State-Of-The-Art technology from VÖGELE, absolute power for large job sites

India has the second-largest road network in the world, spanning a total of 6.39 million kilometres (kms) as per Economic Survey 2021. This road network transports 64.5 percent of all goods in the country and 90 percent of India’s total passenger traffic uses road network to commute. 

The National Infrastructure Pipeline of which Bharatmala Pariyojna is a part, have also accelerated the construction of several Greenfield projects including the Expressways and mega highways. With such humongous ongoing and targeted construction of road infra in the country, it becomes more pertinent for the use of state-of-the-art innovative technologies for cost optimisation and quality results. 

VÖGELE Mobile Power feeder offers cutting-edge technology that sets standards in modern road construction – both in terms of quality and economic efficiency. This mobile feeder not only continues to gain popularity for use in large highway projects but has also exponentially contributed to deliver excellent paving results.

Since 2006, the VÖGELE Mobile Power feeders, are in use in various National Highway Projects in state of Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

Job Site: Delhi – Mumbai Expressway 

1350 km Delhi – Mumbai Expressway (DME) project (NH-148N / NE-4) is an under construction 8 lane access-controlled road with a route connecting DND in Delhi with JNPT in Mumbai. It has been de-signed with a speed limit of 120 km/hr and provision to expand to 12 lanes in the future.

This new greenfield expressway was approved for construction under the Bharatmala Pariyojana pro-gramme in 2017. This being a mega Green Field project is one of the ideal project sites for use of Mobile Feeder although the following prerequisite was checked/ensured before machine was physically moved to job site.

• Total quantity of Asphalt to be paved; 
• Current Paving methodology for 8 Lane carriageways of 18.75 meters width; 
• Batch (Hot Mix) Plant Capacity; 
• Availability of the paving front or length; 
• Per day paving target (qty and length); 
• Average lead of the paving site from plant location; 
• Availability and type of trucks used in Asphalt Mix Transport. 

It was more interesting to have this jobsite because the opportunity was to use Mobile Feeder on one units of Vogele Asphalt Paver S1800-3 which is working in echelon form with another paver and also to use feeder on both the machine.

Equipment used

The paving process was carried out with AB 600-3 TV screeds paving 18.75m width of SMA in single pass. MT 3000-2 power feeder was used for continuous and jerk free feeding.

Post completion of approx. 9.14 km of paving length and 10,000 ton of material paved, construction company site team from Quality check and mechanical reported the following

• Continuous and more homogeneous supply of mix – Uninterrupted paving and avoid feeding of segregated material to the paver hopper 
• Jerk free paving operation because of contact less paving 
• Eliminating the chances of having cold and hot spots in the paving mat, thus eliminating com-paction variance 
• Increase in onboard material capacity 
• Higher productivity 
• Reduction in number of paving stops

The final outcome was excellent ride quality, surface finish and less manpower requirement during paving, thereby reducing the chances of error due to human intervention in the paving process. 

There is no direct contact between tippers/lorries and the pavers which eliminates the jerk transfer from tippers to the pavers diminishing the chances of bump formation on the mat. Non-contact and continuous paving makes the pavement completely undulation free. Homogeneous material being supplied by the conical augers ensures uniform temperature mix being supplied to the paver which eliminates chances of thermal segregation throughout the mat. Two infrared heaters present on the conveyor ensures no materials sticks to the conveyor belt which improves the life of the conveyor. Power feeders are perfectly suited for hot-to-hot paving in which two pavers works side by side paving large width in single pass with elimination of longitudinal joint.

Paving multiple lanes side-by-side (with adjacent pavers slightly offset) can remove the longitudinal joint between pavers because both mats are hot when initially compacted. Rollers behind the echelon pavers can pass directly over the longitudinal joint while both sides are hot, which results in better compaction.

As per user feedback, “undulation in paved layer by power feeder has been reduced significantly. Sur-face quality improvement is the utmost advantage of Power feeder.” 

Unique features of VÖGELE MT 3000-2 Offset Power Feeder 

• Uninterrupted paving due to a total storage capacity of 45t with a maximum conveying capacity of 1,200 tph. 
• Non-contacting material transfer makes for enhanced pavement quality. 
• Homogenised mix in the receiving hopper of the material feeder due to conical augers. 
• Wide range of applications due to the pivoting and inclining conveyor. 
• Reliable material transfer based on automatic distance control and anti-collision protection. • Powered with Deutz Engine with 142 kW at 2000 rpm supplemented with ECO mode 139 kW at 1800 rpm. 
• Conveyor pivoting angle range of ±55 degrees with two infrared heating panel. 
• Optimum visibility and safety due to the convenient and practical ErgoPlus operating concept. 
• Ergoplus operating console offering upgraded ergonomics, safety and visibility

New generation of material feeders from VÖGELE 

They guarantee constant, smooth transfer of material and now offer paving teams numerous practical new features: the MT 3000-3 Standard and MT 3000-3 Offset PowerFeeders from world market leader VÖGELE integrate the latest Dash-3 machine concept and an optimised conveying and maintenance system.

ErgoPlus 3, Autosetplus and PaveDock Assistant are some of the key features which enhance the er-gonomics and ease of operation of the Vogele power feeder. 

For further information please contact: WIRTGEN INDIA Pvt. Ltd.
Gat No 301 and 302, Bhandgaon Khor Road, Village Bhandgaon, Taluka – Daund, Dist. Pune, 412214, Maharashtra,
India Phone: +91 20 67682600
E-Mail: Sales.india@wirtgen-group.com
Internet: http://www.wirtgen-group.com/india