Exceptionally strong winds are blamed for the collapse of a tower crane in central Moscow yesterday.
The crane looks like a fairly dated bottom slewing luffing tower crane, its triangular section tower and jib blew over the back of the machine base, with part of it apparently striking the rear end of a passing car. However no one was injured in the incident, which occurred in Testovskaya Ulitsa in the business district. More modern top slewers nearby were unaffected by the winds.
Crane service provider Felbermayr used a Liebherr LR 11000 crawler crane with Power Boom to erect a 6.2 megawatt wind turbine at an onshore test centre for off shore wind farms in Neuenwalde, Germany.
The 1,000 tonne capacity LR 11000 was set up in PDW3B configuration, which consists of 78 metre Power Boom, a 42 m derrick boom and a 66 m luffing jib. The counterweight consisted of 435 tonnes of suspended ballast, 50 tonnes of central ballast and 210 tonnes on the superstructure. Hook height was 138 m.
Five steel sections make up the turbine tower, each weighing up to 174 tonnes. Its hub height is 124 m. The lower section of the machine housing weighed 194 tonnes. Günther Wimmer, from Felbermayr’s project division, said, “This didn’t include the technical components, such as the transformer, gearbox and drive train, which weighed up to 73 tonnes each and had to be lifted into position separately.”
The turbine tower was fitted between September and November, while the assembly of the rotor took place in December 2014. The three rotor blades, which each measured 74.4 m long, were fitted onto the star-shaped head while on the ground. The total weight of the rotor was 175.4 tonnes. It was lifted to a height of 124 m and fitted onto the nacelle.
Wimmer said, “Once you think about the fact that the head is 152 metres in diameter, it soon becomes clear just how skilled the crane driver and assembly workers had to be.”
In total, 42 heavy transporters were used to transport the LR 11000 components to site. Wimmer said, “The crane came straight from being used on a construction site in Romania. After the initial leg on the road, the parts of the crane were loaded onto a cargo ship in Constanta and transported to Bremerhaven, Germany. The components were then shuttled to the construction site 42 kilometres away. It took four transport units six days to do it.”
King Lifting has taken delivery of the UK’s first LTM1300-6.2 six axle 300 tonne All Terrain crane.
The company ordered the new crane shortly after its launch at Bauma 2013, along with two 60 tonne, three axle LTM1060-3.1s which were delivered in March. The LTM1300-6.2 features a single engine which provides the power for the carrier as well as driving the crane superstructure via a combination of mechanical shafts.
Liebherr claims that this makes it significantly easier to modify its power units to meet changing emissions regulations, while offering a reduction in both weight and maintenance. The new crane comes with a 78 metre main boom, and has been ordered with the full 70 metre luffing jib with adapter to utilise the sections to make up a 42 metre fixed jib. The LTM1300-6.2 also features a 22 metre bi-fold swingaway extension with hydraulically controlled offsets, and two seven metre extension sections.
The crane has four main outrigger positions, fully retracted, half extended, three quarters and fully extended and is fitted with Liebherr’s Variobase system which assesses the extension position and support force of each outrigger and calculates the load chart available for that set up.
In addition to this new LTM1300-6.2 King Lifting has taken delivery of a 200 tonne five axle LTM1200-5.1, which will share the extension inserts ordered with the LTM1300. The two latest deliveries bring the total number of Liebherr cranes delivered to King Lifting since the start of 2014 to eight units, joining an LTM1030-2.1 and five LTM1060-5.1 cranes.
King Lifting’s commercial director, Tristan King said: “We are very happy with the Liebherr products acquired in the past 12 months, which complement our operations and help us to stay fully competitive across the UK.”
UK crane rental company Davies Crane Hire has taken delivery of a 60 tonne Liebherr LTM1060-3.1 All Terrain crane for its depot in Carmarthen, Wales.
The three axle LTM1060-3.1 has a 48 metre main boom and a 16 metre bi-fold swingaway, providing a maximum tip height of 67 metre tip height, and a maximum radius of 48 metres. It can also be fitted with a special 1.6 metre lattice jib which can be offset to 10 degrees. The crane has a 6x6x6 all wheel drive and steer chassis and can travel within 16 tonne axles weights with 12.8 tonnes of counterweight.
Liebherr GB sales manager Steve Elliott, said: “The new LTM1060-3.1 is increasingly opening doors and creating new opportunities for Liebherr in the UK. I am positive Davies will not be disappointed with this exciting new addition to its fleet.”
Davies Crane Hire managing director Malcolm Davies, added: “Bringing a Liebherr crane into our fleet proved to be an easy decision when it came to the LTM1060. The crane not only looks the part but operates very smoothly and I am convinced it will more than meet both our and our customers’ demands.”
Eslohe-based cranes service provider Blüggel Krane has taken delivery of the first 160 tonne Terex Explorer 5600 All Terrain crane in Germany.
Its first job was to lift a 17 tonne bridge, measuring 29 metres in length, on to a heavy haulage vehicle at a radius of approximately 20 metres. Once the bridge was taken to the new location, the crane then lifted it and set it down on top of its concrete piles.
The five-axle 5600 features a seven section 68 metre main boom with a bi-fold swingaway and a 12 metre straight insert, offering a maximum tip height of 95 metres. Features include a single engine concept, start/stop function, wireless remote control, and Terex’s IC-1 control system.
Company owner Friedrich Blüggel said: “One of the main reasons why I decided on the Explorer 5600 was the fact that it could work in tight spaces, as was the case with this project on the Ruhr: It has a width of only 2.75 metres, which makes it as compact as the AC 120 we already had, but it also delivers much greater performance – it’s an enormous leap forward in terms of technology.”
“This project was our chance to put our new Explorer 5600 to the test. Before starting the project, Jens Röttger (a Terex technician) taught us everything there was to know about the machine for three days and then, on site in Olsberg, provided us with invaluable advice regarding the crane’s configuration.”
A crawler crane overturned on a wind farm in Janneby, near Flensburg, Germany, last Friday during severe gale force winds.
The crane, a large Liebherr owned by Sarens, was fully rigged with around 100 metres of boom and back mast. All of which went over the back over the crane in the high winds.
No one was injured in the incident and fortunately the boom missed three turbine tower sections which were awaiting installation.
