Kranservice Rheinberg

Atanas Atanassov, mechanical engineering technician, Sales/Project Planning, Kranservice Rheinberg GmbH: "LGH delivered exactly the right synchronous lifting system with hydraulic jacks at exactly the right time. But more importantly, they also provided expertise and an excellent service. Far from treating us like just another customer, LGH was wholly committed to meeting our every demand, from initial consultancy right through to execution of the project."

The challenge

The port slewing crane in Rheinberg serves the loading and unloading of ships and railway freight cars carrying bulk goods, primarily coal. The replacement of the large-diameter roller bearing was a real challenge, not only due to the height and weight of the crane, but also because the installation engineers needed to balance the load centre of gravity resulting from the jib extension of approx. 32 m. This required hydraulic jacks that supported both synchronised and independent operation. Weather conditions also played a key role in the lifting operation as the stability of the overall system could only be guaranteed up to wind force 6.

The solution

In collaboration with LGH GmbH, specialists in the hire of hoisting and lifting technology, the principals of Kranservice Rheinberg prepared a static calculation to compensate the offset centre of gravity of the upper structure. In order to provide an efficient and convenient working area for the engineers, they also created a steel auxiliary construction that was mounted at the same height as the defective roller bearing. After checking the weather conditions and determining a suitable date, the repair work began. The project required 4 hydraulic lifting cylinders, each with a lifting capacity of 100 tonnes respectively, and a computer-controlled synchronous lifting system. Key to the success of the project were the cylinders equipped with distance meters and the option to operate them individually, in tandem or synchronously using the synchronous lifting system. This enabled the safe and uniform lifting of the crane superstructure by approx. 20 cm. Using the synchronous lifting system, the engineers were able to individually control the hydraulic jacks, thus ensuring the constant stability of the superstructure and enabling them to replace the defective large-diameter roller bearing, which has a diameter of 320 cm and weighs 3.6 tonnes. The bearings were transported to and from the auxiliary construction with the help of a truck crane.

Our equipment used for this project

hydraulic synchronous lifting system hydraulic jacks