CASAR Superplast10 Mix was introduced
and delivered to its first customer
three years ago. At that time,
the internal tests under laboratory
conditions had just been completed and the
rope started work on its first industrial and
overhead cranes. In the meantime, the CASAR
Superplast10 Mix had proved its versatility
and was used in other applications.
The best example of this is the Rhenus Bulk
Terminal Wilhelmshaven (formerly Niedersachsenbrücke)
or BTW for short. There
are Ø 42 mm Superplast10 Mix ropes
in use on both the four fall double
jib level luffing cranes. These have
a load capacity of 63 t with an
offset of 44 m; the gripper size
is 44 m³. Together with the 38 t
ship unloader overhead gantry
crane, ships up to 250,000 t in size
can be unloaded at a total unloading rate of
4,000 t/h. Cranes and grabs are one of the
largest construction classes that the manufacturers
of both trades can deliver.
As the name suggests, four ropes in total are
used, two holding ropes (outside) and two
closing ropes (inside). With this configuration,
the grab does not twist under load, as both
rope types are designed right handed and left
handed.
The two holding ropes are connected
to the grabber by rope sockets supplied
by the customer. The closing
ropes are also fastened with rope
sockets to the gripping ropes inside.
The connection with the
rope socket ensures that the
short strand length in the gripper
can be changed quickly and easily.
The high number of bending cycles on
relatively small pulleys combined with the
abrasive action of the bulk material ensures
that this short rope zone fails much earlier
than the rest of the rope length and therefore
must be changed much earlier.
When connecting the closing and gripping
ropes, ensure that the left-hand closing rope
is connected to the left-hand gripping rope
and the right-hand closing rope is connected
to the right-hand gripping rope respectively.
Otherwise, both ropes will try to twist the
coupling piece in the same rotational direction
which would lead to the ropes untwining
under load. This would result in a reduction in
the breaking force and a structural change in
the ropes.
The terminal is a newly constructed and
modernised coal terminal which handles the
largest coal ships in the world. Usually, hard
coal is shipped for the two coal-fired power
stations located in Wilhelmshaven and for
other power plants in Germany via the wagon
loading system. Currently, the annual turnover
is around 4 – 5 million tonnes of coal which is
steadily increasing due to the acquisition of
new customers.
According to Kurt Kühn, head of technology at
Rhenus BTW, this steady increase in demand
soon resulted in the original rope routing from
another rope manufacturer being exchanged
for the tried and tested CASAR rope to achieve
better service life. In close collaboration with
the company Tecklenborg,Kegel GmbH the
new CASAR Superplast10 Mix was chosen for
its excellent bending exibility and constant
wear behaviour over a wide load spectrum.
An initial conclusion can be drawn. On the number
1 level luffing crane, the change from the
original rope to the CASAR Superplast10 Mix
led to an increase in the handling capacity of
almost 14 % per rope set. On the number 2
level luffing crane, the first Superplast10 Mix
has not yet reached its discard state. In any
case, Mr. Kühn is very satisfied with the rope’s
specification.