Gantry Crane Research Articles

Online Antiswing Trajectory Planning for a Practical Rubber Tire Container Gantry Crane

Rubber tire container gantry cranes (RTG) are the most commonly used equipments to stack containers in ports. With four sets of ropes hoisting the cargo, the system dynamics become much more complicated and unpredictable when compared with traditional gantry cranes, which imposes higher requirements to the skills of operators. During the delivering process, large sway motion of the container is often excited by inappropriate manual operations, which badly impairs efficiency and safety. This issue is made even worse when considering the elasticity of rubber tire, wind disturbances, and many other practical disturbances. To improve the working efficiency of ports, an automatic antiswing trajectory planning method is proposed for RTG in this article. Specifically, reference trajectories are first generated to ensure that the trolley/rope accurately reach the desired position. After that, appropriate feedback terms are incorporated to online optimize the trajectories, so that the container swing motion is sufficiently suppressed even under unfavorable conditions. Lyapunov-based analysis is presented to guarantee the correctness of our conclusion. Furthermore, extensive hardware experiments on a practical RTG are performed to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. To our best knowledge, with concise structure and superior antiswing ability, the proposed method is one of the very few methods which can be successfully applied to the practical RTG systems.

Scheduling optimization researchs considering AGV operation conflicts with different loads

With the increase in the volume of container trading, automated container terminals have gradually become the target of the world’s largest port construction. In order to improve the efficiency of the automated AGV container terminal and gantry cranes, the possible conflicts in the horizontal AGV transportation area under different load conditions and speeds have been resolved. The problem is to create a comprehensive scheduling model that minimizes the total AGV execution time through prediction and solved by genetic algorithm. Experimental data analysis shows that after optimization, the total execution time and conflict timeout of multiple AGVs are reduced, which improves the work efficiency of AGVs.

Correction to: Research on nonlinear coupled tracking controller for double pendulum gantry cranes with load hoisting/lowering

Correction to: Research on nonlinear coupled tracking controller for double pendulum gantry cranes with load hoisting/lowering

A Digital Twin-Based Operation Status Monitoring System for Port Cranes.

To address the problems of the lack of an online data simulation test environment, the poor openness of data collection, and the low degree of data visualization in the online control process of port cranes, an operation state monitoring system framework for port cranes based on digital twins is proposed. In this framework, the digital twin port crane is used as the core, and the multi-sensor data acquisition method, OPC UA information model, and plug-in programming method are combined to realize multi-source heterogeneous virtual and real data fusion. The digital twin crane monitoring system based on this framework can fulfil the following functions: crane historical operation process reproduction, control program simulation testing, synchronous mapping simulation, and remote control. In order to verify the proposed method, a digital twin-based physical platform for monitoring a rail-mounted gantry crane (RMGC) was built, in which a virtual test of anti-swing control and a digital twin monitoring experiment were carried out. The results show that the virtual RMGC can test the control algorithm and map the movement process of the physical RMGC, and the crane operation monitoring system has high real-time performance and good visualization effect. In addition, the remote control of the software platform is accurate and effective.

The invention relates to a small logistics handling trolley based on omni-directional wheel movement

Through the research and analysis of the existing gantry crane and cantilever crane to unload and transport goods, at the same time the application of the characteristics of triangular stability, a combination of the advantages of the three; A triangular omnidirectional cantilever crane is designed and developed by using electric push rod instead of rope lifting and the most basic triangular body.

HD Camera-Equipped UAV Trajectory Planning for Gantry Crane Inspection

While Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can be a valuable solution for the damage inspection of port machinery infrastructures, their trajectories are still prone to collision risks, trajectory non-smoothness, and large deviations. This research introduces a trajectory optimization method for inspecting vulnerable parts of a gantry crane by a UAV fitted with a high-definition (HD) camera. We first analyze the vulnerable parts of a gantry crane, then use the A* algorithm to plan a path for the UAV. The trajectory optimization process is divided into two steps, the first is a trajectory correction method and the second is an objective function that applies a minimum snap method while taking into consideration flight corridor constraints. The experimental simulation results show that, compared with previous methods, our approach can not only generate a collision-free and smooth trajectory but also shorten the trajectory length significantly while substantially reducing the maximum deviation average deviation distances. The simulation results show that this modelling approach provides a valuable solution for UAV trajectory planning for gantry crane inspection.

An inversion‐based Feedback/Feedforward control for robust and precise payload positioning in gantry crane systems

AbstractThis paper deals with Feedback/Feedforward (FB/FF) control of a gantry crane system intended for the transport of payloads that take values over a known interval. It is also assumed that the crane is affected by unmeasurable disturbances. A new 2DoF control architecture is proposed whose purpose is to speed up the horizontal payload transition while minimizing its oscillations. The main features of the control design procedure are as follows: (1) The output FB controller is designed to ensure robust closed loop stability and steady‐state exact payload positioning; (2) the disturbance is estimated by means of an observer, and its transient effect is compensated through the FF action; and (3) the robust FF control action is given by the optimally weighted sum of the two contributions due to FF Plant Inversion (FFPI) and FF Closed Loop Inversion (FFCLI) control schemes.

Neural network-based boundary control of a gantry crane system subject to input deadzone and external disturbance

Neural network-based boundary control of a gantry crane system subject to input deadzone and external disturbance

Greenhouse gas mitigation measures for seaport sub-sector in Ho Chi Minh City

This article is based on surveying the current operating status of equipment/facilities at seaports in Ho Chi Minh City, the amount of fuel/energy consumed, along with the study of experiences in some countries in the region to assess the opportunity/potential to reduce GHG emissions when replacing with low emission equipment. Calculation results of GHG emission reductions when using electric gantry cranes (RTGs), LED lighting systems on the yard or installing solar panels together with the Measurement - Reporting - Verification (MRV) to monitor and evaluate GHG emission reductions for the seaport sector is presented at the end of the article.

An Efficient Adaptive Fuzzy Hierarchical Sliding Mode Control Strategy for 6 Degrees of Freedom Overhead Crane

The paper proposes a new approach to efficiently control a three-dimensional overhead crane with 6 degrees of freedom (DoF). Most of the works proposing a control law for a gantry crane assume that it has five output variables, including three positions of the trolley, bridge, and pulley and two swing angles of the hoisting cable. In fact, the elasticity of the hoisting cable, which causes oscillation in the cable direction, is not fully incorporated into the model yet. Therefore, our work considers that six under-actuated outputs exist in a crane system. To design an efficient controller for the 6 DoF crane, it first employs the hierarchical sliding mode control approach, which not only guarantees stability but also minimizes the sway and oscillation of the overhead crane when it transports a payload to a desired location. Moreover, the unknown and uncertain parameters of the system caused by its actuator nonlinearity and external disturbances are adaptively estimated and inferred by utilizing the fuzzy inference rule mechanism, which results in efficient operations of the crane in real time. More importantly, stabilization of the crane controlled by the proposed algorithm is theoretically proved by the use of the Lyapunov function. The proposed control approach was implemented in a synthetic environment for the extensive evaluation, where the obtained results demonstrate its effectiveness.

A rail-road transshipment yard picture

We develop a methodology for measuring the expected operational performance of the transshipment yard of a rail-road terminal. This includes the derivation of closed-form expressions for quantifying the expected crane cycle time and its variance under completely randomized operations of gantry cranes within its dedicated region. We also provide a method to measure the expected truck waiting times under cranes considering priority rules for truck service. An analysis of the performance measures shows the causes of inefficiencies and congestion sources. Our results show that non-synchronized operations have a notorious impact on transshipment yard performance, handling capacity and congestion.

Analysis Comparissons of Ereciton Girder Implementations Methods Using Laucher Gantry and Crawler Crane Based on Cost and Time

Toll road infrastructure work in recent years has been carried out, one of which is cimanggiscibitung toll road project which has Elevated work that requires methods that must be considered. This final task aims to find out the comparison in terms of cost and time of erection girder work method using Gantry Launcher and Crawler Crane and compare the two effective tools in erection girder work in Cimanggis-Cibitung Toll Road Construction project Section II Cibubur Area. The method of data collection is primary data and secondary data, then perform a comparative analysis in terms of cost and time on the erection girder method using Launcher Gantry and Crawler Crane by calculating cycle time and price unit index. Then the researchers used quantitative research method by disseminating questionnaires to experts who are employees of PT. Waskita Karya Tbk. who works in cimanggi-cibitung toll road construction project section II Cibubur area with variables that affect the effectiveness of Gantry Launcher and Crawler Crane tools on Erection Girder work. Then the data of thequestionnaire results are made for conclusion. The results of this study showed that erection girder method using Crawler Crane is faster and cheaper compared to Erection Girder using Gantry Launcher. Then from the results of the questionnaire Gantry Launcher tool gets a presentation of 80%. Of the 10 variables the question has already been asked. and from the results of the questionnaire crane crawler tool obtained a percentage of 88% of the 10 variables of questions already asked. Keywords: Erection Girder, Launcher Gantry, Crawler Crane.

Research on nonlinear coupled tracking controller for double pendulum gantry cranes with load hoisting/lowering

Gantry cranes have attracted extensive attention that are mostly simplified as nonlinear single pendulum systems without load hoisting/lowering. However, due to the existence of the hook in practice, gantry cranes produce double pendulum effect. With an extra underactuated degree of freedom, the anti-swing control of double pendulum gantry cranes becomes more difficult than that of single pendulum gantry cranes. Moreover, double pendulum gantry cranes with load hoisting/lowering may cause large swings, which lead to inaccurate positioning and low transportation efficiency. In this paper, a novel nonlinear coupled tracking anti-swing controller is proposed to solve these problems. The proposed controller can ensure the stable startup and operation of the trolley by introducing a smooth expected trajectory. In addition, a composite signal is constructed to suppress and eliminate the swing angles of the gantry crane system. The system stability is analyzed by utilizing Lyapunov techniques and Barbalat’s lemma. Theoretical derivation, simulation and experimental results indicate that the proposed controller suppresses and eliminates the hook/load swing angle effectively. Furthermore, it can achieve superior control effects and strong robustness against the changes of the load mass, trolley target displacement, initial rope lengths, initial system swing angles and external disturbances.

Joint dispatch of shipment equipment considering underground container logistics

With an increase in the container volume, the problems of container terminal congestion and resource shortage may become increasingly critical. To enhance the service of a container terminal, this article investigates a novel loading and unloading scheme that optimizes the underground container logistic system and configuration and scheduling of underground logistics vehicles, gantry cranes at the handling shaft, and automatically guided vehicles on the ground. First, a mathematical model of the problem is established with the objective function of minimizing the maximum completion time. In addition, another objective function of minimizing the total waiting time of the underground logistics vehicles at the handling shafts is considered to form a multiobjective cooperative optimization model. Second, the genetic algorithm is adopted to solve the single model, and the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-III derived from the genetic algorithm is applied to efficiently solve the multiobjective problem, and the corresponding performance is experimentally verified. To verify the correctness of the models and effectiveness of the algorithms, numerical experiments of different scales with the solutions of two transportation modes are illustrated. The sensitivity analysis proves that the underground logistics vehicle grouping transportation mode can significantly increase the operation efficiency of the underground container logistic system and container terminal. The “superiority” performance at different scales indicates that instance No. 6, which includes 96 containers, 3 gantry cranes and 8 automatic guided vehicles, has the maximum effect and highest performance in the underground logistics vehicle grouping mode. The experimental results and analysis demonstrate that the proposed method, which can select the configuration and scheduling scheme for an underground container logistic system, is rational and valid.

Assessment of port efficiency within Latin America

The Panama Canal expansion has influenced the development of ports within the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, intending to capitalise on economic opportunities through seaborne trade. Examining port performance is essential to ascertain the PCE impact on port efficiency within the LAC region. Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) was used to determine the technical efficiency of the 19 major ports within the LAC from 2010 to 2018. The result indicates that, among the four (4) port performance indicators (berth length, port area, the number of cranes (STS gantry and mobile), and the number of berths), the number of STS gantry cranes and berth length had the largest and most significant impact. Some ports with high technical efficiency experienced TEU losses despite port infrastructural development and privatization. The findings also revealed that the increased competition among regional and US East and Gulf Coast ports has negatively impacted some LAC ports’ TEU volumes due to port proximity. The dynamism of the maritime sector, especially containerization, requires ports to implement value-added services and logistics centers in tandem with port performance indicators to remain sustainable and competitive in the maritime industry.

Assessing Seismic Performance of Gantry Crane Subjected to Near-Field Ground Motions Using Incremental Dynamic and Endurance Time Analysis Methods

Assessing the seismic performance of the gantry crane is significant since the structure is more vulnerable to earthquakes with the increase in size and lifting weight capacity. This paper aims to investigate the seismic response of the gantry crane incorporating near-field ground motions using incremental dynamic and endurance time analysis (IDA and ETA) methods. To model the structure accurately, a nonlinear finite element model of the gantry crane considering the viscoelastic effect is developed in the OpenSees platform. Then, the IDA method is also carried out for a comparison with the ETA method. The results of the two methods are consistent with a correlation of 93.9% while the computational demand of the ETA method is much less than those of the IDA method. To study further, both the seismic incident angle and the application of viscous dampers using the Maxwell model are analyzed and discussed in detail. The results show that seismic incident angle has a distinct influence on the maximum seismic displacement and viscous dampers can significantly reduce the seismic demand of the gantry crane. These findings support the seismic design of gantry cranes and evaluate the structural seismic performance efficiently.

Multiobjective Scheduling for Cooperative Operation of Multiple Gantry Cranes in Railway Area of Container Terminal

Railway station plays an important role in improving the operation efficiency of rail-sea intermodal container terminal. The cooperative scheduling of multiple gantry cranes (GCs) can reduce the production and operation cost of railway station. Most studies look into discarding the conflict schemes of GCs, which may obtain excellent scheduling results. These existing conflict-free strategies can not contribute to enhancing the cooperative scheduling performance of multiple GCs. This study integrates container trucks into multiple GCs scheduling environment to eliminate those conflicts, and proposes a mixed-integer programming model considering cooperation between multiple GCs and trucks. The model aims to simultaneously minimize the makespan of the container handling system in station, the total empty travel time of GCs and the total energy consumption of both cranes and trucks. To solve the proposed model, a conflict-free operation strategy for multiple GCs based on hybrid indirect loading and unloading (CFHI) is proposed. CFHI strategy is implemented according to the cooperation between GCs and trucks. An effective multi-objective artificial bee colony algorithm (EMOABC) based on CFHI and fuzzy correlation entropy (FCE) is developed. Within the developed algorithm, an encoding/decoding method based on CFHI is designed to represent and decode the population solutions. The FCE is adopted to evaluate and select the better solutions for next iteration evolution. The effectiveness of the proposed CFHI strategy is verified by comparing it with two popular equipment allocation strategies. Extensive experimental results show that proposed EMOABC is effective to the proposed model. Our findings here have significant implications for the cooperative operation of multiple GCs considering energy consumption in container terminal.

Инновационная технология терминальной переработки контейнеров

The article discusses a new technology of terminal processing of container traffic, which involves direct transfer of containers by rail mounted gantry cranes between groups of railcars instead of additional shunting procedures for their selection before supplying and withdrawal at loading and unloading railway tracks. In order to implement the accessibility to the gantry crane span, the additional loading and unloading railway track is introduced, intended to discard incoming containers by a gantry crane and their transhipment to the trains marshalling in the specific destination. This technology is applicable in the organization of container trains in regional distribution and storage centers and in the implementation of modal container block-trains with loading and unloading procedures in the same direction. Based on the analysis of technical development of the terminal network, the opportunity of implementing the proposed approach on Russian railways has been provided. The effect of this innovative technology is proposed to be evaluated from the perspective of decreasing the duration of rolling stock handling and, accordingly, reducing the operating costs of a terminal. The simulation of the terminal processing time of a container flow with the traditional and new approaches was carried out on the basis of the Monte Carlo method. On the basis of modeling, the dependence of the magnitude effect size on the number of the containers transhipped is determined.

What can a line of sight tell us? Working with a gantry crane at 50 m above ground level

With the support of gantry crane operators who load and unload containers between vessels and trailers, we visualized the gap in the line of sight between beginners and experienced operators. The aim was to explore training methods for skills transfer. Through an analysis of eye-movement data, we found that the working environment at 50 m above ground level was psychologically oppressive, so the beginners had an imbalanced gaze to the vital parts of the object. On the other hand, experienced operators made efforts to collect information by widening their gaze range.When it comes to training, in a stressful environment, too much input may instead lead to panic for beginners. Gradually expanding the scope of the inputs becomes important. In addition, beginners also need to carefully imitate the experienced operators in focusing on objects, so that they may truly grasp the skills.

Dynamic Warehouse Environments for Crane Stacking and Scheduling

Dynamic optimization is of high practical relevance for many production and logistics processes. Often however, in research, the dynamics are neglected and an algorithm or optimization is presented for a static decision scenario. The effects that occur with implementing decisions one by one in a dynamic environment subject to other dynamic events have not received as much attention as static problem scenarios. We think this is in part due to the increased complexity of describing a dynamic environment and parameterizing it in a meaningful way. In this publication we present three dynamic environments in the context of warehouse logistics where manipulation occurs by gantry cranes. Our scenarios are heavily inspired by real-world steel logistics operations. We provide free open source implementations of these dynamic environments.