The Earthquake Responses of Climbing Tower Cranes Installed in High-Rise Buildings in Consideration of Various Situations Under Construction

Abstract eng:
Determining measures to prevent accidents related to tower cranes during earthquakes is very important in construction sites. If someone falls off a tower crane, it would be a fatal blow to the construction project and may result in loss of lives, tremendous repair costs, and delay of the construction schedule. In many cases, because a tower crane is a temporary facility and structure due to its short-term use (e.g., less than 2 years), construction contractors follow the structural design criteria for the crane but do not undertake further consideration and countermeasures to prevent serious accidents during powerful earthquakes similar to those for permanent buildings due cost and effect consideration. In this paper, the details of an actual example of a serious accident related to tower cranes caused by an earthquake in high-rise building construction is explained, which was experienced by one of the authors as the project director. In this accident, two tower cranes and counterweights of another tower crane fell from their installed location, which was at a height of more than 200 m from the ground, when a powerful earthquake occurred. In this disaster, 5 people were killed, 20 were injured, and there were serious damages to the buildings and neighborhood. In addition, using simulation methods, earthquake responses of a tower crane considering the construction progress was studied. The amplification of the response of the tower crane due to co-oscillation between the building and the tower crane at a powerful earthquake was confirmed. Based on these results, the countermeasures to prevent such co-oscillation by changing the stiffness of the building frame and the tower crane mast. The tower crane mast unit connection details, which are the most critical structural portion, are proposed. The tower crane of Taipei 101 also failed at the connections of the mast units. The measures to minimize the tower crane failure during a powerful earthquake considering various operation patterns are also discussed. Finally, it is suggested that the plastic deformation ability of the tower crane structural member is very efficient in stabilizing the earthquake response beyond the elastic status of the structural steel members.

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