Mammoet has purchased its first ultra-wide onshore wind tower clamp set to transport large wind turbine tower sections by road and will receive three more before the end of Q1 2022. The equipment investment will open up more paths to the wind farm for increasingly large turbine sections.
The new clamp sets will provide additional flexibility. Fewer modifications are necessary to verges, street furniture or bridges during onshore wind transport projects. It also allows new, larger designs of wind turbine generator to reach remote wind farm sites – where winds are strongest and most reliable – much more efficiently.
With turbine sizes growing, consequently, the base tower sections of these turbines have also widened, from around 4.5 m just a few years ago to over six meters today. This means that their center of gravity during transport has risen higher and higher from the ground; as much as 1.5 m above earlier models, Mammoet explains. Beyond 4.5 m, conventional trailers are considered not stable enough to perform transport of the largest tower models safely.
For these larger tower sections, the only alternative has been to transport them on top of a trailer with hydraulic suspension. However, this combination needs crane loading and unloading, is far less maneuverable and has a ride height 1.2 higher than a clamp solution; well within striking distance of bridges, Mammoet says.
Up to 6.3 meters wide tower sections
The new system, fabricated by Greiner, transports up to 6.3 m wide tower sections at lower overall heights than conventional trailers, and is already in active use. The system is installed on turntables between a mixture of an air suspension jeep-dolly and conventional multi-axle hydraulic trailers in the rear, forming a modular vehicle capable of completing narrow sequences of turns without leaving the road surface.
Like other clamp systems, the new system can receive tower sections directly from supports – no cranes are required at any stage of the journey. During projects, it will be used to transport the lower, wider tower sections, while higher, thinner sections will be transported by existing clamp systems. Source: Mammoet
