Liebherr, Crawler Crane--New Liebherr LR 13000 Crawler Crane proved with 3,371 tonnes Test Load

The new LR 13000 from Liebherr for the first time lifted a load of more than 3,000 tonnes. With a test load of 3,371 tonnes at an outreach of 16 metres the nominal load from the table of 2,697 tonnes was proved. The crane was assembled with a main boom of 60 metres in length, a 54 metre derrick boom, 400 tonnes of superstructure ballast, and suspended ballast of 1500 tonnes. This was the heaviest weight which has ever been lifted by a Liebherr crane, and to set up the enormous load Liebherr constructed a special load traverse arrangement.

An even greater increase is planned for early in 2011. The LR 13000 will be equipped with a new type of heavy-lift boom, which Liebherr has dubbed the P-boom – "Power boom". With this system, the new crane should then be able to deal with a load of 3,750 tonnes, meaning that the nominal load of 3,000 tonnes will be tested and approved. This year will still be seeing the assembly and testing of a main boom 120 metres in length.

With the LR 13000, the most powerful crawler crane in the world of conventional design, Liebherr is clearly extending its range of crawler cranes, and steadily upwards. The most important area of operations for the new LR 13000 will be in the power station construction sector. With nuclear power stations of the latest generation in particular, the lifting of extremely heavy individual items is essential, while preassembled modules also have to be lifted as complete units, and that also drives the unit weights upwards. But in refineries, too, there is an increasing demand for industrial columns weighing 1,500 tonnes and with lengths of 100 metres to be erected. Larger and larger cranes are also needed for the pre-assembly of offshore steel structures, such as oil platforms.

Against this background of the enormous size and capacity of the new 3,000 tonner, one major consideration was a practical concept for the economical transport of the crane components. The result is that no single component exceeds a transport weight of 70 tonnes. The ballast slabs, made of concrete and weighing 25 tonnes, have precisely the dimensions of one 20-foot container, and can be lifted and loaded with a spreader and Twistlock locking system. This concept has already proved to be a really excellent solution: when first testing the LR 13000, a total counterweight of 1.900 tonnes was used.

Source: Hub-4.com