Determination of reaction forces of a deck crane in wave motion using screw theory

Abstract

In this paper, we present a method for calculating reaction forces for a crane mounted on a ship moving in waves. The method is used to calculate the reaction forces between the crane base and the vessel deck. This includes the case where the crane is mounted on the platform that keeps the base of the crane horizontal when the vessel is moving in roll and pitch. The wave motion of the ship is modeled with force response amplitude operators (RAOs) based on the JONSWAP wave spectrum. The combined equations of motion for a vessel and a crane are derived using Kane’s equations of motion, where velocities and angular velocities are formulated in terms of twists, and the associated partial velocities and partial angular velocities are given as lines in Plücker coordinates. The unknown reaction forces are represented as wrenches and are determined using screw transformations. The method is used to study the effect of the roll and pitch compensation platform in numerical simulations. The efficiency of the platform is evaluated in terms of the magnitude of reaction forces and crane payload sway angles.