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Automation of ship-to-shore container cranes: A review of state-of-the-art

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 Automation of Ship-To-Shore
Container Cranes: A Review of State-
Nenad Zrnić
Teaching Assistant
of-the-Art
Zoran Petković The paper gives the state-of-the-art of automation of ship-to-shore (STS)
Professor
container cranes, as the biggest investments in the port terminal system.
The automation techniques increase the productivity of the ship-to-shore
Srđan Bošnjak container crane, and consequently increase the port terminal efficiency, as
Associate Professor an integral part of logistic network. The paper also shows a short survey of
some most important and recent researches in control of ship-to-shore
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering cranes, and main principles of operation of antisway currently existing
University of Belgrade
devices.

Keywords: ship- to-shore container cranes, automation, control, antisway,

efficiency, productivity

1. INTRODUCTION and automatic controls.

The STS container crane presents for itself a complex
The competitive world economy, and the increasing system, but at the same time is a part (Elementary Sub
performance expectations of customer lead to a demand System, ESS) of the port terminal system, Figure 1 [2].
for low cost, rapid and dependable shipping of cargo.
The development of efficient, automated, high- Ship operation planning
technology loading/unloading equipment has the
potential of considerably improving the performance of
terminal operations. Advances in ship-to-shore (STS)
container cranes technologies, as the major part and the Quayside equipment Ship-to-shore container cranes
biggest investment (capital costs for container cranes
are 70 % of total costs in ports [1], of the cargo storage
and retrieval system, have a significant effect on the y Mechanical system - driving
Yard equipment
efficiency of port terminal operations once properly mechanisms
y Structural system - supporting
implemented [2]. Today, any port wishing to be at the structure
forefront of terminal operations and container handling y Electrical and Control System
should be able to reduce to a minimum the time that the
ship is docked in the berth. The fact of assuring the Figure 1. An outline of port terminal system
shipping companies of having a port terminal with a
high quality and a fast service of movement of cargo, by STS container crane productivity has always been
means of more and faster cranes, facilitates one of the critical components of terminal productivity.
competitiveness by showing higher productivity [3]. But the crane is only one of the terminal elements that
The expansion of multimodal transport has led many controls production. Within the next decade crane
ports (even smaller ports because generally 80 % of productivity may become the limiting component of the
costs are independent of volume of cargo handled in terminal production [6]. Increasing productivity is
container operations [1] to make capital investments in always desirable, but for large ships is necessary. Vessel
facilities, considering automated container handling turnaround time depends on [7]:
systems. The purpose is to increase the speed and - Vessel and crane parameters;
efficiency of handling containers. The transfer of cargo - Operating parameters;
between ships and ground transportation remains an - Container yard performances.
expensive and time-consuming activity. The need for It will take nearly four days to service a 12000 TEU
faster loading is reflected in the current trend toward ship exchanging 75% of its containers, using 6 assigned
faster, higher-powered motors and better drives [4]. For cranes producing 30 lifts an hour [5]. Increasing
the years many authors have been researching and productivity to 55 lifts an hour cuts the turnaround time
developing ways to make STS cranes transfer containers to a little less than two days. In Table 1 are presented
faster and more safely through computerized anti-sway some typical turnaround times for various vessels and
crane lifts per hour [5]. Some improvements increase
Received: April 2005, Accepted: September 2005. production incrementally, by 5-20%, and other
Correspondence to: Nenad Zrnić improvements make a quantum jump, by 25-40%. This
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, paper deals merely with the increasing of port terminal
Kraljice Marije 16, 11120 Belgrade 35, Serbia and Montenegro productivity, as a part of logistic network, due to
E-mail: [email protected] automation of STS crane. Automation continues to

© Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Belgrade. All rights reserved FME Transactions (2005) 33, 111-121 111
evolve and will continue to improve productivity, load. However, it should be noticed, this is nearly twice
although marginally to some other solutions that will long as for the 40 seconds case [5].
not be discussed in this paper.
Table 2. Frequency versus Period

Table 1. Vessel Turnaround Time vs. Lifts per Hour

Frequency: Lifts per Hour 30 45 60 75 90

Vessel Size TEU 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 Period: Seconds per Lift 120 80 60 48 40
No. of Cranes 4.0 5.0 6.0 6.0
Lifts per Hour Vessel Turnaround Time, Hours
More current STS cranes control systems depend on
20 96 103 107 129
the skill of the operators to put the load in the right
place, quickly and safely. Full crane automation, from
30 64 69 71 86
ship to shore, may be the answer to greater crane speeds
40 48 51 54 64
and productivity demands [9]. The higher operating
50 39 41 43 51
speeds make, the control task more difficult [4]. This is
60 32 34 36 43
Parameters: 1.75 TEU per lift. Turnover 75%. Two eight
difficult to achieve for several reasons: accuracy will be
hour shifts/day required to automatically pick a container from a ship,
Figure 3 [10], and set it on a truck on the quay, Figure 4
For simplicity, Ship-To-Shore cranes are usually [11]; the new container cranes have increasing degrees
discussed as an isolated entity (ESS), without regard to of automation that increase crane productivity [9]. The
the yard capabilities. The STS crane production realization of automation for the cranes at container
numbers are based on the assumption, unrealistic today, terminal has been delayed compared with indoor service
that the yard can keep up with the crane, i.e. assuming cranes caused by various problems at the outdoors
the quay operation is always able to deliver and remove environment.
a container when the crane needs to be serviced [5]. In
most terminals, the actual productivity is between 65
and 80 percent of the computed number, and the crane
numbers are calculated using simulation programs.
Simulation programs often use random times for dwell
times, and calculated times for travel times. Figure 2
presents an example of half-cycle timeline, but this is
only a small portion of the simulated operation [5]. The
timeline in Figure 2 presents the cycle time from the
wharf to the inside the ship's hold. The hoist and trolley
times are parallel and the dwell times are in series. The
longer parallel times governs. The travel times vary, and
depending on the location of the container the hoist or
trolley time will govern [5]. Figure 3. Schematical drawing of crane operation

For the Ship-To-Shore container handling crane, the

main objection to achieving the full automation is that
relative position of the ship to the crane could not be
surely recognized due to the ship’s rolling motion.

Figure 2. An Example Half-Cycle Timeline

The productivity is usually discussed in terms of lifts

per hour, i.e. frequency "f" [7, 8]. To better evaluate
productivity, it should be given the inverse relationship,
i.e. hours per lifts, or seconds per lift. This value is
reciprocal to the frequency, and presents the period, T =
1/f. Although, this calculation is very simple, Table 2
presents the illustration of the difficulty in attempting to
decrease period as the period decreases. Considering Figure 4. A “desired” trajectory of container
that dwell times, starting and stopping motions, finding
spots on the vessel and quay, and checking clearances, 2. BASIC FACTS ON THE AUTOMATION OF STS
whether automatically or manually, takes about 30 s, it CONTAINER CRANES
can be seen that to achieve e.g. 40-second, only 10
seconds is available to actually move the load. Even a The fact that the STS cranes should be quicker,
48 seconds period leaves only 18 seconds to move the larger and more efficient force both the manufacturer

112 ▪ VOL. 33, No 3, 2005 FME Transactions

and terminal operator to incorporate to the equipment differently than the operator expected. The perception to
some automation for the repetitive process of handling the crane operator is that something is wrong with the
containers. Automation is also another important aspect crane controls. Trained operators usually switched the
of the container crane becoming a conglomerate of antisaway system off because they are more efficient
sophisticated elements of high added value consisting of when operating the crane without using it, but beginner
specialized software and hardware [3]. Productivity is operators prefer to use it. It is not uncommon for the
highly improved by automation because the crane anti-sway devices to be permanently disabled in order to
operator sits in the cabin during long periods of time satisfy the crane operator. It is possible that, given
just looking down and moving containers from one side enough time and patience, the crane operator would
to the other, and the repetitive task becomes so routine become used to the feel of the anti-sway control system,
that it produces discomfort and fatigue [3]. The result is because, even very skilled operators, when the task
also boredom that easily turns into the cause of becomes routine for extended period of time, prefers to
accidents, thus including delays in the handling of loads. use antisway device, in order to relax from repetitive
The basic common types of semi-automated and operations and therefore concentrate on other activities
automated cranes are [12]: of the container handling tasks. The outline of the
- Cranes with Anti-Sway Systems; classification of existing quay cranes (three different
- Cranes with Automatic Positioning Systems; types, according to [12], due to their degree of
- Cranes with Automatic and Smart Spreaders. automation, is shown in Figure 5 [13].

2.1. Cranes with Anti-Sway Systems

The pressure on the port terminal by the shipping

companies to release vessels as fast as possible is used
by port operators to specify that the cranes shall be
supplied with an antisway system. Antisway systems are
now common in newer STS cranes and most
specifications for container cranes around the world
contain requirements for computer antisway [4]. These
cranes are equipped with special control systems for
killing sway. Most antisway systems can be installed
without requiring major modifications of the crane. The
behavior of the crane with antisway device is
completely different from that the cranes without it or
with the antisway system off [3]. An industrial
computer reads the operator's speed and position
commands from the control stick and sends appropriate
modified commands to the motor drive to control sway
while allowing the operator to maintain manual control.
The computer measures the acceleration and
deceleration of the trolley to match the pendulum
period, so that the crane catches the load with no sway
at the end of the move. Automatic moves to position the
spreader are handled in a similar way. Antisway
systems can be either feedforward or feedback, where Figure 5. Classification of cranes by their degree of
feedforward means that no independent measurements automation
of load sway are required. Such feedforward systems,
by definition, cannot remove sway caused by external 2.2. Cranes with Automatic Positioning Systems
forces because the computer has no way of determining (APS)
the magnitude or phase of the sway. However, such
systems reliably limit sway to less than 15 centimeters One of the main causes of delays during container
[4]. For finer control, some methods of measuring the loading/unloading is the positioning of the chassis so
position and velocity of the spreader are required. But that container and chassis properly mate or the
the pure feedback systems have not proven effective in positioning of the container so that the flippers on the
practice [4]. Anti-sway devices are not without spreader bar can mate precisely. The current positioning
controversy. Most crane operators at commercial ports technique involves the cooperation of the hostler or
around the world are highly skilled and take great pride crane operator with human spotters who communicate
in their ability to work productively. Some types of anti- with each other with hand and voice signals. A
sway devices are disruptive to the crane operator in that technology called automatic positioning systems (APS)
the devices take control away from the crane operator, has been introduced which minimizes this positioning
sometimes unexpectedly. In these cases the crane difficulty [12]. Manufacturers Wagner and August
operator would be trying to make a move and the anti- Design have demonstrated systems that measure the
sway device would kick in causing the load to move relative position of chassis and container beneath

FME Transactions VOL. 33, No 3, 2005 ▪ 113

cranes. Manufacturer Matson and others have used occurs. If the fulcrum now stops suddenly, then there
vision systems to position straddle carriers beneath will be residual sway. Unless there is significant friction
cranes. The automatic positioning systems are equipped or something else to stop it, it will keep swaying for a
with sensors such as cameras and machine vision long time. With well-timed fulcrum movements, it is
systems with specially designed software. In the August possible to reduce this residual sway but it takes time.
Design system, the machine vision processes the images When an actual crane is operated, the unavoidable
provided by the cameras and locates the twist locks on movements of the trolley and the container lead to sway
the chassis. Using this information, a control signal is and the operator has to trade off speed and fine
transmitted to the crane or hostler operator using either positioning with sway [12].
LED displays or other means of communication. The
control signals transmitted provide the crane operator
with information on how to move and do the alignment.

2.3. Cranes with automatic and smart spreaders

Another technique for reducing the positioning

difficulty of the spreader bar is the so-called automatic
spreader. Automatic spreaders are equipped with
electro-hydraulic controls for automatic rotation of the
twist locks by 90 degrees for locking the spreader into
the container. The most advanced technology in this
area is the Bromma Smart Spreader used for
loading/unloading two twenty-foot containers
simultaneously [12]. Seven sensors located at the center
of the specially designed spreader are used to detect the Figure 6. An outline of STS crane in operation
existence of any gap between the containers. Using the
information provided by the sensors, the spreader
expands or retracts accordingly. Special attention is
given for impact avoidance. The automatic positioning
system automatically adjusts the length positioning of
the spreader in the event of an impact. If a particularly
hard impact causes the telescopic ends of the spreader to
be pushed in or out, the spreader will automatically
expand or retract to return the spreader to its original
position.

3. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ANTI-SWAY SYSTEMS

OPERATION

Figure 7. First simplification of trolley model

Before analyzing the problem, further is presented a
simplified description of the sway problem. A large STS
container crane with Rope Towed Trolley system is
presented in Figure 6 [14]. The first simplication of the
trolley system is presented in Figure 7 [15]. For
analyzing sway problem, a simplified crane model is
often used, consisting of a weight suspended on a long
string. This final simplification is presented in Figure 8
[16]. Such a system acts very much like a pure
pendulum. This approximation is frequently used,
although the period of container sway is not exactly
accure. The exact expression for period of sway is
presented in [17]. In a frictionless environment, once
the weight is offset from the vertical, it will swing back
Figure 8. Final simplification of trolley model
to a point just as far on the other side and keep doing
that forever. The length of time it takes for the weight to The most existing STS container cranes use the
get back to the same position on every cycle is called simplest “bang – bang” control technique that will be
the pendulum period. The period is dependent only on discussed in further text. If the motion of the fulcrum is
the length of the pendulum and has nothing to do with controlled properly, then the sway can be eliminated
how much weight is attached. In the real world, there is from the accelerations at both ends. In this case the
always some air friction on the string and the weight, so fulcrum is first accelerated to half the speed and, one-
the heavier the weight, the more it acts like a frictionless half period later, it is accelerated to full speed, Figure 9
pendulum. If the weight is stationary and the top of the (the three lines, respectively from the top are: trolley
cable (called the fulcrum) starts to move, then sway also speed reference, trolley speed reference via speed

114 ▪ VOL. 33, No 3, 2005 FME Transactions

pattern system, and sway angle). If this is done 2. In many cases the use of antisway systems has a
precisely, then the weight will be hanging straight down negative effect on productivity, which lead the
below the fulcrum, Figure 10 [12]. Stopping sway is just operators to switch the antisway off;
the reverse procedure: slow to half speed and then wait 3. From a mathematical point of view, simple control
one-half pendulum period before stopping. So, the strategies, as “bang – bang”, may lead to
acceleration is in two pulses, allowing the load to catch instabilities or poor performance when applied to
up with the trolley. The deceleration is also in two complicated nonlinear systems.
pulses, letting the load get first ahead of the trolley and
then the trolley catches up with the load. The load is
being lowered rapidly at the end of the move [12].

Figure 12. The stepped velocity pattern

Figure 9. Speed reference pattern

Figure 10. The bang-bang sway problem

Figure 13. The notched velocity pattern

For mentioned reasons it is necessary to reshape the

standard trapezoidal velocity pattern [13]. The
traversing time of the trolley must be reduced as much
as possible and the swing of the spreader must be
stopped at the end point. For these requirements, usually
the traversing interval is divided into three parts such as
accelerating interval, the constant speed interval, and
the decelerating interval [18]. The modification of
trapezoidal velocity pattern is presented in Figure 11.
Table 3. Speed and acceleration performances of large STS
container cranes

Acceleration Deceleration
Mode Speed
times times
Hoisting with 70
2,0 s 1,5 s
rated load m/min

Figure 11. The modification of standard trapezoidal velocity

Hoisting with 100
2,0 s 1,5 s
pattern 40 t container m/min
Hoisting with 180
4,0 s 3,0 s
However, an actual crane is not as simple as spreader only m/min
pendulum. The actual crane dynamics is highly 250
Trolley drive 5,0 s 5,0 s
nonlinear, and due to the effect of human operator quite m/min
unpredictable. This has three implications:
A comparison of most suitable velocity patterns is
1. Due to the system nonlinearities and operator given in Figures, 12, and 13 [16, 19].
interference, the antisway system may not improve, Finally, in the container terminals the requirement of
and even in some cases worsen the crane faster cargo handling leads to higher speeds and higher
performances; accelerations in the motion of the crane. For example,

FME Transactions VOL. 33, No 3, 2005 ▪ 115

some of these values for large container cranes are problem was solved analytically. Minimum – time
given in Table 3 [20]. control was also considered in [25], where an approach
was proposed that converts the control problem of
4. A SHORT REVIEW OF STS CONTAINER CRANES crane, having simultaneous traverse and hoisting
CONTROL RESEARCHES motion, into a finite dimensional problem via control
parameterization with an appropriate basic function.
The basic scheme for the feedback control of STS Such approach simplifies the treatment of the
crane systems and damping of vibrations (involving constraints and allows for the easy satisfaction of the
both payload and structure) is shown in Figure 14 [21, endpoint constraints. In [18], the crane system with two
22] trolleys (Figure 15) was proposed and demonstrated for
the experimental results. This is done for the reason to
Crane / Load avoid the problem controlled by the separation of the
Actuators Sensors
dynamics traversing interval.

Control
System

Figure 14. General feedback configuration for vibrations

damping

It is worthwhile to mention some of the following

basic researches in control of container cranes, not
stringently in order of publication date. In [23], a
dynamical model of a container crane was derived
which is equipped with a hoist motor and a trolley drive
motor. The considered problem was to transfer a Figure 15. Crane system with double trolleys
container to the desired place as quickly as possible,
since a large swing of the container load during the In [26], a two-stage control of container cranes has
transfer is dangerous, while minimizing the swing of the been investigated. The first stage control is a modified
container during transfer, as well as the swing at the end time – optimal control with feedback for the purpose of
of the transfer. On the basis of dynamical model the fast trolley traveling. The second stage control is a
optimal control of the motors was calculated. Several nonlinear control for the quick suppression of the
fundamental types of motion of the crane were residual sway while lowering the container at the target
specified; such their combination gives the efficient trolley position. The secondary control combines the
overall operation of the crane. They consist of vertical partial feedback linearization to account for the
motion, horizontal motion, and diagonal motion. In unknown nonlinearities as much as possible and the
vertical motion, the container, which is originally at variable structure control to account for the unmodeled
rest, is hoisted vertically with the maximum torque up to dynamics and disturbances. The nonlinear control is
some point, where it has the maximum upward velocity. investigated from the perspective of controlling an
In the horizontal motion the trolley runs at the underactuated mechanical systems. In [27], time –
maximum velocity, and the container runs at a constant efficient feedforward controls of input shaping has been
height from the earth surface keeping the swing angle proposed in order to reduce the residual vibrations for
equal to zero. The diagonal motion connects the vertical container crane systems. Considering the change of rope
motion with the horizontal motion. The time – optimal length by the hoist, several versions of input shaping
control of the vertical motion can be calculated easily. control have been evaluated and compared over a wide
The problem was to calculate the optimal control of the range of parameters. The proposed time – efficient input
diagonal motion, where the optimal trajectory should shapes for container cranes are more effective than
satisfy specified initial and terminal conditions. The conventional shapers in maneuver time and intensivity
dynamic model is derived by using Lagrange’s range. Also, the time – efficient input shapers relax the
equations. In [24], the minimum time transfer of a load, tradeoff relationship in maneuver time and insensitivity
suspended from a trolley by ropes, from an initial point range. The proposed input shaping control for container
at rest to a terminal point where it is required to be at cranes modelled as linear time – varying (LTV) systems
rest again, has been investigated by controlling both the does not yield exactly zero residual vibrations. When
traversing motion of the trolley and the hoisting motion the change of rope length by the hoist is small, this
of the load. Special care was given to the modeling of method yields essentially zero residual vibrations. The
the mechanical and electrical features of the system. cycle of the crane is divided into four paths, Figure 16.
Mathematically, a boundary value problem with The four paths are described separately for the
constraints both in the control and state variables has purpose of facilitating understanding of the semi-
been given. Necessary and sufficient conditions for time automatic modes. In actual semi - automatic operation
optimal solutions are derived using an extension of the mode, the four paths are continuous and at times
Pontryagin maximum principle. The nonlinear control overlapping (AB-hoisting up, manual mode, BC-

116 ▪ VOL. 33, No 3, 2005 FME Transactions

hoisting up and traveling of the trolley, auto mode, CD- Dynamics of
traveling of the trolley, auto mode, DE-hoisting down, container
manual mode. In [28], a modified input shaping control cranes
methodology has been presented to restrict the swing
angle of the payload within a specified value during the
Dynamics of interaction Dynamics of
transfer as well to minimize the residual vibration at the structure trolley-structure load
end – point. The conventional method was enhanced by
adding one more constraint to limit the transient sway
Vertical vibrations
angle within a specified value using the sway angle of girder due to
based on a linear time – invariant system. In [29] the the moving load
numerical aspects of sensitivity analysis were presented
Excessive sway of
for the problem of optimal control of container crane gantry frame in
with a state constraint on the vertical velocity. The the trolley tavel
multiple shooting method has been used to determine a direction
nominal solution satisfying first order necessary
Wind gusts,
conditions. In [30], a constrained predictive control excitation due to
setup which considers an exponentially decaying rate the wind pulsation
bound on the control action has been applied to the
feedback linearized model of a crane container, Seismic effects,
earthquakes
resulting in a stable motion with acceptable tracking
performance. A fuzzy approach of the control problem
Figure 17. Basic outline of crane dynamics
has been applied in references [15, 16, 31, 32], also as
the use of Genetic Algorithms in [21], but these, not .
often used, approaches would not be explained in this
paper. Excitation
Sensors
Structural control problems arise from the various mov. load
dynamic problems. The basic outline of dynamics of
quayside container cranes is shown in Figure 17 [20].
It is important to know that two basic structural Structure Control
Controller
STS crane Actuators
phenomena in quayside crane dynamics, i.e. vertical
vibrations of girder, due to the motion of trolley with
load, and excessive sway of moment resistant gantry
frame in the trolley travel direction are both the Response
Deflection
consequence of dynamic interaction between trolley, Forces
Sensors
hanging load and crane’s supporting structure [36]. Moments
These two problems are the most significant low
frequency – large displacement dynamic problems with Figure 18. Block diagram of structural control problem
the entire quayside crane structure, and could be solved
in practice by applying structural control to suppress
vertical vibrations of girder and excessive sway of 5. STRUCTURAL DESIGN FOR AUTOMATION
gantry frame. Further considerations of structural design
for automation will be shown in Section 5 of this paper. Full crane automation, from ship to shore, may be
The basic diagram of structural control problem is the answer to greater crane speeds and productivity
presented in Figure 18 [33], implemented to the demands. This is difficult to achieve for several reasons:
problem of structural control of crane due to the moving accuracy will be required to automatically pick a
load container from a ship and set it on a truck on the quay;
the new container cranes have increasing degrees of
automation that increase crane productivity. For
automation to operate correctly, the location of all
system components must be known. For fixed object,
this is an easy task [34]. For moving objects, such as the
crane structure flexing with the movement of the trolley,
the task becomes more difficult. One approach is to
require a very stiff structure with strict deflection limits.
A stiff structure helps with load control and provides an
easier ride for the operator. A detailed structural design
process is required to minimize the weight and optimize
the geometry and sections. The alternative is to account
for crane movement in the load control system design
and not specify deflection limits. This requires more
complex software, but will result in a lighter crane
Figure 16. Path planning: Four stages of operation cycle structure. The rigid structure of a crane is presented in

FME Transactions VOL. 33, No 3, 2005 ▪ 117

Figure 19 [35]. This structure provides deflection limits control is automatic, the falls should be nearly vertical,
in all three directions at the outreach. The deflections Figure 21 [11].
and major members that contribute to those deflections
are tabulated in Table 4, according to data given in [34]

Figure 19. Rigid structure mega crane by Mitsubishi Heavy

Industries
Figure 21. Types of reeving

Table 4. Deflection requirements for a rigid STS container For rigid reeving the swing period depends on the
crane spring stiffness of the reeving and tributary mass. When
Calculated Contributing effects on load is eccentric, the effective mass is not the same at
Direction both ends of the container, but the stiffness of the falls is
deflection members
Stretch of the backstay the same, so the swinging period is different at each
Perpendicular to
4 mm Bending of the portal end, and the load tends to yaw. For vertical falls, the
gantry rails
frame period depends only on the length of the falls. The
Elongation of the difference in mass at each end does not affect the
Vertical 128 mm forestay period, the load does not yaw and trolley motion alone
Stretch of the backstay can eliminate sway. Containers tend to yaw on rigid
Parallel to Rotational stiffness of
reeving and swing on flexible falls. So the reeving that
gantry 49 mm the crane
rails Stiffness of the boom is best for manual control (Figure 22) is not suitable for
automatic control, and visa versa [22]. A new problem
To be super productive, sway (list) and yaw (skew) has developed for load control on Post-Panamax cranes
need to be controlled, where sway is swinging in the with vertical falls. The dynamic interaction between the
direction of trolley travel, and yaw is rotation about the frame, the trolley, and the load can be problematic,
vertical axis [36]. Micro motions of container (possible) Figure 23 [22]. If the natural period of the frames is one
are shown in Figure 20 [37]. half the period of the hanging load, the motion of the
trolley that is expected to control swat will instead
excite the frame. The frame period depends on the mass
and stiffness of the frame. For vertical falls, the natural
period of the hanging load is about 5 or 6 seconds. For
inclined falls the period is less. For typical Panamax
cranes, designed for moderate stowed winds, the natural
period of the frame in the trolley travel direction is
about 1.5 seconds, and dynamic resonance is not the
problem.

LOAD CONTROL "GRAVITY"

"BEST CASE"
1

2
TROLLEY
ACCELERATING

Figure 20. Possible micro-motions of container

1 period
LOAD
Sway and yaw may be controlled by using rigid TRAVELING

reeving. Trolley motions may be controlled

automatically by an electronic anti-sway system,
manually by the crane operator, or by a combination of DECELERATING
both. When semi and fully automatic crane operation is
achieved, which will happen during the next years,
automatic sway control will be required. If sway control
is manual, the rigid reeving is desirable. For rigid
reeving the main falls should be inclined. But, if sway Figure 22. The “best” case of load control

118 ▪ VOL. 33, No 3, 2005 FME Transactions

 6. CONCLUSION

The construction industry is relatively still slow in

implementing advanced technology to improve safety.
Current practice requires that control of the Ship-to-
Shore container cranes’ dynamic behavior is the
responsibility of a skilled operator. The operator applies
corrective measures based on experience when any
undesirable swaying is detected. The absence of
automated sensing and control not only leave room for
accidents arising because of human error and/or delayed
response of the operator, but also can greatly reduce the
productivity of the cranes’ operation, also as the
productivity of a whole port terminal representing a
complex system whose most important and most
expensive part is a Ship-to-Shore container crane. There
is also a potential danger of an exaggerated response,
Figure 23. Dynamic interaction load - structure
which will lead to an uncontrollable load swing. The
For Post-Panamax cranes the mass is significantly biggest source of dynamic forces is the pendulum
increased, especially at the trolley level, and stiffness is motion of the loaded spreader suspended by cables. In
reduced because the portal height is increased. The future port terminal flexible transportation systems (like
frame period is increased to about 2.5 or 3 seconds. So, in flexible manufacturing systems [39], material
the ratio of frame period to the load period is about one- handling devices, specially Ship-to-Shore container
half, the worst case. When the operator or computer cranes, should also be automated by computer control
attempts to control swing, the trolley acceleration forces (much like machine tools). Container loading
excite the frame instead of controlling the load. This automation investments will continue to increase
effect can be reduced by changing the controls. But the efficiency of ports supplemented by improved
best solution is to design a crane to avoid the infrastructure for storing and transferring containers on
undesirable ratio. The natural period of the frame in the the landside. Precise control of the spreader and load is
trolley travel direction should be about 1,5 seconds or only possible by using mathematically correct
less. This can be economically achieved by increasing algorithms and properly implemented sensor systems.
the depth of the legs and the portal tie [36], or by portal We can expect some other more sophisticated control
frame stiffening, Figures 24 and 25 [20, 22]. solutions in future researches. The main utility of this
paper is to show a short survey of researches in control
strategies of Ship-to-Shore container cranes and to
present the state-of-the-art of quay cranes automation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This paper is a part of researches, in the Program of

Technological Development, done in the project TR
6344 "Research, development, and construction of
machines for handling and stocking of containers and
bulk materials", financially supported by Serbian
Ministry of Science.

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