Low-ground-pressure Construction Equipment for Use in Dredged Material Containment Area Operation and Maintenance - Equipment Inventory

Sixty vehicles were evaluated to determine their capabilities for operating in and around confined dredged material disposal areas. The results represent the state of the art of vehicles that are commercially available or have undergone recent military testing and that can operate in soft soils. The vehicles were divided into 6 payload classes that indirectly reflect the size of the job that the vehicle or equipment may be expected to perform. Vehicle performance was expressed in terms of go-no go and traction capability on 5 selected soil strengths that cover the range of soil strengths measured in several representative dredged material disposal containment areas. The soils data revealed that within a given site, the operational environment of disposal areas can be highly variable type of material, profile strength, presence of surface and subsurface water, and vegetal cover; these factors combine to present a harsh operational environment for vehicles or equipment. A comparison of computed soil strength requirements for vehicles operating in fine-grained soils with measured soil strength data indicated that commercially available vehicles in the 6 categories can operate in all except the lowest soil strength units.