We will need a bigger crane-HOIST Magazine

2021-11-25 08:53:43 By : Ms. Katherine ZHU

Air Technical Industries has developed a custom crane for handling particularly dangerous cargo-live sharks in an aquarium in New York.

The New York City Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) needed a system to move sharks weighing 600 pounds from one pool to another.

Due to potential isolation requirements, sharks cannot swim from one swimming pool to another, and the system must ensure that the operation of removing each shark from the outdoor swimming pool does not disturb the sensitive indoor environment. The pool is also fully offset, adding further challenges.

The company said that in order to meet the requirements of the project, Air Technical Industries (ATI) manufactured the first continuous double-track serpentine crane system of its kind. Cranes need to extend their service life in the harsh environment of saltwater pools with damp seawater and provide animal-friendly designs. This involves a smooth movement that keeps the shark calm, the trolley moves at a continuous but slow speed, so that the aquarium staff can walk with the moving shark without running, and a lowered movement to move the shark Gently put it in the water without splashing.

The materials used also do not interfere with the pH or oxygen level of the water to ensure that the environment in the aquarium is as natural as possible for the sharks.

Initially, the engineers and architects of the cooperative project considered the use of a snake-shaped mobile floor crane double-track system, but this was considered to require too much and already limited ground space, and they were also worried that if they were not used correctly, the crane could roll into the pool. .

ATI proposed an overhead crane and assigned the engineering team to develop a system that can accommodate extremely low headroom heights of less than 8 feet. When ATI analyzes the cumulative clearance requirements for floor clearance, animals in seat belts, sling/belt devices, crane beam height, trolleys and crane height under the beam, the calculations show that the clearance is insufficient for traditional trolleys and lifting systems . In addition, the path of the bridge is a potential problem-a standard bridge crane system running laterally is not suitable for the project because the pools are staggered and the gates are positioned between the pools.

Therefore, ATI has developed an S-shaped double girder overhead crane track with a unique zero-headroom elevator and trolley system, the company said. The hoist is directly built into the trolley, reducing the headspace requirement, and only the hook is suspended below.

The track has a total length of 100 feet and covers nearly 94 feet end-to-end—including an 8-foot track that leads from the access door, allowing cranes to lift animals into and out of the street loading area.

To ensure that the crane does not contaminate the pool, ATI designed and manufactured the trolley with 316 stainless steel to improve corrosion resistance. The hoist adopts food-grade epoxy resin coating, washing motor and stainless steel lifting chain and hook. All lubricants used are non-toxic and environmentally friendly, while the bridge system is made of traditional carbon steel and coated with marine-grade powder coating to resist salt water corrosion. Trolley travel may be the biggest challenge in the entire project,” explained Vida Novak, ATI's chief engineer.

"The trolley had to be much longer than originally expected, which increased the wheelbase. This made it very difficult to navigate on the curve of the track. After making several adjustments to the trolley and even trying to pivot the rollers, we Saw a slight improvement, but the trolley was still stuck. In the end, we decided that it needed to be upgraded, so we converted the trolley into a'four-wheel drive', so that all the wheels can run smoothly and easily on the curve of the track. "

ATI added that when the water in the pool needs to be changed, when new animals arrive, or when sharks are transported to the doctor's appointment for vitamins, X-rays, or tests, the shark crane is still in regular use at the New York Aquarium.

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