Influence of Imperfections in the Design of Crane Runway I‐Beams

Crane runway beams are generally loaded by vertical and horizontal forces as well as not‐negligible torsional actions. Horizontal and torsional deformations originate already from the 1^st order analysis. The effects of imperfections of crane runway beams could, at least partially, be simulated by these deformations. While for the purely vertically loaded beams it is necessary to consider the horizontal bow imperfection, for the generally loaded beams with horizontal forces as well, the influence of horizontal bow imperfection may not be as important, due to the occurrence of horizontal deflection from primary actions. Eurocode EN 1993‐6 allows to consider either eccentricities of vertical forces or introduction of horizontal bow imperfections in the design of crane runway beams. In this article, using a self‐developed FEM‐program, the effect of horizontal bow imperfection for the generally loaded crane runway beams is investigated. The two options of EN 1993‐6 are compared in the FEM analyses with the simplified design methods like the Annex A method of the same standard and the Naumes method.