Gen-sets reaching new heights

Diesel Progress North American Edition, Nov, 1997 by Mark McNeely

Increases in both imports and exports from the Vancouver region of British Columbia have led to the development of new cargo handling facilities for the busy Canadian port. As the facilities are designed to operate around-the-clock, the development has also led to an increased demand for generator sets to power various material handling machinery.

Recently, 10 generator sets were required to power new rubber tired gantry cranes (RTGCs), designed specifically for ISO container handling and part of the development by Terminal Systems Inc. (TSI), of new port facilities in Delta, B.C. The port is a joint project between TSI, Canadian Pacific Rail and Canadian National Rail in the design, development and operation of the $161 million container terminal.

Power for the RTGCs is provided by 10 x 500DFED Cummins/Onan diesel generator sets producing 460 Va.c. three phase, 60 Hz power. The gen-sets are powered by Cummins KTA 19-G4 engines rated 755 hp at 1800 rpm and driving IMS Newage Stamford alternators rated 700 kW.

"The complete package is a crane with the capability of moving and lifting at the same time" said Craig Einarson, sales manager for the power generation group of Cummins British Columbia, Surrey B.C. "The project itself was pretty straightforward for manufacture, but the custom controls and packaging have made the project fairly unique."

In addition to providing starting capabilities for the large inrush from the a.c. drives, the 700 kW generators are part of a 30 percent oversize of equipment required by the customer, according to Einarson.

The motors for the gantry, trolley, auxiliaries and the traction motors are new ABB a.c. style units, which are relatively new to applications in North America, Einarson said. The motors are standard three-phase squirrel cage motors designed to operate from fixed sinusoidal power. "The advantages of using this system are higher efficiency over d.c. drive systems," Einarson stated. "In transient speed conditions, the efficiency of d.c. drives drop off more rapidly than those on the a.c. system. Maintenance costs, because of a lack of brushes and a more robust design, add up to making the choice for the a.c. drive system."

Controls include an Onan Corp. Custom Applications Group-modified Onan Detector 12 control system that operates on a loss of ground shutdown fail-safe mode, as well as incorporating built-in redundancy for the addition of control stations at the ground level and operator's cab. The ground station controls are housed in a CEMA 3R enclosure and feature a minimum compliment of controls and metering, as well as emergency control in the event of a failure or accident.

"The equipment is designed for maximum reliability, speed and efficiency, which in turn makes the Deltaport more competitive in a world market," Einarson said. The complete project for powering the RTGCs was a joint venture between Cummins British Columbia, Sonic Barrier and Morris Mechanical Handling, the prime manufacturer.

The enclosures are built to attain a sound pressure level of 85 dB(A) at 23 ft. and incorporate Cowl TXS 80 silencers supplied by Phillips & Temro. Built by Sonic Barrier, the enclosures house the generator set, controls, battery charger, service lighting and 700 gal. double wall sub-base diesel fuel tank. The gen-sets also feature a Ren oil makeup system. The unit size envelope is short and narrow in order to accommodate mounting on the support rail on one of the RTGCs two drive "legs."

The placement of the power modules on the RTGCs are 15 ft. above ground level, thus a provision for maintenance access was needed. A system was devised that a 12 ft. long and 3 ft. wide platform could be folded up tight against the side of the enclosure and lifted up and down by one person via a spring-loaded cantilever assembly.