Britlift recently supplied a variety of custom designed and manufactured lifting beams, spreader beams and lifting lugs to safely lift two 37 tonne heat exchangers at a salt production plant in Middlewich.
Initially working closely with heat transfer process specialist, Graham Hart Process Technology, Britlift engineers were invited to attend the site of the lift to better understand the environment, the load being lifted and look for ways in which the lifting system design could accomplish the installation of the new exchanger. The operation first needed to be lifted and turned onto its side to fit through the door. There were three different lifting operations lifting the exchanger when horizontal, the top and tailing lift and lifting the exchanger when vertical.
The key challenge during the early phase of the project was the design of a set of bolt-on lifting lugs which could be bolted to the top and bottom flanges of the exchanger to allow them to be lifted. Using FEA (finite element analysis) software Britlift completed the design of the lugs ensuring that damage to the new exchanger would be avoided.
Of key importance was that the lifting equipment fitted both the old and new exchangers.