UHP Water Cutter
Development
The' two truck' system
Single truck mounted system
Third machine to be produced
The Water Cutting process has evolved from the initial trial phase with the 'two truck' system to a single truck mounted system. The third machine produced has been optimised to make the operation as efficient as possible.
Two major changes have been made:
- Firstly, the slave engine to drive the vacuum recovery fan has been removed and one engine now meets the demands of both the water pumping, deckblaster operation and the vacuum recovery. This minimises the fuel use and reduces unnecessary weight.
- Secondly, optimised axle loads have created the ability to carry a full day's supply of water to the site and a full day's worth of recovered product away. This dramatically improves the efficiency of the whole operation by eliminating the need to travel to and from disposal sites during the day.
COP Outcome development and evaluation
These modifications have in part been a result of feedback from consultation with stakeholders.
The truck mounted machine is self contained and involves the following major components: fresh water and recovered product tanks, a diesel engine, two hydraulically operated UHP reciprocating plunger water pumps, an electronic control system, an umbilical self propelled deckblaster (like a rotary lawnmower) that contains the revolving spraybar, and the vacuum recovery system.
The recovered product tank on the truck has been optimised to cope with the difficult material removed from the road surface. The recovered product contains approximately 20% bitumen, which coagulates and settles in the tank. The tank design is a tipping body with an exceptionally steep tipping angle and a large hydraulically operated rear door. The seal for this door has been carefully designed to provide a watertight seal even with 8,500 litres of water and recovered product on board. The tank is constructed of stainless steel.
The recovered product is inert and non-hazardous and every effort has been put into the design and construction of the deckblaster, recovery system and recovered product tank to ensure that all material is removed from the road surface and that this material is efficiently contained until the disposal site is reached.
