Performance of a snow blower prototype mounted on different vehicles type

All transportation sectors, in many countries of the world have shown problems related to the presence of snow on roads. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the performances of a snow blower prototype that can be attached in front of different commercial vehicle types (quad-bike, car, and small tractor) specifically developed for urban areas and private use. The prototype was tested using three different pavement types (bare soil, concrete, and asphalt) and with different snow layer thickness (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 mm). The highest forward speed (2.51 km h^–1) was obtained using the car on asphalt pavement working with a snow layer thickness of 50 mm. In contrast, the lowest forward speed (0.28 km h^–1) was observed when the prototype was fixed to the quad-bike and it worked on concrete base with a snow depth of 300 mm. The forward speed, and consequently also the productivity, varied only as a function of snow thickness. The prototype has demonstrated functional quality in all testing conditions leaving only a snow residue after its passage of about 0.18 dm³ on 100 meter of road. The hourly fuel consumption varied between 6.56 and 6.68 litres highlighting an average specific fuel consumption of 319.5 g kWh^–1. The snow blower prototype, as it demonstrated good performance in all tested working conditions, seems to be a valid solution in snow-removal especially in private areas where the equipment versatility plays a fundamental rule.