Air passengers tread on modern energy chain solutions

In all the terminals of the Cologne/Bonn airport, almost ten million passengers walk on a total of 18 passenger boarding bridges each year. The bridges ensure that the way between the airport building and the aircraft is made as simple as possible for the passengers. After switching off the engine of the parked aircraft, the bridge also takes over the supply of the on-board electronics. The bridge "docks" into the aircraft as soon as it has reached its parking position. It consists of a stationary and a moving (telescoping) part. The movable bridge head is also adjustable in height, in order to precisely reach the aircraft door. All movements are thereby carried out hydraulically, the control and signal routing via electric cables. In order to safely and securely conduct this over all the movements and to ensure the operability of the bridges in the coming years at Cologne/Bonn airport, the energy supply system of the eight bridges of the new terminal 2 was modernised and energy chains, guide channels and cables were installed by the igus assembly service.

Detlef Stäbler, Manager of the Material Handling department at thet Cologne/Bonn Airport, explains why the Installation Service from igus handled designing and delivering the energy chain solution as well as the retrofitting process to a large extent:
 

"On the one hand, we don't have the necessary capacity to carry out such extensive tasks. On the other hand, it is very important for the functional reliability and service life of the system that energy chain specialists carry out the routing of the cables."

The task: The complete modernisation of the energy supply system

A Swedish manufacturer initially equipped the jet bridges in Cologne in 1999. Even back then, energy chains by igus were used for the moving cable guidance system. These have been working without a fault to this very day. The arrangement of four chains per system at the time (due to the very limited installation orientations in the bridge housing), nonetheless, left room for improvement. The cable conduits had previously also not been accessible in case of potential faults or for visual inspections, since they were hidden completely below the outer shell of the bridge.
 
The task for the project engineers was, therefore, to optimise the selection and arrangement of the e-chains and accessibility for maintenance purposes. Not only did igus retrofit the energy chains and cable assignment but the steel substructure of the bridge has been adapted and optimised as well. "After consultation with and thanks to the technical support from igus, we decided on a complete solution including on-site installation," explains Stäbler. "It very quickly became evident that any other option would not be economically feasible. “

The D08 jet bridge was chosen as a prototype. "Since such a retrofitting process is not exactly day-to-day business for us, we agreed with the customer that we would start by retrofitting only one of the bridges. That made it easier to estimate the scope of the project and the airport was able to test the new cable conduit system," says Lazaros Mpozardenis, Area Manager for e-chainsystems Sales West at igus GmbH.
 
Since the apron where the jet bridges are located is part of the high-security area of the airport, the igus Installation Service and its personnel had to satisfy special requirements. Planning for the installation started well in advance due to the extensive personnel and security checks and special training sessions which had to be completed before work could commence,
 
The new cable conduit system of the retrofitted bridge now consists of two opposing (facing each other) E 4/4 chains that have been turned through 90° which now have a sufficient capacity to separate and guide the cables. Additionally, an E2 zigzag chain is used at the bridgehead for vertical adjustments. All energy chains are equipped with wind and weather-resistant chainflex TPE special cables for energy chains as well as with a 400 Hz special cable for the on-board power supply of the aeroplane, which is now well-protected.

Reconstruction of seven other bridges in one order

After the "D08 bridge" prototype had been retrofitted and tested over several weeks, the airport quickly made the decision to also modernise the remaining seven bridges. Since the technical concept had already proven itself and the system components for seven additional systems were available from stock at igus at the nearby plant in the Porz-Lind district of Cologne, the challenge once again fell to planning the installation process. This had to be done with as much flexibility as possible in accordance with the travel activity at the airport, since it would not be possible to extend any of the bridges during the main travel season in the summer months. "igus and its Installation Service once again proved to be incredibly flexible partners," says Stäbler, "We are very grateful for that. “

Security precautions are also often very high at airports, which is to be expected. That can lead to delays in work or logistics processes. "Here we have to thank the customer for support and co-operation, which worked without a hitch. The airport operating company surely made our work a lot easier as a result," expresses Mpozardenis from igus. "Thanks to a special permit, we were allowed to drive all the way to the bridges with our assembly vehicle. That is not something that can be taken for granted. “
 
This meant one bridge after the other was taken out of service for a short time and retrofitted during a time window of about two weeks each with the flexibility to adapt to travel activities. It took about 1.5 years before all the bridges had been retrofitted. Common agreements and co-ordination between the Material Handling department at the Cologne Bonn Airport and igus worked out extremely well for the entire duration and the collaborative efforts of everyone involved ended in a resounding success.

Good result thanks to good cooperation

The entire system is much more accessible after the retrofit. The overall design has been simplified, making the jet bridges easier to maintain. The jet bridges now have an expected service life of 25 to 30 years. "Of course, it's great to support the regional economy with the help of a local partner," says Stäbler. "And all the better when you have a global player like igus right at your doorstep." Stäbler has no doubts, "Should we require energy chain systems for other applications in future, we will definitely be choosing igus again. This is not only because of its products, but also because igus has proven itself to be a company in close proximity to the airport and ready to partner with us to get to where we want to be quickly and reliably. “
 
The author Dipl.-Wirt. Ing. Andreas Wolf, Division Manager Assembly Services at igus GmbH