Modulift beams help lift Siemens modules

UK below-the-hook equipment manufacturer Modulift worked with Siemens Heat Transfer Technology (Siemens HTT) to supply two lifting rigs for two power station modules weighing nearly 200 tonnes each.

Siemens HTT manufactured two vertical Benson-type Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG) which it needed to transport between Korea and Thailand. Each HRSG included 28 modules - so there was a total of 56 modules to transport. According to Dennis de Jong, supply manager for Siemens HTT, they are the largest HRSG-modules the company has constructed to date. They will be used as part of Thailand’s Power Development Plan – which aims to improve the reliability of the country’s power system and introduce clean power generation facilities.

Due to the modules’ size, specialist rigging was required to lift them on and off the vessel transporting them between the two countries. For this, Modulift supplied sixteen 34-tonne capacity MOD 34 spreader beams, as well as slings, shackles, tie-plates, and other rigging gear.

Eight spreader beams were rigged at a 90-degree angle under an existing larger beam, essentially widening the below-the-hook system. Chris Schwab, account executive at Modulift, explained, “Siemens wanted to utilise the same pick points so we were steered towards the eight-beam solution; we added another layer to the rig. Above each beam, a sling was rigged at either end at a 55-degree angle to a [18t SWL] tie-plate; between the plates, a 17t [SWL] tie grommet sling provided stability and attached our rig to their beam.” The distance from the top of the MOD beam to the load was approximately 1.6m.

De Jong concluded, “Alternative lifting solutions also wouldn’t have been able to handle the weight of the generators so we had to be innovative and combine our knowledge about the loads with Modulift’s below-the-hook expertise. The result was a mix of the old and the new with an existing beam rigged above the new beams beneath. The use of wire rope slings was also carefully planned to ensure maximum safety and efficiency.”