| Summary: | The movement of diamond drills by tracked vehicles and drill trailers in south Central Keewatin was studied during the summer of 1980. Tests of the physical ground strength showed that the ability of the terrain to resist disturbance from tracked vehicle operations depended on two main physical factors: the type of surficial material and the presence of water. Moisture contents varied throughout the summer so that the response of till and peat to compression and shear was not constant. As the summer proqressed, the increasing depth of thaw and gradual surface drying caused strengthening of both major types of surficial material. As a result, vehicle trafficability gradually increased throughout the summer. While surface rutting increased the depth of thaw compared to an undisturbed site, especially in peat, after the first few weeks of the thaw this had little apparent effect on vehicle trafficability. In many cases the vehicle disturbance was largely aesthetic giving the impression that the terrain disturbance was much more serious than it actually was. Although the load distribution of the vehicle tracks concentrated much of the longitudinal stress directly beneath the bogie wheels, in most cases the performance of the tracked vehicle itself was adequate. However, problems caused by the drill trailer wheels resulted in unnecessary mechanical strain on the vehicles and created marked increases in terrain disturbance. Thesis Bachelor of Arts (BA)
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