CA2959394A1

CA2959394A1 - A method of transporting material from a hydro excavating operation

Info

Publication number: CA2959394A1
Application number: CA2959394A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Neil Gillard
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-03-01
Filing date: 2017-03-01
Publication date: 2018-09-01

Abstract

A method of transporting material from a hydro excavating operation at a work site is provided. The method has the steps of defining a collection location and a disposal location, providing a collection tank at the collection location. using one or more hydro excavating vehicles, transporting a load of the material from the work site to the collection location, depositing more than one load into the collection tank, transporting the collection tank containing the more than one loads using a transport vehicle, and unloading the material in the collection tank at the disposal location. The collection location is remote from the work site, and the disposal location is remote from both the work site and the collection location. Each hydro excavating vehicle has a slurry tank, a clean water tank, and hydro excavating equipment, and carries the material in the one or more slurry tanks.

Description

A METHOD OF TRANSPORTING MATERIAL FROM A HYDRO EXCAVATING
OPERATION
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This relates generally to a method of transporting material, and in particular, relates to a method of transporting material from a hydro excavating operation at a work site.
BACKGROUND

[0002] Hydro excavating operations use high pressure water streams from a water tank to loosen soil, and vacuum systems to collect the slurry of water and soil in a slurry tank. Hydro excavating is particularly useful when excavating around existing buried structures, such as pipes or cables. Hydro excavating equipment is disclosed, for example, in United States Patent No. 5,295,317 (Perrot) entitled "Apparatus For Excavating Earthen Material By Evacuation Of Same" and United States Patent No. 5,016,717 (Simons et al.) entitled "Vacuum Excavator".
SUMMARY

[0003] According to an aspect, there is provided a method of transporting material from a hydro excavating operation at a work site, the method comprising the steps of defining a collection location and a disposal location, the collection location being remote from the work site, and the disposal location being remote from the work site and the collection location, providing a collection tank at the collection location, using one or more hydro excavating vehicles, each hydro excavating vehicle comprising a slurry tank, a clean water tank, and hydro excavating equipment, transporting a load of the material from the work site to the collection location in the one or more slurry tanks, depositing more than one load into the collection tank, transporting the collection tank containing the more than one loads using a transport vehicle, and unloading the material in the collection tank at the disposal location.

[0004] According to another aspect, the collection location may comprise a plurality of collection tanks.

[0005] According to another aspect, the more than one loads may be deposited into the collection tank using a loader that comprises a hopper that receives material from the slurry tank and an auger that moves the material from the hopper into the collection tank.

[0006] According to another aspect, the loader may be self-propelled, and the method may further comprise the step of moving the loader from the collection tank to one or more additional collection tanks at the collection location.

[0007] According to another aspect, the more than one loads may be deposited into the collection tank by driving the hydro excavating vehicle onto a ramp above the collection tank.

[0008] According to another aspect, the hydro excavating vehicle may have a maximum load capacity for hauling material in the slurry tank, and the transport vehicle may have a maximum load capacity for hauling material in the collection tank, and wherein the maximum load capacity of the transport vehicle may be greater than the maximum load capacity of the hydro excavating vehicle.

[0009] According to another aspect, the method may further comprise the step of recording a transport history for the collection tank, the transport history identifying the work site for each load deposited, the hydro excavating vehicle for each load deposited, and the disposal location when the collection tank is unloaded.

[0010] In other aspects, the features described above may be combined together in any reasonable combination as will be recognized by those skilled in the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a prior art method for transporting material.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a method for transporting material using collection tanks.
FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of a hydro excavating vehicle unloading from a ramp into a collection tank.
FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of a hydro excavating vehicle unloading into a loader, which transfers material to a collection tank.
FIG. 5 is a side elevation view, in section, of a loader for moving material.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a collection tank.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] A method of transporting material from a hydro excavating operation at a worksite will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 6.

[0013] FIG. 1 shows a prior art method of transporting material, where hydro excavating trucks 16 transport material directly from a worksite 10 to a disposal location 14. Typically worksite 10 and disposal location 14 are connected by roads, and are remote from each other.
Hydro excavating trucks 16 may be required to transport material long distances to reach disposal location 14.

[0014] Referring to HG. 2, a worksite 10, where a hydro excavating operation occurs, is shown. Also shown are a collection location 12 and a disposal location 14.
Each of work site 10, collection location 12, and disposal location 14 are remote from each other. Typically, work site 10, collection location 12, and disposal location 14 will be connected together by a series of roads on which the materials are transported. For example, work site 10 may be a temporary construction site, collection location 12 may be a central location near multiple worksites 10, and disposal location 14 may be a dump or disposal pit that is a significant distance from worksites 10. Preferably, collection location 12 is located close to work site 10, or close to another resource, such as a source of water or fuel, or other convenient location, such as close to a major route between the work site and collection location 12 to improve the accessibility of collection location 12. Alternatively, collection location 12 may be provided with additional resources, such as water and fuel, in addition to those discussed below.

[0015] A typical hydro excavating vehicle 16 is depicted. These vehicles are known in the art, and generally have a slurry tank 18, a clean water tank 20, and hydro excavating ________________________ --74-S -.I I.:, 44 __ '1,."

equipment 22, such as a high pressure water nozzle, and a vacuum line, each of which is pressurized by suitable equipment. In a hydro excavating operation, clean water is pumped from water tank 20 at high pressure through the water nozzle at the material to be excavated to create a slurry, and the resulting slurry is drawn into the slurry tank 18 using the vacuum line. These vehicles may have various designs, and will not be described further. However, the load that can be carried by hydro excavating vehicles 16 is limited by the weight and the volume of the equipment that must be carried to perform the various operations. The load that can be carried may also be limited by local road bylaws.

[0016] Once hydro excavating vehicles 16 have filled slurry tank 18 to a suitable level with a mixture of material and water from the excavating operation, vehicles 16 transport the load of the material in slurry tanks 18 from work site 10 to collection location 12. As shown in FIG. 2, there may be one or more work sites 10, and each work site 10 may employ one or more hydro excavating vehicle 16. Hydro excavating vehicle 16 travels to collection location 12, which has at least one collection tank 24, and may have a plurality of collection tanks 24.
It will be understood that the number of collection tanks 24 will vary depending on the needs of the particular job site and the volume of material that is being handled.

[0017] Hydro excavating vehicles 16 bring their loads to collection location 12, and deposit their loads into a collection tank 24. This may be done using a variety of techniques.
For example, referring to FIG. 3, hydro excavating vehicle 16 may be driven onto a ramp 28 above collection tank 24, and slurry tank 18 may be dumped into collection tank 24 from above. Alternatively, hydro excavating vehicle 16 may deposit the load from the slurry tank

18 into a loader 30, as shown in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 5, hopper 32 of loader 30 receives the material from slurry tank 18 and an auger 34, or other high volume pump that can move a slurry moves the material from hopper 32 into collection tank 24. Depending on the size of hopper 32, the capacity of auger 34, and the rate at which material may be received from slurry tank 18, loader 30 may also have a trash pump 36 for use when hopper 32 is filled too quickly for auger 34 alone to handle the material. For example, the volume of hopper 32 may be between 2 and 4 m3, while the capacity of slurry tank 18 of hydro excavating vehicle 16 may be around 4 m3. As such, when hopper 32 has a smaller volume than slurry tank 18, the hydro excavating vehicle 16 must be unloaded slowly, and it is possible that the use of trash pump 36 may be required to aid auger 34 to avoid spills. A single loader 30 may be provided for each collection tank 24, or different combinations of loaders 30 may be used. In one example, loader 30 may be self-propelled, and capable of moving between collection tanks 24 at collection location 12, as shown in FIG. 2. As one collection tank 24 is filled, loader 30 5 may be moved to another collection tank 24. Any excess material that does not fit in the collection tank 24 that was just filled can be stored in hopper 32 as loader 30 is moved can be held, ensuring that collection tanks 24 are filled to capacity. A movable loader 30 also allows collection tanks 24 to be filled at different locations along its length or width to assist in filling collection tank 24. Collection tanks 24 are preferably sized such that more than one load from slurry tank 18 may be accommodated by collection tank 24. Collection tank 24 is then transported by a transport vehicle 26 to disposal location 14, where the material in collection tank 24 is unloaded. Collection tank 24 may be provided with heat trace elements that prevent liquid contents from solidifying in cold conditions.
[0018] Hydro excavating vehicle 16 will typically have a maximum load capacity for hauling material in slurry tank 18. This load capacity will be determined by the overall load capacity of hydro excavating vehicle, as well as by the weight of hydro excavating equipment 22 and the empty tanks 18 and 20. In most situations, clean water tank 20 will be emptied prior to loading of slurry tank 18. However, should any water remain in clean water tank 20, this must also be taken into account. The weight of slurry that can be carried by hydro excavating vehicle 16 will be determined by either the rating of the vehicle 16, or by safety regulations which limit the maximum allowable load for road transport. The maximum load capacity of transport vehicle 26 is preferably greater than the maximum load capacity of hydro excavating vehicle 16, such that more than one load from slurry tank 18 may be placed in collection tank 24 and transported by transport vehicle 26. This allows hydro excavating vehicle 16 to carry multiple loads from worksite 10 to collection location 12 for every trip that transport vehicle 26 takes to disposal location 14.

[0019] Upon arriving at disposal location 14, collection tank 24 is unloaded. For example, a panel of collection tank 24 may be opened, and collection tank 24 tipped to allow the material to be unloaded from collection tank 24, or collection tank 24 may be lowered off of transport vehicle 26 and placed in a suitable location for unloading by other known methods.

[0020] Collection tank 24 may be a standard tank that can be used to haul a slurry, or may be modified to optimize its use in the method described herein. One example of a suitable collection tank 24 is shown in FIG. 6. The depicted collection tank 24 has a top access panel 40 that opens when collection tank 24 is being filled, and an end access panel 42 that opens to allow collection tank 24 to be emptied by dumping. Preferably, both top and end access panels 40 and 42 are sealed when closed to avoid accidental spills. In cold weather climates, collection tank 24 may also be provided with a heat trace 44 that may be installed as necessary along the sidewalls of the tank, to ensure the material does not freeze, or at least the material immediately adjacent to the sidewalls of the tank, such that it can still be removed, even if stored for an extended period of time. Heat trace 44 may include electrically resistive heaters, fluid lines through which a heated fluid circulates, and may be powered by any suitable means as is known in the art. As shown, end access panel 42 may be opened and closed using hydraulic lifting systems 46. Access panel 42 may also be provided with hydraulic locking systems (not shown). If desired, top access panel 40 may also be equipped with hydraulic lifting and locking systems (not shown). It will be understood that other types of lifting and locking mechanisms may also be employed, as is known in the art.

[0021] Collection location 12 may also be used to keep records for the transportation process. For example, records may be kept that record a transport history for each of the collection tanks 24. The transport history would identify the originating work site 10 for each load deposited, which may also be done by tracking the hydro excavating vehicle 16 for each load deposited, or both, as well as the disposal location 14 when the collection tank 24 is unloaded. The recorded history may also include an identification of any samples taken from either the loads or the collection tanks for testing purposes. This may aid in determining which disposal location 14 was used for each collection tank 24 or material from each worksite 10, such as when performing an environmental audit.

[0022] As hydro excavating vehicle 16 is a specialized piece of equipment with a limited transport capability for excavated material, the method herein may be useful for optimizing the amount of work time that hydro excavating vehicle 16 can spend at work site 10. By providing a collection location 12 that is intermediate between work site 10 and disposal location 14, and by facilitating the dumping of slurry tank 18, the travel time of hydro excavating vehicle 16 is reduced. This, in turn, reduces the down time of any crew that may be at worksite 10. Further, by providing a collection tank 24 capable of receiving more than one load from slurry tank 18, and a transport vehicle 26 having a higher load capacity than hydro excavating vehicle 16, the number of trips to disposal location 14 may be reduced, and increase the efficiency of the process. As transport vehicle 26 does not require hydro excavating equipment 22 or the second tank for clean water 20, it is possible for transport vehicle 26 to have a larger capacity for transporting the excavated material relative to excavating vehicle 16. The use of a collection tank 24 may also reduce the environmental impact of the transportation process, and may conserve resources used at worksites 10.
Collection tanks 24 may also be designed for sealed containment, making them capable of carrying hazardous materials safely. Staging area 12 may also be designed to maximize the efficiency of the unloading of hydro excavating vehicles 16, allowing them to return to work quickly. Further, the volume of collection tank 24 may be optimized to comply with the maximum volume capacity for transportation, and can be increased by reducing the number of working parts on transport vehicle 26.

[0023] In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the elements is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

[0024] The scope of the following claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples above and in the drawings, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
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Claims

What is Claimed is:

1. A method of transporting material from a hydro excavating operation at a work site, the method comprising the steps of:
defining a collection location and a disposal location, the collection location being remote from the work site, and the disposal location being remote from the work site and the collection location;
providing a collection tank at the collection location;
using one or more hydro excavating vehicles, each hydro excavating vehicle comprising a slurry tank, a clean water tank, and hydro excavating equipment, transporting a load of the material from the work site to the collection location in the one or more slurry tanks;
depositing more than one load into the collection tank;
transporting the collection tank containing the more than one loads using a transport vehicle; and unloading the material in the collection tank at the disposal location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the collection location comprises a plurality of collection tanks.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the more than one loads are deposited into the collection tank using a loader that comprises a hopper that receives material from the slurry tank and an auger that moves the material from the hopper into the collection tank.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the loader is self-propelled, and further comprising the step of moving the loader from the collection tank to one or more additional collection tanks at the collection location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the more than one loads are deposited into the collection tank by driving the hydro excavating vehicle onto a ramp above the collection tank.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the hydro excavating vehicle has a maximum load capacity for hauling material in the slurry tank, and the transport vehicle has a maximum load capacity for hauling material in the collection tank, and wherein the maximum load capacity of the transport vehicle is greater than the maximum load capacity of the hydro excavating vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of recording a transport history for the collection tank, the transport history identifying the work site for each load deposited, the hydro excavating vehicle for each load deposited, and the disposal location when the collection tank is unloaded.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the collection tank comprises a heat trace system for heating the material in the collection tank.