Few cranes have the capacity to lift a 771 tonne (893 US ton) object into place. Of those cranes that are capable, even fewer are built as a series, standardizing the production process so that transportation, rigging and maintenance ease are built into each crane produced. Officials of the Yanbu Export Refinery in Yanbu, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, recently experienced firsthand the advantages of such a crane design.
The Daelim Industrial Company - KSA, Saudi Arabia, hired heavy lifting specialists Integrated Logistics Company of Ahmadi, Kuwait, to lift and position a hydro treating reactor for the Yanbu Export Refinery. Weighing 771 t (893 US ton) with a height of 67 m (220 ft) and radius of 3 m (9.8 ft), this massive reactor used in the oil refining process required specialized lifting equipment to safely hoist it into position.
Integrated Logistics prepped the lifting equipment required for the planned tandem lift, which included a Terex CC 8800-1 lattice boom crawler crane. In total, 67 flatbed, 20 low bed and two hydraulic trailers were required to make the 1,250-km (776-mi) trip. “It took approximately seven days for all the trailers to reach the site,” says Mr. Manoj, DGM – operations for Integrated Logistics.
The series-produced CC 8800-1 crane offers several design advantages that helps to facilitate transport ease. “The crane design takes into account transport requirements for virtually every market in the world,” says Christian Kassner, international sales manager for Terex Cranes. “Every component is less than 3.5 m (11.5 ft) wide, and most components have a shipping weight of less than 40 t (44 US t). By making this 1,600-t (1,764-US t) crane as a production model, Terex offers significant advantages over competitive designs that are made as a one-off, custom-design crane to meet a specific market need.”
“Timely completion was important on this project,” says Manoj, “since there was little margin due to heavy competition at the bidding stage. We appreciated the relative ease and speed in which the crane was transported and rigged.”
Massive Lift
Once the crane’s components arrived at the Yanbu Refinery, Integrated Logistics’ nine crew members – two operators, six riggers and one supervisor – began assembling the CC 8800-1 and the supporting crane equipment. The crawler crane was configured with a 78-m (255.9-ft) main boom for lifting the 67 m (219.8 ft) tall reactor. Hydraulic pinning of the boom segments increased the speed of boom assembly.
Crews used the maximum 640 t (705 U.S. t) Superlift counterweight package with 295 t (325 US t) counterweight on the superstructure and 60 t (66.1 US t) central ballast. Counterweight radius for the tray was set at 25 m (82 ft). Two 800-t (882-US t) hook blocks and one 1,000-t (1,102 US t) Crosby shackle were required to lift the massive reactor, bringing the total weight lift requirements to 810 t (893 US t).
After six days, Integrated Logistics’ crews were ready to hoist the reactor into position for Daelim. Lift conditions were ideal with favorable weather and wind speeds of less than 7 m/sec (15.7 mph), well within the crane’s rating of 9.8 m/sec (21.9 mph).
With a congested site that included other significant construction activity at the refinery, crews proceeded cautiously with the tandem lift. Working range during the lift ranged from 3 m (9.8 ft) to a maximum 24 m (78.7 ft). “Using the CC 8800-1 as the main crane, we maintained a lifting speed of approximately 2 m/min (6.6 ft),” says Manoj. “The accuracy of the crane’s control system for this project helped with the lift.”
The CC 8800-1 crane uses the IC-1 control system. It features touchscreen control with intuitive displays for operating ease, ground pressure indicator and extensive auto-diagnostic functions, making on-site troubleshooting easier to increase uptime.
Within a day, the 771-t (850-US t) reactor was hoisted and positioned at the congested site. Crews then began dismantling the crane to ship it back to the company’s headquarters in Kuwait. Integrated Logistics had the crane at the jobsite for only 10 days, allowing other projects to continue at the refinery.
“The reliability, maneuverability and accuracy of the CC 8800-1 were excellent, and made it the right crane for this project,” comments Manoj. “The crane’s performance was appreciated by everyone who witnessed the project, including those from the Yanbu Refinery and Daelim Industrial Co – KSA.”
This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.
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