In 2006, Tver Design and Experimental Mechanical Plant built and tested the industrial prototype of BSM walking marsh buggy. The buggy helps mechanizing the agrotechnical phase of remediation of the oil-contaminated undrained marshy grounds.
The buggy design includes a frame, which rests upon two lateral supports and a center support via the walking gear. The power unit installed on the frame is a T45 tractor featuring 33.1 kW (45 hp) diesel engine. Replacing the rear wheels, chain wheels are fitted to the tractor axle to drive the walking gear. It drives the center and lateral supports in turns. The hull nose supports are equipped with grousers in order to enhance the tractive and adhesion properties. Two detachable wideners, which can be clipped to the lateral supports, improve both buoyancy and lateral stability. In the frame's rear part a detachable load platform and a 1.8-meter single-rotor cutter for soil remediation are installed.
The supports' movements are similar to movements of human feet. While
walking, the hull nose segments of supports pull back higher than their "heels", thus reducing the power input needed for swamp travel. In doing so, the buggy frame is traveling on the rollers along the support guides just like on rails, with the supports alternatively coming up beneath the frame. The cutter is rotated by the fluid-power motor via gearbox.
Following successful factory tests in the swamps of Tver region, the BSM marsh buggy was sent to West Siberia to carry out remediation operations.
Factory tests have reconfirmed the buggy specifications:
Traffic speed 0.45-2 km/h
Operation speed 0.45-1 km/h
Least radius of turn 10 m
Cutter rotor speed 300 and 780 rpm
Cutting depth down to 350 mm
Low weight (6,600 kg), compact size (8.9 m long and 2.5 m wide without wideners), and low ground pressure (10 kPa) ensure the buggy's excellent cross-terrain capabilities and maneuverability.
This marsh buggy can remediate topsoil between two closely spaced pipelines, and its small size provides for easy transportation by road to multiple oil contamination sites.
The buggy is certified, and technologies used in its design are protected by five patents.
