The KSU Date Palm Service Machine Portable Bridge Units: Design and Test Program

Abstract

The presence of field irrigation channels restricts the free movement of the date palm service machine recently developed for mechanizing activities associated with date palm trees in Saudi Arabia. The design of a pair of portable bridge units to be used to enable the service machine to cross over irrigation channels is described, together with a test program. The bridge units constructed from rectangular hollow sections of grade 43C steel proved to be satisfactory in carrying the maximum design wheel load of 30 kN over a maximum clear span of 2 meters with an acceptable maximum deflection.