With regards to wind generators, the larger they’re, the tougher they work, producing extra renewable offshore wind power, and a larger return on funding for builders. Because of this, next-gen generators are rising, and their elements are getting bigger and heavier.
Credit score: Mammoet/Jorrit Lousberg
To satisfy the improved set up and upkeep necessities of their elements, the tools used to maneuver, elevate and set up them have to be upgraded and changed. Mammoet was contracted by GustoMSC to hold out leg crane replacements on two offshore wind farm set up jack-up vessels (Wind Orca and Wind Osprey) for the Danish transport and set up firm Cadeler.
The brand new leg cranes are absolutely electrically pushed and have a 1,600-ton lifting capability, making them prepared to put in and repair next-generation wind generators with capability scores exceeding 14 MW.
This mission represented a novel one for Mammoet, using not solely one of many greatest cranes in its fleet but in addition its personal yard in Schiedam to carry out the job – the situation permitting a uncommon alternative to schedule tasks concurrently to tremendously improve their effectivity.
For the mission, Mammoet utilized its PTC210-DS crane, one among 5 5,000-ton class ring cranes in its fleet and one of many largest cranes on this planet. The colossal dimension and stature of the crane belie its biggest strengths – its versatility and skill to function in areas the place house is restricted.
Credit score: Mammoet/Jorrit Lousberg
“The PTC210-DS is the right crane for this job. It has a comparatively small footprint mixed with 360° slewing, with the likelihood to modify between mounted and luffing jib mode (as solely the PTCs can) ensuing within the largest attainable working space,” stated Dirk Knoester, Senior Adviser at Mammoet. “PTC cranes may also be assembled in quite a few configurations and thus a tailored configuration is possible for any job: totally different mainboom and jib lengths, mounted or luffing jib, totally different quantities of counterweight and two ring diameters.”
These attributes made it a really perfect crane for this mission, the place jack-up vessels had been to be positioned on both facet of Mammoet’s quay — which has a peninsula configuration. Flexibility was wanted to permit two vessels to be labored on collectively.
The choice to have the PTC210-DS constructed in Mammoet’s personal yard was pushed by security and optimizing the schedule for the shopper by having the ability to refit each vessels without delay.
Credit score: Mammoet/Jorrit Lousberg
“Our yard has a novel location within the port of Rotterdam, and this gave us the likelihood to place the crane between the 2 vessels and serve them on the identical time,” stated Remco Zandstra, Senior Business Supervisor at Mammoet. “Not solely does this save appreciable time, by minimizing actions of cranes within the yard and vessels alongside the marina, it additionally creates the most secure attainable resolution to carry out this mission.”
With Wind Orca and Wind Osprey moored on reverse sides of the marina, the PTC210-DS might be positioned within the heart, slotted between each vessels. Security assessments had been carried out at the beginning of the mission. This was important as surveys discovered that the dock itself consisted of two L-shaped concrete constructions with softer floor within the center. A soil survey was performed on the proposed location of ring crane and, utilizing this knowledge, calculation fashions had been created to foretell the settlement of the soil below its weight. To confirm these fashions, load exams had been carried out at each places the place the ring crossed areas with no dock ground.
The brand new leg cranes comprised 4 predominant sections to be put in: the pedestal, the rotating platform, the A-Body and the 149m mainboom. To reinforce stability and management throughout the mainboom lifts, an LR1800-1.0 crawler crane was used as an help crane. Working collectively, the PTC210-DS lifted one finish of the growth because the crawler crane lifted the opposite.
Performing this operation on a busy quay was a problem that required efficient house administration. Mammoet’s Schiedam location serves many lively tasks in Belgium and the Netherlands each day. The positioning needed to function a short lived laydown space for all elements being added to the Wind Orca and Wind Osprey, together with the big booms.
Lifting peak proved one other take a look at for the engineers. At totally different phases of the operation, the vessels needed to be raised to a peak of 73 meters above the marina utilizing their jacking legs. Jacking up the vessels to this peak was essential to hold the rigging quick, because the new cranes are of the leg encircling sort. This meant that the bottom of those cranes needed to be lifted over the leg. Thus, jacking up the vessels minimized the danger of collisions between the jack-up leg and sections of the PTC210-DS crane throughout lifts.
As crew couldn’t embark and disembark the ships as soon as they had been elevated, further security issues had been taken to make sure that solely approved personnel – to function the jacks and lift the vessels – had been allowed aboard.
Work on Wind Orca and Wind Osprey will proceed this yr, with completion anticipated later in 2024.
Information merchandise from Mammoet
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