NEWS
Liebherr has developed anew
system for erecting its 600
metric ton capacityLR1600/2
crawler craneswith longwind
power boom systems.
Insteadof using a large
counterweightwhen
erecting theboom systems,
Liebherr has used anLTR
1220 telescopic crawler
crane as the counterweight
instead.According to the
manufacturer, thisway ismore
efficient, safer and reduces the
amount of ballast that has to
be transported.
Thenew conceptwas shown
at a customer event inAugust
at theLiebherr-WerkEhingen
factory inGermany. For the
demonstration anLR1600/2
was configuredwith an
SL10DFBmainboom system
with amainboommeasuring
153meters long and a
New crawler
erection concept
from Liebherr
12-meter fixed jib.
Normally to erect the
boom in this configuration,
350metric tons of derrick
ballastwouldbe required.
Theballastwould thenbe
reduced to70metric tons for
hoisting the standardwind
turbine components, and then
returned to350metric tons
when lowering theboom.
In total, 350metric tons of
counterweightwouldneed to
be transported to site.
Using theLTR1220 as the
main counterweight, however,
wouldmean that only70
metric tons of counterweight
wouldbe required for use as
suspendedballast, as during
the erection and lowering
of theboom system, an
LTR1220 telescopic crawler
crane couldbeused. For the
demonstration, theLTR1220
was used as a counterweight
and attached to the telescopic
boomusing an adapter.
The crane andballast plate
are attached to thederrick
jibusing a cross beamwith
strap loops.After the erection
process the telescopic crawler
crane is detached.
Thehookblockon theLTR
1220 remains reevedduring
the erectionprocess, so that it
canbequicklyused again for
handling components of the
wind turbines or otherwork.
Thenew erection concept
canbeused for all longboom
systems up to a lengthof 156
meterswith a12-meter fixed
jib.
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12
ACT
NOVEMBER2014
Using the LTR 1220
as a derrick ballast
for erecting tall
wind power systems
on the LR1600/2.
ALE completes 5,000mile journey
Adedicatedheavy-lift barge
then transferred theboiler
components to the refinery
jetty in twovoyagesusinga
combinationof SPMTs, SPTs
and conventional trailers. The
tidal restrictions at the refinery
jettyprovided tidalwindows
of less thananhour for arrival,
discharge anddeparture
of eachbarge. Thebarging
operationswere successfully
completedwithina fourday
period.
At the refinery eachboiler
componentwasdelivered in
sequenceunder the cranehook
for erectiononto foundation
andmechanical completion.
The route from jetty to
overseeingall aspectsof the
supply chain for the journey to
Pembroke.
The eightwasteheat
boiler components ranged
inweight,with the largest
weighing167 tons, andwere
transported from thevendor’s
facility inAbilene, Texas to
thePort ofHouston. The
boiler componentswere then
delivered inonevoyage and
receivedat PembrokeDockon
conventionalmodular trailers.
ALE, a leadingheavylift
company, has successfully
completeda turnkeyproject
onbehalf ofValero to
transport eight components
almost 5,000miles across the
AtlanticOcean, fromTexas to
Pembroke,UK.
For this turnkeyproject,
ALE supplieddedicated
and experiencedproject
management services,with
keypersonnel fromALE’s
HixonandHoustonoffices
the construction location
involvedheight restrictions
andby studying the route and
selectingappropriate trailers,
ALE ensured that eachboiler
componentwasdelivered
safely.
Tom Irvine, SeniorProject
Manager atALEwho
coordinated theproject,
explained thebenefitsof the
turnkeypackage: “Byoffering
the client a single-source
solution,wewere able to
utilize awealthof experience
fromour teamswithin the
UKandHoustonbranches to
plan,manage, coordinate and
select theoptimum solutions
at eachphaseof theproject.
Thismeant thatwe effectively
completed the transportation
of theboiler components
almost 5,000miles to the
Pembroke refinery ina timely
manner and incident-free.”
■
ALE performed project
management services to
move eight waste heat boiler
components from Abilene, TX to
Pembroke, UK.
