278 Chapter Five

When handling a load near the full capacity over a corner, it is not
unusual for the outrigger opposite the boom to be load-free or even to
lift off the ground. The mathematical expression of this occurrence is a
zero or negative value for one of the outrigger loads in Eq. (5.22). The
physical meaning of the minus sign is that the ground must pull down
on the float, which, of course, it cannot do. The reactions must be rebal-
anced to give zero reaction at the negative float, thus matching the
mathematical with the physical condition. If two outrigger floats have
negative values, the crane is shown to be unstable and will tip over.
Rebalancing is done by adjusting the reactions without changing
the moment or vertical load equilibrium. If a negative reaction has
absolute value a, it is zeroed by adding a . Concurrently, the value a is
added to the reaction diagonally across from the heretofore negative
outrigger float, and the same quantity is subtracted from each of the
remaining two outrigger reactions. If Prc had a calculated value of –a,
set Prc = 0, add a to Pfb, and subtract a from both Prb and Pfc. The result
is that there has been no change in the total of the vertical reactions or
in outrigger moments about the centroid.
The sum of all outrigger reactions must equal V. Likewise, the
sum of all moments about the crane longitudinal centerline and about
any transverse line must both be zero if the system is to be in equilib-
rium. These are the check conditions that must be satisfied by any set
of outrigger reactions.
Actual outrigger reactions will not coincide exactly with calculated
values based on the rigid body theory. Carriers and outrigger assemblies
are not truly rigid; actual behavior will result in part from spring-like
elastic response. Neither wind nor dynamic effects have been consid-
ered in the calculations. In consideration, cribbing or other supports
should never be designed with a thin margin against failure. Cribbing
is not only furnished to prevent situations as shown in Figure 5.15, but
to keep the crane level and free of rocking motions. Ground support
failure under a loaded crane is often catastrophic. The small cost of
placing adequate structural materials under the outrigger floats is
money well spent. Outrigger floats on soil or fill will almost invariably
need cribbing to reduce the ground bearing pressure.
The reader may have noticed that the method presented does not
account for the offset of outrigger beams from one side to the other in
the fore and aft direction. If dimensions used reflect the centers of the
pairs of outrigger beams, the offsets will have an insignificant effect on
the calculated values. However, where support under the outriggers
requires that the floats be spotted exactly, the offsets can be very impor-
tant. This situation can arise where the outriggers are to bear directly
on structural framing or must clear an obstacle on the ground.
Several loading cases need to be considered in order to discover
governing values for the design of supports. Each load should be
checked at its maximum radius and at one or more swing angles from