Developing Dalian

2014 Jan 09

High-tech construction is in increasing demand in China as urban development programs continue across the country. The well known city of Dalian (pop: approx 6 million), on the northeast coastal peninsula, is a typical example.

To some, the Chinese city of Dalian is mostly known for its elegant squares, beautiful lawns, sculptures and fountains based on Parisian-style architecture. To others, it is famous for being home to Dalian Haichang, formerly known as Dalian Shide FC, China?s most celebrated football club.

Either way, its reputation as a modern, progressive community is unmistakable and visible in most aspects of Dalian life. A good example is the city?s vibrant constructio­n industry which uses increasingly high technology equipment to carry out extensive urban development projects.

One such project is the development of a new train station, Dalian CRH, currently being built in the district of Ganjingzi, west of the city, by construction and civil engineering company Dalian Yeguang Construction.

The limestone aggregates required for this purpose are sourced from the company?s own site in Ganjingzi where  it uses top-of-the-line equipment for drilling, screening and crushing. The fleet includes a Powercrusher PC 5, HCS 3715 screener, and surface drill rig FlexiROC T40, all supplied by Atlas Copco. In addition, the company has a FlexiROC T15 which is used for construction and trenching.

The crusher and screener are used to filter the aggregates to Yeguang Construction?s size specification ? 40 mm or less ? and also meet the company?s need for mobile equipment that can be easily moved between different sites.

Quick service response

Atlas Copco?s Customer Center in Liaoning provides operation and maintenance training for Yeguang Construction?s personnel and also makes routine visits to the site to monitor the equipment.

As an indication of the scale of the operation, the site produces some 280 tonnes of aggregates per hour. And although the equipment performs well overall, failures sometimes occur, requiring a quick response from the Atlas Copco service organization. So far, downtime has been minimal with no disturbance to production.

 The FlexiROC T40 has been in operation at the site for five years, drilling 115?mm holes, and has racked up about 9?000 engine hours. The difficult geological conditions comprised of fractured rock and complicated karst formations makes it a tough challenge for the rig and the high silicon content of the rock quickly wears out the drill bits. Despite this, however, the average service life of the rig is satisfactory.

At the time of M&C?s visit, the Power­crusher PC?5 has been in operation for three years and 4?000 engine hours while the screener HCS 3715 had been on site for two years and had 3?000 engine hours.The FlexiROC T15, with its 28/32?mm drill rods, had been in service for three years and was said to be greatly appreciated for its high speed drilling capability and maneuverability.

Qingdong Hu, Technical Department Manager at Yeguang Construction, says he believes the FlexiROC rigs live up to the reputation of the Atlas Copco brand as they represent ?high performance and a deep knowledge of mining and aggregates.?

?I think these world leading machines combine all of Atlas Copco?s global experience which gives us confidence and trust,? he says. ?In addition, we get the benefit of experienced service engineers with their excellent service skills. I hope that there can be more potential cooperation between our companies in the future.?

Epiroc operated under the trademark “Atlas Copco” prior to January 1, 2018.