#HTE

This Truck Lays Down Its Own Road, Then Picks It Up Afterwards

The problem with getting vehicles across mud is that the more vehicles that drive through it, the muddier it gets. This presents a problem to both military bodies and disaster-relief organizations that seek to get large groups of supply-laden vehicles through; while the first few vehicles can manage it, the churn created by each passing vehicle makes it worse for the one behind.

To solve this, Wales-based manufacturer Faun Trackway created their eponymous product, a series of aluminum extrusions that are linked together to form a loose-ground-spanning roadway. Bound together in this manner, the relatively thin extrusions can together support vehicles of up to 70 metric tons in weight, helping them traverse “sand, snow, mud, swamp and ice.”

Even cooler is the way it’s deployed. Rolled up into 50-meter lengths, the Trackway is stored on a purpose-built truck, transported to the problem area, then rolled out like the proverbial red carpet.

Here’s what it looks like in action:

And here’s what it looks like in the actual field, in a variety of weather conditions. Note that even when partially submerged, the Trackway still provides enough purchase for vehicles to traverse smoothly:

While originally developed for the UK’s Ministry of Defence, the Faun Trackway is now used by 30 militaries across the globe, as well as by the mining industries and “a variety of humanitarian and disaster relief operations, where rapid access to cut-off areas is essential.” It is indeed rapid: The 50-meter length can reportedly be unspooled in as little as six minutes. Not a bad use for what are essentially just a bunch of aluminum extrusions.

http://www.core77.com/posts/54686/This-Truck-Lays-Down-Its-Own-Road-Then-Picks-It-Up-Afterwards