44
JULY-AUGUST 2013
d
&
ri
IN ACTION
B
razilian contractor Complex Ltda was
faced with a challenge when it won
the contract to demolish an old bridge
that connected districts in the city of Vitoria
in the state of Espirito Santo. The old bridge
could no longer cope with the increasing
volume of traffic crossing between the city
districts and it had in fact been replaced by
three new structures. Its demolition required
the removal of 1,300 m
3
of concrete, with
a provision of the contract requiring that
none of the resulting demolition debris was
to be allowed to fall into the river below for
environmental reasons.
Complex first used an Atlas Copco SB
452 breaker to remove the lighter concrete
structures such as the parapet and concrete
surfacing. Once this had been done, two Atlas
Sensitive
Brazilian
bridge
work
Surgical and controlled demolition was required from Complex Ltda during the demolition of a bridge in
Vitoria, Brazil
Making an impact
on asphalt recycling
Powerscreen launched the XH320X tracked
impact crusher towards the end of last year,
with the first prototype being sent to South
Wales, UK, based Crush Ltd for extensive
testing to be carried out.
According to Powerscreen, the XH320X
had been developed to include a fully
independent hydraulically driven pre-screen
to improve fines removal and reduce chamber
wear costs. It also features a hydraulically
folding extended side conveyor with a
stockpile height of 3.7 m (12.2 ft).
According to Crush Ltd’s operations
director Ben Sherratt: “We had the XH320X
on test for 9 months and were delighted with
its performance. We tested the machine on
a variety of applications including recycled
asphalt, limestone and grit stone. The
impressive performance of the XH320X
test machine along with our direct input on
design from a customer perspective allowed
us to be involved in the final design which
took on board the varying applications that a
contractor has to work. This created a design
which is much more flexible and suited to a
crushing contractor's need for versatility that
ultimately led us to purchasing one of the first
production machines.”
While on test, the machine first worked on
highly abrasive grit stone where it produced
an average of 180 tonnes per hour and 8,000
tonnes per week. When moved over to asphalt
recycling, Ben said: “in this application it
really excelled. When working on mixed
recycled asphalt, the XH320X machine really
performed, giving a very good consistent
reduction.”
Recent increases in the cost of asphalt
paving materials, namely the oils used in the
bitumen cements and aggregates, have created
an urgent need for new asphalt recycling
technologies.
■
At 236 m (778 ft), the third highest chimney in the
UK, and the tallest in Scotland, is set for explosive
demolition at 10 pm on Sunday July 28, 2012.
The chimney, at Scottish Power’s Inverkip Power
Station just 50 m (164 ft) away from the River
Clyde, will be brought down by contractor Brown
and Mason, who has been on site since February
2012 to carry out the removal of the station. The
chimney, which is made up of 1.4 million bricks and
20,000 tonnes of concrete, consists of five flues
with 22 internal floors. Charges will be set on the
10th and ground floors, with the 10th floor charges
timed to go off fractionally ahead of those on the
lower floor to ensure that the chimney falls within
the site. Brown and Mason has had to liaise with
the Clyde Port Authority, police, relevant railway
authorities and Scottish Power to ensure the
success of the implosion.
Copco MB 1700 breakers and two CC 1700
CombiCutters, mounted on Volvo EC210
and Cat 416E carriers, were then used to first
remove the concrete bridge deck and then the
10 concrete beams that made up the bridge’s
main structure. All resulting debris was
received by a barge moored in the river below
the bridge and then transported to a recycling
plant for further processing.
■
Powerscreen’s XH320X has proved
a hit, especially where processing
asphalt is concerned.
