Severe wind loads have caused the collapse of many cranes. The initial failure usually occurs in the wharf hardware.
If there is more than one tie-down at a crane corner, the crane deflection may cause one tie-down to carry significantly more than its share of the load. If the tie-down system is not ductile, it may fail before the load is shared by the other corner tie-downs. This results in a progressive failure of the tie-downs and crane collapse.
This presentation explains why forces vary between corner tie-downs and introduces the ductile link—one method to improve the reliability of new and existing tie-down systems.
