Mexican logistics solutions company, Tradelossa, recently employed its new Enerpac Super Boom Lift SBL1100 hydraulic gantry to install a 324-ton gas turbine at the Salamanca Combined Cycle Plant in Mexico. To ensure that the gas turbine was accurately lifted and positioned during the construction of the 836 MW power plant, Tradelossa fabricated a 22m header beam, one of the longest ever used with an SBL1100 gantry.
Due to the layout of the power plant construction site, the gas turbine, which measured 11m long, 4.9m high and 4.3m wide, required an extra-long header beam to be positioned correctly. Tradelossa engineers designed and constructed the 22m header beam, but the cable controlling the gantry’s Enerpac side shift units required extension. With technical support from Enerpac, Tradelossa produced an extension cable that enabled the gantry and side shift units to be controlled as a single integrated lifting system from the SBL1100 Intelli-Lift wireless control system.
During the turbine lifting manoeuvre, the capability of the SBL1100 gantry was demonstrated. The lifting started with a longitudinal movement of 11.80 m, followed by a transverse movement of 9.50 m, and concluded with a vertical movement of 3.40 m. The entire operation was completed in just over four and a half hours, setting a speed record time in Mexico for this type of manoeuvre. Tradelossa’s Manager of Engineering and Maintenance, Fernando Miranda Herrera, said: “This was our first project with the SBL1100, and we were impressed with its performance.”
Before the turbine move, Tradelossa engineers received intensive training at the Monterrey Tradelossa facilities for three days to understand the SBL1100 gantry and side shift operation.
The Enerpac SBL1100 is equipped with three-stage lifting cylinders and can lift up to 12m at the top of the third stage, handling up to 1178 tons at the top of the first stage. As standard, the SBL1100 features an Intelli-Lift wireless control system, which allows unobstructed views of the load. The wireless system ensures automatic synchronisation of lifting and side shift units, with an accuracy of 24 mm and automatic synchronisation of travel with accuracy of 15 mm.
Moreover, the Enerpac modular electric-powered header beam side shift units enable gantry users to customise the “below the hook” distance to suit header beam dimensions and project requirements.
