Atlas Copco hydraulic breaker used in port development in Italy

An Atlas Copco hydraulic breaker HB 7000 is currently being used in a port infrastructure development project in the Italian city of Livorno. The local port authority began removing sections of the quay walls and underwater structures down to a depth of eleven metres back in 1985.
The quay walls consist of foundation-forming caissons, giant concrete box constructions with reinforced concrete walls one metre thick. Submerged into the water with utmost precision, these constructions form a new quay wall. Conventional methods proved inadequate to remove difficult-to-access structures under eight metres of water.
Sales S.p.A., a Rome-based company specialising in maritime construction work, decided to try out an Atlas Copco hydraulic breaker HB 7000 on structures standing at a depth of between eight and eleven metres. In doing so, the company used the floating platform Francesca, which had been equipped with a Liebherr 984 C with an eleven-metre boom. A compressor was also installed to help protect the percussion mechanism of the hydraulic breaker from water.
A GPS system was used to identify underwater structures when operating the breaker while a display screen in the excavator cabin helped the operator to position the breaker correctly. Although conditions made it difficult to see under water, Sales S.p.A. was able to complete demolition work on the quay walls efficiently and in good time.
The HB 7000 is the second largest hydraulic breaker in the Atlas Copco range. All established features in the Atlas Copco heavy-duty hydraulic breaker series are also included in the new HB 7000: the VibroSilenced system for noise and vibration control; PowerAdapt, which switches off the breaker in the event of a hydraulic overload; AutoControl, which adjusts the impact frequency and impact energy to match the hardness of the stone, as well as ContiLube TM II, the integrated automatic lubrication system. StartSelect enables the operator to control the start-up and shutdown behaviour of the hydraulic breaker. The optional DustProtector protects the hydraulic breaker against dust and rock particles penetrating the lower part of the hammer.