13.

Lashing and securing

It may come as a surprise to some that this topic is in one of the last sections of this book. After all,
the first handling that takes place after the load is positioned on the transporter is to lash and
secure it.

So why is this topic addressed only now. Effective lashing and securing can only be applied once it
is known against what forces this lashing is applied.As long as these forces are unknown, both in
magnitude and direction, it is imposible to apply lashing in an appropiate manner.

It also should be known what the objective of the applied lashing is. Is it to counter external
forces,reducing the height of the combined CoG, resistance against toppling of the load,resistance
against sliding of the load, a combination of these or any other objective.

All preceding sections have assumed that the load and transporter always behave as one ítem. In
reality, without applying lashing in a sufficient and correct manner the load is subject to sliding,
toppling, falling.etc as a result of forces that act on the load.

This book addresses the following objectives while determining the required lashing:

1) Reduction of the CoG height by using the combined CoG

The last example of the previous section showed that when taking the applicable external and
gradient forces into account that the example used in this book cannot be safely transporter on a
6-axle line transporter in a 3-point suspensión set up. This section therefore only reviews the
lashing of the 6-axle line transporter in a 4-point suspensión set up.

13.1 Reduction of the CoG height by using the combined CoG

When making use of the combined CoG of the transporter and load in order to increase the
stability of the transport, sufficient securing should be applied so that indeed the transporter and
load behave as one single ítem under the influence of the transport parameters.

The combined CoG is always found between the transporter CoG and the load CoG. In principle
two different scenarios can be recognized when utilizing the combined CoG .

-the load (WL) is heavier than the transporter (WT)

-the transporter ( WT) is heavier than the load (WL)

When the load (WL) is heavier than the transporter (WT) and both are to behave as a single ítem,
the mínimum vertical lashing (Fv) should be equal to the weight of the transporter (WT)

In logical format ;
Equation 13,1 Required lashing formula

When the transporter (WT) is heavier than the load (WL) and both are to behave as a single ítem,
the mínimum vertical lashing (FV) should be equal to the weight of the load (WL)

In logical format

This theory may require some explanation.

In case the load (W1) is heavier than the transporter (WT), the purpose of the lashing is to use the
weight of the transporter to reduce the height of the CoG by using combined CoG. As long as the
capacity of the vertically applied lashing is less than the weight of the transporter, the both
components do not yet behave as one item. As soon as the vertical lashing capacity is equal to the
weight of the transporter, both components start to behave as one item. Adding any more lashing
will not further reduce the height of the combined CoG as they already behave as one item.

Hence FV= WL.

When the transporter (WT) is heavier than the load (WL, the purpose of the lashing is still to
reduce the height of the CoG by using the combined CoG. Following the above theory, the capacity
of the vertically applied lashing would have to be at least equal to the weight of the transporter to
have both components behave as one item. However, when the capacity of the vertical lashing
equals the weight of the load, it will be impossible for a toppling load to break away from the
transporter. The load may still overturn (complete with transporter) but additional vertical lashing
would not have avoided that.

Hence FV= WT.

Assume that the transporter weight (WT) is 20 ton (44,053 LBS) and the weight of the load (WL) is
180 ton (396,476 LBS). According to the theory the following rule applies;
The minimum capacity of vertical lashing should be 20 ton (44,053 LBS) in order to have the
transporter and load behave as one item.

13.2 Securing against external forces

External forces have been defined as forces beyond the static forces. Three external forces have
been identified. Acceleration forces, curve forces and wind forces.

Each of these forces had an impact on the axles and suspension groups. It is however the
longitudinal and transverse component of the force itself that determines the amount of lashing
required. Acceleration force;

The external forces act horizontally and are to be resolved in a longitudinal and a transverse
component.

In longitudinal direction;

In transverse direction;
 The forces FH-T and FH-L act in both positive and negative direction. The lashing is to provide
resistance in both directions as well.

The acceleration, curve and wind external forces have all been calculated in preceding sections,

below an overview .

It is assumed that the transporter has a velocity (V0) of 30 km/hr or 8.33 mtr/sec (18.64 MPH) and

should be able to come to a complete stop in a 4 0 m t r ( 131 '-2.8") distance (S,). Therefore V, is 0

(zero). There is only acceleration in longitudinal direction.

From the standard physics formulas the acceleration can be derived .

Acceleration force;
The acceleration ( a A C C ) is to be resolved into a longitudinal and transverse component.
It is assumed that the transporter has a velocity (V0) of 5 km/hr or 1.39 mtr/sec (3.11 MPH) in the
curve and the radius ( r) of the curve is 15 mtr (49'-2.6").

It is assumed that a Beaufort 4 wind is blowing with a velocity of 7.9 mtr/sec (17.67 MPH). The
wind angle is 30 degrees and the shape factor (Sf) is 120% or 1.2.

Furthermore A F R O N r=AK K A R=150 mtr2 (1,615 ft2 ) and AS 1 F J F=400 mtr2 (4,306 ft2). The
side and

front/rear area of the transporter is As,D F=10m2 (108 f t 2 ) and A F R O N 1 Y R F A R=3m2 (32
ft2).

Dcow-Rcog = 3,000 mm (9'-10.1")

The Beaufort scale shows that for a wind velocity of 7.9 mtr/sec (17.67 MPH) the wind pressure
(WP)

is 3.9 kg/mtr (0.36 LBS/ft ). Resolving the wind pressure (WP) in longitudinal and transverse

direction leads to;

Wind force;
Total force in longitudinal direction;

Total force in transverse direction;

As stated before, the total longitudinal force acts both in the positive direction
as well as in the negative direction

Similarly, the total transverse force acts both in the positive

as well as in the negative direction.

Lashing should be applied in all directions to provide sufficient resistance against these forces.

13.3 Securing against gradient forces

These forces generally result from inclines (going uphill), declines (going downhill) and cambers
(side ways or transverse sloping road surface) in the route of the heavy transport.
The longitudinal and transverse component act in the same direction as
the longitudinal and transverse components of the external
forces, and .Therefore these forces ( +
and + ) can be added and viewed as one force in each direction.

13.3.1 Securing against gradient forces, example 1

For this example it is assumed that the transverse road gradient is 2 degrees and the longitudinal
gradient is 5 degrees.

The gradient forces are calculated as follows;

The longitudinal component F2-L acts both in the positive direction (X(pos)) as well as in the
negative direction (X,neg )). Similarly, the transverse components F2-T acts both in the positive
(X(pos)) as well as in the negative direction (Y( neg)). Lashing should be applied in both directions
to provide sufficient resistance against these forces.

Total force in longitudinal direction;

Total force in transverse direction

In summary;

Below is an overview of the lashing capacity that is to be applied in the various directions.
13.4 Friction

Friction is a phenomenon that occurs between the surfaces of two objects. If one of the objects is

subject to a force, the f r i c t i o n determines i f this object can indeed be moved (when the
applied forcé exceeds the friction ) or the object remains in its place (when the applied force is less
than the friction) . Well machined, well lubricated surfaces (such as the piston in an engine or a
skate in contact with the ice track) are subject to much less friction than rough dry surface (such as
a piece of steel in contact with a sheet of plywood. Actual friction (in magnitude) is determined by
the weight of the objects and the roughness of the surfaces.

In certain applications, the objective is to achieve a low friction , in other applications (such as the
application of dunnage between a load and transporter) the objective is to achieve a high friction.

The roughness of the two surfaces and the friction between them is expressed as a factor, the
friction factor or coefficient of friction (mu).

In mathematical format;

where FN is the normal force exerted between the surfaces and Fw is the friction force.

The normal force (FN) is not to be confused with the weight of the load (WL) although they can be

equal in value. The figure below explains the difference between FN and WL.
The normal (FN ) force is directed perpendicular from the surface on which the load is positioned.
As the angle of the surface decreases towards zero, the normal force (FN ) and the
weight of the load (WL ) are getting closer in value. When the angle of the surface reached zero,
both FN and WL, are equal in value.

As the angle increases, an increasingly smaller portion of the load WL, is imposed onto the surface.

Therefore an increasingly smaller force FN is exerted between the surfaces.

13.4.1 The friction force

The friction force Fw is the force that keeps an object in place when an external force is acting on
it.

The object will stay in place as long as the external force is smaller than the friction force. When
the external force increases to the same value as the friction force, the object is on the verge of
moving.

Any increase in the external force will move the object. As the friction force keeps the object in
place, is must act in the opposite direction from the external force. This can be seen in the above
figure. F2 is the external force as a result of the inclined surface that the object is laying on. As long
as F2 is smaller than Fw , the object will not move. The force F2 can be increased by increasing the
angle of the surface. When F2 exceeds Fw, the object will slide down the surface.

Knowing that the friction force Fw keeps an object in place as it acts in the opposite direction from
the applied external force, the conclusion can be drawn that for lashing purposes (also applied to
keep an object in its place) the friction force is an assisting force that can reduce the amount of
required lashing.

13.4.2 The friction factor (mu)

The friction factor of two materials is mostly determined in an empirical way. There is no exact
single friction factor value for two materials as this factor is largely determined by external factors
and the state the materials are in. Temperature, moisture, the presence or absence of foreign
objects (such as dust) between the materials, all have an influence on the friction factor.
A few side notes have to be placed with the above table. Friction factors vary largely depending on
the source of the information. As these factors are determined empirically, the conditions under
which the experiments were conducted play a role in the outcome.

Other factors play a role as well. For metal, the surface of the material is a determining factor. If
the surface is machined, the friction with other materials decreases, the presence of oxidation
(rust), paint, weld residue etc influences the friction factor.

For wood as this is an organic material, the inconsistency of the grain, the direction of the grain,
the type of wood, moisture content, paint and other factors play a role in the friction.

A much used material for dunnage in the heavy transport industry is plywood. This material is
available in virtually any location, it is easy to size and it is re-usable.

The remainder of this book assumes a wood-metal friction factor of 0.15 between the load and
transporter. This is a conservative friction factor that can be applied regardless of state, moisture,
temperature etc.

13.4.3 How to use friction to reduce lashing

For every heavy transport a friction force can be determined that assists in reducing the amount
lashing that would be required if there were no friction.

The transverse and longitudinal gradients of the heavy transport route are to be taken into
account as these gradients reduce the normal force (FN ) and therefore reduce the friction
between the load and the transporter. The vertically applied lashing that causes the load and the
transport to behave as one item is pulling the load down, it increases the force with which the load
is pushing down onto the transporter deck. This causes the normal force (FN ) to increase as this
normal force is a reaction to the total downward force. The applied vertical lashing therefore
increases the friction between the load and the transporter. In mathematical format;
When the load (W,) is heavier than the transporter (WT) and both are to behave as a single item,
the minimum vertical lashing (Fv ) should be equal to the weight of the transporter (WT).

This means the following for the friction force formula;

When the transporter (WT) is heavier than the load (WL) and both are to behave as a single item,
the minimum vertical lashing ( Fv ) should be equal to the weight of the load (WL).

This means the following for the friction force formula;

This calculated friction force in longitudinal and transverse direction can be deducted from the
calculated required lashing force as they act in opposite directions. The below example
demonstrates this.
As shown in a previous example in this section the required vertical lashing Fv is determined as
follows;

The transporter weight (WT) is 20 ton (44,053 LBS) and the weight of the load (WL) is 180 ton
(396,476 LBS). According to the theory the following rule applies;

The transverse road gradient is 2 degrees and the longitudinal road gradient is 5 degrees,
furthermore a friction factor of 0.15 (between steel and plywood) is assumed.

The above table shows the resulting lashing capacity. This resulting lashing capacity is calculated
by deducting the friction forces from the required capacity. It can be noted that when taking
friction into account there is a significant reduction in required lashing capacity. Note also that the
resulting lashing capacity can never be less than zero, even if the friction force exceeds the
required capacity. The friction force is a force that is present only when an external force is
present. When the external force reduces (or completely disappears) the friction force reduces
equally (or completely disappears).

13.5 Applying lashing

Once the resulting lashing capacity is determined, the actual lashing can be applied. This section
will demonstrate how to apply sufficient lashing and in which direction to warrant a safe transport
execution. The resulting lashing capacity is determined in three directions; vertical (Fv) , horizontal
and longitudinal (FH-L) and horizontal and transverse ( FH-T) - The actually applied lashing
however,seldom runs perfectly vertical or horizontal. This is caused by the lashing points on the
load and on the transporter. The result is that each applied lashing mostly acts in two and
sometimes in three dimensions. It is therefore important to resolve each of the applied lashings in
their basic components.

Special attention is required for the angle as this angle is present in 4 different quadrants.
Angle in quadrant Q2 is to be adjusted by 90 degrees to make angle
representative for the second quadrant. Similarly, angle in quadrant Q3 is to be
adjusted by 180 degrees and finally angle in quadrant Q4 is to be adjusted by 270 degrees.
The figure below shows how the various lashing forces are to be viewed in each o f the quadrants.

The table shows the direction (positive or negative) of each component of the lashings in each of
the quadrants.
13.5.1 Applying lashing, example 1

The figure below shows the transport arrangement in question. A number of details have been
omitted for clarity reasons. Lashing is shown and indicated with numbers (for vertical lashing) and
letters (for horizontal lashing). The lashing angles are shown in the table below. The number of
lashings is (for now) arbitrary, calculation will indicate if all shown lashings are required.

For this example it is assumed that the capacity of one single lashing (Cc) is 3 ton (11,013 LBS).

The table is from a preceding section and shows the required lashing force in the various
directions.
Before the lashing forces in the various directions can be determined the angles . and
need to be known. The table below shows this information.

Note that the angles have been adjusted with the appropriate number of degrees to
reflect the correct quadrant.

Since, at this stage, it is not yet known if all the lashing is required the calculations are performed
in groups of fours lashings. After each calculation the results are compared to the required lashing
force.

The resolved components of lashing 1, 2, 3 and 4 are determined by using the capacity formulas.
As it appears, the four lashings as per the table are not sufficient to warrant a safe transport
execution.

The next set of four lashings 5, 6, 7 and 8 are added.

Although the situation improved there is still not sufficient lashing. Another set of 4 lashings A, B, C
and D are added
Lashing B and D could have been left out, the transport can be executed safely without these two
lashings. However, it is recommended to apply lashing in a symmetrical manner, it avoids
confusion.

These twelve lashings warrant the safe execution of the transport at hand. Additional lashings can
be added but would be for back-up or redundancy reasons only, if would not make the transport
safer.

The "preliminary schematic of applied lashing" now changes into an "actual schematic of applied
lashing ' as per the figure below. A total of 12 lashings are required to safely execute this
transport.
13.6 The aftermath

The application of lashing is, contrary to popular believe, an important part of the engineering
phase of a heavy transport. The angle in which the lashing is applied greatly determines its
effectiveness against the forces to be countered. As the theoretical (engineering) preparation of
lashing plans is often different from the practical application, a qualified and competent engineer
should be present to ensure that the field changes in lashing are still effective enough to safely
execute the transport.