Kwon-Hee Lee
The Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 22, no. 9, pp.1651-1659, 2008

Abstract : Rail clamps are mechanical components installed to fix the container crane to its lower members against wind blast or slip. Rail clamps should be designed to survive harsh wind loading conditions. In this study, a jaw structure, which is a part of a wedge-typed rail clamp, is optimized with respect to its strength under a severe wind loading condition. According to the classification of structural optimization, the structural optimization of a jaw is included in the category of shape optimization. Conventional structural optimization methods have difficulties in defining complex shape design variables and preventing mesh distortions. To overcome the difficulties, a metamodel using the Kriging interpolation method is introduced to replace the true response by an approximate one. This research presents the shape optimization of a jaw using iterative Kriging interpolation models and a simulated annealing algorithm. The new Kriging models are iteratively constructed by refining the former Kriging models. This process is continued until the convergence criteria are satisfied. The optimum results obtained by the suggested method are compared with those obtained by the DOE (design of experiments) and VT (variation technology) methods built in ANSYS WORKBENCH.

Keyword : Container crane; Rail clamp; Jaw; Shape optimization; Kriging; DOE; VT