Dynapac’s soil compactors will adjust its soil compaction frequency to match the ground it works on, with new models soon to join the local market.
A new seismic compaction technology is installed on Dynapac’s CA1500-6500 soil compaction machines, now available in Australia.
Dynapac, distributed locally by CEA Australia, says the new technology is designed to make the compactor work with the soil it is compacting, with its seismic system reading the soil’s natural frequencies and determines the best frequency to use.
Once this has been determined, the machines then adjust their frequency automatically to adapt to the varying ground properties at all times.
Dynapac’s Australian product manager for construction equipment Chris Parkin says while operators have been able to adjust the components themselves, recognising a soil’s characteristics using sight alone “is near impossible.”
“With Dynapac Seismic, the roller automatically determines the natural frequency of the soil and adjusts to it. This saves both time and fuel consumption, makes it easier on the environment and reduces the wear of the machine,” he says.
Parkin says the seismic system uses data from the drum’s compaction meter to detect the soil’s frequency and then optimises the machine’s vibration frequency.
“At the natural frequency, the drum amplitude is enhanced significantly, since energy is automatically fed to the ground at exactly the right time. This, in turn, maximises the contact force between the drum and the ground, yielding maximised compaction and energy efficiency,” he says.
“By working in synchronisation with the ground’s natural properties, the machine’s performance is maximised, and less energy is required to achieve the same compaction results.”
With the machine adjusting the vibration frequency on its own, the operator can focus on what pass counts and overlapping may be needed to meet the compaction requirements, he adds.
The technology also allows the operator to reduce unnecessary vibration power – and thus be more energy and noise efficient.
“Lifetime fuel consumption has been estimated to be reduced using Seismic by around seven to nine per cent with vibration power and energy consumption reduced around 20 to 30 per cent,” Parkin says.
“In addition, thanks to Seismic, the same quality of compaction can, in most cases, be achieved with a reduced number of passes. This means savings in time, a reduction of costs and less wear and tear on our machines.”
The technology is best suited to soil compaction for earthworks rather than bitumen, he adds, noting that Dynapac is currently conducting research to determine the best system for asphalt compaction.