Projects / Tower crane foundation
Piled foundation for a 44 m tower crane
Four-pile cap designed from the crane supplier's reactions, with in-service and out-of-service cases applied at 0, 45 and 90 degrees.
- Type
- Tower crane foundation
- Location and year
- Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2026
- Software
- SAFE
- Role
- Design and calculation report, prepared as structural engineer with a UAE contractor
The project
A tower crane with a 2.0 m square mast and a 44 m height needed a foundation on a site where the soil report called for piles. The design had to work from the supplier's load data sheet and the pile stiffness given by the geotechnical engineer.
What made it difficult
Crane bases are governed by overturning, not weight. The out-of-service storm case gives a moment of 2,714 kN·m on only 657 kN of vertical load, so the piles see tension as well as compression, and the worst pile changes with the slewing angle.
How it was designed
- Applied the supplier's in-service and out-of-service reactions at 0, 45 and 90 degrees, including the 197 kN·m slewing torque in service.
- Modelled the cap in SAFE on pile springs of 414 MN/m, taken from the soil report for a 750 mm pile.
- Added the cap self-weight and built service and ultimate envelopes for pile reactions.
- Checked pile compression and tension against the stated capacities, then designed the cap for punching, one-way shear and flexure.
Key figures
As stated in the issued calculations.
| Pile cap | 4.50 m x 4.50 m x 1.50 m deep |
|---|---|
| Piles | 4 No. 750 mm diameter at 3.0 m centres |
| Overturning moment | 2,714 kN·m out of service; 1,815 kN·m in service |
| Ultimate pile reaction | 1,516 kN compression; 531 kN tension |
| Materials | Concrete f'c 32 MPa; reinforcement fy 460 MPa |
| Code | ACI 318-19 |
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