BELOW THE HOOK Ӏ NOVEMBER 2022


j ‘Sarens Spider’, allows safe


and precise lifting and positioning, especially in cases where increased accuracy is vital. The SarSpin is a set of hydraulic cylinders with four legs, (not eight, despite the name). It can handle loads up to 220 tonnes and gives operators precise control of individual sling loads and stroke adjustments. Its operators use a central computer to control the SarSpin system, constantly monitoring tension and stroke in each cylinder for precise lifting and positioning. In this way they guide tensioning and load distribution at all lift points, minimising deformation to a client’s load. SarSpin enables them to compensate for load deflections, level out a load, and optimise load distribution. A SarSpin setup of three or four


hydraulic cylinders can not only be used to control the level of a load, but the position of its outer corners, which is useful during operations like bridge installations. Or a setup of multiple SarSpin cylinders mounted vertically at each lifting point can be used for load and deflection control of larger loads that have multiple lifting points. SarSpin is often combined with


a customised spreader system to control and equalise the tackle or lifting frame at every lifting point. Although it was originally designed to replace spreaders, on most occasions small spreaders are still used to prevent the SarSpin systems from bumping into each other while without a load. Its use, says Sarens, has proved indispensible for many projects and hugely helpful for others. Without it, for example, deflection control of lighter loads could still be achieved with chain blocks, but these don’t have the advantage of a load and stroke readout. Strandjacks could also be used, but they have a larger stroke and require much more preparation


Mammoet goes nuclear


A heavy lift by Mammoet in a nuclear facility required even the slings and support straps to be checked for radiation. The Lingen nuclear power plant in Germany is in the process of being decommissioned. Mammoet was assigned to remove the two steam converters, each weighing around 155t, from the control area of the power plant. Each would need to be moved vertically and then tilted to a horizontal orientation, before being lifted from the building to waiting transportation below. Due to the high radiation


protection requirements on site, the entire tooling, equipment and 100t of fabricated steelwork had to pass special radiation checks before being brought into the control area. This considerable time factor had to be taken into account in the planning so that the overall deadline could be met. Before executing the lift all core components including the support strap,


temporary lifting device and the skidding beam for the transverse skidding operation were subjected to a thorough load test. Then the support strap had to be installed onto the fi rst steam converter. Due to its installation position in a narrow housing, the upright positioned component was diffi cult to access and fi rst had to be jacked up with hydraulic climbing jacks and moved laterally. After the support strap – properly radiation-safe- was attached, the


temporary lifting device took over the steam converter. It was pushed out of the housing centimeter by centimeter with a skidding device and fi nally placed precisely onto a skidding track. The now horizontal steam converter was then rotated by 90 degrees and lowered. In this position, the large component could be removed from the control


area to a gantry built several storeys high against the building exterior. Due to interfering edges and the narrow diameter of the opening, only a few centimeters of clearance were available to perform the operation. After removal, the steam converter was lifted from this portal gantry in a tandem operation, by a 1200-tonne and a 750-tonne mobile crane, and loaded for transport on the power plant site. The second steam converter followed in the same procedure. Lastly, four subcoolers were moved, lifted and handed over to the customer for loading into special containers.


and maintenance. Controlling a load using a single crane and the SarSpin system offers a valuable advantage: it avoids having to use two cranes for a tandem lift, which in turn reduces costs and increases safety. SarSpin can also replace a typical spreader combination to achieve a lower rigging height. The equalising function of the spreaders, in that case, is replaced by the SarSpin’s


load control. At the Hinkley Point C


nuclear site in the UK six 200-tonne capacity SarSpin units, combined with the SGC- 250 crane, were used to equalise tackle weighing 700 tonnes. A project in Kazakhstan has lifted a 1.600-tonne capacity frame using twelve 200-tonne and 22 150-tonne SarSpin combined with the Sarens SGC-140 crane.


CRANES TODAY 137


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