About the Project
“The Hippo” is the affectionate name given to the largest floating lemniscate crane in the Netherlands, a nickname inspired by its shape.
This floating luffing crane, used at the OBA Bulk Terminal in Amsterdam, boasts a lifting capacity of no less than 50 tonnes and is employed for bulk handling.
Cracks were observed in the wall of the “ton” (the vertical circular section), located just above the slewing ring at the base. The previously installed stiffening strips proved to be suboptimal. Vicoma was engaged to halt the formation of cracks in the structure.
Vicoma’s Role
Vicoma’s engineers applied FEM analysis to determine the optimal shape for the stiffening strips. The newly designed profile significantly reduces the peak stresses and shifts the highest stresses to a less critical location on the wall of the ton.
Result
The revised design has halved the maximum stress in the structure, and the critical stress points no longer occur at the previously vulnerable area.
Want to know more about this project? Arjan and his team can tell you all about it.
Arjan Exel
Commercial Manager, Velsen
Main question
Vicoma was engaged to halt the formation of cracks in the structure.
Result
The revised design has halved the maximum stress in the structure, and the critical stress points no longer occur at the previously vulnerable area.
Accompanied by
Vicoma Velsen
Location
Amsterdam
