Open Cut » Maintenance & Equipment
The objective of this project was to evaluate the concept of using a spade nosed dozer blade in dozer push applications. The research was undertaken in trials working alongside Caterpillar D11R Carry Blades. The research showed that the blade had increased fill capacities, reduced load time, reduced fuel consumption and showed the potential to reduce wear and tear on the drive train components against conventional blades.
The blades ability to achieve performance increases is attributed to its design.
The blade displayed an ability to penetrate very hard material without ripping, thereby producing opportunities for reduced blasting.
Loading in blasted material where fragmentation was not ideal the blade showed superior load times and cycle times. Fuel consumption per hour of operation as well as per cubic meter moved was reduced. When benchmarked against the carry blade for a particular push length and lift in blasted martial, a reduction in fuel consumption of 12 percent per cubic meter was achieved.
The blades features of high penetration, increased load capacity and reduced fuel consumption make it ideal for dozer operations including cross pit dozing, rehabilitation and bulk earthworks.
An 
e-newsletter has also been published for this project, highlighting its significance for the industry.