The return of the twin: how the LORE transporter was repaired

Jul 18, 2024 | News | 2 comments

Tags: ALMA

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Each observation carried out involves reconfiguring the antennas across the Chajnantor Array. This is done by Lore and Otto, our twin transporters, which have to operate at an altitude of 5,000 metres.

But for almost a year now, Otto has been taking all the load, after Lore suffered a failure in August 2023 and was unable to operate.

“I was operating, on my way to pick up the antenna when a pump started leaking hydraulic oil,” recalls Herman Bañados, our Antenna Transporter Operator and Mechanical Technician.

The transporter has a failover system to recover in case these things happen. As it has two motors, it is able to move with only one. “We had to disconnect a lot of things in order to isolate the failed pump. And it took us two days to get it back to the hangar safely and prevent it from continuing to contaminate,” Herman adds.

From that point on, with only one transporter in operation, there were several obstacles along the way. “In the initial months we had to work with the science team to make sure we could meet their needs with Otto alone, while also doing the necessary remedial work,” says Mark Gallilee, our Mechanical Technical Lead.
For these repairs, the difficulty was “finding a company in Chile that had the experience that we trusted to intervene on this equipment, and that could work under the high quality standards that we have, as well as meet the deadlines established in the respective contracts”, complements Victor Lopehandía, our Mechanical Engineer Specialist.
These transporters are unique in the world. Although their components are currently used in other machines in the mining industry, the operation and functionality of these vehicles is completely different and there was no experience in Chile until this incident.

Thus, from this failure, a complete work was carried out on the hydraulic system of the conveyor, considering the other components that could have been damaged in addition to the pump. Despite the altitude, cold and wind that characterise Chajnantor, the objective was achieved thanks to excellent teamwork.

“We had a very good relationship with the contractor, they helped us a lot, but this machine is customised. So the expertise they had in hydraulics had to be combined with the expertise we had in the machine. There was mutual learning in that sense”, says Alfredo Elgueta, our Antenna Transporter Operator and Maintenance Technician.
Almost a year has passed since that incident with Lore, but fortunately Otto, together with the joint planning of our teams, made it possible to continue the observations of the Universe without setbacks. Today we have Lore back and we have gained a lot of experience.

“It was unexpected, we had to develop the procedures along the way. On the one hand, it was stressful, but on the other hand we gained a lot of knowledge that we can use in the future. So, if we had the same failure again, maybe we would approach it in a different way,” Mark concludes.

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2 Comments

  1. Sergio figueroa
    Sergio figueroa on July 18, 2024 at 7:02 pm

    Un gran desafío que se llevo a cabo y deja visibilizar un gran equipo de trabajo detrás de estas complejas maquinas transportadoras. Bien hecho!!!!.

    Reply
  2. Martin Diaz
    Martin Diaz on July 18, 2024 at 8:28 pm

    Grande equipos y profesionales, comprometidos y colaborativos. Todo expresado en este gran desafío!! Felicitaciones!!!

    Reply

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