Hydro Excavation
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A suction excavator, or vacuum excavator, is a construction vehicle that removes heavy
debris Debris (, ) is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded waste, garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, as in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier, etc. Depending on context, ''debris'' can ref ...
or other materials from a hole on land using vacuuming. Suction excavators are meant to be less destructive than regular excavators. The suction excavator uses suction fans for the airflow to suck up the material that is then transported into the holding tank. Hydro excavation, a type of suction excavator using high-pressure water jets, is sometimes referred to as ''daylighting'', as the underground utilities are exposed to
daylight Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunlig ...
during the process. Some suction excavators also use an
air filter A particulate air filter is a device composed of fibrous, or porous materials which removes particulates such as smoke, dust, pollen, mold, viruses and bacteria from the air. Filters containing an adsorbent or catalyst such as charcoal (carbo ...
.


History

Since 1993, RSP UK Suction Excavators Ltd. has produced suction structures mounted onto two, three, and four-axle vehicles, stationary suction units, and custom-made machines. Pacific Tek, also founded in 1993, has created the Angled Vacuum Excavator Tank (1997) and the 180° Swivel Mount Valve Operator (1999). In 1998, the Mobile Tiefbau Saugsysteme produced another type of suction excavator. The global market size for suction excavators was estimated to be valued at in 2020.


Uses

Suction excavators are sometimes used for removing earth around buried utilities and tree roots. It can suck up liquids, e.g., water from a hollow. Typically, vacuum excavation loosens the
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
with a blunt-nosed high-pressure air lance or
water source Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
and vacuums away loosened material. Depending on the machine used and soil conditions, a 12-inch-square, 5-foot-deep pothole can be completed in 20 minutes or less. Vacuum excavation is sometimes used in conjunction with conventional underground (one-call) locating services. Because of overlapping buried utility lines, locating devices often miss some of the buried utilities on a site and cannot completely or accurately mark a site. According to
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
811's (NM811) ''Aligning Change, Locating with Potholing'', "One-call paint marks and flags are the first steps in making the process of locating underground utilities safer, the use of vacuum excavation technology adds an additional margin of
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
."2009 New Mexico 811 Magazine. Published by ACTS Now, Inc.


See also

*
Dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...
* Gully emptier *
Street sweeper A street sweeper or street cleaner is a person or machine that cleans streets. People have worked in cities as "sanitation workers" since sanitation and Waste management, waste removal became a priority. A street-sweeping person would use a b ...
* Suction dredger, used for dredging underwater * Suction (medicine)


References


External links

{{Authority control Engineering vehicles Excavations