Wirtgen's WRC 240(i) Rock Crusher is a new premium machine for layer processing in road construction.
The machine breaks coarse rocks in situ, as found in hand-packed pavement layers (e.g. Telford bases) or stony soils, and produces a homogeneous mix continuously. The working width of 2,320mm and a working depth of up to 510mm enables an output of up to 600 tonnes per hour.
The WRC 240(i) expands Wirtgen’s portfolio of wheeled soil stabilisers designed especially for the processing of stony ground. In addition to crushing 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. Here, the cement is pre-spread with a binding agent spreader and the water required is sprayed into the mixing chamber of the Rock Crusher via the machine’s Varioinjection bar.
The WRC 240(i) can also be used for soil stabilisation. For this application, the pre-spread binding agents such as lime or cement are mixed into the existing soil with insufficient bearing capacity, transformed in situ into high-grade construction material and deposited evenly behind the machine. The main task of the WRC is the granulation and mixing of various soils, courses and layers to produce a homogeneous final product in a continuous process. As opposed to removing and replacing material, the processes here are characterised by shorter construction times, conservation of resources and lower CO2 emissions.
The rugged and resilient crushing and mixing rotor with toolholders developed especially for crushing applications with the HT18 delivers optimal 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 especially for the WRC that enables the realisation of high rotor speeds.
To ensure long-term resistance to the enormous stresses encountered when crushing rocks, the WRC 240(i) rotor housing is lined with abrasion-resistant wearing plates made from extremely tough high-tensile steel. These guarantee a longer service life and increase the overall stability of the housing. The entire mixing chamber is lined with these extremely hard-wearing plates, which can be individually replaced if and when required.
The WRC 240(i) offers several setting options that enable the achievement of the desired grain size and consistently uniform distribution in a wide range of applications. Nine rotor speeds, a variable crushing stage, exchangeable screens with a range of clear mesh sizes and adjustable distance from the rotor, adjustable rotor plate pressure and the machine advance rate enable the configuration of the machine to meet the needs of actual site conditions and the desired application.
By enabling precise, automatic steering, the satellite-based AutoTrac system helps the WRC to achieve greater process efficiency and, as a result, a high degree of environmental compatibility. It steers the machine accurately within tolerances of a few centimetres based on a previously calculated reference strip and a specified overlap of adjacent strips, which 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.
