The new heavy-lift ship crane HLC 150.000-3000 from Liebherr with a maximum lifting capacity of 3,000 tons will rely on several HyperTEN fiber ropes from TEUFELBERGER for some of its tasks.
Following the successful and innovative fiber rope series soLITE®, the fiber rope HyperTEN has now arrived in the world of cranes. It has been the established state of the art to move and stabilize loads on deck by means of steel wire ropes. Encouraged by the positive experiences with TEUFELBERGER fiber ropes, LIEBHERR has opted for several 34 and 50 mm HyperTEN fiber ropes for the heavy-lift ship crane HLC 150.000.
The self-weight of the HyperTEN fiber rope series is so low that the rope even floats in the water. For attaching loads on deck, the advantages of a lightweight fiber rope compared to a steel wire rope are obvious – the 50mm HyperTEN weighs only 1.4 kg/m against a comparable steel wire rope weighing 11.5 kg/m. The hard-wearing protective cover made of 100% high-strength synthetic fibers ensures the necessary robustness and the ability to identify the point of discard in time. This results in a particularly long service life of HyperTEN fiber ropes on deck.
Björn ERNST, head of the fiber rope development department, describes the challenges faced during the three years of development and several trial production runs: “Apart from adapting the rope diameter and the respective diameter tolerances to the winch geometry, it was necessary to develop a load-side rope end termination that can be used in combination with the standard wire rope pouch sockets in the market. Therefore, the challenge was to develop a Fast Connector Socket (FCS) for a high-strength fiber rope which is able to transmit the respective loads and has the same compact outer dimensions as the FCS for steel wire ropes.”
The solution is an FCS for fiber ropes whose external appearance is identical with an FCS for steel wire ropes and which is compatible with the standard pouch sockets for steel wire ropes. Therefore, there is no need for customers to adapt the load-side end and existing components can still be used. Once again, TEUFELBERGER has demonstrated its proven expertise in the development of fiber ropes for steel wire rope applications.
The Liebherr heavy-lift crane series HLC has been specifically designed for the construction of offshore wind foundations and transformer substations as well as for the installation and dismantling of offshore platforms. With a maximum lifting capacity of 3,000 tons at 30 meters and 1,000 tons at 76 meters jib working radius, the HLC 150.000-3000 has been developed for a variety of uses.
In offshore operation, the high-strength fiber rope HyperTEN from TEUFELBERGER perfectly demonstrates its strengths: it helps facilitate work, save time, and increase safety. Rope diameters up to 30 mm are already available today, with larger rope diameters being developed and fitted specifically to customer requirements.
