The Kiel-Holtenau lock system separates the North Sea-Baltic Sea Canal from the Kiel Fjord as the world's busiest artificial waterway. It consists essentially of two double-chamber locks and a drainage system. The Kiel-Holtenau lock system transports up to 30,000 ships a year for professional shipping, although currently only the Great Lock can be used for shipping. In addition, in the summer months, about 12,000 recreational boats per season are added during the day and in clear weather.
The gates of the Great Lock are moved by means of drive sticks, which in turn are driven by electric motors via an intermediate transmission. In order to maintain the lock operation in the event of failure of a drive unit, the drive sticks can be driven by a redundant drive train. Each gate has its own driven drivestick pair. The existing transmissions are sometimes 45 to 50 years old and significantly exceed the 35-year service life provided for in DIN 19704. For this reason, the drives or individual components must be renewed.
The SBE Magdeburg division of Tractebel Hydroprojekt GmbH, in cooperation with the Weimar division on behalf of the Kiel-Holtenau Waterways and Shipping Office, is investigating possible refurbishment and/or modernisation measures with regard to the drive units. These should focus on the electric motors, the transmissions, the parking brakes, the overload protection, the control of the drives and, if necessary, the drive shaft with sprocket with drive stick intervention. In addition, replacement and new construction variants are to be examined in parallel, which include a complete conversion of the technical system and the change of the drive principle. The given boundary conditions (building structure, existing control of the contactors of the circulation channels and the control centre, as well as the building technical system parts) must be taken into account. The basis for the planning steps is a complete measurement of the drive units and the boundary conditions (building dimensions, fittings, existing technical equipment, etc.) of the four gatehouses of the Great Lock in operation. The resulting findings were taken as part of a 3D modelling of the stock. This inventory modelling then forms the basis for the investigation of the various modernization, repair and new construction variants.
In the course of the final processing of the preliminary planning and the definition of a preferred solution, the Magdeburg business unit was commissioned with the measurement of the currently available drive loads. This includes the planning and execution of the measurement, as well as the design, manufacture and assembly of the measuring equipment (e.g. measuring bolts). The evaluation of the results is intended to verify the basis of assessment from the basic determination and, if necessary, serve as a basis for the development of future new closure bodies.
Tobias Schaulat - Magdeburg