Dozers
A bulldozer is an engineering vehicle used to move large volumes of loose material. Bulldozers are frequently employed for relocating soil during the construction of earthworks, but have many other applications in agricultural, military, and industrial settings.Bulldozer Design
The design of the bulldozer has become fairly standardized since its invention a century ago. At the front of a bulldozer is a large metal plate, hollowed and curved inward, which is used to exert force on the material being moved. Located above the bulldozer's main body is the enclosed cabin in which the operator sits and controls the vehicle. At the rear of the bulldozer is a forked attachment known as a ripper, used to grind up the earth or other material being moved into more manageable sizes.
The vehicle itself runs on crawler tracks (tank treads), which allow it to navigate rough ground with greater ease and which disperses its resting weight over a broader area, preventing it from sinking into unstable or moist ground. In particularly damp areas, over-wide treads known as “swamp tracks” are occasionally used. A further advantage to the use of treads is the additional dragging power created by their clinging tightly to the ground, which enables bulldozers to tow large vehicles and other objects with ease.
History of Bulldozers
Bulldozers evolved from early agricultural tools. Pre-industrial farms frequently used mules to move soil, equipping them with a metal plate, which operated in much the same way as a tractor does today. This metal plate, known as a bulldozer, ultimately lent its name to the modern vehicle.
Affixing such a plate to a vehicle was a logical step upon the invention of the automobile, though it is not known precisely whom the first to do so was. The first designs of bulldozers possessed a non-enclosed cabin and a flat plate, as opposed to a hollow one, but have otherwise changed little externally since its early days. Internally, the bulldozer has benefited a great deal from advances in hydraulics and engine design.
Uses of Bulldozers
Bulldozers today are used for many diverse purposes, and not simply for farming. In addition to their facility in the construction of earthworks and roads, bulldozers are commonly used in industries such as coal mining in which the product can be shifted around in bulk. The durability of bulldozers has led to their frequent employment by the military, which makes use of such vehicles to destroy buildings and to help clear away land mines.