Harnessed e-chain system ensures a fail-safe energy supply at the Memorial Bridge in New Hampshire

Profile

What was needed: Pre-assembled complete system for a reliable and safe energy supply
Requirements: Reduction of maintenance requirements, reliable energy supply over a total distance of 40 m, fail-safe
Product: readychain® harnessed energy chain
Application area: Lifting bridge
Success for the customer: Thanks to the pre-assembled, ready-to-install readychain systems and their installation, the customer has saved assembly time and packaging work and has received everything from a single source from igus.

About Memorial Bridge:The Memorial Bridge spans the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Kittery, Maine on the east coast of the US. It replaced the original one, which was built in 1923 to remember local sailors and soldiers who participated in the first World War.

The challenge

For ships to pass under the Memorial Bridge, it must be raised by a vertical lifting mechanism.
In operation an average speed of 1 m/s is required for a total distance of 40 metres.

Solution

To reduce maintenance and increase overall reliability, the bridge builders used pre-assembled readychain system from igus.

These were used instead of the hanging cables in the original version. The cables harnessed with connectors were inserted into energy chains and pre-assembled on site in the igus factory and then delivered on site as ready-to-install systems and installed.

The igus engineers used highly flexible chainflex cables in the E4 energy chain as well as heavy-duty CFXL clamps for secure cable strain relief. Each installed cable type was intensively tested at the test laboratory spread over a floor space of 2,750 m².

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