MECHANICAL APPLICATIONS AND THEIR USE IN HUMANITARIAN MINE CLEARANCE

Abstract

Three techniques for mine clearance prevail in the world; in addition to manual demining and the use of specially trained dogs, mechanical mining has a special role. Mechanical mine clearance has major advantages, primarily in being faster and cheaper, but it does not achieve the standards of humanitarian mine clearance (99.6%) because of which additional verification of success is required for mechanical mine clearance. Machines are used in de-mining for a wide spectrum of work, from technical reconnaissance, land preparation and clearing vegetation, and rescue from minefields. Machines must meet certain standards for work, with a stress on: operator safety, cleanliness of the soil, working effect of the machine, mobility and endurance of the machine and operative logistics. Two methods of mechanical mine clearance are mainly used in the world today: flailing and grading. Other methods are also used, such as rolling and removing and planting the land, but they are less used. Flailing has three weaknesses; ejection of mines, piling up the earth and the death of the space, and grading the piling up of earth, ejection of mines, pushing the mines deeper, compressing the earth in front of the rotor and creating a loose layer of earth under the rotor. Machines made in Slovenia have not achieved wider use.