Operating in a residential area in the middle of a city in the Ruhr, Germany, industrial moves specialist Hess, overcame space and height restrictions by deploying an Enerpac SL380 hydraulic gantry to recover concrete pipe jacking sections during pipeline laying.
Pipe jacking minimises surface disruption in urban environments using a trenchless construction. Instead of digging large trenches along the entire length of the pipeline, pipe jacking needs only small access points – known as entry and exit pits – at the start and end of the pipeline route. Concrete sections weighing several tons are pushed through the earth using hydraulic jacks at the entry pit.
The Enerpac SL380 gantry was assembled over the 14m deep exit pit on a gantry tracks and special HEM beams. The gantry’s two header beams were connected by a HEM cross beam on which two pneumatic chain hoists were mounted. From here it recovered the pipe jacking cutting head and 11 concrete jacking pipes each weighing up to 31.6 tonnes. As each pipe section was lifted from the exit pit, it was skidded to a nearby low loader.
Commenting on the project, Dennis Vandenhirtz, project engineer, Hess, said, “The biggest challenge was the extremely limited space and the height restrictions imposed by nearby trees. Using the Enerpac SL380 gantry meant we were able to safely lift the pipe sections and complete the job in only four days including assembly and disassembly of the gantry.”
For more information on Hess GmbH heavy lift, visit www.hess-montagen.de.
For more information on Enerpac hydraulic gantries visit www.enerpac.com.
