Introduction To Cranes
Introduction To Cranes
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION &
HISTORY
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Chapter One
Chapter One
1-1 INTRODUCTION
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist rope, wire ropes or
chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move
them horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting heavy things and transporting them to
other places. The device uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical
advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of a human. Cranes
are commonly employed in the transport industry for the loading and unloading of
freight, in the construction industry for the movement of materials, and in the
manufacturing industry for the assembling of heavy equipment.
The first known crane machine was the shadouf, a water-lifting device that was
invented in ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and then appeared in ancient
Egyptian technology. Construction cranes later appeared in ancient Greece, where
they were powered by men or animals (such as donkeys), and used for the
construction of buildings. Larger cranes were later developed in the Roman Empire,
employing the use of human treadwheels, permitting the lifting of heavier weights.
In the High Middle Ages, harbour cranes were introduced to load and unload ships
and assist with their construction – some were built into stone towers for extra
strength and stability. The earliest cranes were constructed from wood, but cast
iron, iron and steel took over with the coming of the Industrial Revolution.
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For many centuries, power was supplied by the physical exertion of men or animals,
although hoists in watermills and windmills could be driven by the harnessed
natural power. The first 'mechanical' power was provided by steam engines, the
earliest steam crane being introduced in the 18th or 19th century, with many
remaining in use well into the late 20th century. Modern cranes usually use internal
combustion engines or electric motors and hydraulic systems to provide a much
greater lifting capability than was previously possible, although manual cranes are
still utilized where the provision of power would be uneconomic.
Cranes exist in an enormous variety of forms – each tailored to a specific use. Sizes
range from the smallest jib cranes, used inside workshops, to the tallest tower
cranes, used for constructing high buildings. Mini-cranes are also used for
constructing high buildings, in order to facilitate constructions by reaching tight
spaces. Finally, we can find larger floating cranes, generally used to build oil rigs
and salvage sunken ships.
Some lifting machines do not strictly fit the above definition of a crane, but are
generally known as cranes, such as stacker cranes and loader cranes.
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1-2 HISTORY
The first type of crane machine was the shadouf, which had a lever mechanism and
was used to lift water for irrigation. It was invented in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq)
circa 3000 BC. The shadouf subsequently appeared in ancient Egyptian technology
circa 2000 BC.
A crane for lifting heavy loads was developed by the Ancient Greeks in the late 6th
century BC. The archaeological record shows that no later than c. 515 BC
distinctive cuttings for both lifting tongs and lewis irons begin to appear on stone
blocks of Greek temples. Since these holes point at the use of a lifting device, and
since they are to be found either above the center of gravity of the block, or in pairs
equidistant from a point over the center of gravity, they are regarded by
archaeologists as the positive evidence required for the existence of the crane.
Fig 1-1
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The introduction of the winch and pulley hoist soon leads to a widespread
replacement of ramps as the main means of vertical motion. For the next 200 years,
Greek building sites witnessed a sharp reduction in the weights handled, as the new
lifting technique made the use of several smaller stones more practical than fewer
larger ones. In contrast to the archaic period with its pattern of ever-increasing
block sizes, Greek temples of the classical age like the Parthenon invariably
featured stone blocks weighing less than 15–20 metric tons. Also, the practice of
erecting large monolithic columns was practically abandoned in favour of using
several column drums.
Although the exact circumstances of the shift from the ramp to the crane technology
remain unclear, it has been argued that the volatile social and political conditions of
Greece were more suitable to the employment of small, professional construction
teams than of large bodies of unskilled labour, making the crane preferable to the
Greek polis over the more labour-intensive ramp which had been the norm in the
autocratic societies of Egypt or Assyria.
The first unequivocal literary evidence for the existence of the compound pulley
system appears in the Mechanical Problems attributed to Aristotle (384–322 BC),
but perhaps composed at a slightly later date. Around the same time, block sizes at
Greek temples began to match their archaic predecessors again, indicating that the
more sophisticated compound pulley must have found its way to Greek construction
sites by then.
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The heyday of the crane in ancient times came during the Roman Empire, when
construction activity soared and buildings reached enormous dimensions. The
Romans adopted the Greek crane and developed it further. We are relatively well
informed about their lifting techniques, thanks to rather lengthy accounts by the
engineers Vitruvius and Heron of Alexandria. There are also two surviving reliefs
of Roman treadwheel cranes, with the Haterii tombstone from the late first century
AD being particularly detailed.
The simplest Roman crane, the trispastos, consisted of a single-beam jib, a winch, a
rope, and a block containing three pulleys. Having thus a mechanical advantage of
3:1, it has been calculated that a single man working the winch could raise 150 kg
(3 pulleys x 50 kg = 150), assuming that 50 kg represent the maximum effort a man
can exert over a longer time period. Heavier crane types featured five pulleys
(pentaspastos) or, in case of the largest one, a set of three by five pulleys
(Polyspastos) and came with two, three or four masts, depending on the maximum
load. The polyspastos, when worked by four men at both sides of the winch, could
readily lift 3,000 kg (3 ropes x 5 pulleys x 4 men x 50 kg = 3,000 kg). If the winch
was replaced by a treadwheel, the maximum load could be doubled to 6,000 kg at
only half the crew, since the treadwheel possesses a much bigger mechanical
advantage due to its larger diameter.
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Fig 1-2
Fig 1-3
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Second, a multitude of capstans were placed on the ground around the tower, for,
although having a lower leverage ratio than treadwheels, capstans could be set up in
higher numbers and run by more men (and, moreover, by draught animals). This use
of multiple capstans is also described by Ammianus Marcellinus (17.4.15) in
connection with the lifting of the Lateranense obelisk in the Circus Maximus (c. 357
AD). The maximum lifting capability of a single capstan can be established by the
number of lewis iron holes bored into the monolith. In case of the Baalbek
architrave blocks, which weigh between 55 and 60 tons, eight extant holes suggest
an allowance of 7.5 ton per lewis iron, that is per capstan. Lifting such heavy
weights in a concerted action required a great amount of coordination between the
work groups applying the force to the capstans.
During the High Middle Ages, the treadwheel crane was reintroduced on a large
scale after the technology had fallen into disuse in western Europe with the demise
of the Western Roman Empire.[16] The earliest reference to a treadwheel (magna
rota) reappears in archival literature in France about 1225,[17] followed by an
illuminated depiction in a manuscript of probably also French origin dating to 1240.
[18] In navigation, the earliest uses of harbor cranes are documented for Utrecht in
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1244, Antwerp in 1263, Brugge in 1288 and Hamburg in 1291,while in England the
treadwheel is not recorded before 1331.
Fig 1-4
Medieval (15th century) port crane for mounting masts and lifting cargo in Gdańsk.
Generally, vertical transport could be done more safely and inexpensively by cranes
than by customary methods. Typical areas of application were harbors, mines, and,
in particular, building sites where the treadwheel crane played a pivotal role in the
construction of the lofty Gothic cathedrals.
Nevertheless, both archival and pictorial sources of the time suggest that newly
introduced machines like treadwheels or wheelbarrows did not completely replace
more labor-intensive methods like ladders, hods and handbarrows. Rather, old and
new machinery continued to coexist on medieval construction sites and harbors.
Apart from treadwheels, medieval depictions also show cranes to be powered
manually by windlasses with radiating spokes, cranks and by the 15th century also
by windlasses shaped like a ship's wheel. To smooth out irregularities of impulse
and get over 'dead-spots' in the lifting process flywheels are known to be in use as
early as 1123.
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Fig
1-5
The exact process by which the treadwheel crane was reintroduced is not recorded,
although its return to construction sites has undoubtedly to be viewed in close
connection with the simultaneous rise of Gothic architecture. The reappearance of
the treadwheel crane may have resulted from a technological development of the
windlass from which the treadwheel structurally and mechanically evolved.
Alternatively, the medieval treadwheel may represent a deliberate reinvention of its
Roman counterpart drawn from Vitruvius' De architectura which was available in
many monastic libraries. Its reintroduction may have been inspired, as well, by the
observation of the labor-saving qualities of the waterwheel with which early
treadwheels shared many structural similarities.
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A lifting tower similar to that of the ancient Romans was used to great effect by the
Renaissance architect Domenico Fontana in 1586 to relocate the 361 t heavy
Vatican obelisk in Rome. From his report, it becomes obvious that the coordination
of the lift between the various pulling teams required a considerable amount of
concentration and discipline, since, if the force was not applied evenly, the
excessive stress on the ropes would make them rupture.
Fig
1-6
Fig
1-7
An 1856 photo of Cologne Cathedral, then unfinished, with a 15th-century crane on south tower.
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Cranes were also used domestically during this period. The chimney or fireplace
crane was used to swing pots and kettles over the fire and the height was adjusted
by a trammel.
Fig 1-8
Fireplace crane
1-2-6 INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
With the onset of the Industrial Revolution the first modern cranes were installed at
harbours for loading cargo. In 1838, the industrialist and businessman William
Armstrong designed a water-powered hydraulic crane. His design used a ram in a
closed cylinder that was forced down by a pressurized fluid entering the cylinder – a
valve regulated the amount of fluid intake relative to the load on the crane. This
mechanism, the hydraulic jigger, then pulled on a chain to lift the load.
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In 1845 a scheme was set in motion to provide piped water from distant reservoirs
to the households of Newcastle. Armstrong was involved in this scheme and he
proposed to Newcastle Corporation that the excess water pressure in the lower part
of town could be used to power one of his hydraulic cranes for the loading of coal
onto barges at the Quayside. He claimed that his invention would do the job faster
and more cheaply than conventional cranes. The corporation agreed to his
suggestion, and the experiment proved so successful that three more hydraulic
cranes were installed on the Quayside.
Fig 1-9
The success of his hydraulic crane led Armstrong to establish the Elswick works at
Newcastle, to produce his hydraulic machinery for cranes and bridges in 1847. His
company soon received orders for hydraulic cranes from Edinburgh and Northern
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Railways and from Liverpool Docks, as well as for hydraulic machinery for dock
gates in
Grimsby. The company expanded from a workforce of 300 and an annual
production of 45 cranes in 1850, to almost 4,000 workers producing over 100
cranes per year by the early 1860s.
One of his cranes, commissioned by the Italian Navy in 1883 and in use until the
mid-1950s, is still standing in Venice, where it is now in a state of disrepair.
1-3 TYPES
There are four principal types of mobile cranes: truck mounted, rough-terrain,
crawler, and floating.
1-3-1-1 Truck-mounted
A truck-mounted crane has two parts: the carrier, often referred to as the lower, and
the lifting component which includes the boom, referred to as the upper. These are
mated together through a turntable, allowing the upper to swing from side to side.
These modern hydraulic truck cranes are usually single-engine machines, with the
same engine powering the undercarriage and the crane. The upper is usually
powered via hydraulics run through the turntable from the pump mounted on the
lower. In older model designs of hydraulic truck cranes, there were two engines.
One in the lower pulled the crane down the road and ran a hydraulic pump for the
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outriggers and jacks. The one in the upper ran the upper through a hydraulic pump
of its own. Many older operators favor the two-engine system due to leaking seals
in the turntable of aging newer design cranes. Hiab invented the world's first
hydraulic truck mounted crane in 1947.The name, Hiab, comes from the commonly
used abbreviation of Hydrauliska Industri AB, a company founded in Hudiksvall,
Sweden 1944 by Eric Sundin, a ski manufacturer who saw a way to utilize a
truck's engine to power loader cranes through the use of hydraulics.
Fig 1-
10
Generally, these cranes are able to travel on highways, eliminating the need for
special equipment to transport the crane unless weight or other size constrictions are
in place such as local laws. If this is the case, larger cranes are equipped with either
special trailers to help spread the load over more axles or are able to disassemble to
meet requirements. An example is counterweights. Often a crane will be followed
by another truck hauling the counterweights that are removed for travel. In addition
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some cranes are able to remove the entire upper. However, this is usually only an
issue in a large crane and mostly done with a conventional crane such as a Link-
Belt HC-238.
When working on the job site, outriggers are extended horizontally from the chassis
then vertically to level and stabilize the crane while stationary and hoisting.
Many truck cranes have slow-travelling capability (a few miles per hour) while
suspending a load.
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Great care must be taken not to swing the load sideways from the direction of
travel, as most anti-tipping stability then lies in the stiffness of the chassis
suspension.
Most cranes of this type also have moving counterweights for stabilization
beyond that provided by the outriggers.
Loads suspended directly aft are the most stable, since most of the weight
of the crane acts as a counterweight.
Factory-calculated charts (or electronic safeguards) are used by crane
operators to determine the maximum safe loads for stationary (outriggered)
work as well as (on-rubber) loads and travelling speeds.
Truck cranes range in lifting capacity from about 14.5 short tons (12.9 long
tons; 13.2 t) to about 1,300 short tons (1,161 long tons; 1,179 t). Although
most only rotate about 180 degrees, the more expensive truck mounted
cranes can turn a full 360 degrees
Fig 1-
11
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A rough terrain crane has a boom mounted on an undercarriage atop four rubber
tires that is designed for off-road pick-and-carry operations. Outriggers are used to
level and stabilize the crane for hoisting.
These telescopic cranes are single-engine machines, with the same engine powering
the undercarriage and the crane, similar to a crawler crane. The engine is usually
mounted in the undercarriage rather than in the upper, as with crawler crane. Most
have 4 wheel drive and 4 wheels steering for traversing tighter and slicker terrain
than a standard truck crane, with less site prep.
Fig 1-
12
1-3-1-3 Crawler
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A crawler crane has its boom mounted on an undercarriage fitted with a set of
crawler tracks that provide both stability and mobility. Crawler cranes range in
lifting capacity from about 40 to 3,500 short tons (35.7 to 3,125.0 long tons; 36.3 to
3,175.1 t).
The main advantage of a crawler crane is its ready mobility and use, since the crane
is able to operate on sites with minimal improvement and stable on its tracks
without outriggers. Wide tracks spread the weight out over a great area and are far
better than wheels at traversing soft ground without sinking in. A crawler crane is
also capable of traveling with a load. Its main disadvantage is its weight, making it
difficult and expensive to transport. Typically a large crawler must be disassembled
at least into boom and cab and moved by trucks, rail cars or ships to its next
location.
Fig 1-
13
Crawler crane
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1-3-1-4 Floating
Floating cranes are used mainly in bridge building and port construction, but they
are also used for occasional loading and unloading of especially heavy or awkward
loads on and off ships. Some floating cranes are mounted on pontoons, others are
specialized crane barges with a lifting capacity exceeding 10,000 short tons (8,929
long tons; 9,072 t) and have been used to transport entire bridge sections. Floating
cranes have also been used to salvage sunken ships.
Crane vessels are often used in offshore construction. The largest revolving cranes
can be found on SSCV Thialf, which has two cranes with a capacity of 7,100 tonnes
(7,826 short tons; 6,988 long tons) each. For 50 years, the largest such crane was
"Herman the German" at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, one of three constructed
by Hitler's Germany and captured in the war.
The crane was sold to the Panama Canal in 1996 where it is now known as Titan.
Fig 1-14
Floating crane
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All terrain
An all-terrain crane is a hybrid combining the road ability of a truck-mounted and
on-site maneuverability of a rough-terrain crane. It can both travel at speed on
public roads and maneuver on rough terrain at the job site using all-wheel and crab
steering.
AT's have 2-9 axles and are designed for lifting loads up to 1,200 tones (1,323 short
tons; 1,181 long tons).
Fig 1-15
Side-lifter
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Container lift is done with parallel crane-like hoists, which can lift a container from
the ground or from a railway vehicle.
Fig 1-16
Side-lift crane
Railroad
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A railroad crane has flanged wheels for use on railroads. The simplest form is a
crane mounted on a flatcar. More capable devices are purpose-built.
Different types of crane are used for maintenance work, recovery operations and
freight loading in goods yards and scrap handling facilities.
Fig 1-17
Railroad crane
Aerial
Aerial crane or 'Sky cranes' usually are helicopters designed to lift large loads.
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Helicopters are able to travel to and lift in areas that are difficult to reach by
conventional cranes. Helicopter cranes are most commonly used to lift units/loads
onto shopping centers and highrises. They can lift anything within their lifting
capacity, (cars, boats, swimming pools, etc.). They also perform disaster relief after
natural disasters for clean-up, and during wild-fires they are able to carry huge
buckets of water to extinguish fires.
Some aerial cranes, mostly concepts, have also used lighter-than air aircraft, such as
airships.
Fig 1-18
Aerial crane
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Exchanging mobility for the ability to carry greater loads and reach greater heights
due to increased stability, these types of cranes are characterized by the fact that
their main structure does not move during the period of use. However, many can
still be assembled and disassembled. The structures basically are fixed in one place.
Tower cranes are a modern form of balance crane that consist of the same basic
parts. Fixed to the ground on a concrete slab (and sometimes attached to the sides of
structures), tower cranes often give the best combination of height and lifting
capacity and are used in the construction of tall buildings. The base is then attached
to the mast which gives the crane its height. Further, the mast is attached to the
slewing unit (gear and motor) that allows the crane to rotate. On top of the slewing
unit there are three main parts which are: the long horizontal jib (working arm),
shorter counter-jib, and the operator's cab.
Fig 1-19
Tower crane
1-3-2-2 Self-erecting tower cranes
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Self-erecting tower cranes are transported as a single unit and can be assembled by
a qualified technician without the assistance of a larger mobile crane. They are
bottom slewing cranes that stand on outriggers, have no counter jib, have their
counter weights and ballast at the base of the mast, cannot climb themselves, have a
reduced capacity to standard tower cranes, and seldom have an operator's cabin.
Fig 1-20
A telescopic crane has a boom that consists of a number of tubes fitted one inside
the other. A hydraulic cylinder or other powered mechanism extends or retracts the
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tubes to increase or decrease the total length of the boom. These types of booms are
often used for short term construction projects, rescue jobs, lifting boats in and out
of the water, etc. The relative compactness of telescopic booms makes them
adaptable for many mobile applications.
Though not all telescopic cranes are mobile cranes, many of them are truck-
mounted.
A telescopic tower crane has a telescopic mast and often a superstructure (jib) on
top so that it functions as a tower crane. Some telescopic tower cranes also have a
telescopic jib.
Fig 1-21
A telescopic crane
1-3-2-4 Hammerhead
The "hammerhead", or giant cantilever, crane is a fixed-jib crane consisting of a
steel-braced tower on which revolves a large, horizontal, double cantilever; the
forward part of this cantilever or jib carries the lifting trolley, the jib is extended
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Fig 1-22
Normally a crane with a hinged jib will tend to have its hook also move up and
down as the jib moves (or luffs). A level luffing crane is a crane of this common
design, but with an extra mechanism to keep the hook level when luffing.
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Fig 1-23
An overhead crane, also known as a bridge crane, is a type of crane where the hook-
and-line mechanism runs along a horizontal beam that runs along two widely
separated rails. Often it is in a long factory building and runs along rails along the
building's two long walls. It is similar to a gantry crane. Overhead cranes typically
consist of either a single beam or a double beam construction. These can be built
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using typical steel beams or a more complex box girder type. Pictured on the right is
a single bridge box girder crane with the hoist and system operated with a control
pendant. Double Girder Bridge is more typical when needing heavier capacity
systems from 10 tons and above. The advantage of the box girder type configuration
results in a system that has a lower deadweight yet a stronger overall system
integrity. Also included would be a hoist to lift the items, the bridge, which spans
the area covered by the crane, and a trolley to move along the bridge.
Fi
g 1-24
An overhead crane being used in typical machine shop. The hoist is operated via a wired pushbutton
station to move system and the load in any direction
1-3-2-7 Gantry
A gantry crane has a hoist in a fixed machinery house or on a trolley that runs
horizontally along rails, usually fitted on a single beam (mono-girder) or two beams
(twin-girder). The crane frame is supported on a gantry system with equalized
beams and wheels that run on the gantry rail, usually perpendicular to the trolley
travel direction. These cranes come in all sizes, and some can move very heavy
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Fig 1-25
Gantry crane
1-3-2-8 Deck
Located on the ships and boats, these are used for cargo operations or boat
unloading and retrieval where no shore unloading facilities are available. Most are
diesel-hydraulic or electric-hydraulic.
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Fig 1-26
Deck crane
A jib crane is a type of crane where a horizontal member (jib or boom), supporting a
moveable hoist, is fixed to a wall or to a floor-mounted pillar. Jib cranes are used in
industrial premises and on military vehicles. The jib may swing through an arc, to
give additional lateral movement, or be fixed. Similar cranes, often known simply
as hoists, were fitted on the top floor of warehouse buildings to enable goods to be
lifted to all floors.
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Fig 1-27
Jib crane
1-3-2-10 Bulk-handling
Bulk-handling cranes are designed from the outset to carry a shell grab or bucket,
rather than using a hook and a sling. They are used for bulk cargoes, such as coal,
minerals, scrap metal etc.
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Fig 1-28
Bulk-handling crane
1-3-2-11 Loader
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Fig 1-29
1-3-2-12 Stacker
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store and retrieve product. The product can in some cases be as large as an
automobile.
Stacker cranes are often used in the large freezer warehouses of frozen food
manufacturers. This automation avoids requiring forklift drivers to work in below
freezing temperatures every day.
Fig 1-30
Stacker crane
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