Energy chains for cranes at the Port of Hamburg: Positive balance after five years

EUROKOMBI is Germany's largest terminal for combined freight transport. Today, containers are handled on five processing and buffer tracks, each 720 metres long, on around 103,000 m² of floor space. Four SRU cranes, each with a payload of 41 tonnes, from Austrian crane manufacturer Künz are responsible for this
With a travel of 69 m, a trolley speed of 120 m/min. and an acceleration of around 0.5 m/s, the technical requirements for the energy supply and the cable are very high. Large amounts of energy have to be moved by the chain. "The hoist requires 220 kW, the trolley crane travelling gear 100 kW, the spreader twice 6 kW, and a correspondingly large number of relatively thick cables are used," explains Günter Baitis.
However, the particularly salty air and the exhaust fumes from lorries, diesel locomotives and ships also play a major role on the site in the port of Hamburg, causing problems for people and technology. The operator has to contend with corrosion, which can attack the pipe insulation, for example. Cable qualities and jacket materials must therefore be perfectly matched to all on-site requirements.

The drawing documentation was created for the design of the energy supply system and the acceptance protocol was drawn up during commissioning. The power design was always coordinated in close cooperation with the crane manufacturer Künz. The entire service package consists of the provision of the energy supply system, the cable, the strain relief and the guide trough.
Today, the SRU cranes are each equipped with a pre-assembled "Ready Chain" energy supply system, more precisely a roller energy chain from igus® is used here. There is no additional load on the energy supply system, which runs in a guide trough. "It only runs in the direction in which it should move," confirms Günter Baitis. guide troughs are used for long travel distances. They support the smooth, low-friction running of the energy supply system. An aluminium material was chosen for the SRU cranes for reasons of weight, among other things, and it is also seawater-resistant in accordance with DIN.
The roller energy chain is fitted with "chainflex®" special cables such as power and control cables. In addition to the quality of the cables used, the arrangement of the cables within the chain and the space available also play a decisive role in the service life of the system.