This is how the Iron Monster or SLJ900/32 works

there Iron monster (officially SLJ900/32) is a giant machine (91 meters long and 7 meters wide) used in China for Construction of certain types of bridges and viaducts. Built by Wowjoint Machinery, it is an automated system, an all-round machine, and is equipped with Hydraulic mechanisms this Lifting capacity This is to ensure the installation of giant extensions that constitute infrastructure. But how exactly does it work?

How does the iron monster work?

The official name is SLJ900/32 But it is also known by the nickname ” Iron monster” , literally Iron monster: This is the name that Chinese engineers gave to their engineers Bridge building machine.. It is basically a big truck With wheel sets capable of moving all heavy machinery, providing an average space large enough to allow this Accommodating the actual span of the bridgeAs well as allowing, when fully operational, the movement of this load.
The system is also equipped with a complex mechanism Hydraulic presses And the binaries that allow this Relative slip of the longitudinal body of the machine Relative to the set of tires on which it rests and moves. This allows the machine Stretchable Relative to the resting position hangs out With it is the extension to be moved, in order to bring it to the desired position.

This is an innovative system for positioning the deck beam that forms the bridge. In fact, the beam has already been pre-fabricated using prefabrication techniques and is therefore only transported at this stage close to the site for subsequent construction Place it correctly. What does it mean? The beam forming the surface in question must be placed in special spaces, defined by certain devices previously created on the elevation structures, so-called supports. Hence the positioning mechanism The assembly stage is very sensitive It requires accuracy to the centimeter, or even millimeters, in many cases, to complete the work professionally. During this entire stage, the bridge beam is literally suspended using appropriate hooks. Iron monsterWhich must therefore support its own weight in unusual operating conditions, i.e. in its “extended” configuration.

Features of the Iron Monster

The system thus designed has several advantages mainly associated with Launch times (which is the technical term used to designate the stage at which the bridge girders are placed) and Reducing risks due to the lifting phaseWhich represents one of the traditional methods used to create these infrastructures. In this configuration, in fact, the true position of the span is subject to less uncertainty from an engineering point of view. The result is work that is less prone to errors in the implementation phase and thus reduced management costs and risks on the construction site.

Used for girder bridges

Assembly diagram described here It only applies to certain types of bridgesOr certain fixed models. Let's be clear, the bridge across the strait (as currently believed) could not be built using this method! In this specific case we are referring to a type of bridge a job, meaning for whom the beam actually represents the structural element of the utmost importance. In some cases the beams consist of simple perforated elements (so-called Box) or at other times via a A lattice of different elements, They literally settle for riskWhich represents the bridge infrastructure. Batteries allow you to do this Overcoming the imposed height difference These are the elements that are created first while building the business.

In these cases, the technological limit dictated by weights and assembly capacities results in the construction of girder bridges of modest spans, generally of the order 40-50 m. In extreme and well-optimized cases, the overall beam length can reach one hundred metres. Beyond these lengths, this fixed pattern no longer works, and the technology must be changed: with it, it is also necessary to change the firing pattern and, therefore, this represents a technological limit also for the use of Iron monster.