45
april 2015
international
construction
EARTHMOVING
New technologies
to remove particulates from machine
exhaust and enabling equipment tomeet
stricter Stage IV/Tier 4 Final emissions
standards, has created its own set of
maintenance challenges.
This has included regular service
intervals for cleaning or replacing DPFs
to avoid them becoming clogged with
ash. Although DPFs burn off soot as
part of their regular use – a process called
regeneration– there is still some build-up
of solids over time.
The maintenance period varies
depending on equipment, but DPFs
could require attention every 5,000hours
of use or so.
Inday-to-dayuse regenerationofDPFs is either passive, which
is to say the exhaust stream is hot enough to burn-off soot, or
active, which requires a periodic injection of fuel to into the
exhaust to burn thismaterial.
The key for manufacturers has been to build systems where
work isn’t interrupted and the operator is not necessarily aware
that regeneration is taking place.The bigger objective of course
is to reduce the maintenance requirement for these new after
treatment systems.
Mike Cullen, Perkins engine product manager, said the
company had invested in research and development for engines
that would require as littlemaintenance as possible.
He explained that this included devising an engine range
for use in equipment such as wheeled loaders and excavators
that featured integral control systems developed to maximise
operating efficiency.
He said, “With aftertreatment systems such as DPF and SCR
that are fairly new to owner-operators who may not have had
machines with such technology before, they may feel there are
some risks with something that is new.
“Which iswhywithour 1200 series,which isfittedwith aDPF
filter, we have tried to limit the amount of maintenance that is
required. We have designed a service-free filter for it that will
last the lifetime of the engine – so the operator will never need
to service it.”
Telematics improvements
The construction sector has seen many manufacturers offer
telematics that useGPS for trackingmachines, which is fedback
alongwithperformancedata.Volvo’sCareTrack remotemachine
management solution, for example, has integrated vehicle
tracking into existing on-board electronic diagnostics systems.
Its system has the ability tomonitor the position of machines,
operating hours and service reminders. It also offers a geo-fence
option in which machine operators can use a website interface
tomap out specific areaswhere equipment is permitted towork.
In addition, if the machine is removed from a certain area,
notification can be sent via text message or email to authorised
personnel. It also allows approved working times to be entered
into the system to enable greater level of operatingmonitoring.
GPS andother surveying technologies is alsofinding increasing
use in machine control applications. Topcon’s European
construction business director, UlrichHermanski, said the high
levels of accuracy required for machine controls meant using
GPS was something that “you could not live without” when
operating effectively on sites.
Mr Hermanski explained that one of the biggest problems
many companies faced in the early years ofGPS had been a lack
of availability of coverage. InTopcon’s case, he said it hadmade
an early decision to use Russian GLONASS satellites to ensure
the fullest range of global operating.
He said, “TheuseofGPS is becomingmore andmore common
within constructionbeyond thosewhowere early adopters, with
its use in some formwithin everymachine.
“This has been seenwith our joint venturewithKomatsu for a
>
Volvo offers a telematics systems called
Care Track.
Leica’s Icon 80 is an example of a
GPSmachine control system for the
construction sector.
Liugong has
paid particular
attention to how
its earthmoving
machinesmight
look in the future.
