1000 EC-B 125 Litronic Flat-Top crane from ENERCON climbs to record height
First of all the compact Liebherr LR 1200 crawler crane assembled the Flat-Top crane to its initial hook height of 39 m. From this point the tower crane erected the wind turbine and was able to climb up the turbine tower as it rose using its own climbing equipment.
For this job in the southern Black Forest it climbed to a free-standing hook height of 110m. It was guyed to the wind turbine at a height of 100m. Using this single guying, the crane climbed to a final hook height of 164 m. Both free-standing and also fully climbed and guyed, these represented hook heights that ENERCON had never achieved before. They were only possible because Liebherr's flagship Flat-Top crane was assembled on the 1000 HC tower system. The monoblock tower sections with system dimensions of 3.40m x 3.40m and a length of 5.80m allow high free-standing erection heights with short erection times. The erection of the wind turbine took around four weeks.
In addition the crane was fitted with an adjustable undercarriage with a support base measuring 18.0 x 18.0m at the request of ENERCON for the erection of the first turbine. The support arms can be adjusted on this special undercarriage from the 45° position by +/- 5° or +/- 10°. The footprint of the support base is then 20.4m x 15.2m. This means that the crane can be moved closer to the object since it requires so little space.
Specialist for wind turbine erection
The locations chosen for wind turbines generally have harsh wind conditions which can adversely affect cranes. One specific benefit of tower cranes is their operational safety in wind speeds of up to 65 km/h.
The infinitely adjustable crane drive units also allow high working speeds to be used. MICROMOVE fine positioning mode enables the concrete rings, nacelles and rotor blades to be positioned and set down with millimetre precision. The very long rotor blades can also be positioned with millimetre accuracy since swinging movements of the attached components are prevented.
The crane driver has a perfect view of what is going on from the cabin. This makes it easier to position the rotor blades precisely and safely using the trolley jib.