Field Measurements of Ice Scraping Loads on Front Mounted Plow Blades, HR-374, 1997

(1997) Field Measurements of Ice Scraping Loads on Front Mounted Plow Blades, HR-374, 1997. Transportation, Department of

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Abstract

Removal of ice from roads is of the more challenging task in winter highway maintenance. The best mechanical method is to use a truck with underbody plow blade, but such equipment is not available to all agencies charged with winter maintenance operations. While counties and cities often use motor graders to scrape ice, it would be of great benefit if front mounted plows could be used effectively for ice removal. To reveal and understand the factors that influence the performance of these plows, measurement of the forces experienced by the plow blades during ice scraping is desirable. This study explores the possibility of using accelerometers to determine the forces on a front-mounted plow when scraping ice. The plow was modeled by using a dynamic approach. The forces on the plow were to be determined by the measurement of the accelerations of the plow. Field tests were conducted using an "as is" front-mounted plow instrumented with accelerometers. The results of the field tests indicate that in terms of ice removal, the front-mounted plow is not favorable equipment. The major problem in this study is that the front mounted plow was not able to cut ice, and therefore experienced no significant scraping forces. However, the use of accelerometers seems to be promising for analyzing the vibration problems of the front-mounted plow.