulus of the boom.
Where L is the length of all the booms which is stretched Zi , (i = 1 . . . n) is the distance between the head and the tail
out. Then the conversion coefficient of the boom self-weight of each section of the boom. a is the distance
 L−a between 1the head
should be

n and the tail hinge point of the boom. L−Z1 (p1 x+M EI1
)x
dx is
Gi LGi /MBoom the deflection of the first boom.
lC i=1
γ= = . (4) In summary, the boom deflection caused by the crane load
L L
can be obtain by the method above. And the self-weight of the
B. The decomposition calculation of the boom deflection boom is taken into account. The deviation of this calculation
method is large because of the boom gap. A further correction
The angle between the central axial direction of the boom
method should be needed.
and the direction of gravity of lifting object is 90◦ − α, as
shown in Fig. 1. The crane load is decomposed along the
radial and tangential direction of the boom. Then the deflection III. CORRECTION ALGORITHM OF DEFLECTION
and angle produced by each component force are calculated CALCULATION CONSIDERING BOOM GAP
respectively. There is a certain gap between the crane booms. And this
Where P is the component force which is perpendicular to gap is produced by the mechanical design. There is an angle
the central axial direction of the boom and Q is the component between each section of the boom which is caused by the
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Fig. 2. The additional deflection of boom gap

boom gap, even through there is no lifting load, as shown
in Fig. 2. The gap between the sections of the boom forms
an additional deflection and an additional angle. In order to
improve the calculation precision, the influence of the boom
gap should be taken into account.
As shown in Fig. 2, h is the crane boom gap and H is the
additional deflection of boom gap. h should be
h = l1 sin α.
If the deformation of the boom is ignored, the intersection
point of the boom medial axis and the medial axis of the
deflected boom should be located in 12 l1 . So there is
H the axial direction of the i section of the boom. Mi is the
sin α = . (10)
l2 + 12 l1
According to (9), (10), the formula can be gotten
(2l2 + l1 )h
H= . (11)
l1
l1 and l2 can be expressed in the operation condition of the
crane, l1 = lmax − ni li , l2 = ni li . Where Lmax is the total
length of a section of the crane boom. hi is the gap between
the i section of the boom and the next section of the boom. ni
is the stretching out percentage of the i section of the boom.
The main boom have n sections. Where Hi is the deflection
of the i section of the boom. Hi should be
(Lmax + ni li )hi
Hi = , (i = 2...n).
Lmax − ni li
The total additional deflection can be obtained by the sum
of the additional deflection of each section of the boom. So
the total additional deflection is
n
 (Lmax + ni li )hi
LGap = . (13)
i=2
Lmax − ni li
According to (10), α = arcsin( lh1 ) can be obtained. The
additional angle of the i section of the boom can be obtained
by the sum of the angle of all the section of the main boom
before the i section. Substitute l2 = ni l and l1 = Lmax − ni l
in, the additional angle of the i section of the boom should be
i
 The angle of the boom is small, so there is
hj
αi = arcsin( ), (i = 2 . . . n).
j=2
Lmax − nj l
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Fig. 3. The schematic diagram of the boom deflection
hj is the gap between the j section of the boom and the section
before it. nj is the stretching out percentage of the j section
of the boom.
(9) Based on the analysis above, there is an added value on
the angle of elevation of the boom from the second section of
the boom. And the deflection of boom will have an additional
deflection, LGap . So the α in (9) and (10) should be corrected.
where Pi is the component force which is perpendicular to
component force at the axial direction of the i section of the
boom. There are
Pi = (MLoad + MHook ) cos(α + αi ) + γMBoom cos(α + αi )
(15)
Mi = (MLoad + MHook )L2 sin(α + αi ) − F L1 (16)
The total deflection of the crane boom is
LD = LGap + LLoad . (17)
The boom deflection makes that there is an offset between
the end of the boom and the axis of the boom. So the hook
position is changed. The location of the hook considering
boom deflection is necessary to calculate.
(12) IV. HOOK POSITION CALCULATION
The hook location has a great influence on the lifting
operation in the process of lifting. The boom deflection is
projected to the horizontal and vertical directions, as shown
in Fig. 3. δR is the amplitude increasing caused by the boom
deflection. It consists of two parts, δR1 is produced by the
boom deflection and δR2 is produced by the angle of the
moment of the lifting rope.
The approximation of horizontal amplitude is δR1 =
LD sin α, because the length of the crane boom is much larger
than the boom deflection. α is the angle of elevation of the
crane boom. According to (9), LD is the function of the boom
length. LD is the deflection curve equation of the crane boom.
(14) dLD
θ ≈ tgθ = . (18)
dL
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TABLE I
C OMPARISON OF CALCULATION RESULTS
Lifting Measured Deflection Error Relative Relative Original Hook position
Conditions Elevation weight value of (before/after) before/after) error error hook considering
codes (◦ ) (t) deflection correction correction before after position deflection
(mm) (mm) (mm) correction correction (m) (m)
23333 80.3 15 339 276/337 63/8 22.8% 2.4% (10.0,52.9) (11.55,52.58)
23333 80.0 10 269 227/282 42/13 15.6% 4.8% (9.4,53.1) (10.70,52.78)
12333 72.7 10 405 369/413 36/8 10.9% 2.0% (13.4,42.4) (14.51,42.05)
12333 70.7 5 397 319/363 78/34 19.6% 8.6% (14.3,42.0) (15.18,41.71)
44444 79.8 10 455 371/456 84/1 18.5% 0.2% (12.9,60.8) (14.91,60.41)
44444 79.5 5 554 486/571 68/17 12.3% 3.1% (14.72,60.27) (16.62,59.72)
11133 71.1 10 181 133/164 48/17 26.5% 9.4% (8.5,29.8) (8.90,29.69)
11133 43.2 5 478 449/480 29/2 6.1% 0.4% (20.84,21.15) (21.32,20.77)

The horizontal displacement of the crane hook generated by
the deflection angle can be obtained by δR2 = L2 sin(α − θ),
so there is
LLev = δR1 + δR2 = LD sin α + L2 sin(α − θ).
α is the angle of elevation of the crane boom. L2 is the
force arm of the down pulley of the crane boom. The vertical
deflection should be
LVer = LD cos α.
In conclusion, the horizontal displacement and the vertical
deflection of the crane hook generated by the deflection can
be obtained by the method above. Then the hook location
considering boom deflection can be calculated on the basis of
the original hook location.
V. RESULT CONTRAST ANALYSIS
In this experiment, a certain type of truck crane (which
totally has six section of main boom and use the U-structure)
is used as an example in the deflection calculation comparison
analysis. All the comparative data are measured in one exper-
iment to ensure that the data is consistency. In the process
of testing, the weight of the crane hook is 1.3 tons, the ratio
is 4. The test results consist of two sections, the changes of
the location of the hook and the deflection value of the crane
boom. The number of the crane working condition is large and
the test process is complex. This experiment use some typical
conditions for comparison test. The results are shown in table
I.
The numbers in conditions codes represent the percentage
of the main boom stretching out from the second section. 1, 2,
3, 4 correspond to 0, 46%, 92%, 100% respectively. The angle
of the boom elevation is the one which measures before the
start of the crane lifting. In the process of the whole test, lifting
load is in the range of 5-15 tons. The elevation is distributed
in 40-80. This test condition almost covers the common lifting
working condition, which can ensure the results are universal.
The deflection of crane boom is mainly determined by the
angle of the boom elevation, working condition and lifting
load. The angle of the boom elevation has the most obvious
influence on the results. When the condition code is 12333, the
lifting load is only 5 tons. But the angle of the boom elevation
is 70.7, and the measured value of deflection is 434 mm. To
compare the deviation before correction and after it, it shows
that the deviation before correction is larger. It means boom
gap has a great influence on the deflection. So the calculation
precision can be improved when considering the boom gap.
The table I shows that the maximum relative deviation
is 26.5% without considering the boom gap. The minimum
(19)
is 6.1%. And they are all lower than 0.1 m. It proves that
the deflection calculation is effective. At the same time,
the calculation accuracy are improved after correction. The
relative deviation after correction is between 0.2% and 9.4%,
which is improved more than 50%. And it proves that it is
(20)
necessary to consider the boom gap in the process of deflection
calculation.
VI. APPLICATION OF THE DEFLECTION
CALCULATION IN LIFTING SIMULATION
PLATFORM
In the actual process of lifting operation, the deflection
calculation has been widely used. When the lifting scheme is
made, the position of the lifting object and the general outline
of the boom can be determined by calculating the deflection
of the boom. The lifting scheme is closer to the actual lifting
process to ensure it is safety and feasibility.
The length of the crane boom in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 are the
same, which the angle of the boom elevation is 79.1 in Fig. 4
and 68.7 in Fig. 5. The lifting load is 10 tons in Fig. 4 and 5
tons in Fig. 5.
In this paper, the deflection calculation algorithm is applied
in lifting simulation platform. It have real-time calculation of
the crane boom deflection in the 3-D scene through the virtual
reality technology. It can also improve the reliability of lifting
scheme. The development environment of this lifting simu-
lation platform is Visual C++6.0. And the software interface
design uses the MFC framework. In order to meet the re-
quirements of real-time deflection calculation, this simulation
platform uses the OpenGL, which is high efficiency and stable
for 3-D modeling and rendering graphics. When the working
conditions of crane changed, the deflection calculation module
will do real-time calculation of the deflection and angle
automatically with new parameters.
The angle of the boom elevation is smaller in Fig. 4. So the
torque of lifting object is larger. The boom deflection is bigger
and the deformation of the crane boom is obvious, which can
be seen from the results of simulation. Furthermore the angles
of the 2, 3 and 4 sections of the boom are larger than the angles
of the 1, 5 and 6 sections of the boom in figure (a). These
experimental results are closely matched with the theoretical
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Fig. 5. The simulation results of the high elevation

simulation results. The deflection calculation in the process

of lifting simulation can improve the simulation precision and
improve the reliability of lifting scheme.

VII. C ONCLUSION
The algorithm of deflection calculation is studied in this
paper. Then the influence of the boom gap for the crane
deflection is analyzed. And the deflection correction method
considering boom gap is obtained. Finally the total deflection
of the boom and the hook location considering boom deflection
can be obtained. And it can be applied to the lifting simulation
platform. The experimental results indicate that the deflection
calculation in the process of lifting simulation can improve the
precision of simulation, which makes the simulation process
closer to the actual situation and improves the reliability of
lifting scheme.