How Hydraulic Cranes Work?

What Are Hydraulic Cranes?

Hydraulic cranes are the most powerful lifting machines and are used to lift and move the heaviest materials. Generally speaking, all the cranes are equipped with ropes, chains, sheaves and a winder, and the hydraulic ones use fluid power to enable them to lift heavy loads and materials. They are flexible machines and are used in the construction industry, but also in manufacturing and transportation industry. Their design might be simple, but they can perform the most difficult tasks that would with any other machine seem impossible. The hydraulic cranes are amazing in terms of strength and agility, so their presence on any construction site should not surprise you.

How They Work?

Hydraulic cranes are also called hydraulic truck cranes, because the crane is mounted on a truck's chassis. These machines are very easy to operate with and very simple to maintain as well. Hydraulic cranes' work on a straight-forward way: hydraulic fluid is transmitted throughout the crane to hydraulic motors and cylinders. The hydraulic cranes have hydraulic system, which works with a system of pumps and pistons filled with liquor. By harnessing the strength that liquor under pressure gives, hydraulic cranes have the ability to lift enormous amounts of weights, up to hundreds of tons. The hydraulic fluid is usually petroleum oil with various additives added. The pressure is created per requirement and the flow of hydraulic liquid is regulated by control valves.

Advantages

The main advantage of hydraulic cranes over the other cranes is that any applied force will propagate through the liquid, without big loss of strength, or simply said, the force transmitts through the fluid from one to another point. The purpose of hydraulic systems is to acquire mechanical advantage and increase the initial force significantly. For this purpose, most hydraulic cranes use non-corrosive oils. To operate at maximum efficiency with a hydraulic crane, there should be no trapped air bubbles in the fluid. Otherwise, some of the input force can be wasted squeezing air.

Safety Precautions

A hydraulic crane should be operated by a trained crane operator. The operator must know all the controls of the machine he is using, but also have some knowledge of the hydraulic system. The command issues are translated into the motion of a wide array of actuators. Hydraulic cranes are used because they are capable to lift large amounts through flexible hoses and small tubes. Many crane accidents happen every year, mostly due to the electrocution and equipment failure. But for safety precaution, they should not be operated by people who don't have any knowledge and experience with cranes in order to prevent crane accidents.