Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: This instructable is entered in the 'Wireless' contest. Please vote for me, Thank youWhen I moved to a rural property in Australia I was faced with the fact my water supply was at the mercy of the Gods; rain from the sky to fill the tanks.I had a. UST Resources Library - UST Training. Welcome to the UST industry’s leading free resource library for underground storage tank owners and operators. We’ve gathered the best links over the years and are happy to share them with you. Want to share a great link?
AContinuous track is a system of used in tracked vehicles, running on a continuous band of treads or track plates driven by two or more wheels. The large surface area of the tracks distributes the weight of the vehicle better than steel or rubber tyres on an equivalent vehicle, enabling continuous tracked vehicles to traverse soft ground with less likelihood of becoming stuck due to sinking.Modern continuous tracks can be made with soft of, reinforced with steel wires, in the case of lighter. The more common classical type is a solid chain track made of steel plates (with or without rubber pads), also called caterpillar track or tank tread, which is preferred for robust and heavy and.The prominent treads of the metal plates are both hard-wearing and damage resistant, especially in comparison to rubber tyres. The aggressive treads of the tracks provide good traction in soft surfaces but can damage paved surfaces, so some metal tracks can have rubber pads installed for use on paved surfaces. Other than soft rubber belts, most chain tracks apply a stiff mechanism to distribute the load equally over the entire space between the for minimal deformation, so that even heaviest vehicles can move easily, just like a train on its straight tracks.The idea of continuous tracks can be traced back as far the 1830s, however, the stiff mechanism was first introduced by in 1904 and then made popular by, with emerging during.
Today, they are commonly used on a variety of vehicles, including,. Contents.History and inventor conceived of the idea in the 1830s.The British Sir patented a continuous track, which he called a 'universal railway'. In 1837, inventor Dmitry Zagryazhsky designed a 'carriage with mobile tracks' which he patented the same year, but due to a lack of funds and interest from manufacturers he was unable to build a working prototype, and his patent was voided in 1839.Dreadnaught wheel by Boydell (1846).
Main article:Although not a continuous track in the form encountered today, a or 'endless railway wheel' was patented by the British Engineer in 1846. In Boydell's design, a series of flat feet are attached to the periphery of the wheel, spreading the weight. A number of horse-drawn wagons, carts and gun carriages were successfully deployed in the, waged between October 1853 and February 1856, the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich manufacturing dreadnaught wheels. A letter of recommendation was signed by Sir William Codrington, the General commanding the troops at Sebastopol.Boydell patented improvements to his wheel in 1854 (No.
431) – the year his dreadnaught wheel was first applied to a steam engine – and 1858 (No. 356), the latter an impracticable palliative measure involving the lifting one or other of the driving wheels to facilitate turning.A number of manufacturers including Richard Bach, and applied the Boydell patent under licence. The British military were interested in Boydell's invention from an early date. One of the objectives was to transport, a giant 36 in weapon which was under development, but, by the end of the Crimean War, the was not ready for service. A detailed report of the tests on steam traction, carried out by a select Committee of the Board of Ordnance, was published in June 1856, by which date the Crimean War was over, consequently the mortar and its transportation became irrelevant. In those tests, a Garrett engine was put through its paces on Plumstead Common.
The Garrett engine featured in the Lord Mayor's show in London, and in the following month that engine was shipped to Australia. A employing dreadnaught wheels was built at Bach's Birmingham works, and was used between 1856 and 1858 for ploughing in Thetford; and the first generation of Burrell/Boydell engines was built at the St. Nicholas works in 1856, again, after the close of the Crimean War.Between late 1856 and 1862 Burrell manufactured not less than a score of engines fitted with dreadnaught wheels. In April 1858, 'The Engineer' gave a brief description of a Clayton & Shuttleworth engine fitted with dreadnaught wheels, which was supplied not to the Western Allies, but to the Russian government for heavy artillery haulage in in the post-war period. Steam tractors fitted with dreadnaught wheels had a number of shortcomings and, notwithstanding the creations of the late 1850s, were never used extensively. Endless Railway by John Fowler (1858) In August 1858, more than two years after the end of the, filed British Patent No. 1948 on another form of 'Endless Railway'. In his illustration of the invention, Fowler used a pair of wheels of equal diameter on each side of his vehicle, around which pair of toothed wheels ran a 'track' of eight jointed segments, with a smaller jockey/drive wheel between each pair of wheels, to support the 'track'.
Comprising only eight sections, the 'track' sections are essentially 'longitudinal', as in Boydell's initial design. Fowler's arrangement is a precursor to the multi-section caterpillar track in which a relatively large number of short 'transverse' treads are used, as proposed by Sir George Caley in 1825, rather than a small number of relatively long 'longitudinal' treads.Further to Fowler's patent of 1858, in 1877, a Russian, created a tracked vehicle called ' moved on endless rails' (caterpillars). It lacked self-propulsion and was pulled by horses. Blinov received a patent for his 'wagon' in 1878. From 1881 to 1888 he developed a steam-powered caterpillar-tractor. This self-propelled crawler was successfully tested and featured at a farmers' exhibition in 1896.
20th century efforts were used at the end of the 19th century in the. But neither dreadnaught wheels nor continuous tracks were used, rather 'roll-out' wooden plank roads were thrown under the wheels as required.In short, whilst the development of the continuous track engaged the attention of a number of inventors in the 18th and 19th centuries, the general use and exploitation of the continuous track belonged to the 20th century, mainly in the and.A little-known American inventor, Henry T. Stith, had developed a continuous track prototype which was, in multiple forms, patented in 1873, 1880, and 1900. The last was for the application of the track to a prototype off-road bicycle built for his son.
The 1900 prototype is retained by his surviving family.Frank Beamond, a less-commonly known but significant British inventor, designed and built caterpillar tracks, and was granted patents for them in a number of countries, in 1900 and 1907. Lombard Steam Log Hauler (Designed, patented 1901) First commercial success (1901) A first effective continuous track was not only invented but really implemented by for the. He was granted a patent in 1901 and built the first steam-powered log hauler at the Waterville Iron Works in Waterville, Maine, the same year. In all, 83 Lombard steam log haulers are known to have been built up to 1917, when production switched entirely to internal combustion engine powered machines, ending with a Fairbanks diesel-powered unit in 1934. Undoubtedly, Alvin Lombard was the first commercial manufacturer of the.At least one of Lombard's steam-powered machines apparently remains in working order.
A gasoline-powered Lombard hauler is on display at the Maine State Museum in Augusta. In addition, there may have been up to twice as many Phoenix Centipeed versions of the steam log hauler built under license from Lombard, with vertical instead of horizontal cylinders. In 1903, the founder of Holt Manufacturing, paid Lombard $60,000 for the right to produce vehicles under his patent.
The stiff chain by Hornsby & Sons (1904) At about the same time a British agricultural company, in, developed a continuous track which was patented in 1905. The design differed from modern tracks in that it flexed in only one direction, with the effect that the links locked together to form a solid rail on which the road wheels ran. Hornsby's tracked vehicles were given trials as by the on several occasions between 1905 and 1910, but not adopted. The Hornsby tractors featured a track-steer clutch arrangement, which is the basis of the modern crawler operation.
The patent was purchased by Holt. High DriveNote the elevated drive sprocket, with advantages for large earth-moving machinesThe name Caterpillar came from a soldier during the tests on the Hornsby crawler, 'trials began at in July 1907. The soldiers immediately christened the 70bhp No.2 machine the 'caterpillar'.'
Holt adopted that name for his 'crawler' tractors. Holt began moving from steam to gasoline-powered designs, and in 1908 brought out the 40 horsepower 'Holt Model 40 Caterpillar'. The draft of 's steam-powered continuous track Blinov In 1877 Russian inventor created a tracked vehicle called ' moved on endless rails' (caterpillars). It lacked self-propelling and was horse-drawn. Blinov got a patent for his 'wagon' the next year. Later, in 1881-1888 he created a steam-powered caterpillar-tractor.
This self-propelled crawler was successfully tested and showed at a farmers' exhibition in 1896. Dinsmoor According to, it was of that invented a 'vehicle' that was on endless tracks. The article gives a detailed description of the endless tracks and the illustration looks much like today's tracked vehicles. The invention has been patented as No. 351,749 on November 2, 1886. Lombard Alvin O. Lombard of was issued a patent in 1901 for the that resembles a regular railroad steam with sled steerage on front and crawlers in rear for hauling logs in the Northeastern United States and Canada.
The allowed pulp to be taken to rivers in the winter. Prior to then, horses could be used only until snow depths made hauling impossible. Lombard began commercial production which lasted until around 1917 when focus switched entirely to powered machines.
A gasoline-powered hauler is on display at the Maine State Museum in.Hornsby / Holt / Phoenix. A Model of the Hornsby tractorAfter Lombard began operations, in England manufactured at least two full length 'track steer' machines, and their patent was later purchased by Holt in 1913, allowing Holt to claim to be the 'inventor' of the crawler tractor. Since the 'tank' was a British concept it is more likely the Hornsby, which had been built and unsuccessfully pitched to their military, was the inspiration.In a patent dispute involving rival crawler builder Best, testimony was brought in from people including Lombard, that Holt had inspected a Lombard log hauler shipped out to a western state by people who would later build the Phoenix log hauler in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, under license from Lombard.
The Phoenix Centipeed typically had a fancier wood cab, steering wheel tipped forward at a 45 degree angle and vertical instead of horizontal.Linn. This section does not any. Unsourced material may be challenged. ( May 2013) In the meantime, a gasoline-powered was built by Lombard for Holman Harry (Flannery) Linn of to pull the equipment wagon of his dog & pony show, resembling a car only with wheels in front and Lombard crawlers in rear. Linn had experimented with gasoline and steam-powered vehicles and six-wheel drive before this, and at some point entered Lombard's employment as a demonstrator, mechanic and sales agent. This resulted in a question of proprietorship of patent rights after a single rear-tracked gasoline-powered road engine of tricycle arrangement was built to replace the larger motor home in 1909 on account of problems with the old picturesque wooden bridges. This dispute resulted in Linn departing Maine and relocating to Morris, New York, to build an improved, contour following flexible lag tread or crawler with of type, gasoline and later powered.
Although several were delivered for military use between 1917 and 1946, Linn never received any large military orders. Most of the production between 1917 and 1952, approximately 2500 units, was sold directly to highway departments and contractors. Steel tracks and payload capacity allowed these machines to work in terrain that would typically cause the poorer quality rubber tyres that existed before the mid-1930s to spin uselessly, or shred completely. Linn was a pioneer in snow removal before the practice was embraced in rural areas, with a nine-foot steel v-plow and sixteen foot adjustable leveling wings on either side. Once the highway system became paved, could be done by trucks equipped by improving tyre designs, and the Linn became an off highway vehicle, for, dam construction, etc. Engineering. A wheel on a tank Construction and operation Modern tracks are built from modular chain links which together compose a closed chain.
The links are jointed by a hinge, which allows the track to be flexible and wrap around a set of wheels to make an endless loop. The chain links are often broad, and can be made of manganese alloy steel for high strength, hardness, and abrasion resistance.Track construction and assembly is dictated by the application. Military vehicles use a track shoe that is integral to the structure of the chain in order to reduce track weight. Reduced weight allows the vehicle to move faster and decreases overall vehicle weight to ease transportation. Since track weight is completely, reducing it improves suspension performance at speeds where the track's momentum is significant. In contrast, agricultural and construction vehicles opt for a track with shoes that attach to the chain with bolts and do not form part of the chain's structure.
This allows track shoes to break without compromising the ability of the vehicle to move and decrease productivity but increases the overall weight of the track and vehicle.The vehicle's weight is transferred to the bottom length of track by a number of road wheels, or sets of wheels called. Road wheels are typically mounted on some form of suspension to cushion the ride over rough ground. Suspension design in military vehicles is a major area of development; the very early designs were often completely unsprung. Later-developed road wheel suspension offered only a few inches of travel using springs, whereas modern hydro-pneumatic systems allow several feet of travel and include.
Has become the most common type of military vehicle suspension. Construction vehicles have smaller road wheels that are designed primarily to prevent track derailment and they are normally contained in a single bogie that includes the and sometimes the sprocket. Main article: 'Live' and 'dead' track Tracks may be broadly categorized as live or dead track.
Dead track is a simple design in which each track plate is connected to the rest with hinge-type pins. These dead tracks will lie flat if placed on the ground; the drive sprocket pulls the track around the wheels with no assistance from the track itself. Live track is slightly more complex, with each link connected to the next by a bushing which causes the track to bend slightly inward. A length of live track left on the ground will curl upward slightly at each end. Although the drive sprocket must still pull the track around the wheels, the track itself tends to bend inward, slightly assisting the sprocket and somewhat conforming to the wheels. Tracked vehicles long-distance hauling on orTracks are often equipped with rubber pads to improve travel on paved surfaces more quickly, smoothly and quietly.
While these pads slightly reduce a vehicle's cross-country traction, they prevent damage to any pavement. Some pad systems are designed to remove easily for cross-country.Rubber tracks Many manufacturers provide rubber tracks instead of steel, especially for agricultural applications. Rather than a track made of linked steel plates, a reinforced rubber belt with treads is used. In comparison to steel tracks, rubber tracks are lighter, make less noise and do not damage paved roads. However, they impose more below the wheels, as they are not able to equalize pressure as good as the stiff mechanism of track plates, specially the spring loaded live tracks.Another disadvantage is that they are not as solid as steel tracks and cannot be repaired in segments, so discarded as whole if once damaged. Previous belt-like systems, such as those used for in World War II, were not as strong, and during military actions were easily damaged.
The first rubber track was invented and constructed by and patented in 1913; rubber tracks are often called.Advantages. Tracks are much less likely to get stuck in soft ground, mud or snow since they distribute the weight of the vehicle over a larger contact area, decreasing its: The seventy-ton tank has an average ground pressure of just over 15 (100 ). A with a thrown trackThe disadvantages of tracks are lower top speed, much greater mechanical complexity, shorter life and the damage that their all-steel versions cause to the surface on which they pass: They often cause damage to less firm terrain such as lawns, gravel roads, and farm fields, as the sharp edges of the track easily rout the turf. Accordingly, vehicle laws and local ordinances often require rubberised tracks or track pads. A compromise between all-steel and all-rubber tracks exists: attaching rubber pads to individual track links ensures that continuous track vehicles can travel more smoothly, quickly, and quietly on paved surfaces. While these pads slightly reduce a vehicle's cross-country traction, in theory they prevent damage to any pavement.Additionally, the loss of a single segment in a track immobilizes the entire vehicle, which can be a disadvantage in situations where high reliability is important. Tracks can also ride off their guide wheels, idlers or sprockets, which can cause them to jam or to come completely off the guide system (this is called a 'thrown' track).
Jammed tracks may become so tight that the track may need to be broken before a repair is possible, which requires either explosives or special tools. Multi-wheeled vehicles, for example, military vehicles, may often continue driving even after the loss of one or more non-sequential wheels, depending on the base wheel pattern and drive train.Prolonged use places enormous strain on the drive and the mechanics of the tracks, which must be overhauled or replaced regularly. It is common to see tracked vehicles such as bulldozers or tanks transported long distances by a wheeled carrier such as a or, though technological advances have made this practice less common among tracked military vehicles than it once was. Experimental tracked on aCurrent manufacturers The pioneer manufacturers have been replaced mostly by large tractor companies such as,. Also, there are some crawler tractor companies specialising in niche markets. Examples are Otter Mfg.
And Struck Corporation., with many wheeled vehicle conversion kits available from the American firm of Minnesota since the mid-1990s.Russian off-road vehicles are built by companies such as ZZGT and Vityaz. In nature. are known for their ability to creep about on each other and on hard surfaces such as microscope slides. It is thought that around the outside of the navicula's shell is a girdle of that can flow and thus act as a tank track.See also. Popular Science (June): 63. From the original on 2017-03-13.
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Russia: Zavolzhsky Crawler Vehicle Plant. Retrieved 2016-11-07. Russia: Vityaz machine-building company. From the original on 2016-10-22. Retrieved 2016-11-07.External links Look up in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.Wikimedia Commons has media related to.Wikimedia Commons has media related to.Wikimedia Commons has media related to.
Video clips. (Stapleford Steam, 2008).