Datteln Coal-Fired Power Station

Datteln coal-fired power plant / Final assembly of the coal conveyor bridges

The final assembly of the 40 UEY coal conveyor bridges at the Datteln 4 coal-fired power station took place between January 3 – 16, 2017.

It consists of three bridge sections with a total length of 172.50 m and a planned lifting weight of 952 t. The bridge rises from a height of 16 m to 48 m measured from the 07 UEF transfer tower to the entrance of the 40 UHF coal bunker. With a length of 92.50 m and a weight of 550 t, the dimensions of the largest single component – the middle bridge section – posed a considerable challenge when threading into a gap with only 15 cm wide clearance to adjacent parts. The 550 t weight includes the steel construction, a 16 cm thick pre-stressed concrete ceiling, the largely completed conveyor belt section and the building shell made of sheet steel cassettes, insulation and trapezoidal sheet outer shell.

Two CC6800 crawler cranes with a maximum pulling force of 1,250 t and an SL3800 with a tractive force of 650 t were used for the lifting procedure. As the components were set down with an overhang of up to 43.50 m, approx. 1,000 t in counterweights for the machines and the Superlift had to be kept available and constantly re-maneuvered to handle the situation.

In addition to the major assembly challenge, hurricane-like storms during the planned assembly week meant that the deadlines had to be repeatedly postponed and the crane booms had to be lowered several times. On January 16, the weather had finally calmed down such that it was possible to complete the eagerly awaited final assembly of the largest individual component. The uniqueness of this assembly process was documented in minute detail by a film team from the client, UNIPER.

With this campaign, Donges SteelTec has successfully completed the technical assembly order, which has been ongoing since March 2016.

The facade work and numerous additional services, each on a smaller scale, will be completed in the months to come.