Soil Transport Experiment by Peristaltic Transport Machine for Compact Automatic Transportation System of Excavated Soil

In recent years, the height of urban buildings has increased in order to make more efficient use of available urban space. Consequently, the substructure supporting the building weight has become larger. Currently, the vertical transport of the excavated soil from underground work is conducted by a clamshell. However, the clamshell is a large construction machine and its operation entails physical and time restrictions. In this study, we focused on the intestinal tract that transports various fluids by the contraction and relaxation of the wall muscles. Our aim was to downsize and automate the technology involved in the vertical transport of excavated soil with a peristaltic transport machine simulating the intestine. In this study, we investigate the trend of transport performance with artificial soil to understand the relationship between the vertical transport performance of the soil and the driving condition of the peristaltic transport machine. Additionally, we conduct a vertical transport experiment with natural underground soil, and a measurement experiment in which the water content is adjusted before and after the transportation. Finally, we demonstrate the usefulness of our proposed transport method.