Automation and Operation Record of Large Overhead Crane for Segment Transportation

The wall of the shield tunnel body is made by assembling panels called segments into a ring shape. For the segment transportation in this site, quick, accurate and safe operation is required in each device mainly using a crane. However, in recent years, it is difficult to secure human resources due to the aging of skilled workers, and automation of segment transport equipment has become an urgent issue. In this paper, we decided to work on automation of a 40t large overhead crane. The focus of this effort was to investigate an automatic gripping device that can handle various types of segments with different shapes, to study the selection and arrangement of sensors that achieve both high-precision positioning and fail-safe functions, and to efficiently use segments in narrow spaces. This is the construction of a management system using a color code for transporting to a computer. As a result, the number of workers was reduced by automatic operation, and rework due to human error in selecting the carry-in / carry-out segment was eliminated, and productivity was improved through labor savings. In addition, it eliminates damage to the segments due to erroneous operations and contributes to ensuring quality.