SUBSURFACE TRANSPORTATION METHODS IN DEEP SNOW.

• Main Author: Abele,Gunars
• Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER N H
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1965
• Subjects: Snow; Ice and Permafrost; Civil Engineering; Surface Transportation and Equipment; *SNOW; *TRANSPORTATION; ROADS; RAILROADS; VEHICLES; MOBILITY; FRICTION; RUBBER; WHEELS; GREENLAND; Gage; Greenland; Ice; permafrost
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0631949; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0631949

During the 1962 test season in Greenland, a study was performed on subsurface transportation methods. A 1600 ft long, covered test trench containing horizontal curves and a 400 ft long processed snow floor section was constructed. Wheel trafficability tests on the snow trench floor were conducted with two types of low-pressure tires as well as with standard truck tires. An M-54 5-ton truck with a 5-ton load was used as the test vehicle. Skid tests were performed with the three types of tires on the processed snow floor, and the coefficient of friction between the tires and a hard snow surface was determined. A 1300 ft long, standard gage railroad track was installed in the trench after completion of the wheel traffic tests. A standard size flatcar with a 30-ton load, towed by a 5-ton truck equipped with rail wheels, was used as the test vehicle for the rail traffic tests. It was determined that the natural, unprocessed snow surface in a trench 26 ft below the snow surface is not suitable for extensive traffic with vehicles such as 5-ton trucks even when equipped with low-pressure flotation tires. However, a Peter plow-processed, age-hardened snow surface is capable of supporting a virtually unlimited amount of vehicle traffic using standard tires. Indications are that even heavier wheeled vehicles could be easily supported by a processed-snow trench floor. The coefficient of friction between rubber tires and a hard snow surface was found to be in the general range of 0.2 to 0.3. (Author)