INTERNATIONAL AND SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
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DECEMBER 2013
WIND TURBINE ERECTION
27
New dedication
Alongside redesigns and new additions
to existing cranes, manufacturers are
also designing new models. XCMG, for
example, launched the QUY500W, a
crawler crane specifically designed for
working in the wind power sector. The
crawler can lift a 105 tonne load to a
height of 90 m.
Recent launches from manufacturer
Link-Belt are the 80 ton (72 tonne) RTC-
8080 Series II and the 200 ton (181 tonne)
248 HSL lattice crawler. The manufacturer
also increased the base capacity for the 250
ton (226.8 tonne) 298 HSL.
“The most significant wind project as
of late for Link-Belt has been in California
at the Blattner Energy project in Tehachapi
Pass, north of Los Angeles, in the Mojave
Desert,” Pat Collins, senior product
manager, lattice crawler and telescopic
crawler cranes at Link-Belt, says, “There are
more than 20 Link-Belts working on that
project at various modification yards and
also at individual turbine locations. Nearly
half of those cranes are large Link-Belt 80
to 90 ton [72.5 to 81 tonne] rough-terrain
cranes, and the remainder are smaller
rough terrains and larger capacity lattice
crawler cranes, a 250 ton [226 tonne] 298
HSL and 300 ton [272 tonne] 348 H5.”
Also new to the market is the Terex
Superlift 3800 crawler crane, which can
erect wind turbine hubs up to 3 MW and
110 metres.
The 3800 requires less counterweight
than previous models and, for better
transport, single components weigh less
than 40 tonnes and less than 3 m in width
and height. In addition, the crane has side
outriggers with ground pressure monitors,
a new cab design, and a fall protection
system fitted as standard. It has a maximum
load moment rating of 8,426 tonne-metres.
Making waves
The number of offshore wind farms is also
increasing at a steady rate, even in areas
where the concept had been unpopular. As
a spokesperson from Uchimiya in Japan
points out, this trend is set to increase,
“Recently we worked on an offshore wind
turbine installation project in Kamisu,
Ibaraki Prefecture. Although offshore wind
turbine farms in Japan are not so popular,
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Variables such as tight radii turns, elevation changes, narrow roads and low clearances on bridges
can be a serious problem for planning transport routes when large equipment is involved. To help
plan these difficult routes, transportation software provider Transoft Solutions uses AutoTURN, a
simulation software that helps plan journey routes to see if they can realistically be made.
The software can simulate rear-steering systems for six specialized vehicle configurations,
including a 19-axle heavy hauler trailer, a wind tower trailer (or Schnabel trailer), a wind blade
trailer, a beam transporter I and II and a booster trailer.
“In Northeast Brazil, wind farms are in coastal regions and the roads there are made of sand
dune soil,” a company spokesperson from Transoft Solutions explains. “Some of the bridges the
special transport trucks have to cross are only rated for loads up to 36 tonnes and components,
like the nacelles, weigh much more than this. The truck drivers also have to deal with oncoming
traffic and navigating narrow roads.”
“Modelling the vehicle swept path
accurately is important to ensure designers
can plan safe and efficient routes for the super
loads,” Transoft’s Steven Chan adds.
SIMULATION PLANNING
Buckner Companies at the Kingman wind
farm in Arizona, USA. A Liebherr LR 1600/2
in SL3F configuration, a main boom of 84
metres and an 11 m wind jib. The crawler
was used to set 2 MW turbines weighing 86
tonnes on 80 m towers
Lomma Crane & Rigging, based in New
Jersey US used a 660 ton (600 tonne) capacity
Manitowoc 18000 crawler crane with a
98 metre boom and a 300 ton (272 tonne)
capacity 2250 crawler with 91 m boom to erect
wind turbines at Sandy Ridge Wind Farm in
Tyrone, Pennsylvania, USA.
In total 25 Gamesa G87 wind turbines,
standing up to 101 m tall, were installed at the
farm. Challenges during the project included
sub zero temperatures, powerful winds,
difficult terrain and large amounts of snow.
Steve Burkholder, Lomma’s heavy lift manager
at the Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, location, said,
“Despite the challenging conditions, our
Manitowoc cranes operated smoothly the
entire time.”
Sandy Ridge Wind Farm has the capacity to
generate 125 GWh of electricity a year.
Once the variables were entered into
AutoTURN, engineers from Próxima
Engenharia evaluated the vehicle swept
path and the in-swing and outswing of
the turbine sections and blades on the
route to wind farm sites
we expect this to increase and to become a
new source of generating energy, more so
as demand continues to rise.”
To help with this growing trend,
Liebherr-Werk Nenzing developed the
CAL 64000-1500 Litronic, a heavy lift
offshore crane. The CAL 64000-1500 has a
lifting capacity of 1,500 tonnes to a working
radius of 31.5 m. The crane has a boom
length of 105 m and is designed as a crane
around the leg (CAL) so it can rotate 360
degrees around one of the four jack-up legs
of the vessel.
“It is capable of installing 5 MW turbines
and rotors as well as the loading and
subsequent safe installation of the heaviest
foundations down to a maximum water
depth of 50 m,” the manufacturer says.
