Computing a Realistic Load Collective for the Rail-wheel Contact of Stacker Cranes

State-of-the art design methods for the rail-wheel system of stacker cranes do not use realistic load collectives. Therefore, these design methods regularly lead to inaccurate results. The BS EN 13001-3-3 addresses this issue by introducing a more realistic load collective, represented by the contact force spectrum parameter, which considers the rail-wheel contact forces of stacker cranes’ entire life cycles. However, due to its complexity the contact force spectrum parameter is difficult to compute in practice. This paper introduces a simulation model for the computation of the contact force spectrum parameter. Moreover, it is shown that by simulating a limited number of stacker cranes’ working cycles, a representative result is obtained. Hence, with the results of this paper it is possible to compute a realistic load collective with the purpose of designing the rail-wheel systems of stacker cranes accordingly.