Relative Surfacing Requirements for Container-Handling Vehicles.

Abstract : This paper presents techniques for analyzing relative surfacing requirements for container-handling equipment. Its primary object is to emphasize the importance of evaluating the effects of vehicle characteristics on surfacing requirements prior to procurement of specific vehicles. At the present, cross-country mobility and the effect that vehicles have on bridges are the only military engineering considerations that have had a major influence on equipment design and selection. Container-handling equipment is broken down into five major categories: forklifts, straddle carriers, yard gantries, mobile cranes, and tractor-trailers. The Waterways Experiment Station VCI system was employed to determine their ability to operate on beaches and soils of limited strength. The criteria for operation of aircraft on unsurfaced areas were used for medium- and high-strength soils, and criteria for the design of military roads and airfields were employed in the analysis for M8A1 landing mat and flexible pavement. Results of the study indicate that exceptionally large amounts of engineering support will be required for some types of equipment such as the large mobile cranes.