Accession Number:
ADA037951
Title:
An Ice Excavation Machine.
Descriptive Note:
Final rept. Aug 73-Jun 76,
Corporate Author:
CIVIL ENGINEERING LAB (NAVY) PORT HUENEME CALIF
Personal Author(s):
Report Date:
1977-02-01
Pagination or Media Count:
28.0
Abstract:
A review of operational requirements indicates a continuing need for equipment to excavate ice to facilitate polar construction. A 30-hp ladder-type trencher was selected and procured for its low ground pressure and versatility. The chain was outfitted with specifically designed conical ice teeth, and a rotating ice chipper drum was designed and fabricated for the backhoe arm. Both modifications, along with an off-the-shelf hydraulic impactor attachment, were evaluated during a field test program after undergoing shakedown performance tests in the laboratory. A similar, but larger machine with identical teeth, procured under a separate task, was observed during an extended Antarctic ice-trenching operation. The CEL-designed conical teeth made both ice excavation machines very efficient trenchers, cutting over 3,000 lineal feet 900 m of ice with an average specific energy of only 220 in.-lbin.3 1,500 kPa. Both backhoe attachments were effective for special applications, such as ice hummock removal and deadman anchor emplacement. Author
Descriptors:
Subject Categories:
- Construction Equipment, Materials and Supplies