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Navigating limited space, managing low ground bearing pressure and grappling with a cumbersome heat exchanger posed distinctive and formidable challenges for heavy lift and heavy transport full-service crane and rigging company Deep South.
With the combination of limited space, low ground bearing pressure and a cumbersome heat exchanger, the Deep South team in California faced unique challenges.
The customer needed to lift a 35’-diameter x 70’-long regenerator head with cyclones, weighing 775,000 pounds in a tight, geologically compromised area.
Avoiding obstructions
The location for the crane setup sat over a previously demolished operating unit, which left behind many underground obstructions.
Deep South worked with the client to carefully study the necessary ground bearing requirements, which had to stay below 2,000 psf. An acceptable solution required multiple iterations of analysis and recommendations to meet the site requirements and complete the lift.
Successful case study: A customized heavy-lift solution delivers timely, safe regenerator
The final solution called for an 1,800-ton VersaCrane™ TC-28000 crane, a crane purpose-built for high-lift capacity in low ground bearing situations.
For the regenerator lift, the ability to adjust the VersaCrane’s™ outrigger positions allowed the team to optimize the position of the crane to avoid the underground obstructions. The team utilized Deep South’s steel distribution beams to further spread outrigger loads over a greater area.
Close confined and secure lift
A second concern was the confined area where the crane was set up to perform the lift. The VersaCrane™ fleet works extraordinarily well in confined areas, thanks to its hinge counterweight system that gives the crane more capacity without substantially increasing the tail swing radius. Further, the counterweights allow the crane to swing the minimum tail swing radius without losing load capacity. Another unique benefit of the VersaCrane™ fleet is its ability to adjust the mast radius in mid-lift.
The combined flexibility of mid-lift adjustments and a hinged counterweight proved ideal for the complex regenerator lift.
Due to obstructions at the rear of the crane, the initial pick of the regenerator from the temporary support structure required a limited tail swing. Besides the 363’ boom, the team relied on a 1,500 kips auxiliary counterweight and a second 480-kip auxiliary counterweight with a reduced mast radius to make the first lift (and avoid the obstructions). Once the crane and regenerator were swung in line to the final set position, the mast radius was increased to achieve the configuration needed for the final set on the permanent structure. Congratulations to the team for navigating this complex project safely and on time.
About Deep South
Formed in the heart of the heavy industrial U.S. Gulf Coast, Deep South Crane & Rigging combines some of the hardest working personnel with the most innovative solutions available to solve heavy lift and heavy transport challenges. As an international, full-service company, Deep South combines the right tools with the right talent to offer a range of services, from bare crane rentals to turnkey heavy lift and heavy transport solutions. Deep South continues to put a premium on personal service and — above all — safety.
The firm offers a comprehensive fleet of equipment: VersaCranes™ to 3,000 tons, crawler cranes to 1,760T, truck cranes, hydraulic cranes, and rough terrain cranes; hundreds of specialty transporters, bridging and barging solutions, custom RORO facilities, cantilever beam systems, heavy rigging, jack and slide systems, gantries, steel mats, and other custom tools.
Deep South’s capacity to design and fabricate is made possible in part by the in-house design and manufacturing of our own heavy-lift crane line, VersaCrane™, with models ranging from 750 to 3,000 tons in capacity. Deep South has more than 100,000 square feet of fabrication facilities that include the necessary equipment to fabricate specialty items such as crane components, steel mats, and steel bridges.
To learn more, visit deepsouthcrane.com.
