Strange noise and a burning brake type smell was observed yesterday by David and Anders when running the main 20 ton hoist locally.  A service call was arranged today with Gordon Crane.  No major issues were found.  A more detailed summary is in the attached e-mail correspondence.  Gordon Crane will issue a formal report, but they recommend replacing both sets of brake disks and brake calipers. - Grant

Today, I checked TH crane main hoist  when shielding plug is installed into ITE pit. I did  some jogging actions on main hoist during the operation. Everything looks fine. No burning smell, no strange noise. An outside crane expert suggest that jogging is the worst working situation for crane. We have to use jogging actions during our crane operation. But, we could try to use less jogging when operate the crane.

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Hi Curtis

Further to the emergency service call at the Isac Target Hall on Thursday March 23rd, we advise as follows:

It was reported that the hoist was making an unusual noise and that there was a strong brake odour during operation.

The lift was completed using the auxiliary hoist.

A man-lift was arranged and Senior Service Technician Tom Kauss attended site the next morning to troubleshoot.

He determined that one of two hoist brakes (walkway side) had a strong odour and on closer examination it appeared that the 

brake lining material was breaking down and particulate lining material was getting caught between the lining and the discs.

These lining fragments were rubbing and burning off during the hoist operation.

The end cover of the brake had an accumulation of brake lining fragments 

The lining was not overly worn, but appears to be becoming friable, perhaps with age or exposure to radiation.

The brake was cleaned with compressed air to remove the friable material and thoroughly tested. 

A test load of approximately 10 tons was lifted and the hoist handled the load without issue

The brake fragment issue did not recur while we on site and the hoist was recommissioned for use.

To guard against the likely recurrence of this condition on this critical application crane, and as both brakes have seen identical conditions in operation, 

we recommend that both brake assemblies be replaced.

The brake assembly would include the brake coil, friction discs, steel brake discs and the brake springs

TRIUMF does not have a spare brake on hand, therefore one of the removed brakes could be rebuilt and kept on hand. 

Two (2) each  XL-60009637 Complete Brake Assemblies   $ 5,706.00  Each

One (1) only XL-60009674 Brake Repair Kit $ 2,435.00

            For Rebuild

One (1) only XL-52272125 Brake Spring Kit $     59.72 For Rebuild

Installation & Testing of New Brakes estimated at: $ 1,250.00 Lot

We have one brake in stock in our Vancouver Service Depot. A second brake is available Ex-Ontario

FOB Site

Applicable Taxes Extra

Quote Valid for 30 days, subject to prior sale.

We are available next week to perform this work on site.

Please let us know if you have any questions or if you would like us to proceed.

Best Regards

          Aidan

------------------

Aidan C. Gordon

General Manager

aidan@gordoncrane.com

Gordon Crane & Hoist Inc.

Celebrating 34 years of Excellence (1983-2017)

www.gordoncrane.com

Toll Free 1-866-HOIST-IT

              (1-866-464-7848)

Tel:  (604) 324-2441

105-8475 Ontario St

Vancouver BC  V5X 3E8

Privilege and Confidentiality Notice
The information in this email is intended for the named recipients only. It may contain privileged and confidential information. If you have received this email in error, any use, copying or dissemination of its contents is prohibited. Please notify the sender immediately by telephone at the number indicated on this page to arrange destruction and/or return of the email.  Your co-operation is appreciated. Thank you.

Gordon Crane technician Tom Kauss finished the replacement of the east side main hoist brake assembly. A new set up is installed. he adjusted gap too close during first time try. So, the smell appeared when operate the brake. He increased the gap to a proper distance then. It looks like everything works fine now. Still, The brake need to be tested with 10K lBS load on it. We will do the load test on next Thursday when he come here to replace west side brake assembly.  Before that, No module move or other heavy lifting action should be fulfilled on TH crane.

2017-04-20. Tom Kauss finished the replacement of west side main hoist brake assembly. The old set up will be rebuilt, and stored as spare for the future. The load test is done.  10k lbs load was used for testing. Brakes work fine. No strange noise and smell has been found during the test. 

Below is a report on the ISAC Target Hall crane brake issue observed yesterday and addressed today:

- On April 13^th, both the East and West hoist brake assemblies were replaced by Gordon Crane & Hoist, after David observed a burning smell

- The East assembly was replaced with a completely new brake assembly from Kone crane

- The West assembly was replaced with a refurbished assembly, which used the East assembly housing fitted with a rebuild kit by Gordon Crane

- Yesterday while preparing TM3 for a lift, David noticed a vibration / rattle sound coming from the West hoist brake

- This issue was only observed when starting the hoist from a complete stop, at the slowest possible upwards hoist speed

- Once the hoist speed increased, the sound went away, even after returning to a slower speed

- Tom from Gordon Crane & Hoist came in this morning at 7am and replaced the new West assembly with the original West assembly, which had at that point also been fitted with a rebuild kit at Gordon Crane’s shop

- Tom also inspected the East brake assembly again

- Tom commented that he had issues setting the right gap between the friction plates and the brake rotor – too close and the brake would not release properly, too far and the brake rattle issue would be observed

- He also commented that during this most recent repair of the West brake, he applied never seize to the shaft and spline to ensure that this friction point was not an issue

- After Tom finished his repair and inspection of the brakes, David attempted a test lift of an SEG block (10 ton) at the slowest lift speed

- The rattle noise coming from the West brake was still observed

- Travis also tested the slowest speed in Remote Test mode from the control room, with David and Grant present in the Target Hall, the rattle was also still observed

- Tom advised that the rattle would not affect the safety of the hoist, and no damage would be done to the brake assemblies by running the hoist normally with the rattle noise

- Tom ensured that he would consult with Aiden and they would likely order a brand new West brake assembly from Kone

- Tom called Aiden Gordon to confirm that it was ok to proceed

- Aiden called me around 1:30pm and left a message that the slow speed rattle sound was benign and that we could proceed with normal operations, but he would definitely address the problem moving forward, and we should standby for his report

Photos and video have been uploaded to Docushare.  The hoist noise before the repair and after the repair during the test lifts can be heard in the videos.

https://documents.triumf.ca/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-19812

Thanks and regards,

Grant

--

Grant Minor, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.

TRIUMF Remote Handling Group Leader

Nuclear Engineer

4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver

BC, Canada, V6T2A3

gminor@triumf.ca

(604) 222-7359

http://www.triumf.ca/profiles/4557

TH crane burning smell showed again this morning. It appeared after 1-1.5 hours of continuously using during the F308 flasks moving in TH.After a certain time of using I think the brake gap is reduced because of  thermal expansion. The main hoist and brakes work fine still. We knew these brakes gap are tight especially on west side. So, It is not surprised that this burning smell appeared again. It does not affect the safe of crane use in my view. But, The life of this brake assembly could be affected.  I would like everyone know this issue. We may need to consult Gordon crane as well. Maybe, The gap should be increased up a little bit.  On this Friday, I will use crane to transfer 30K lbs shielding blocks. It will be a good test on crane main hoist again. 

  TH crane is used for transferring five shielding blocks(30000lbs) today. All brakes work fine. Mostly, I do not need crane slow up motion for this job so during 1 hour moving, no rattle sound and burning smell has been found.  I think TH crane is good to use as we decided. 

This morning, when I prepare for today's crane check, The crane made a very strong noise without any load during the full speed up motion. I stopped the crane right away, and noticed that east side of main hoist motor area was smoking . The crane was moved to east end. And, I climbed up to the top, and found the smoke is coming form brake side, and should be produced by braking. The smell is same as before.Unless other thing is wrong,  I think Gordon crane technician has to adjust the gap to a proper distance on both side of the main hoist. I feel very uncomfortable by operating the crane this way. They have to figure out what is wrong on these new brake assembly installation.

2017-05-12. This morning , Crane technicians increased both side of main hoist brake gaps today. They found on east side brake assembly, The gap is automatically closed after some  jogging motions. Peter think this is caused by torque produced by automatic adjustment springs on brake. This torque rotate  the gap adjustment device and closed the gap.  We operate the crane for a while with 20000lbs load on it after gap adjustment. The rattling sound is still there at slow up motion.  But, The main hoist braking sound is softer and gentle comparing to past month.This sound is more close to the sound before we replaced the brake assembly. So, This adjustment could be right in my view.  They checked  gaps after 0.5 hours operation. Everything is still fixed there . No change. They suggest we keep operating the main hoist, and they will be back on next Monday check again.  I operated the main hoist up and down in different speed motion for 1 hour after they left. Everything works fine. Braking are gentle. No strange sound and smoke during up or down. I will do  more operation on Monday morning before they come. Lets see the result after their checking.  

２０１７－０５－１５　Ｔｈｉｓ　ｍｏｒｎｉｎｇ，　２０ｍｉｎｕｔｅｓ　ｏｆ　ｃｒａｎｅ　ｍａｉｎ　ｈｏｉｓｔ　ｕｐ　ａｎｄ　ｄｏｗｎ　ｔｅｓｔ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｌｏｔｓ　ｊｏｇｇｉｎｇ　ａｎｄ　ｂｒａｋｉｎｇ．　Ｔｈｅ　ｂｒａｋｉｎｇ　ｓｏｕｎｄ　ｉｓ　ｓｏｆｔｅｒ　ａｎｄ　ｇｅｎｔｌｅ．　Ｅｖｅｒｙｔｈｉｎｇ　ｗｏｒｋｓ　ｆｉｎｅ．

2017-05-15.  Gordon crane technician Peter came in during lunch time. Both side main hoist brake gaps have been checked. They are still at the same position as last Friday. The gap is not changed after operation. Peter will be back on next Monday and check everything again.  

The ISAC Target Hall Crane was load tested and re-certified in January 2011 prior to doing a near-capacity lift for the North Hot Cell roof structure (IRH1112E).

Photos and documentation from Norelco is attached.

- Grant

Gordon crane technician Peter came in today and checked TH crane. Maico and I were there with him. What he found is that brake gap on both side of main hoist decreased after months of using.  The solution is to lock the automatic self adjustment system so the gap will be fixed there. Each year during annual inspection, they will adjust the gap manually. After he locked both side of device, I tested the crane up and down couple of times. The brakes work fine. 

 Earlier in the day it was noted that the rotate function of the crane had creased operation. After David has finished the block moves. Don and I checked the Crane's control unit in the ISAC crane control room and found the breaker tripped for the rotation. The breaker was reset and the crane's rotation is now operational. If this occurs in the future only Travis Cave, Don Jackson or a TRIUMF Electrician are allowed in that control box as it is a 480Volt system. Don or I because we know what we are looking for and the Electrician because they are allowed to touch with and deal 480 V systems. 

 The power to the crane and controls were turned off using the power switch in the Crane Control room.  The main disconnect switch in the target hall was not touched.

All site power will be off for a period of time during the Christmas break and this removes the crane from any issues when power is restored.

The target hall crane has been powered down by Don today in preparation for the power shutdown over the Holidays.

Gordon crane technician Tom finished annual TH crane inspection today. Everything is normal. The main hoist brake gaps are checked on both side. They are good still.

Target hall crane did not work properly after power outage during Christmas time. The only movement could be operated is crane rotation. Power is supplied crane. The control board on N-S, E-W and up-down movement showed  F51 error code which is tripped limit.. All these clues pointed to a PLC control problem.  Don dale was asked for help. He used the crane control PLC program on an old computer  in RH control room reset the PLC system. Everything works fine after his reset.

Target hall crane does not work properly after TH crane main power is switched off during Christmas time in control room. I switched the main power back this morning. The only movement could be operated is crane rotation. Power is supplied crane. The control  on N-S, E-W and up-down movements do not work. We had the same problem last year. After trouble shooting, It was pointed to a PLC battery issue. Control group changed the battery and reloaded the program. I guess  the battery is drained out very fast for some reason. So, We face the same problem again this year.

Adam checked control room main power supply. I checked in TH crane again. The problem is still there. We can confirm this is the same issue like last year. 

Tom Kauss corrected the TH crane  festoon cable loops. He lubricated festoon cable wheels as well.    The maintenance is done.

The Target Hall Crane has been shut down in preparation for the power outage tomorrow (Dec 22). Power will be restored on Dec 23.

Dec 23 update: power has been restored. The crane appears to be in working condition as there is no fault indicator on the PLC.

The crane pendant for the main hoist was upgraded to a FLEX EX2 style pendant by Canco Cranes. The installation work was performed by Matt at Canco, supervised by Tom Kauss, David Wang, and Adam Newsome. Installation work was performed in two phases since the initial installation did not provide adequate range and an antenna issue needed to be resolved (I2021-01-14-1, and I2021-02-16-1).

Items installed include:

• New pendant
• New antennae
• New receiver box, mounted on main crane control panel in the crane control room

The old receiver control box will be kept for some time in case there is a need to revert to the previous system for some reason.

The new system was tested by David Wang - including using the pendant at the far end of the target hall where range was previously an issue. Everything is reported to be in working condition. Remote mode is functioning as expected.