Abstract
compaction due to heavy earth moving equipment remains an impediment for the surface mining industry to return prime farmland back to pre- mining performance. The purpose of this investigation was to fabricate and evaluate a mechanism, called the Soil Regenerator, for constructing the top- and sub-soil profiles without the introduction of machinery traffic in order to minimize compaction during reclamation. The prototype system was mounted on the front of a bulldozer. Windrows of soil were constructed using a scraper or bulldozer for the mechanism to process. The bulldozer engaged the windrows allowing soil to rise up the blade and be agitated, transported, and deposited by a helicoid auger resulting in a 0.9 m deep berm adjacent to the bulldozer. An uncompacted soil medium was built by making successive parallel passes. Testing resulted in processing capacities ranging from 330 to 804 m 3 /hr for the prototype, which was much less than the projected theoretical design capacity of 2680 m 3 /hr. However, dry bulk densities equal to or less than 1.0 Mg/m 3 were produced along with penetrometer measurements below 0.7 MPa. These results proved that the 'Soil Regenerator' was capable of eliminating soil compaction during reclamation of surface mined land.
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