Dozers

A dozer is a tractor unit that has a blade attached to the is

designed to provide tractive power to push, shear, cut, and
roll material ahead of the tractor. A dozer has no set
volumetric capacity. The amount of material the dozer
moves is dependent on the quantity that will remain in front
of the blade during the push. Crawler dozers equipped with
special clearing blades
are excellent machines
for
land
clearing.
Heavy ripping of rock is
accomplished
by
crawler
dozers
equipped with rearmounted
rippers
because of the power
and tractive force that
they can develop.

Dozers may be either crawler (track laying) or wheel-type

machines. These machines are designed to provide tractive
power for drawbar work. Consistent with their purpose, as a
unit for drawbar work, they
are
low-center-of-gravity
machines.
This
is
a
prerequisite of an effective
dozer. The larger the
difference between the lineof-force transmission from
the machine and the line-of
resisting force, the less
effective the utilization of developed power. Besides dozing,
these machines are used for land clearing, ripping, assisting
scrapers in loading, and towing other pieces of construction
equipment.
They
can
be
equipped with either
a
rear-mounted
winch or a ripper.
Some major parts
are shown in figure.
Major
functional
parts
area
lso
indicated. For long
moves
between
projects or within a
project, the track
dozer should be
transported. Moving
them under their
own power, even at
slow
speeds,
increases
track
wear and shortens
the
machine's
operational life.

Functions of Dozers
A dozer is a tractor unit that has a blade attached to its front.
Dozers are effective and versatile earthmoving machines.
They are used both as support and as production machines
on many construction projects. They may be used for
operations such as:

Moving earth or rock for short haul (push)

distances, up to 300 ft (91 m) in the case of large
dozers.

Spreading earth or rock fills, backfilling trenches

and opening up pilot roads through mountains or
rocky terrain.
Clearing the floors of
borrow and quarry
pits.
Helping load tractorpulled scrapers.
Ripping rock and
hard
soils
with
rippers
Clearing land of timber, stumps, and root mat.

Perfomance of Dozers
Usable force that a machine has available to perform work is
often limited by traction. This limitation is dependent on two
factors:

Coefficient of traction for the surface being

traversed.

Weight carried by the drive wheels of the tractor.

Traction or flotation requirements can be met by proper
undercarriage or tire selection. A standard crawler dozer
undercarriage is appropriate for general work in rock to
moderately soft ground. There are low-ground-pressure
(LGP) undercarriage configurations for dozers operating in
soft ground conditions. In the case of wheel machines, wider
tires provide greater contact area and increase flotation. It
must be remembered, however, that rimpull charts are
based
on
standard
equipment,
including
tires. Larger tires will
reduce the developed
rimpull.
The crawler-type tractor
is designed for those jobs
requiring high tractive
effort. No other piece of
equipment can provide
the power, traction, and
flotation needed in such a
variety
of
working
conditions. A crawler
dozer can operate on
slopes as steep as 45
Dozer weight is important
on
many
proJects
because the maximum
tractIve effort that a
tractor can provide is
limited to the product of
the weight times the coefficient of traction for the unit. And
the particular ground surface, regardless of the power
supplied by the engIne.
An advantage of a wheel-type dozer as compared with a
crawler dozer is the higher speed possible with the' former
machines-in excess of 30 mph for some models. To attain a
higher speed, however, a wheel dozer must sacrifice pulling
effort.
Relative comparison of both type of machines is shown in
table.

A higher ratio means that the dozer can

push a load at a greater speed.
Many different special application blades
can be attached to a tractor, but basically
only five blades are common to earthwork.

Blades
A dozer blade consists of a moldboard with
replaceable cutting edges and side bits. Push arms
and tilt cylinders or a C-frame connect the blade to the
dozer. Blades vary in size and design based on
specific work applications. The hardened-steel cutting
edges and side bits are bolted on because they
receive most of the abrasion and wear out rapidly. The
bolted connection enables easy replacement. The
design of some machines enables either end of the
blade to be raised or lowered in the vertical and
horizontal planes of the blade.
Pitching
is
a
pivotal
movement about the point of
connection
between
the
dozer and blade. When the
top of the blade is pitched
forward, the bottom edge
moves back; this increases
the angle of cutting edge
attack. Turning the blade so
that it is not perpendicular to
the direction of the dozer's
travel is known as angling.
Angling causes the pushed
material to roll off the trailing
end of the blade. This
procedure of rolling material
off one end of the blade is
called side casting. Tilting
movement is within the
vertical plane of the blade.
Tilting permits concentration
of dozer driving power on a
limited portion of the blade's
length.

Blade Performance
A dozer's pushing potential is measured by two standard
ratios, horsepower per foot of cutting edge, cutting ratio
and horsepower per loose cubic yard of material retained in
front of the blade, load ratio. The horsepower per foot (hp/ft)
cutting ratio provides an indication of the blade's ability to
penetrate and obtain a load. A higher cutting ratio indicates a
more aggressive blade. The horsepower per loose cubic
yard, load ratio, measures the blade's ability to push a load.

Straight Blade

Angle Blade

Universal Blade

Semi Universal Blade

Cushion Blade
Straight Blade
The straight blade is designed for shortand medium distance passes, such as
backfilling, grading, and spreading fill
material. These blades have no curvature
across their length and are mounted in a
fixed position, perpendicular to the dozer's
line of travel. Generally, a straight blade is
heavy-duty and normally it can be tilted,
within a 10 arc, increasing penetration for
cutting or decreasing penetration for back
dragging material. It may be equipped to
pitch. The ability to pitch means that the
operator can
set one end
of the cutting
edge deeper
into
the
ground to dig
or pry hard
materials.
For
easy
drifting of light materials, the edge's are
brought to the same level-the blade is level
in the horizontal plane.
Angled Blades
An angle blade is wider (face
length) by 1 to 2 ft than an S
blade. It can be angled up to a
maximum of 25 left or right of
perpendicular to the tractor or
held perpendicular to the
dozer's line of travel. The blade
can be tilted, but because it is
attached to the dozer by a C-frame mount, it cannot be
pitched. The angle blade is very effective for side-casting
material, particularly for backfilling or making sidehill cuts.
Universal Blades
This blade is wider than a straight blade and the long
dimension outside edges are
canted forward about 25. This
canting of the edges reduces
the spillage of loose material
making the U blade efficient for
moving large loads over long
distances. The cutting ratio is
lower for the U than the S blade
mounted on a similar dozer.
Penetration is not a prime
objective of the blade's design (shape) as the lower cutting
ratio relationship indicates. The U blade's load ratio is lower
than that of a similar S blade. This denotes that the blade is
best suited for lighter materials. Typical usages are working
stockpiles an drifting loose or noncohesive materials.

Semi-Universal Blades

This blade combines the

characteristics of the S and Ublade designs. By the addition
of short wings it has increased
capacity compared to an S blade
Cushion Blades
Cushion blades are mounted on large dozers that are used
primarily for push-loading scrapers. The C blade is shorter
than the S blade so as to avoid pushing the blade into and
cutting the rear tires of the scraper
while push-loading. The shorter
length also facilitates maneuvering
into position behind the scrapers.
Rubber cushions and springs in
the mounting enable the dozer to
absorb the impact of contacting
the scraper push block. By using a
cushion blade instead of a "pusher
block" to push scrapers, the dozer has the ability to clean up
the cut area and increase the total fleet production. It is a
blade of limited utility in pushing material and should not be
used for production dozing. It cannot be tilted, pitched, or
angled.

number of dozer cycles be recorded. Production studies can

also be made based on the weight of the material moved. In
the case of dozers, the mechanics of weighing the material
is normally harder to accomplish than surveying the volume.
Field Measurement A procedure for measuring blade loads
follows:
Obtain a normal blade load:
a. The dozer pushes a normal blade load onto a
level area.
b. Stop the dozer's forward motion. While raising
the blade move forward
slightly to create a symmetrical pile.
c. Reverse and move away from the pile.
Measurement
a. Measure the height (H) of the pile at the inside
edge of each track.

b. Measure the width (W) of the pile at the

edge of each track.
c. Measure the greatest length (L) of the pile.
This will not necessarily be at the middle.

Production Estimate
A dozer has no set volumetric capacity. There is no hopper
or bowl to load; instead, the amount of material the dozer
moves is dependent on the quantity that will remain in front
of the blade during the push. The factors that control dozer
production rates are:

Blade type

Type and condition of material

Cycle time
Blade Type
By design, straight blades roll material in front of the blade,
and universal and semi-U blades control side spillage by
holding the material within the blade. The same type of blade
comes in different sizes to fit different size dozers. Blade
capacity then is a function of blade type and physical size.
Manufacturers' specification sheets will provide information
concerning blade dimensions.
Manufacturers provide blade ratings based on.SAE
Standard. The purpose of SAE Standard is to provide a
uniform method for calculating blade capacity. It is for
making relative cornparison of dozer blade capacity and not
for predicting productivity in the field.
Vs = 0.8WH2
Vu = Vs + ZH(W-Z)tan X0

where
Vs = capacity of straight or angle blade, in Icy
Vu = capacity of universal blade, in lcy
W = the blade width, in yards, exclusive of end bits

H = the effective blade height, in yards

Z = the wing length measured parallel to the blade
width, in yards
x = the wing angle
Previous Experience Properly documented past experience
is an excellent blade load estimating method. Documentation
requires that the excavated area be cross-sectioned to
determine the total volume of material moved and that the

Computation: Average both the two height and the

two width measurements. If the measurements are in
feet, the blade load in lcy is calculated by the
formula
Blade load (Icy) = O.0139HWL
Material Type
The type and condition of the material being handled affects
the shape of the pushed mass in front of the blade. Cohesive
materials (clays) will "boil" and heap. Materials that exhibit a
slippery quality or those that have a high mica content will
ride over the ground and swell out. Cohesionless materials
(sands) are known as "dead" materials because they do not
exhibit heap or swell properties.
Cycle Time
The sum of the time required to push a load, back track, and
maneuver into position to push again represents one dozer
production cycle. The time required to push and backtrack
can be calculated for each dozing situation considering the
travel distance and obtaining a speed from the machine's
performance chart. Dozing, however, is generally performed
at slow speed, 1.5 to 2 mph. The lower figure is appropriate
for very heavy cohesive materials. Return speed is usually
the maximum that can be attained in the distance available.
Maneuver time for dozers is as under:

When using performance charts to determine possible

speeds, remember the chart identifies instantaneous
speeds. In calculating cycle duration, the estimator must use
an average speed that accounts for the time required to
accelerate to the attainable speed as indicated by the chart.
A typical chart for a dozer is shown below;

These curves are for standard conditions and needs to be

modified for site conditions. The factors to be considerd are;

Material weight Correction Factor

CF = 2,300lb/LCY(ideal)/actual lb/LCY

Operator correction factor - use table provided .

Material Type Correction Factor - use table

provided

Operating technique Correction Factor - use table

provided.

Visibility Correction Factor - use table provided

Efficiency Factor - use table provided or assume

number operating per hour

Machine transmission factor - use table provided

Blade adjustment factor - use table provided.

Production
The formula to calculate dozer pushing production in loose
cubic yards per a 60-min hour is

Many manufacturer provide production curves for dozer and

blade type etc. a sample curve provided by Caterpillar is
shown below:

Grade Correction
provided

Factor

use

chart/graph

Example 1
Given the dozer production charts, what is the average
hourly production(LCY/hr) of a straight-blade D7 moving
hard-packed clay an average distance of 200 feet, down a
10 percent grade, using slot dozing. The estimated material
weight is 2,500 lbs per LCY. The operator is of average
ability and will work during daylight hours. Expected
efficiency is 50 minutes per hours.

How much time will it take to move 3,000LCY of

hard packed clay, using one D7 dozer using the
production rate figured out above?

How many D7 dozers would be required to move

3000 LCY of clay in 7 hours?
Using std curve ideal production of D7 dozer = 300 LCY

Material Weight Factor = 2300/2500

= 0.92

Operator Factor from table

=0.75

Material Type
= 0.8

Operating Technique
= 1.2

Visibility Factor
= 1.0

Efficiency Factor = 50/60

= 0.83

Transmission Factor
= 1.0

Blade adjustment
= 1.0

Grade correction
= 1.15
Total correction factor =1.15x0.92x0.8x0.75x0.83x1.2=0.63
Actual Production= 300x0.63
= 190 LCY/ hr
Time to move 3000 LCY= 3000/190
= 16 hrs
No of Dozers to complete work in 7 hr
= 16/7
or 3000/(190x7)
= 2.25 say 3 Dozers

Useful Hints

Choose the most appropriate tractor and blade

combination for the expected job conditions.
Downhill dozing may greatly increase dozer
production.
Under some conditions it may be more efficient to
pile up several blade loads at the brink of the hill
and then push them to the bottom of the hill in one
pass.
Slot dozing utilizes spillage from the initial dozer
passes to form ridges on each side of the dozer' s
cut area.
Slot or trench is created greatly increases the load
that the blade can carry to the dump area.
Slot dozing may increase dozer production up to
50% under favorable grade and soil condition s.

Blade-to-blade dozing utilizes two or more dozers

operated in parallel with their blades almost
touching to increase blade load considerably.
However, it is usually not efficient for dozing
distances of less than 50 ft (15 m)