Astra with Allison automatics for power plant construction in the Swiss Alps: flying high, tunneling deep
Ten Allison-equipped Astra HD8 trucks make tunnel excavation duties productive, reliable and easier at the Nant de Drance and Linth-Limmern power plants.
TORINO – The new construction of the pumped-storage power plant Nant de Drance in the canton of Valais calls for a fleet of robust, productive excavator trucks. The new underground hydro power plant is going to supply the future energy needs of Switzerland and its public transport system. Last spring, the construction consortium GMI (Groupement Marti Implenia) responsible for constructing the tunnel and power plant caverns, and processing of the excavated material, purchased six Astra HD8 (480 hp, 8x6, 48 tonnes) trucks with Allison 4700R model fully automatic transmissions. They performed so well, a further order of four identical vehicles is due for delivery until April this year. The Nant de Drance pumped-storage power plant, situated between two existing reservoirs in the Swiss/French border region between Martigny (Canton of Valais) and Chamonix will generate 600 MW by utilising the water pressure resulting from around 300 meters of altitude differential. The plant is being built inside the mountain, at 1700 meters above sea level, with access via a 5.6 km tunnel. The construction consortium started work in January 2009 and will probably finish 2017. The 1 billion CHF (682 million Euros) project is being undertaken by Alpiq AG (formerly Atel), the Swiss Federal Railways SBB and the canton Valais with its electricity company FMV. The plant will cover consumption peaks of the Swiss Federal Railways, while ensuring a stable energy supply to the country’s electricity network. During the night and weekends, when electricity demand is lower, the water in the lower lake will be pumped into the upper reservoir, where it is available for energy production when needed. The position of the two lakes is ideal: they are close, but with a big difference in altitude (2205 and 1930 meters above sea level). Niklaus Zaugg is the mechanical engineer of the Groupement Marti Implenia, whose task it was to select and specify the trucks. “Our site is 2,000 meters above sea level and the access route in winter is impassible. For this reason, we work from April to November, 24 hours a day, on three shifts. “It goes without saying, having strict deadlines to achieve our priority is to have absolutely reliable vehicles, which are productive and easy to drive.” Astra’s robustness and heritage in the heavy-duty dump truck sector combined with Allison’s 4700R fully automatic transmission has fully met those needs. The transmission is specially designed to operate in the most difficult conditions, providing maximum driving comfort, uninterrupted power to the wheels and increased control of the vehicle at lower speeds. The transmissions, fitted to each of the 10 Astra HD8s, were ordered with integral hydraulic retarder, partly due to the slope of 12 % leading to the access tunnels, which often needs to be mastered with a fully-laden vehicle. “The road to get to the landfill for the excavated material is very steep, and the automatic transmission’s retarder simplifies operations a lot and provides extended brake life,” says Zaugg. The transmission’s torque converter, a fundamental component of Allison product, is a key contributor to reducing maintenance costs and providing unrivalled performance. Torque multiplication delivers superior vehicle startability on steep gradients, precise control under heavy load conditions and constant vehicle acceleration for safe operation on any type of terrain. With no requirement for a dry disk clutch – as found in manual and automated manual gearboxes – associated maintenance tasks are eliminated. Another important consideration for the Swiss construction consortium was the change of drivers across the three daily shifts. As Niklaus Zaugg points out: “Our personnel working in tunnels are not used to driving all types of trucks, so it’s very important to us that vehicles are easy to manoeuvre. Only fully automatic transmissions can ensure an operation free of bad surprises, like clutch failures resulting from wrong maneuvers and subsequent downtimes for servicing. With Allison’s automatics, our operators were able to drive the Astra HD8 from the very first day. We are very satisfied with the trucks and by the premium service offered by Astra. Our new order just confirms it,” concludes Zaugg. That’s not all. One of the Astra HD8 trucks purchased by the Groupement Marti Implenia is presently being used on the construction site of another important Swiss power plant project, Linthal 2015, which will see the Linth-Limmern hydroelectric power plant optimized to generate 1000 MW power. This investment totals approximately 2.1 billion CHF (1 billion 600 million Euros). Once completed, water will be pumped 650 meters from the Limmernsee lake up to the Muttsee lake for electricity production. The only personnel access to the construction site, 2,000 metres above sea level, is via cable railway or helicopter. All the machinery used for the tunnel operations is being transported using a heavy duty cable railway. Excavators, heavy equipment and the Astra HD8 trucks begin to “fly” – with the panorama of the Swiss Alps in the background. Astra HD8 at a glance Model Astra HD8 Engine Power 480 hp Engine rpm 1900 rpm Max Torque 2300 Nm Transmission Allison 4700R Gear Ratios R - 4.80 1a 7.63 2a 3.51 3a 1.91 4a 1.41 5a 1.00 6a 0.74 7a 0.64 Gross Vehicle Mass 50,000 kg Final Drive Ratios 4229 About Allison Transmission, Inc. Allison Transmission, Inc. (Allison) is the premier global provider of commercial duty auto-matic transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems. Allison products are specified by over 250 of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers and are used in many market sectors in-cluding bus, refuse, fire, construction, distribution, military and specialty applications. Founded in 1915, the Allison business is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A. and employs approximately 2,700 people. Regional headquarters with dedicated support staff are located in China, The Netherlands, Brazil, India and Japan. With a global presence in 80 countries, Allison has over 1,550 distributor and dealer locations. More information about Allison is available at www.allisontransmission.com. This press release may contain forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "plans," "project," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," “intend,” “forecast,” “could,” "potential," "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar terms or phrases. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks. Factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made include, but are not limited to: the loss or consolidation of any one of our significant customers; our substantial indebtedness, which could adversely affect our financial health, restrict our activities and affect our ability to meet our obligations; the adverse impact of competitors’ actions; the discontinuation of a particular vehicle model for which we are a significant supplier; the discovery of defects in our products, resulting in delays in new model launches, recall campaigns and/or increased warranty costs and reduction in future sales; increases in cost of or disruption of the supply of raw materials; increased crude oil and energy prices and overall economic conditions; and continued volatility in and disruption to the global economic environment. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. All information is as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in expectations. Press Enquiries Claire Dumbreck, Propel Technology, Bloxham Mill, Barford Road, Bloxham, Banbury, Ox-fordshire, UK, OX15 4FF. +44 (0)1295 724130 / +44 (0) 7768 773857. claire@propel-technology.com Miranda Jansen, Allison Transmission Europe B.V. Marketing Communications, Baanhoek 188, 3361GN Sliedrecht - The Netherlands , Tel: +31 78-6422 174. miranda.jansen@allisontransmission.com
Tags: