Liebherr machines were a contributing factor to the success of a tricky excavation project in the close confines of urban New Taipei, Taiwan, when underground construction specialist Tung Feng deployed a range of grabs, crawlers and cutters to build slurry walls. The jobsite needed smaller, more compact equipment without impacting performance or precision.
The Liebherr machines used in the project, which was completed in January, included the carrier machine LBX 600 with hydraulic grab HSG 5-18 and the duty cycle crawler crane HS 8130.1 with the cutter LSC 8-18.
The LBX 600 unit, specially designed for urban projects, incorporated a HSG 5-18 hydraulic slurry wall grab. This was used for loose soil but when the grab reached the deeper layers of rock and sandstone, which have higher compressive strength, Tung Feng changed from the compact LBX 600 to the duty cycle crawler crane HS 8130.1 with slurry wall cutter type LSC 8-18.
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This allowed the hard soil layers to be penetrated efficiently without the need for laborious predrilling, reducing the time required, increasing productivity and enabling clean material removal. Using the Liebherr cutter, Tung Feng was able to advance at 4m per hour on average. The finished slurry walls reach down to depths of 30 to 55m and are between 80mm and 1,500mm thick. Individual barrette piles were inserted for foundations within the construction field.
Ke-Chiang Wu, Project Manager at Tung Feng found the Liebherr kit an efficient solution for completing the slurry wall work in the very urban and high-rise New Taipei City. "The performance of the cutter met and even exceeded our expectations. Our drivers report of easy control and simple handling. The machines are reliable, efficient and very precise – and all that in the narrowest of spaces. Also, Liebherr's fast service response strengthens reliability and makes operation easier," he said.
LBX 600 and the HS 8130.1 are good examples of different types of machines designed with the same cabin layout and controls. According to Liebheer, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, this makes it easier for companies and crews to jump from machine to machine.
The LBX 600, the slurry wall grab and the slurry wall cutter all have a modular design, which makes them particularly flexible in densely built areas.
Three different booms can be fitted to the carrier machine LBX 600 in order to adapt it to the demands of the jobsite. The standard version of the machine has a total height of 17.8m. For operation with limited headroom, for example under bridges, work can be carried out with headroom as low as 5.8m. The hydraulic slurry wall grab comprises a robust main body, which can be extended by a module when required. The model's higher weight and low centre of gravity are said to deliver " better level of verticality" which is advantageous for bigger-sized slurry walls.
For the slurry wall cutter, Tung Feng used a standard version of the LBX 600, a short version of the grab and a long version of the cutter.
The work took ten months to complete.
