15-ton Winches for Large Component Lifting of Malaysia Bridge Main Tower

1. Project Overview

This project focuses on the main tower construction of a key bridge project in Malaysia, which involves the hoisting and installation of special “N”-shaped block segments for the bridge main tower. The tower structure adopts a large-scale irregular steel design with ultra-high construction height and super-heavy split components. Restricted by the ultra-high working height and special structural construction conditions, conventional tower cranes and truck cranes cannot achieve full coverage and safe construction. To solve the hoisting bottleneck of high-altitude and large-tonnage steel components, the project adopted customized Zhifang 150kN (15-ton) industrial winch sets to build a professional ultra-high-altitude synchronous lifting system, successfully completing the precise hoisting of all tower N-shaped steel blocks and ensuring the smooth progress of the bridge main tower construction.

2. Core Working Conditions & Technical Parameters

Aiming at the special construction requirements of the main tower N-shaped block hoisting project, the project is equipped with a matched high-load ultra-high lifting system with clear and rigorous core configuration and operating parameters:

• Core Equipment Configuration: 4 sets of Zhifang 150kN (15-ton) professional construction winches, matched with 120-ton heavy-duty pulley blocks to form a combined lifting system

• Maximum Lifting Capacity: 240 tons, meeting the hoisting demand of super-large steel components

• Maximum Lifting Height: 170 meters ultra-high working height, supporting long-stroke high-altitude hoisting

• Construction Objects: 8 split N-shaped steel block segments of the bridge main tower, belonging to 600-ton overall irregular steel structure; the heaviest single block reaches 200 tons

3. Key Construction Challenges

The Malaysia bridge main tower N-shaped block hoisting project faces extreme construction difficulties, which cannot be solved by traditional hoisting equipment and processes, mainly reflected in the following aspects:

• 170m Super High-Altitude Operation: The ultra-high lifting height leads to long steel rope stroke, severe wind field interference on high altitude, and high requirements for equipment stability and synchronous control accuracy.

• Super-Heavy Irregular Component Hoisting: The overall steel structure weighs 600 tons and is divided into multiple segmented blocks. The first single block weighs up to 200 tons. The irregular structure causes unbalanced stress during lifting, bringing great challenges to construction safety and precision control.

• Limitations of Conventional Hoisting Equipment: The 170m ultra-high tower height and special tower structure make tower cranes and truck cranes unable to cover the operation range, with insufficient lifting height and load capacity, resulting in no alternative conventional construction scheme.

• High Precision Installation Requirements: The main tower N-shaped blocks are the core load-bearing components of the bridge tower, requiring extremely high installation accuracy, and tiny deviation will affect the overall structural stability of the bridge tower.

4. Zhifang Customized Technical Solution

In view of the multiple pain points of ultra-high altitude, heavy load, irregular components and high precision requirements in the project, Zhifang launched a targeted integrated construction solution combining self-developed equipment optimization, digital simulation and intelligent synchronous control, breaking through the construction limitations of traditional processes.

• Ultra-High-Altitude Special Lifting System: Adopting top-mounted layout of winches on the main tower, cooperating with 120-ton heavy-duty pulley block and 4 sets of 150kN high-performance winches, the system realizes 240-ton super-large load stable lifting and 170m long-stroke vertical hoisting. The customized ultra-long steel rope configuration meets the ultra-high working height demand, and the optimized rope arrangement structure effectively avoids rope disorder and abrasion under long-stroke operation.

• BIM Whole-process Path Simulation: Before construction, the team adopted BIM technology to conduct 3D modeling and whole-process dynamic simulation for the hoisting path of each N-shaped block. It accurately verifies the hoisting attitude, component rotation angle and obstacle avoidance path of irregular steel blocks, eliminates potential collision risks in advance, and optimizes the overall construction sequence.

• PLC Synchronous Intelligent Control Technology: Equipped with independent research and development PLC synchronous control system, realizing synchronous start, synchronous operation and synchronous braking of 4 sets of winches. It effectively balances the stress of each lifting point, solves the unbalanced force problem caused by irregular components, and avoids component deflection and structural torsion during high-altitude hoisting.

• High-precision Calibration & Safety Protection Design: Matching high-sensitivity detection and fine-tuning devices to monitor lifting deviation in real time. Multiple safety protection mechanisms such as overload protection, emergency stop protection and height limit protection are configured to ensure zero safety hazards in ultra-high-altitude heavy-load operation.

5. Project Implementation Effect

With the full application of Zhifang’s self-developed ultra-high-altitude hoisting system and intelligent control scheme, the project successfully completed the hoisting and installation of all 8 main tower N-shaped steel block segments. All construction indicators fully met the design and specification standards, achieving excellent construction results:

• Ultra-high Precision Installation: The final installation error of all N-shaped blocks is controlled within 5mm, far exceeding the industry standard, realizing high-precision docking of super-large tower components.

• Safe & Efficient Construction: The whole construction process is stable and reliable, with no equipment failure or safety accident. The synchronous control system effectively solves the technical problems of high-altitude swing and unbalanced load of irregular heavy components.

• Breakthrough of Construction Bottlenecks: It successfully replaces the traditional crane construction mode, solves the industry pain point that conventional equipment cannot construct under 170m ultra-high altitude and super-heavy load conditions, and fills the local technical gap in high-altitude special bridge tower construction.

6. Project Significance

This successful application in the Malaysian high-standard bridge project fully demonstrates Zhifang’s professional R&D strength and customized construction solution capability in the field of ultra-high-altitude and heavy-duty hoisting equipment. It verifies the outstanding stability, precision and safety of Zhifang winches in extreme working conditions such as ultra-high altitude, long stroke and super-heavy load. Meanwhile, it further consolidates Zhifang’s brand advantage in the Southeast Asian high-end bridge engineering market, provides a mature and replicable technical reference for similar large-scale bridge tower hoisting projects at home and abroad, and lays a solid foundation for the continuous expansion of overseas high-end engineering equipment markets.