Engineering Study of Rigging Systems and

Safe Lifting Practices

ARL – Workshop Transport and HVAC (WTH) Dept.

Prepared by: Muhammad Farhal, Trainee Engineer

Service Number: 314016

Date: February 28, 2026

Submitted To: Engr. Bilal Khan (I/C) (WTH)

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Table of Contents
1.1 What is Rigging? ................................................................................................... 3
2. WORKING PRINCIPLE OF RIGGING ............................................................................ 4
2.1 Static Equilibrium (Newton’s Laws)........................................................................ 4
3. COMPONENTS OF RIGGING ...................................................................................... 5
3.1 Lifting Devices ..................................................................................................... 5
3.2 Slings .................................................................................................................. 5
3.3 Hardware ............................................................................................................ 5
4. LOAD CALCULATIONS IN RIGGING ............................................................................. 5
4.1 Basic Two-Point Vertical Lift .................................................................................. 5
5. EFFECT OF SLING ANGLE .......................................................................................... 7
5.1 Sling Tension Formula........................................................................................... 7
5.2 Sling Angle vs Tension Chart (Symmetrical Lift) ....................................................... 8
5.3 Horizontal Force Component ................................................................................ 8
6. EFFECTIVE SLING LENGTH & DISTANCE .................................................................... 11
6. 1 EFFECT OF SLING INCLINATION ......................................................................... 11
7. STRAIGHT PULL vs CHOKE vs BASKET HITCH ............................................................ 13
7.1 Straight Pull (Vertical Hitch) ................................................................................ 13
7.2 Choke Hitch ....................................................................................................... 13
Example .............................................................................................................. 15
7.3 Basket Hitch ...................................................................................................... 15
8. EFFECT OF SLING DIAMETER ON STRENGTH ............................................................. 15
9. D/d RATIO EFFECT ................................................................................................... 17
10. BELTS (WEB SLINGS) ............................................................................................. 19
10.1 BELTS (WEB SLINGS) Effects ............................................................................. 20
11. LOAD ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE........................................................................... 21
12. RIGGING STANDARDS............................................................................................ 22

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1.1 What is Rigging?
Rigging is the engineering practice of planning, calculating, selecting, and installing lifting
equipment to safely move heavy loads using cranes, hoists, chain blocks, or other lifting
devices.

Rigging comes from rig, to set up or prepare

Rigging is equipment such as wire rope, turnbuckles, clevis, jacks used with cranes and other
lifting equipment in material handling and structure relocation. Rigging systems commonly
include shackles, master links and slings.

Figure 1 Wire Rope Figure 2 Turnbuckles

Figure 3 Clevis/Shackle Figure 4 Sling

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 Figure 5 Sheave Crane

2. WORKING PRINCIPLE OF RIGGING

Rigging works on the principles of:

2.1 Static Equilibrium (Newton’s Laws)

For a suspended load:

1. In a standard vertical lift, the upward tension provided by the slings and hoist must equal
the downward force of gravity (W=mg)

Mathematically:

2. A load must not only stay in place but also remain level. This requires the sum of
all moments (torques) around any point (usually the Center of Gravity) to be zero

Meaning:
• All vertical forces must balance weight.

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 • All moments about any point must balance.

3. COMPONENTS OF RIGGING
3.1 Lifting Devices
• Cranes

• Chain blocks

• Hydraulic jacks

3.2 Slings
• Wire rope slings

• Synthetic web slings (belts)

3.3 Hardware
• Shackles

• Eye bolts

• Hooks

• Turnbuckles

Design of lifting beams follows ASME BTH-1.

4. LOAD CALCULATIONS IN RIGGING

4.1 Basic Two-Point Vertical Lift
If load W is suspended between two points:

𝑉1 + 𝑉2 = 𝑊

Load share formula:

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 V1 Calculation: To find the force at support 1 (V1) you multiply the total weight by the
distance to the opposite support (X2) and divide by the total span.

Where:

• X1, X2 = horizontal distances from COG

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5. EFFECT OF SLING ANGLE
This is one of the MOST CRITICAL rigging concepts.

5.1 Sling Tension Formula

Where:
• T = Sling tension

• W = Load

• θ = Angle from horizontal

• β = Angle from vertical

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5.2 Sling Angle vs Tension Chart (Symmetrical Lift)
Angle from Tension Sling Tension
Angle from Horizontal
Vertical Multiplier (W=10t)

90° 0° 1.00 5t

60° 30° 1.15 5.75 t

45° 45° 1.41 7.07 t

30° 60° 2.00 10 t

15° 75° 3.86 19.3 t

⚠ Observation: At 30°, sling tension doubles.

⚠ At 15°, tension becomes nearly 4 times.

5.3 Horizontal Force Component

𝐻 = 𝑇cos 𝑎°

This produces:

• Compression in spreader beam

• Crushing force on load

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For example, consider a simple spreader arrangement such as this.

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Ignore the self-weight of the spreader for this exercise.

The vertical sling tensions S L1 and S L2 a reach 50% of the weight = 5t each.

The inclined sling tension multiplier for 30° to the vertical is 1.15x, so the tensions SL3 and SL4
are both 1.15 x 5t = 5.75t. The horizontal multiplier = 0.58x the vertical force, so the
compressive force SPRD = 0.58 x5 = 2.9t.

6. EFFECTIVE SLING LENGTH & DISTANCE

For a sling forming triangle:
ℎ
𝐿=
sin 𝜃
Where:

• L = Sling length

• h = Vertical height

• θ = Angle from horizontal

Horizontal spread distance:

𝑑 = 2𝐿cos 𝜃

6. 1 EFFECT OF SLING INCLINATION

As sling angle decreases:

✔ Tension increases
✔ Horizontal compression increases

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✔ Risk of lug failure increases
✔ Risk of beam buckling increases

Safe minimum recommended angle:

• 45° or greater

Never use slings below 30°.

Horizontal Angle Tension Factor (Multiplier) Resulting Load

90° 1.000 Actual Weight
60° 1.155 15% increase
45° 1.414 41% increase
30° 2.000 2x weight (double)

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7. STRAIGHT PULL vs CHOKE vs BASKET HITCH
7.1 Straight Pull (Vertical Hitch)
Capacity = 100% WLL
Used for:

• Direct vertical lift

Note: A single vertical hitch should never be used for lifting loose materials, long loads, or
unbalanced loads.

7.2 Choke Hitch

Capacity reduction:

• Wire rope: 75% WLL

• Chain/synthetic: 80% WLL

Why reduced?
• Bending stress

• Rope distortion

• Internal strand friction

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Choker Angle Rated Capacity
120° to <180° 100% (full capacity)
90° to <120° 87%
60° to <90° 74%
30° to <60° 62%
0° to <30° 49%

When the angle decreases:

• The sling bends more sharply.

• More stress is placed on the choke point.
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 • Friction and crushing forces increase.
• The sling cannot safely carry its full rated load.

So a tight choke (small angle) = less safe working load.

Example

If sling is rated for 10,000 lbs in a straight vertical lift:

• At 120° → can lift 10,000 lbs

• At 60° → can only lift 7,400 lbs
• At 0°–29° → can only lift 4,900 lbs

7.3 Basket Hitch

Capacity:

• 200% WLL (legs vertical)

• Reduced if angle present

Used for:

• Pipes

• Vessels

• Cylinders

8. EFFECT OF SLING DIAMETER ON STRENGTH

Strength follows the relationship, where S=k.d²

Where K is a constant based on the rope's grade and construction and S is breaking strength

For wire rope: Strength ∝ Diameter²

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Example:

If diameter doubles:

𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = (2)2 = 4 times

Larger diameter:
✔ Higher breaking load
✔ Better fatigue life
✔ Larger D/d ratio tolerance

Curve shows that Increasing diameter increase breaking strength

So if:

• Double the diameter → Strength becomes 4× larger

• Triple the diameter → Strength becomes 9× larger

That’s why:

• Diameter = 1 → Strength = 1
• Diameter = 2 → Strength = 4
• Diameter = 5 → Strength = 25

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9. D/d RATIO EFFECT
Based on industry standards for wire rope slings, such as ASME B30.9 and OSHA 1910.184

The D/d ratio (Diameter of the load or object ÷ Diameter of the sling) is a critical factor because
wire rope is a complex machine of individual wires that must slide against each other when bent.

D = Diameter of load
d = Diameter of sling

If D/d < 20:

• Strength reduces significantly

Minimum recommended:

• 25:1 for wire rope

D/d Efficiency Table for 6-Strand Wire Rope

D/d Ratio Efficiency (%) Loss of Strength (%)

25:1 100% 0%

20:1 92% 8%

15:1 89% 11%

10:1 86% 14%

5:1 75% 25%

2:1 65% 35%

1:1 50% 50%

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D/d= Sheave or pin diameter / Rope diameter

It tells you how tight the rope is bending.

• Big ratio → gentle bend → stronger rope

• Small ratio → sharp bend → weaker rope

Example 1 (Easy Numbers)

Suppose you have:

• Wire rope diameter (d) = 1 inch

Case A — Large Sheave

• Sheave diameter (D) = 25 inches D/d=25/1=25:1

From the table:

• Efficiency = 100%
• No strength loss

✅ Rope keeps full strength.

Case B — Smaller Sheave

• Sheave diameter (D) = 10 inches D/d=10/1=10:1

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From table:

• Efficiency = 86%
• Loss of strength = 14%

If rope breaking strength = 50,000 lb 50,000×0.86=43,000 lb

just lost 7,000 lb of capacity because of bending.

Case C — Very Tight Bend

• Sheave diameter (D) = 5 inches D/d=5/1=5:1

Efficiency = 75% 50,000×0.75=37,500 lb

lost 12,500 lb of strength!

10. BELTS (WEB SLINGS)

Capacity is determined by the Working Load Limit (WLL), which is usually the Minimum
Breaking Strength (MBS) divided by a 5:1 Safety Factor
Capacity calculation:

Actual capacity = WLL x Hitch Adjustment Factor x Angle Factor

• Vertical Hitch: 1.0 x WLL (Full rated capacity)

• Choker Hitch: 0.8 x WLL (Reduced capacity)

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 • Basket Hitch: 2.0 x WLL (Assuming legs are vertical and load is balanced)

Angle Factor Calculation:

Capacity = Vertical WLL x Cos θ (Where θ is the angle between the sling and the horizontal)

60° Angle: cos (60) = 0.866

45° Angle: cos (45) = 0.707

30° Angle: cos (30) = 0.500

10.1 BELTS (WEB SLINGS) Effects

Web sling strength depends on:

• Width

• Polyester grade

• Stitching quality

Capacity ∝ Width

If width doubles → capacity doubles.

But:

• Sensitive to sharp edges

• Sensitive to temperature
• Sensitive to chemicals

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11. LOAD ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE
1. Determine exact weight (Drawings / density calculation)

2. Locate COG

3. Determine lifting points

4. Select sling type
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 5. Calculate sling tension

6. Check angle effect

7. Apply impact factor (1.1–1.3)

8. Verify WLL
9. Check wind effect (if outdoor)

Wind pressure formula:

𝑃 = 0.613𝑉 2
V is in meters per second (m/s2)

P is in Pascals (pa) or (N/m2)

12. RIGGING STANDARDS

13.1 Design Standards

• ASME B30.9 – Slings

• ASME B30.20 – Lifting devices

• ASME BTH-1 – Design of lifting beams

• EN 13155 – European standard

• OSHA – Safety compliance

• Lifting Equipment Engineers Association – Certification authority

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