Machine for Soil Reclamation in the Transmission Pipeline Repair Area

Abstract

Pipework network in Ukraine is the second longest in Europe. Its faultless operation is ensured only by the overhaul of the pipeline. Repair is carried out on a land acquisition strip in the pipeline location area that needs to be restored for effective environmental management. Repair of pipelines is associated with the removal of the surface layer of fertile soil, moving it to a temporary dump without moving the mineral to the side from the pipeline and reverse movement of the ground (reclamation). Performance of specified work by bulldozers is extremely dangerous and is associated with mixing fertile soil with the mineral one. This is unacceptable from the point of compliance ща the agrotechnical requirements and requirements of the «departmental building codes». From the results of research the machine for layering soil excavation, which is able to perform work on the reclamation of the fertile soil in the pipe repair zone without mixing fertile and mineral soil with moving along the pipeline without crossing it, was created. The machine includes crawler tractor and mounted on its platform chain-milling operating equipment, that is able to excavate soil above the pipe with a working width up to 5.5 meters, cutting off the layer of a given thickness of fertile soil. The thickness of a cut off layer of soil can be regulated. Maximum thickness – 0,9 m. Reloading of the soil to the dump is made by the curved belt conveyor. The movement of the machine through the pipeline without its damaging is provided by the automatic control system and control of the working process of the machine. The mixing of the fertile and mineral soil during the machine working is excluded. Performance of the machine is up to 800 m3/h.