During the winter season, when the ground is frozen, it is very difficult to excavate the land. Most of the time, contractors delay the project due to weather conditions. But the delays in projects may lead to the company losing its credibility and clients’ trust.
It is very obvious that the land does not get frozen in one or two days of cold. It takes a lot of time or intense cold for land to get freeze. The contractors should plan the excavation conferring to the weather condition.
In case, you find frozen ground to excavate, you will have to put in extra effort and high-efficiency equipment such as Cat Wheeled Excavator.
Follow these simple steps to get a guideline about excavating the frozen ground.
Equipment Size Up-gradation
Excavation is required in different projects like residential construction or mining project. For every project, the equipment has to be chosen accordingly. Mining projects will be easy to proceed with used mining equipment.
For the excavation of frozen ground, you will especially need to upgrade your compact equipment size. By upgrading the size of equipment, you can enhance and speed up your work as the equipment efficiency will automatically be increased.
Switch the Right Attachment
Switching out the heavy equipment is harder than switching the attachment from a small machine. You can easily remove an all-purpose bucket and swap it with a sharper cutting edge or more robust teeth.
The increased equipment size will lead to increased excavation whereas the trenching will be decreased due to the larger and wider bucket.
Using a Ripper
If a ripper is attached with your excavating equipment, it can help you to cut or tear a few inches of the frozen land and help the excavation machine to dig with ease. Because the ice layer is only formed on a few inches of land, once the layer is trimmed, it can be easy to excavate down the land. You can also add a ripper to your excavator as an attachment.
Hydroexcavate
Excavating from high-pressure water with vacuum trucks can make it easier to excavate the frozen area. The high-pressure water pointer is mostly used in cutting the solid surface like concrete. Hence, it can also be used to cut the upper layer or some inches of frozen land.
Heating the Ground
A heated blanket can also be used to lower the temperature of frozen land during winter. It can help the excavator to dig better but the method is time-consuming.
Throwing charcoal on the frozen area and bringing it to burn can help in softening the ground too but it is not recommended by the experts due to some environmental and safety concerns.
Cover the ground with Wood/Tarp
Before the snowfall, if you cover the area with some wood or with a simple tarp can prevent the ground to get frozen. The snowfall and ice will only affect the upper layer of wood/tarp. After that, you can easily remove the ice and excavate the ground.
However, this step would have been done before the snowfall and even before a temperature dropped in. Contractors have to plan the work schedule accordingly.
conclusion
Excavation is a common requirement in projects like mining and residential construction. Choosing the used mining equipment for the mining project can make it easier to handle. Whereas the Cat wheeled excavator is highly efficient to be used in both residential and mining projects.
Excavating frozen ground might be challenging for contractors, sometimes, that leads delaying in project completion. The contractors have to bear a loss of credibility and trust of clients. It can be overcome by following some precautions. Upgrading the machinery size, hydro-excavating, attachment replacement, and covering the ground can help in excavating the frozen land.
