Barnhart Blog: Heavy Industry

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Transport and Setting of Turbine/Generator in a North Carolina Project

Market: Power

Location: North Carolina

The Challenge

Barnhart Crane & Rigging Co. won a bid on an already-in-progress job, which included the hauling, lifting, and setting of steam equipment, and the customer urged the team to finish the job on a very tight schedule. On top of that, very wet and extremely cold weather made the project even more difficult, not to mention a very constricting site gave the crew very little real-estate in which to work.

The Solution

Creative planning, hard work, and timely deliveries all helped Barnhart meet the deadline. In addition, clever engineering enabled the team to connect the Marino girder to the Barnhart gantry track, and as a result, saved much time and money.

The Description

The customer contracted Barnhart for the onsite transporting and setting of the turbine in addition to a generator. The job required the team to lift, haul, and set these massive pieces to an alternative location on the job site.

The project was already underway when the crew won the bid, and the customer desired a quick finish. Barnhart engineers then focused on quickly submitting the project plans. Other engineers on the site also flooded the team's engineers with questions, and Barnhart's quick responses kept the job on schedule.

Barnhart's engineers also developed a plan to connect the Marino girders with the Barnhart gantry tracks. This allowed the team more flexibility and availability with its equipment and saved quite a bit of time and money.

The rest of the crew suffered through cold and wet weather. In fact, the site conditions heavily constricted the equipment because of minimal space to navigate machinery. The crane operators and workers pressed onward with hard work and overcame the dreary setting.

A subcontractor also delivered integral parts and equipment to Barnhart right on schedule. This timely delivery, matched with Barnhart's creative engineering staff and diligent crew, allowed Barnhart to start a job behind schedule and finish ahead of the deadline.

Major Equipment Used

Goldhofer Trailer
Stator Frame
500T Hoist

Barnhart Crane & Rigging Company Services:

Monday, March 14, 2011

Traveling Screen and Stoplog Removal from Reactor Pump

Market: DOE

Location: Washington

The Challenge

A customer contracted Barnhart to remove six traveling screens and one stoplog from a nuclear reactor pump hose. The original contractor unsuccessfully removed the traveling screens because decades of immobility tightly wedged the screens in the filtering system.

The Solution

Barnhart's top of the line pull-up gantries allowed the team to shake the screens loose, remove them from the pump hose, and successfully complete the job.

The Description

Originally, the customer contracted a competitor to remove and dispose of the old traveling screens and stoplog by means of a 2250 crawler crane. Nuclear reactor pumps use traveling screens as a net to collect debris from incoming water, and a stoplog allows the engineers to adjust the amount of water flow into the pump.

The customer wished to retire the old equipment, but however, as stated above, the numerous years of wear-and-tear lodged the screens in place. The customer and competitor invited Barnhart Crane & Rigging Company to assist in the project's completion.

The project leaders originally thought that the screens weight may have exceeded the crawler crane's capacity, in addition to the screens' firm positions. Barnhart brought in a Pull-up Gantry that effectively dislodged the stubborn traveling screens.

As it turns out, the stuck screens were the only problem, as the other team easily removed the screens with the 2250 crawler crane. Similarly, Barnhart used the pull-up gantry along with climbing jacks to initially unfasten the stoplog, and the other team successfully removed it with the same crawler crane.

Major Equipment Used

Pull-up Gantry
Climbing Jacks