Civil & Structural EngineeringHeavy industry

Floating crane: The Hippo can breathe a sigh of relief once more

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.

Expertises

Civil & Structural Engineering

Markt

Heavy industry
A man with curly hair and a beard wearing a dark sweater smiles against a neutral background.

Arjan and his team can tell you all about .

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

Various projects completed

Our consulting and engineering firm works with a wide range of clients on single- and multidisciplinary projects, taking a pragmatic and flexible approach.

Read all projects

“Tata Steel: Working together on a reliable and future-proof installation!”

In collaboration with Tata Steel Nederland, a dual pipeline route comprising the North and South pipelines was replaced over a total length of more than 330 metres. The project required…

Read all about it here

Together, we offer a wide range of expertise

At Vicoma, we bring together a wide range of expertise, from engineering to project management, enabling us to tackle complex technical challenges in a comprehensive and well-considered manner.