STANDING ORDER: TEREX CC 9800 LOADS SUPPORT PILES FOR OFFSHORE WIND FARM ONTO TRANSPORT VESSEL
Mar 26, 2013Rostock, March, 2013 – Belgian crane service provider Sarens used a Terex CC 9800 Crawler Crane at Rostock Port to load support columns for offshore wind farm foundations in the Baltic Sea.
Offshore wind turbines have a decisive advantage over onshore turbines: They have significantly higher energy yields due to better wind conditions. However, this advantage is accompanied by a considerably higher structural complexity. This includes, among other things, the foundation, which anchors wind turbines securely and permanently to the ocean floor. Most offshore wind turbines use a system known as the so-called “tripod foundation.” It is a tripod structure made of steel tubes that support a main pile underwater. The wind turbine’s tower is placed on this main pile. The tripod is anchored with smaller piles that are driven into the ocean floor. “Our task was to load a number of the steel support piles required for this structure from lowbed trailers onto a transport ship that would take the components to the wind farm’s location,” says Sarens Project Manager Hendrik Sanders. However, the job was not as simple as it sounds. “The biggest problem was the ground, which would not be able to support the weight of the Terex crane without support – especially since we had to equip the CC 9800 with a self-propelled counterweight carrier for this project,” reports crane operator Peter Derniest.
Complex preparation work
In order to adequately stabilize the work area for the crane, the Sarens team built a platform made of concrete plates, steel plates, and wooden planks on the wharf. In addition, a path for the counterweight carrier, which was loaded with 640 tonnes, was set up in a semicircle around the platform. The crane was set up with an SSL configuration with a 66 meter-long main boom. The counterweight on the superstructure weighed 235 tonnes.
With these preparations done and the crawler crane properly configured, the CC 9800 was ready for the upcoming lifts. “We had to load two different types of piles onto the transport vessel: Pile 1 had a length of 40 meters, a diameter of 3.5 meters, and a weight of 400 tonnes; pile 2 was significantly heavier and larger with a length of 70 meters, a diameter of 3.9 meters, and a weight of 750 tonnes,” says Hendrik Sanders
Thanks to the way the working area was prepared, crane operators Peter Derniest and Joaquim “Chuckie” Tegeleiro were able to perform the lifts with no delay: to perfectly balance the piles, a spreader was mounted on the CC 9800’s hook block. This enabled the crane to pick up the piles in a stable horizontal position, swing them within a 90° radius, and deposit them safely on the transport vessel. “The CC 9800 proved to be an outstanding machine during the lifts: It is extremely easy to operate and at the same time very precise. This is important when working with this type of load,” explains Chuckie Tegeleiro. Peter Derniest adds: “The crane was already impressive during the setup: I can’t believe how a crane of this size can be so easy to rig. The conditions at the site were challenging and we assembled the crane without a single problem.”
The crane will be performing these lifts until the entire wind farm is completed, which is expected to be in 2013.
The Terex® CC 9800
The Terex® CC 9800 is based on the existing CC 8800-1 and uses the same machine components as the larger CC 8800-1 TWIN lattice boom crawler crane, which is one of the largest mobile cranes in the world with its lifting capacity of 3,200 tonnes. The CC 9800's maximum load moment with 1,122 tonnes at 24 m radius, and an 800 tonne Superlift counterweight is 26,930 mt. Meanwhile, its maximum main boom length when using an SSL/LSL configuration is 156 meters. When using the typical configuration used for lifting wind turbines, the crane features a main boom of up to 144 meters and an 18-meter luffing fly jib that is tilted forward at an angle of 20° (SSL/LSL + LF). When equipped with a 132-meter main boom and an 18-meter extension, the machine features a lifting capacity of 380 tonnes and a hook height of 147 meters. The longest possible SWSL combination (luffing fly jib with Superlift) is 108 m + 120 m, resulting in a maximum hook height of 223 meters.
About the Sarens Group
The Sarens Group, which is headquartered in the Belgian town of Wolvertem, employs around 3,000 people and is one of the world’s leading providers of crane and heavy haulage services. Its customers include companies that produce petroleum and gas, as well as companies from the energy industry, the petrochemical industry, and the mining industry. In addition, a separate business unit has specialized in erecting onshore and offshore wind turbines. Sarens enjoys an outstanding reputation as an expert business partner, particularly when large-scale, complex lifting projects are involved. The family-run enterprise, which was founded in the 1930s, now has 101 branch offices in 51 countries.
For more information, please visit www.sarens.com
About Terex
Terex Corporation is a diversified global manufacturer of a broad range of equipment that is focused on delivering reliable, customer-driven solutions for many applications, including the construction, infrastructure, quarrying, mining, shipping, transportation, refining, energy, utility and manufacturing industries. Terex reports in five business segments: Aerial Work Platforms; Construction; Cranes; Material Handling & Port Solutions; and Materials Processing. Terex offers financial products and services to assist in the acquisition of equipment through Terex Financial Services. More information can be found at www.terex.com.
