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Innovative road construction

Wirtgen is introducing an innovative concept for road construction in the shape of its new WRC 240(i) rock crusher. The machine has been developed from the firm’s proven soil stabiliser technology and is designed to break coarse rocks in-situ, as found in hand-packed pavement layers.
By Mike Woof February 19, 2024 Read time: 3 mins
The WRC 240(i) from Wirtgen extends the firm’s range of wheeled soil stabilisers designed especially for the processing of stony ground

It produces a homogeneous mix using a continuous process to a working width of 2.32m and a working depth down to 510mm. This enables an output of up to 600tonnes/hour. The market launch of the Rock Crusher will take place in November 2023.

The WRC 240(i) from Wirtgen extends the firm’s range of wheeled soil stabilisers designed especially for the processing of stony ground. In addition to the crushing of rocks and stones with an edge length of up to 300mm and a compressive strength of up to 200MPa, the machine can add cement and water in the same pass, for instance in the preparation of base layers. For this last application, cement is pre-spread with a binding agent spreader and water required is sprayed into the mixing chamber of the Rock Crusher via the machine’s Varioinjection bar.

The machine can also be used for conventional soil stabilisation duties. For this application, the pre-spread binding agents such as lime or cement are mixed into soils with insufficient bearing capacity, transforming it in-situ into a high-grade construction material and depositing the mix evenly behind the machine. The main task of the WRC is the granulation and mixing of a variety of soils, courses and layers to produce a homogeneous final product in a continuous process. As opposed to the removal and replacement of material, the processes are characterised by shorter construction times, conservation of resources and lower CO2 emissions.

The machine features a rugged and resilient crushing and mixing rotor with toolholders developed especially for crushing applications and said to deliver high quality results when working in stony ground. The tools are fitted with large, impact-resistant carbide cutting edges and the holder bases are protected by wear-resistant protective elements made from high-tensile steel. This ensures high machine utilisation rates and process reliability in demanding applications. Robust edge protectors reduce wear on the rotor’s edge ring segments. The rotor is driven via a transmission developed for the WRC that allows high rotor speeds.

To ensure resistance to the stresses encountered when crushing rocks, the rotor housing is lined with abrasion-resistant wearing plates made from tough high-tensile steel. These provide a longer service life and increase the stability of the housing. The hard-wearing plates can be individually replaced if required.

The WRC 240(i) offers several setting options that allow a range of grain sizes as well as uniform distribution in a wide range of applications. The machine has nine rotor speeds, a variable crushing stage, exchangeable screens with a range of clear mesh sizes and adjustable distance from the rotor and adjustable rotor plate pressure and machine advance rate. These allow the configuration of the machine to match the needs of the site conditions and the application.

It benefits from the satellite-based AutoTrac system to ensure precise, automatic steering, delivering operating efficiency. The system steers the machine accurately within tolerances of a few centimetres on the basis of a previously calculated reference strip and a specified overlap of adjacent strips. This enables consistent utilisation of the machine’s ideal working width. The Wirtgen Performance Tracker (WPT) registers all relevant location-specific working parameters to provide a comprehensive database for the analysis and documentation of the construction site.

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