Tasked with transporting gas turbines weighing up to 517 tonnes from the port of Bautino, Kazakhstan, to the Sirdarya combined-cycle power plant in Shirin, Uzbekistan, Mammoet called upon THP/SL heavy-duty modules from Goldhofer.
The 2,200 km journey had to contend with hilly terrain, tight curves, narrow roads and bridges with limited load-bearing capacity.
For the first 500 km section, a THP/SL 19-axle side-by-side combination was chosen to transport the gas turbines. Up to five prime movers (three in the front and two at the back) were used to handle the many steep gradients. MAN 41.680 heavy-duty trucks with V8 engines developing 680 hp ensured that sufficient traction and pushing power were available at all times.
The second section through Uzbekistan posed further challenges. In order to be able to negotiate the curves and also achieve optimum weight distribution on bridges, the up to 15 m long and 6.3 m wide gas turbines were transloaded onto Mammoet’s high girder frame AL600, then mounted front and rear on a 20-axle THP/SL P(1+1/2) combination with ADDrive.
The Mammoet specialists used Goldhofer’s ADDronic to synchronise the ADDrive modules. This enabled the two ADDrive units to be fully integrated in the combination for additional traction and pushing power on steep inclines.
Such a combination ensured both enough tractive power to carry the ultra-heavy loads up the hills and the braking power needed for safe travel on the downhill sections, Goldhofer explained.
The main obstacle for the heavy convoy on this section of the route was the many bridges with low load-bearing capacity. 60 axle lines of the THP/SL heavy-duty modules alone were insufficient to meet the maximum axle load requirements. To observe the limits on the individual bridges, Mammoet positioned an eight-axle Goldhofer modular vehicle – known as a belly trailer – under the high girder bridge to let it take a share of the heavy load.
Marek Lysko, operations manager at Mammoet Kazakhstan, explained: “The eight axles under the high girder bridge had to be steered separately front and rear. Continuous monitoring and adjustment of suspension on the belly trailer enabled us to pass over each of the bridges safely and reliably at walking pace.”
On the last section of the journey, Mammoet loaded the turbines on a heavy-duty self-propelled combination, which covered the last kilometers to the power plant.
