Energy, Oil and Gas

Electricity generation uptime and safety gains at some of the world’s largest nuclear power plants are winning international recognition for the fast-actuation, quick-release CamNut® system from Australian precision engineering company, Technofast. The successful use of the system at the Hanul nuclear plant in South Korea – with an installed 6157MW capacity in two stages – has been complemented by their use also at the country’s Wolsong, Shin Wolsong and Hanbit nuclear plants and at major steam turbine plants as well. The ongoing work among the Korean fleet of nuclear power generation plants, which supply a third of ROK’s electricity needs, has won Technofast accreditation as a supplier to the country’s nuclear industry, having attained certification to design and manufacture equipment for this sector. “Attaining certification from a world leader in terms of nuclear electricity generation opens the door to global applications for the CamNut and complementary EziTite® systems in nuclear and electricity plants of all types,” says Technofast Founder and CEO, Mr John Bucknell. “The time savings and safety gains proven in these installations apply to all power generation applications, including nuclear, fossil, hydro and green generation. They offer the same benefits to all industrial applications where workers need to ensure equipment uptime while avoiding exposure to hazardous situations, including radiation, heat, fuel, pressure and the need to work in confined workspaces where clumsier, time-consuming fastening tools are not recommended.” The Technofast hydraulic CamNut system and complementary EziTite hydraulic bolts and specialist complementary products enable entire groups of fasteners to be torqued or released immediately and simultaneously, rather than laboriously being individually installed and released. An additional benefit of CamNuts® is that they can be used where thread length above the nut is insufficient to apply normal Bolt Tensioners, meaning users no longer need to replace expensive studs to gain the benefits of hydraulic direct tensioning.  The unique stepped base washer provides a firm reaction point for tensioning without altering spotface diameters on turbine casings. Also, bolts are not subject to thermally induced stresses from rapid and uneven heating which is important for longevity, reliability, and safety. Equipment decommissioning, maintenance and installation for regular service operations is typically cut by 60-80 per cent, carving days off the maintenance schedules of the Korean power station applications, says Mr Bucknell. “This means big gains for every hour sooner that equipment can be brought back online to produce generating revenue. Days can mean millions of dollars in generation industries – and the CamNut and EziTite systems offer better risk management, by getting people in and out of machinery quicker which is a major plus in industries such as oil and gas, mining and energy, manufacturing and processing.” The savings at the original Korean nuclear and fossil electricity applications have been proven over more than a decade, with multiple new applications following their success. The CamNut system and its complementary products are used in major areas of the Korean Nuclear generators including: Combined Reheat Valve (CRV) (CamNut – 1.75in) Main Stop Valve (MSV) (CamNut 2.5in) Control Valve (CV) (CamNut 3in) High-pressure control valve and stop valve (CamNut) Venturi (EziTite Hydraulic Nut 3in) CamNuts are rapidly applied by being placed on bolt studs then hydraulically actuated, stretching the bolt to the precise tension required and then locking it in place mechanically with a locking device. The reverse procedure permits equally rapid disassembly when it is eventually required for annual or ad hoc maintenance, for example. The fast and secure hydraulic fastening system uses hydraulic force to draw and release the bolt, rather than each fastener it being locked or loosened individually by operations staff using wrenches to torque the bolt by rotating it on the thread or using heat processes. CamNuts’ direct extension methods avoid thermal stress and heat deterioration of bolts. Applied onto existing fasteners, the CamNuts operate simultaneously to reduce downtime and extend the lifespans of metal no longer subjected to thermal stress caused by rapid uneven heating. Besides eliminating safety hazards associated with more laborious maintenance methods, CamNut and EziTite fasteners optimise long-term safety by ensuring even tensioning across a range of bolts, where tensioning precision is vital to long-term performance. Extremely accurate and even loads on the flange/joint, enhance ongoing reliability of the machinery in service. Benefits of using CamNuts with direct tension: Designs for extreme situations/adverse conditions. Improved safety, fast to fit and remove. Requires little physical effort, user friendly. Minimises cost. Reduces downtime, optimises profitable uptime. Allows the benefits of hydraulic tensioning without changing expensive bolts Increase bolt load accuracy Eliminate thread galling Increase the life of the hardware No hardware modifications Modular construction reduces overall tool weight. Achievable reliable and precise tensioning the first time. Reduce breakdowns and damage. Removes risk of strike and pinch point injuries caused by other tightening methods.

Konecranes SE Asia is introducing its new BOXPORTER Rail Mounted Gantry (RMG) crane to the region, to give operators the clearest view in intermodal container handling with its “smarter cabin.” The new Konecranes BOXPORTER RMG offers the clearest view in intermodal container handling The smarter cabin gives the operator superb visibility and comfort as well as an extended view of truck and train loading and unloading and container stacking, thanks to video and control information displayed on the cabin monitor. Konecranes has been delivering Rail Mounted Gantry (RMG) cranes to intermodal operators for many years. The new BOXPORTER RMG is the result of customer feedback and systematic study of field use conditions. The new Konecranes BOXPORTER RMG offers the clearest view in intermodal container handling BOXPORTER is built on a modular design approach that provides the efficiency benefits of standardization while giving the customer great scope for tailoring with optional features. The goal is a fast delivery time, high container handling productivity, excellent reliability, low maintenance and long service life. There is also an evolution path to remote operation and full automation. The clearest view in intermodal The intermodal container handling environment has special requirements for lifting equipment. A core requirement is excellent visibility. The greater the crane operator’s ability to see clearly from the cabin, the greater his ability to perform his work safely and productively. BOXPORTER offers the clearest view in intermodal, thanks to its “smarter cabin” offering clear sightlines and its cabin monitor that extends the operator’s view to the handling action with an advanced user interface derived from Konecranes’ remote operating station technology from Automated Stacking Crane systems. Top productivity An intermodal RMG needs to be very productive and BOXPORTER meets that requirement with its Active Load Control (ALC) system. ALC is an integrated sway prevention and fine positioning system that allows the operator to move the spreader, not the crane, when carrying out most loading and unloading tasks. Unique remote service strength The BOXPORTER RMG comes with TRUCONNECT®, a remote service that brings together the relevant crane usage data for informed decision-making through a single graphical interface, YourKonecranes.com. Remote Operation Konecranes can replace entirely the crane operator pulpit chair and pulpit itself with a remote operators station or ROS which allows someone to operate the crane via cameras from a central operations room located in the facility. This ROS ensures all personnel are removed from harm’s way. The new Konecranes BOXPORTER RMG offers the clearest view in intermodal container handling

Enerpac tilt table working during the day (left) and night (right) Swift service by hydraulic specialists working with WA engineering company AME has helped make possible the rapid fabrication and testing of a versatile tilt table for the Pyrenees off-shore oil and gas project. Enerpac Territory Manager – Western Australia Andrew Marsh worked with AME to facilitate the rapid delivery of nine 9-ton double-acting hydraulic cylinders ordered through Enerpac distributor Cooper Fluid Systems. AME was required to work to a tight deadline to design, fabricate, test and supply the Cameron Vertical Connector (CVC) tilt table for seabed-to-surface contractor Acergy Just 10 days were available for provision of the cylinders and associated componentry, drawing on both Enerpac’s Australian resources and complementary equipment that had to be sourced from the United States. AME beat the deadline and the CVC tilt table was successfully function-tested at the company’s Perth workshop prior to sea trialling aboard Acergy’s construction vessel Toisa Proteus working on the Pyrenees project. The CVC tilt table is an installation facility that positions the CVC gooseneck to fit with the umbilical or riser coming from the sea bed. Hydraulic lifting is used because it allows fine, precise adjustments of the gooseneck along the three dimensions of port-starboard, forward-aft and up-down. “The workshop testing, witnessed by our client Acergy, went well,” said Gus Pugliese, Project Engineer for AME. “Enerpac gave us very good service. Their WA Territory Manager Andrew Marsh was in my office by that afternoon, because we needed the cylinders and componentry to a tight deadline, which Enerpac were able to meet. Having Andrew’s direct involvement at the beginning made all the difference,” he said. Andrew Marsh said his company was delighted to assist AME and Cooper Fluid Systems by mobilising Enerpac’s local and global resources  to get the technology delivered. “We are always there to support our distributor and their customer, because that’s how you build relationships – performing when the pressure is on. “ The Enerpac 9-ton RD-910 double-acting hydraulic cylinders that were used to activate the CVC tilt table have a capacity of 80 kN @ 700 bar, a 257 mm stroke, a collapsed height of 452 mm and weight of 7.3 kg. The cylinders were powered by an Enerpac ZU4408ME hydraulic electric pump that runs off the 240 volt mains with an operating pressure of 700 bar. Various flow components were also provided, including couplers, valves, manifolds, hoses and gauges. High-strength alloy steel cylinders are part of Enerpac’s extensive range of safety-oriented, energy saving and labour-saving technologies, including lifting, pumping, fastening and maintenance tools. The company has a solution for virtually any application in most industrial and commercial work environments.  It offers hundreds of different configuration of cylinders and lifting systems, plus products ranging from jacks and lifting bags, for portability and tight fits, to engineered systems for precise control over multiple lift points. Pyrenees is a joint venture between BHP Billiton and United States oil producer Apache Corporation that is expected to produce about 96,000 barrels of oil per day over a 25 year period.

The superlifting and launch of a 43,000-ton floating oil production system in Malaysia for the Gumusut-Kakap offshore field has set high benchmarks for safety through its use of sophisticated synchronous hydraulics to lift, balance, weigh and smoothly launch massive resources structures. The launch of the FPS constructed at the Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MMHE) facility in Johor Bahru employed Enerpac PLC-controlled 700 bar synchronous lifting technology that individually controlled 352 compact high-pressure (700 bar) 300-ton hydraulic cylinders incorporated in groups into active skids beneath the steel structure. Arranged in two main groups in east and west configurations, the 12-in (300mm) stroke cylinders with stroke sensors were used to hoist pontoons and superstructure prior to their joining and launching of the completed structure. The active skids, mounted on guidance tracks, were used for weighing and establishing structures’ centre of gravity to ensure safety and structural integrity, while also ensuring that the structure did not deflect outside of a tightly controlled range during the lifting and launching process. Powerful pull cylinders were used to carefully control the completed structure’s gentle movement along the skid tracks onto the vessel Blue Marlin awaiting it in the Straits of Johor during May. While the Enerpac technology employed is capable of lifting and shifting far greater weights than the Gumusut-Kakap FPS (it can lift more than the equivalent of the 70,000 ton deadweight of a typical Panamax tanker, for example) it the system’s ability to sense and control any deflection of the pontoons and main superstructure structure that won it plaudits for protecting structural integrity throughout the lift-weigh-shift-and-launch process. Left to Right: One of the skidding jacks, sensors integrated into each cylinder A feature of the system is its ability to correct such deflection within loads, which often occurs from edge to centre of structures or reflects point loads imposed by heavy components or other sources of stress. The potential for such deflections outside of a pre-set design range is detected by the cylinder’s sensors, which feed the information back to the central PLC controller, which in turn directs more lift where it is needed to maintain deflection tolerances across the structure. Conoco Phillips Construction Manager Mr Michael Heck said “The Enerpac technology gave us the ability to closely control deflection on this project within the required range of 210mm over a 70 m span, offering the high level of safety that was integral to the joint venture partners in the project.” Joint Venture partners include Shell, Conoco Phillips Sabah Ltd and PETRONAS Carigali. The FPS is owned by Malaysia International shipping Corporation (MISC Bhd sold a 50% stake of Gumusut-Kakap Semi-Floating Production System (L) Ltd (GKL) to Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd ), which will lease the FPS to the joint venturers, who will operate it in 1200 metres of water, sending oil by pipeline 200 km to Sabah. Enerpac skidding sets (pictured here with pulling cables in foreground) were used to skid the East-West pontoons of the structure prior to integration with its topside. Enerpac uses the synclift system to adjust the alignment of the hull to prepare for topside integration. Before loadout onto the ship Blue Marlin, Enerpac lifted and weighed the completed FPS. Structural integrity and deflection of the FPS were maintained by the synchlift system via master controllers, bottom right. During the crossover from the dry dock to the vessel (along the skid track bottom left), load shift is monitored using Enerpac’s master controller. The Enerpac system is also used to lift the FPS and provide sufficient clearance for the buoyancy tank insertion before lowering. Maintaining integrity of the structure during lifting and launching is vital not only to safety during the lift and launch process, but also to ongoing structural integrity and safety during its operational life. By maintaining the internal integrity of the structure – and not exposing it to susceptibility to developing cracks and faults caused by uneven stresses during lifting – the system helps to ensure the durability and safety of the structure in service, says Mr Heck. “Enerpac’s technology and expertise is central to the ability to maintain the structure’s profile during the skidding. Major structures such as the keel can take only so much stressing – and there is plenty of decentralised stressing involved during an operation such as this. “Without correct stressing, you could get bulging in the middle of the structure where jacks would lift higher, while it could be lower at the edges. “But with the sensor technology controlling the lift, if it gets of out the planned alignment, you can stop the lift and bring it into line.” In conjunction with Enerpac South Malaysia distributor Perkasa Machinery, The Enerpac South-East Asia operation headquartered in Singapore provided global expertise in synchronous lifting to complement local capability. “This support was important, because Enerpac has the experience in the field that we don’t have in the yard,” said Mr Heck. You have to have highly skilled people accessible for a complex and challenging operation such as this. Enerpac has such expertise in applications,” he said. After progressing along the skidding track, the FPS arrives onto the Blue Marlin. Enerpac global expertise employed on the project was drawn from the Enerpac Integrated Solutions team, which is dedicated to lifting, shifting and manoeuvring some of the world’s heaviest and most challenging objects and structures. Integrated Solutions’ (IS) projects include the launch of the world’s highest viaduct, France’s Millau Viaduct, lifting the famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco for seismic retrofits, and the use of Enerpac skidding systems in construction of the world’s first LNG regasifier in Italy, involving 90,000 cubic metres of cement and 30,000 tons of steel. Enerpac South East Asia Managing Director Mr Joseph Wang says Enerpac IS technologies are well suited to a wide variety of infrastructure, energy, mining and petroleum projects in the region. In addition to synchronous lifting technologies, IS capabilities include hydraulic gantries for lifting and positioning onshore and offshore plant and SyncHoist crane technology. “Synchronous PLC-controlled lifts

Producing a third of the electricity needs of one of the Asia-Pacific’s biggest cities, PT Indonesia Power’s UBP Priok generating plant is totally focussed on maintaining reliable power with minimised downtime. “We prize reliability because any day out would be very expensive for us – even short times. This is because we are not only selling electricity, but also we are selling availability of supply,” says UBP Priok Electrical Maintenance Supervisor Mr Buyung Arianto. Mr Buyung’s responsibilities include nine gantry Konecranes in capacities from 3-85 tons that are vital to UBP Priok’s six gas and two steam in-parallel generators, which produce  1.248 MW  of electricity – equivalent to about 35 per cent of the electricity needed by this rapidly  growing city of nearly 10 million people.  “Our Konecranes are vital for routine maintenance and periodic inspections of our plant, as well as replacement of parts,” said Mr Buyung. The cranes are integral to the energy production process, being used for everything from lifting turbines and rotors for periodic maintenance, to day-to-day service of diverse, heavy, delicate and expensive workpieces.   “To avoid downtime, we need speedy access to crane maintenance expertise to keep the cranes operating in peak condition – as well as quick access to parts where these are needed,” said Mr Buyung, who works with a team of Konecranes maintenance staff from Konecranes Jakarta Head Office for Indonesia. The Jakarta office – and a branch office serving Indonesia power in the major Javanese city of Surabaya – is part of Konecranes’ Asia-Pacific and worldwide sales and service network that has more than 373,000 cranes of all makes under service contract globally. The Konecranes XL models used at UBD Priok since 1993 include: 80-85 ton gantry cranes, used to lift turbine rotors for maintenance and overhaul 20 ton models, used to lift combustion units for inspection and maintenance 3 ton gantry types, used to lift generator bearings and also for inspection and maintenance  “We are very satisfied with the levels of service we have had over the term of the latest five-year service contract with Konecranes. If we call them, we get response within around 30 minutes,” said Mr Buyung . “They know their cranes best, but they also work well with our process and production people in partnership, and understand our methods. “We prefer to deal with the OEM because they have best access to parts and expertise, which are important to maintaining uptime.” Generating plant at UBP Priok Konecranes staff team, directed by Jakarta Head office Operations Manager Ir Ferry Sutaryadi, is responsible not only for routine maintenance and safety issues, but also three-monthly inspections to comply with workplace OHS regulations. “Konecranes people understand the processes and compliance required by their customers – they know what we need. Their standard of work is always good and we get  good response.”  Konecranes South-East Asia Regional Director Steve Gagnuss says Konecranes Indonesia’s local expertise is backed by the same high world standards of safety, reliability and efficiency that it applies to all other crane users across Asia and across the globe. “Konecranes deals continuously with some of the world’s leading electricity generators, and operates within their specialist environments. “With the price of energy escalating throughout Asia, the benefits of being online continuously are priceless – and there is just no substitute for having experienced local staff available 24 hours, backed by a regional and global leader in the field,” said Mr Gagnuss.