Hytec Engineering and Power Team collaborate on water tank project
November 2024
Motion Control & Drives
Hytec Engineering and Power Team have collaborated on an innovative water tank project featuring advanced engineering and a specialised synchronised mobile lifting system. This mobility allows the lifting system to be transported and used across multiple locations. The lifting system was successfully used to lift a massive water tank 30 metres in diameter, weighing 85 tons and capable of storing up to five million litres of water. Power Team designed the lifting system and manufactured the power pack, incorporating components from Hydraulic and Automation Warehouse and HATZ’s OEM diesel engines. Hytec Engineering supplied the hydraulic cylinders.
The advanced lifting system features a diesel engine-driven power pack, a distribution manifold trolley, and 42 hydraulic cylinders linked with 84 hoses, each spanning 22 metres long. The lifting system has 1,8 kilometres of hydraulic hose, enabling it to lift the tank with remarkable precision.
Project manager, Neil Griezel said, “In general, synchronised lifting systems can be challenging, and we usually do not synchronise more than five cylinders at a time. Synchronising 42 cylinders was an extremely tough challenge. With the limitation of mobility, there was no chance of the system being controlled by electronics, so some unique thinking was required, but we successfully overcame the challenge.” The next lift that will take place is for a 40-metre diameter tank, which will weigh close to 200 tons, and was designed with a lifting capability of 250 tons.
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