LEEA Correspondence Courses

ASSIGNMENT 5.5
TOTAL MARK 52%

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Name: Obi Joseph Tochukwu Student number: 7447

Answer the following questions by typing into the grey fields. The fields will expand to accommodate your
answer but keep your answers as brief as possible. The marks allocated to each question are shown and
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1. A runway beam 8 metres long is built into a wall at one end and supported on a goalpost
structure 6.5 metres from the wall. With the SWL at the end of the cantilever the
measured deflection is 7mm, the deflection of the cross support is 2mm.

a) What is the actual deflection of the cantilever?

Actual deflection of a cantilever = measured deflection - (deflection of cross support/2). From
the data given, the actual deflection =7-2/2 = 6.5mm

Maximum mark 4 Your mark 0

For tutor’s purposes only
D1 = Def at A x L2/L1 + Def at B x (L1+L2)/L1 =

D1 = 0x1500/6500 + 2 x (6500+1500)/6500 =

D1 = 0 + 2 x (8000)/6500 =

D1 = 0 + 2 x 1.23 = 2.46mm

Therefore Actual deflection = 7-2.46 = 4.54mm

b) Is this deflection acceptable?

BS 2853 states that the deflection for a cantilever should be <=1/250 of the span. Therefore
1/250*6500 = 26 . Since 6.5 <26, then the deflection is acceptable.

Maximum mark 2 Your mark 1

For tutor’s purposes only
Allowable = 1500/250 = 6mm

Therefore the deflection is acceptable to BS2853

© Lifting Equipment Engineers Association 2011 - training\5-5e 1

2. The illustration below represents a runway beam which is supported on two cross beams
at points A and B. With a load at C the measured deflection is 12mm. The upward
deflection at A is 1.0mm and downward deflection at B is 2.5mm. If L1 = 5 metres, L2 =
2.3 metres, calculate the actual deflection of the runway beam.

Actual deflection is given as: measured deflection -D1. We first find the value of D1 using
the below formular: D1=(deflection A *L2/L1)+(deflection B * (L1+L2/L1)). Substituting the
given values into the formular, we have that D1=(1*2300/5000)+(2.5*(5000+2300)/5000). So
D1=4.1mm. Therefore, Actual deflection = 12-4.1 =7.9mm

Maximum mark 6 Your mark 6

For tutor’s purposes only

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3. A retractable runway system is shown below. The rolling beam (2) can be moved out on
trolleys (X) to the extended position (A). The trolleys (x) are standard one tonne units.

(i) Where would you position the hoist block and beam 2 to obtain the maximum
deflection of the beam 1?
At position 3.0/2.

Maximum mark 2 Your mark 0

For tutor’s purposes only
Beam 2 retracted with the trolley at the cantilever end in the centre of beam1 and the lifting appliance
against the end stop on the cantilever of beam 2 (Position A). This will give the maximum
deflection on beam 1 due to the leverage effect. = (1500+1500)/1500 x 1.0te = 2.0te

(ii) Where would you position the hoist block and beam 2 to obtain maximum
deflection on beam 2?
At the free end of beam 2.

Maximum mark 2 Your mark 1

For tutor’s purposes only
With the hoist at the end of the cantilever against the end stops (Position A), the beam (2) can be
positioned anywhere as the load on the beam (2) is the same

(iii) The customer asks for this retractable runway to be rated with a SWL of 1t. Is this
acceptable? State your reasons and/or recommendations.
No, its not acceptable. The SWL of any structure such as this does not depend on what the
customer wishes, rather on the strength of the beam and its supporting structures. Therefore, i
recommend that before considering the request of the customer, the strength of the structures
be assessed and confirmed adequate for the intended rating.

Maximum mark 4 Your mark 3

For tutor’s purposes only
You can calculate this to prove your recommendation by –

1 - Check the reaction load imposed = (1500+1500)/1500 x 1.0te = 2.0te

Therefore it is NOT possible to offer a SWL of 1-tonne due to the leverage effect imposed into the

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 beam (1) on the existing arrangement
Recommendations would be
Up-rate the trolleys to 2-tonne SWL and increase the beam (1) size to carry the additional loading

(iv) What device would you expect to be fitted to the rear trolley of beam 2?
Trolley end stop

Maximum mark 1 Your mark 0

For tutor’s purposes only
The rear trolley should be fitted with an anti tilt device to prevent the trolley from lifting when the
cantilever is loaded, this would preferably be a roller, which would enable the beam to be
extended and retracted easily.

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