Floating cranes: brief information

Hoisting equipment is actively used not only on the ground areas of our planet, but also on the water spaces, because the erection of various hydraulic structures necessarily requires the availability of special cranes, the design of which, in turn, is fully adapted to work in the water sector. Floating cranes are machines that can solve the above tasks. Therefore, consider these aggregates in more detail.

Appointment

Floating cranes are initially oriented to the construction of various bridges, ports, towers in the waters of the seas, rivers and oceans. Their carrying capacity can be from 10 to 100 tons. The unique design of these machines fully meets the main requirements put forward by the Maritime Register, namely: optimum strength, ideal buoyancy and stability.

Varieties

Floating cranes are structurally:

• Unstopping . These units have fixed masts, and therefore the movement of cargo in the horizontal plane is due to the movement of the pontoon. This feature affects the overall performance of the unit - it is very small. The truth and the cost of these cranes is also low.
• The Kozlovs.
• Equipped with a leaning arrow . It is these load-lifting machines that are the most optimal for handling heavy weights. Due to the variable reach of the boom, the crane's productivity is quite high in comparison with the mast analogues. In addition, cranes with a swinging mast have low own cost, enormous load capacity and a relatively simple design. Their arrow is represented in the form of a pair of racks, which converge at the top at an acute angle, and on the pontoon are hinged. In the transport position, the boom is fixed to a support specially created for this purpose. The boom is raised / lowered using a hydraulic cylinder, rack, screw device, pulley system.
• Turning. The most productive floating cranes. The boom of any such unit is capable not only to bend, but also to rotate around its vertical axis. In this case, the load capacity of these machines can be equal to several hundred tons. Also, the cranes can have a swivel column or a swivel platform.
• Combined.

Classification according to purpose

Any floating crane can be used either for loading and unloading operations in the port, or for performing assembly work. Of course, practically the main role will be played by the indicator of the carrying capacity of the unit. As for the degree of maneuverability, all these cranes can be both self-propelled (for example, the floating crane ASPTR-1) and non-self-propelled. If it is planned that the crane will have to serve several ports at once or move to impressive distances, then in this case it will certainly be self-propelled (pontoons with ship-type contours are used).

Universal machine

Crane floating KPL was produced at the Kirov plant in St. Petersburg. The unit had two versions: hook and clamshell.

The machine is full-turning. The boom has a lattice structure and is connected to a mobile counterbalance of the balancing system by means of a hinge unit. At the moment of changing the boom out, the jib moves in the opposite direction with respect to it, which ensures the load is at the required height.

Design features

The floating crane KPL-5 has AC electric motors operating at a voltage of 220-380 V and having a power of 267 kW. The current generates a diesel generator set located on the shore or in the pontoon body. The type of control of the crane is electromechanical.

The rotating part of the crane with an arrow and the whole set of rotary and other lifting mechanisms is located on the rollers, which, in turn, move along the crown mounted on the girder cage.

The crane itself is not self-propelled, and therefore its movement takes place with the help of winches.

To bring the crane into transport position, it is necessary to lower the boom and dismantle the mechanism for changing its departure. As a result, the height of the crane will decrease to 10 meters.

The crane is designed and used to perform loading and unloading operations, which is why it has high speeds of operations. The crane does not perform installation work due to its low load capacity, but it can be used as an auxiliary near a concrete plant for reloading cement from the water surface, unloading timber and other goods. If the mounted elements have a low weight, then the use of the crane for construction is allowed.

Veteran

The self-propelled floating crane ASPTR-1 was built at the shipyard Krasnaya Kuznitsa, located in the city of Arkhangelsk, June 30, 1962. The vessel had a displacement of one thousand tons, a lifting capacity of 15 tons, a length of 38 meters, a width of 13 meters, a height of 3.2 meters. This car was assigned to the port of Novorossiysk and belonged to the State Marine Emergency and Rescue Coordination Service of the Russian Federation. Unfortunately, on October 12, 2016, during the laying of the underwater main pipeline, the crane broke down, as a result of which it had to be towed to the shore. However, due to extremely unfavorable weather conditions, the car sank. On its board there were eight people.