Types and Working Principles of Small Snow Sweeper Equipment
After snowfall in winter, the air becomes moist and the environment is purified. However, the accumulated snow on the roads causes great inconvenience to people's travel, leads to traffic congestion and triggers traffic accidents, seriously affecting people's normal production and life. To reduce the adverse effects caused by snow accumulation, people have made unremitting efforts. In recent decades, snow removal machines have developed rapidly, with an increasing variety. While adopting new technologies, materials and processes, manufacturers have continuously improved the performance and operability of their products to enhance their competitiveness. Due to different snow removal methods, functions and sizes, the types and working principles of snow removal equipment vary. Functionally, snow removal machines can be classified into three types: brush-type snow removal machines, flinging-type snow removal machines and plow-type snow removal machines.
I. Brush-Type Snow Sweeper Machines
The brush snow blower, commonly known as the snow sweeper, is a mechanical device that uses a gasoline engine or other power units to drive a nylon and steel wire mixed brush to rotate at high speed, thereby sweeping the snow on the road surface to one side of the road. Because the working method of this machine is the same as the way we sweep the floor in daily life, we usually prefer to call this brush snow blower a snow sweeper.
Advantages: Even if the ground is uneven, this snow sweeper can achieve a snow-free cleaning effect on the ground.
Disadvantages: This snow sweeper is only suitable for clearing thin snow or residual snow after the work of other snow removal machines, and has no function of clearing thick snow or snowdrifts.
II. Throwing Snow Blower
The snow thrower, also known as the snow blower or snow flinger, is a mechanical device that uses a gasoline engine or other power source to drive a scraper or auger and fan blades to rotate at high speed, thereby drawing the snow on the road surface into the road surface into the machine and then throwing it out at high speed to the green belt on one side of the road. The maximum throwing distance varies with the engine power. High-power snow throwers can throw snow up to about 15-20 meters, with a height of about 3 meters. The throwing distance and angle of the same snow thrower can be remotely adjusted. The minimum distance can be thrown to about 0.2 meters from the roadside. Since this machine throws the snow at high speed to both sides of the road, we are more accustomed to calling it a snow blower or snow flinger. Advantages: 1. It can throw the snow into the truck bed or green belt, avoiding the secondary removal and transportation of snow on the roadside. 2. It has obvious advantages in removing thick snow and snow obstacles. Even compacted snow can be removed. Disadvantages: 1. It cannot remove ice on the road. 2. For uneven roads, the snow in the depressions cannot be removed.
III. Plow-type Snow Sweeper
The plow snow blower, also known as the snow shovel, has its working device generally installed at the front end of the main unit. It is the most widely used and earliest originated snow removal equipment among all snow blowers, mainly suitable for compacted fresh snow with a thickness of over 30mm. The plow blade can be of integral or segmented type, and there are V-shaped and U-shaped plows. Its structural features are: most adopt the double rocker mechanism, with obvious avoidance effect, large obstacle clearance height, strong environmental adaptability, and can work in hard snow areas. The left and right angles of the plow blade can be adjusted, and the height from the ground can be controlled to facilitate operation and storage. Some also add skids or rollers and other devices to reduce or eliminate the force of the shovel blade on the ground, protecting the ground and reducing the wear of the blade edge.
Since this machine uses a snow shovel to push the snow to the sides of the road, we are more accustomed to calling it a snow shovel or snow pusher.
Advantages: It has obvious advantages in clearing thick snow and snow obstacles. Even compacted snow can be cleared.
Disadvantages: 1. It cannot clear ice on the road. 2. For uneven roads, the snow in the depressions cannot be cleared.
The working principle of a small rotor snow blower
1. Basic Structure
The structure of a screw rotor snow blower mainly consists of five components: power source, transmission device, snow collector, snow thrower and the vehicle body.
(1) Power source: Usually a gasoline engine is selected to provide power, such as 170F, 178F, etc.
(2) Transmission device: Transmits motion.
(3) Snow collector: Composed of a snow collection screw, baffle, snow pusher plate, etc.
(4) Snow thrower: Composed of a snow throwing cylinder, snow throwing rotor, etc.
(5) Vehicle body and walking device: Supports and connects other components and has the function of walking.
2. Working Principle
When the vehicle is pushed at a certain speed, snow continuously enters the snow collector from the front. The snow collector is composed of a reverse-mounted bidirectional screw shaft, a snow pusher plate, and a baffle. Due to the high-speed rotation of the screw shaft, the snow is crushed and rapidly concentrated at the entrance of the snow-throwing rotor chamber in the middle of the snow collector. As the vehicle moves forward, the snow enters the rotor chamber and is continuously thrown out to the designated position along the snow-throwing cylinder under the drive of the rotor blades.
A. Power Selection
Based on the power consumed for snow removal, WADE's 177F gasoline power can be selected. The detailed parameters are as follows:
B. Transmission Method
First, the power output of the gasoline engine is transmitted to the drive shaft through a belt drive. One part of the drive shaft is transmitted to the single-stage bevel gear reducer through a belt drive of the same level and connected to the snow-throwing rotor through a coupling. The other part is connected to the snow collection auger through a chain drive. The person pushes the snow blower forward to remove the snow.
C. Chassis
The chassis serves to fix and connect the snow collector, gasoline engine, and other components, and it also has the function of locomotion. It includes accessories such as handrails and wheels. The front end of the chassis is fixed and connected to the snow collector with bolts. The gasoline engine and the reducer are directly fixed on the frame, with the gasoline engine placed at the rear to reduce the self-weight. The frame is supported by the wheel axles.
D. Snow Collector
Schematic diagram of the spiral screw
The snow collector, also known as the spiral snow collector (with a spiral screw inside), is installed at the front of the machine and is symmetrically placed on both sides with opposite rotation directions. It is the cutting element for the snow on the road surface and the conveying tool that gathers the snow to the center. The snow flows from the snow collector into the snow-throwing rotor.
The direction of the helix of the snow collector is half left-handed and half right-handed, placed on both sides respectively. Through rapid rotation, the lateral displacement pushes the snow towards the center.
E. Snow Thrower
The accumulated snow is cut by the snow collector and then enters the snow-throwing rotor. The working process of the snow-throwing rotor can be compared to a vane blower, with the snow regarded as small particles. The accumulated snow is conveyed to the front of the rotor by the spiral snow collector. Due to the pressure difference between the inner and outer airflows caused by the high-speed rotation of the rotor, the snow enters the high-speed rotating rotor and quickly fills the space between the rotor blades. Under the action of centrifugal force, the snow entering the rotor moves along the radial blade tips and is pushed against the arc surface inside the rotor housing. As the rotor blades rotate, the snow is thrown out when it reaches the snow-throwing outlet.
Schematic diagram of the snow-throwing rotor
Maintenance and Care of Snow Removal Machines
When using snow removal equipment, it is crucial to pay attention to the cleaning and maintenance of the equipment, especially the care of its components. As the equipment ages with usage, its efficiency will decline. Therefore, it is very important to perform regular maintenance on the parts of the snow blower. When maintaining the equipment, the following points should be noted:
1. Before the snow removal equipment starts working, all parts of the equipment should be disassembled and cleaned. During the cleaning process, lubricating grease should be applied to the bearing parts to ensure their normal operation.
2. During operation, ensure that there are no large rocks or obvious stones to prevent damage to the gears and blades of the equipment due to rocks.
3. After the snow removal equipment is used, the dust on the equipment should be cleaned in a timely manner, and lubricating oil or grease should be applied to the surface. It should be stored in a dry, ventilated and safe place to avoid exposure to harsh weather conditions.
4. If there is peeling or corrosion on certain parts of the equipment, they should be sanded and repainted in a timely manner.
5. When maintaining the snow removal equipment, the entire machine should be inspected and repaired according to the equipment maintenance procedures, and lubricating oil should be added to the rotating parts to ensure that the system is free of faults.
6. If the equipment becomes loose, stuck or makes abnormal sounds when rolling, the cause should be identified, and repairs and replacements should be made.
