Allelys installs a turbine and a generator at Skelton Grange

UK’s heavy haulage specialist was recently tasked with installing a turbine and a generator through the roof of a turbine hall at a height of 22.3 metres. 

The turbine, weighing 160 tonnes and measuring 7.8m (l) x 5.35m (w) x 4.6m (h) arrived into Goole docks, where Allelys discharged the vessel using the LG1550 mobile crane. It was then positioned onto stools at the port for temporary storage.

Once the site team were ready to receive the component, Allelys built a 24-axle girder frame trailer around the stools to self-load the cargo, ready for transport to Skelton Grange.

“Prior to the transport phase, Allelys completed route surveys and transport arrangement designs as well as swept path analysis for the journey through site. Our engineering reports identified two structures that required to be negotiated on site, Wyke Beck Bridge and Effluent Culvert,” explained Garnaud Tsika, Commercial Manager at Allelys.

“Assessments were completed on both of these structures prior to project award. The assessments detailed that using a 16-axle girder frame, typical for the size and weight of this unit, wasn’t suitable, therefore we designed a solution to use a bigger and lighter frame to overcome these challenges, which enabled the route to be cleared,” Tika said.

The transportation stage included a nighttime closure on the A1 to open up the carriageway central reservation and allow the transport to cross over and join the M1. Once at the site, the turbine was transshipped from the girder frame onto a 12-axle SPMT, due to the restricted space available. It was transported to within the radius of Allelys’ LG1550 crane and lifted into the turbine hall.

Allelys also received the second component at the site, a 96-tone generator, where it was temporarily stooled off and then transported using the same 12-axle SPMT, to the crane location for lifting.

“The turbine hall was still in construction and there was a number of restrictions that we needed to adhere to, including the precise planning that was required to modify the crane location and position the outriggers due to non load bearing areas,” Tsika said.

With the height of the building being 22.3 metres, the LG1550 was rigged in luffing jib configuration. The turbine was lifted and installed first, followed by the generator, with both being lifted directly onto their final positions with the meticulous precision required to negotiate the limited clearance.