Cranes disassemble conveyor belt

Italian crane service provider Vernazza Autogru used its Demag CC 3800-1 lattice-boom crawler to dismantle an enclosed coal conveyor belt at the Tirreno Power powerstation in Vado Ligure, northern Italy.

Cramped conditions at the jobsite meant that the only suitable setup space for the project was located approximately 70 metres away from the load. This meant that the company’s telescopic cranes on-site were unable to execute the lift, so it drafted in the Demag CC 3800-1.

The crane was transported to the site using 25 trucks. Due to the limited space, the various components were transported to the site in the order in which they were needed to assemble the crane.

Five assembly technicians set up the crane with a 72-metre-long main boom, although they only had an area of 50 metres in which to do so. To achieve this the final sections of the boom were assembled at height using platforms made of concrete blocks and azobé wooden beams which were erected specifically for this purpose. For both the setup and lifting operations, Vernazza Autogru used its Demag AC 140, AC 160 and AC 800 all terrain cranes as assist cranes.

The crane was set up in SSL configuration and then in SWSL configuration, and with a counterweight of 300 tonnes. The crane picked up 60-metre-long sections of conveyor belt, each of which had a diameter of 4.50 metres and weighed 2.5 tonnes per meter, lifted them off their support structures, swung them to the side (to be divided into sections of 20 metres each), and set them down on low-bed trailers. The lifts were performed at a height of 35 metres, with a working radius of 70 metres, and in tandem with the assist cranes.

Due to the small space in which to work, visibility was limited and so Vernazza Autogru planned the lifts carefully and used spotters who were in contact with the crane operator via radio.

“Without a large, powerful crawler crane, there’s no way we could have done this job,” said Engr. Giulia Vernazza of Vernazza Autogru. “The ease of assembly of the CC 3800-1 proved to be a decisive advantage… Despite all the obstacles, our five-person team was able to keep to the original schedule thanks to their wealth of experience and the precision of the Demag cranes – and that’s even though they first had to build proper access paths for the CC 3800-1 before being able to remove some of the sections… We worked on site for a total of 20 days with our CC 3800-1.”

A video of the work can be seenby clicking here.