BULL DOZER

A bulldozer is a crawler(Continuous tracked tractor) used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, during construction work.

The term “bulldozer” is often used to mean any heavy equipment (sometimes a loader and sometimes an excavator), but precisely, the term refers only to a tractor fitted with a dozer blade.

HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION

The first bulldozers were adapted from Holt farm tractors that were used to plough fields. The versatility of the bulldozers in soft ground for logging and road building led directly to their becoming the armored tank in World War I.

In 1923, a young farmer named James Cummings and a draftsman named J. Earl McLeod made the first designs for a bulldozer. A replica is on display at the city park in Morrowville, Kansas where the two built the first bulldozer.

Most often, bulldozers are large and powerful tracked heavy equipment. The tracks give them excellent ground hold and mobility through very rough terrain.

Wide tracks help distribute the bulldozer's weight over a large area thus preventing it from sinking in sandy or muddy ground.

The bulldozer's primary tools are the blade and the ripper.

DESCRIPTION

PARTS OF A BULLDOZER

A Straight Blade ("S-Blade") which is short and has no lateral curve, no side wings, and can be used for fine grading.

A Universal Blade ("U-Blade") which is tall and very curved, and has large side wings to carry more material.

A "S-U" combination blade which is shorter, has less curvature, and smaller side wings. This blade is typically used for pushing piles of large rocks, such as at a quarry.

The bulldozer blade is a heavy metal plate on the front of the tractor, used to push objects, and shoving sand, soil and debris.

Dozer blades usually come in three varieties:

MAIN PARTS

Usually, a single shank is preferred for heavy ripping. The ripper shank is fitted with a replaceable tungsten steel alloy tip

Ripping rock lets the ground surface rock bebroken into small rubble easy to handle and transport, which can then be removed so grading can take place. Agricultural ripping lets rocky or very hard earthbe broken up so otherwise unploughable land can be farmed.

The ripper is the long claw-like device on the back of the bulldozer. Rippers can come as a single (single shank/giant ripper) or in groups of two or more (multi shank rippers).

RIPPER

For example, much of the best land in the California wine country consists of old lava flows. With heavy bulldozers the lava is shattered, allowing agriculture.

Also, hard earth can be ripped and broken up to allow planting of orchards where trees could not otherwise grow.

RIPPER

In military use, dozer blades are fixed on combat engineering vehicles and can optionally be fitted on other vehicles, such as artillery tractors like the Type 73 or M8 Tractor.

Dozer blades can also be mounted on Main battle tanks, where it can be used to clear antitank obstacles, mines, and dig improvised shelters.

Combat applications for dozer blades include clearing battlefield obstacles and preparing fire positions.

APPLICATIONS

ADVANTAGES

Bulldozers are large and heavy vehicles making them a good choice for demolition and clearing sites.

Caterpillar tracks give bulldozers a distinct advantage allowing them to be surprisingly maneuverable for their extreme weight.

The tracks are also quite wide which helps to distribute their heavy weight preventing them from sinking in sandy or muddy ground.

Bulldozers are renowned for holding their ground which gives them phenomenal strength for pushing and dragging obstructions in their path.

Some models of tanks can even tow up to 70 tons of weight and are used for moving written off vehicles and military purposes as well as in construction and demolition projects.

ADVANTAGES