Undergraduate Research

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A benefit/cost analysis of timber marking northern tolerant hardwoods in North/Central Maine
(University of New Brunswick, 2002) Pottle, Jonathan A.; Needham, Ted
This paper investigates various operational considerations as they relate to timber-marking tolerant hardwoods in north/central Maine. Specifically, marking productivity is examined in terms of tolerant hardwood stand and site conditions. Also, associated benefits and costs are studied. Line of sight and marking crew sizes have the greatest affect on marking productivity. A productivity equation of marking productivity (acres/man-hour)= 0.46 * line of sight +1.17 is the formula that describes how productivity values vary with varying line of sight values. Marking crew sizes three and greater have an average productivity of 2.65 acres per man-hour. Marking significantly increases the present hardwood residual stumpage value per acre. This is an increase of about thirty percent. Overall, the benefits of marking far outweigh the costs in this study.
A comparative cost analysis for pulp chip processing using the Peterson Pacific 5000 (DDC)
(University of New Brunswick, 1997) Crouse, Daniel J.
Within recent years there has been increasing interest in the process of pulp fibre chips with the use of flail chipping units throughout Eastern Canada. A number of machine configurations exist for pulp chipping which involve the removal of bark and limbs from stems prior to chipping. A particular roadside pulp chip processing unit that has had some success is the Peterson Pacific (DDC 5000) Delimber/Debarker/Chipper. Kimberly Clark Forest Products Ltd. in Nova Scotia has seven hired pulp chipping contractors of which five use the DDC 5000 unit to process pulp chips at roadside of the cutblock. The main objective of the chipping contractor is to deliver high quality pulp chips to the company mill for further pulping into kraft products at highly competitive production levels. The main goal of the company is to achieve maximum production of high quality chips by the contractors at the lowest costs possible. Costing results in this report indicate that the company's current method of pulp chip production with the DDC 5000 flail unit is not the most economical. A more feasible approach of hauling roundwood to the mill and processing it with a stationary DDC 5000 will yield higher gains in terms of a combination of pulp chips and hogfuel produced. With the aid of a costing program (SYSCOST), the estimated savings associated with an alternative millyard system were determined to be $2.89/gmt for pulp chips and $12.96/gmt for hogfuel produced. Based on an operating year of 200 days, the total average gains for the company in one year of production would be $1.3 million for pulp chips and $425,000 for hogfuel. With gains this high it is advisable that the company further look into the concept of a mill yard system of pulp chip production.
A comparative study between Bräcke B-290 & B-390 line mounders
(University of New Brunswick, 1998) Blaney, Jeffrey R.; Richards, Jeremy; J. Rickards
In the attempt to produce larger, healthier trees at a younger age, Bracke Scarification has developed machines for site preparation called line mounders. The line mounders produce an inverted humus mound on which coniferous seedlings are planted. Two different line mounding machines were compared based on the quality of the mounds that they produced. These two line mounding machines were also compared to an excavator with a mounding head attachment. The excavator was used as a control setting because of its optimal results in quality of the mounds it produced. The quality of the mounds is dependent on site location including soil types and terrain conditions as well as the machine itself. This study was conducted in two different locations in the Grande Prairie, Alberta area. The Saddle Hills location contained soils of clay to loamy clay with gentle slopes of no more than 15%. The Rat Creek area was located south of Grande Prairie in the foothills of Willmore Wilderness Park. This location had similar soil types to the Saddle Hills and slopes up to 40%. The steeper slopes resulted in a harvest with very high stumps producing a roughness coefficient of a higher degree than that of the Saddle Hills. The two line mounders used in the comparison were a Bracke B-290 2-row Line Mounder and a Bracke B-390 3-row Line Mounder. The mattock units were of the same size on both machines with the only physical difference being the arrangement of the mattock units behind the prime mover. From this study, the Bracke B-290 2-row Line Mounder produced similar results having 92% of the mounds acceptable in both locations. The Bracke B-390 3-row Line Mounder was found to produce mounds of relatively similar quality in the Saddle Hills having 91% of the mounds useable. In the Rat Creek area the Bracke B-390 3-row Line Mounder only produced 84% useable mounds. Key Words: excavator, line mounders, mattock units, mounds, Rat Creek, Saddle Hills
A comparative study of portable bridges used in the forest industry
(University of New Brunswick, 1997) Beaulieu, Steven Luc; Chui, Yin-Hei
Portable bridges are being used across several provinces in Canada as well as the United States. Several types are currently being used as of now and fall into two major categories: off-highway and on-highway. In the former category, railcar subframes, portable trailer bridge, portable beam bridges as well as "common" (or heavy-duty) portable bridges fall into this one classification, while in the latter category, skidder bridges and forwarder bridges are found. Portable bridges provide an excellent alternative to commonly used bridges in the industry, such that they can be used more often and have similar costs to a permanent bridge. They may often require less work in the installation of the whole structure. Interchanging may be done between bridges, assuming that load types are the same. Availability still remains a large factor on the eastern coast, as there is no current market for it.
A comparison of creek and gully restoration methods used in coastal BC logging operations
(University of New Brunswick, 1995) Campbell, Trevor G.; Needham, Ted; T., Needham
The objective of this study is to determine if the time saved by using a mechanically aided method for creek rehabilitation is more or less cost effective than a manual crew. This report will present information pertaining to each of the three creek rehabilitation methods. A brief description of the method, its benefits, limitations, and associated costs will all be discussed. Also included int his report is the beginning of an ongoing time study which classifies creeks into difficulty classes and then assigns the creek a cleaning cost per linear metre. These results are plotted to derive a relationship between costing trends for all methods in creeks of different difficulties. This report does not have enough date to produce a firm conclusion as to this relationship bt it is ended with a hypotheses as to these costing trends, and a recommendation that further testing is conducted.
A comparison of grapple yarding and choker yarding in British Columbia
(University of New Brunswick, 1985) Helton, Jeffrey P.
This report examines the two major systems used for harvesting on the coast of British Columbia. The traditional choker yarding system has been replaced in many instances by the grapple yarding system over the last 15 years. The grapple yarding system is very cost efficient when the number of scheduled hours per year is high. The large capital investment required for the grapple yarding system dictates that the utilization level must be relatively constant and high. In "unfavourable" ground conditions the choker yarding system is still the most efficient with the cost approximately $6.56 to $7.15 per cubic metre of wood harvested. "Favourable" ground conditions lead to a grapple yarding cost of $3.69 to $3.90 per cubic meter, compared to the choker yarding cost of $5.02 to $5.47 per m3 on similar terrain. Keywords: Cable yarding systems Choker yarding Grapple yarding
A comparison of maintenance labour productivity studies
(University of New Brunswick, 1987) Redden, Phil; Rickards, E.
Labour productivity in a maintenance shop is influenced by many factors. These factors, however, can be grouped into two key areas. A mechanic's ability to perform is controlled by the design and by the management policies of the maintenance shop. Mechanics are controlled by the same effects although very different maintenance is performed. Four maintenance labour productivities were examined in this report and no significant difference was found in the productive work of the mechanics. KEYWORDS : maintenance, labour p r o d u c t i v i t y , design, p o l i cy
A comparison of the different joinery methods used in the construction of wood furniture
(University of New Brunswick, 2000) Dalton, Ellen; Chui, Y.
Two separate series of strength tests were performed on various types of joints used in the construction of wood furniture. Six test samples of each joint type were made in a consistent manner, either by hand or with the use of machines. A gradually increasing point load was applied to each sample in order to ascertain the maximum load that the joint could withstand before experiencing a substantial drop in the load level, i.e. the point at which the joint could not recover from the stress of the load. When compared with three variations of the mortise and tenon joint, the common #20 Biscuit joint proved to be the weakest. On average, this joint was half as strong as the traditional mortise and tenon joint with the cheek and shoulder of the tenon cut from the same piece of stock. This type of joint was able to withstand over 26 kilo Newtons (kN) of applied load before elastic failure, compared to just over 12kN for the #20 Biscuit. Also included in this series of tests were two modifications of the mortise and tenon joint in which the tenon is loose or floating; one with the tenon rounded and the other with a square-edged tenon. These loose mortise and tenon joints were in the middle of the other types of joints as far as strength was concerned. The rounded floating tenon resisted a higher average maximum load of22.5kN when compared to the 20kN for the square-edged floating tenon. This may be attributed to the possibility of a more even distribution of glue around the entire surface if the tenon. The second series of tests consisted of four variations on the dovetail joint. The results were analyzed to assess how the strength of the joint was affected when modifications were made to the thickness of the dovetails as well as their angle. Again, a gradually increasing point load was applied which attempted to pull apart the dovetails and the maximum load was taken to be that at which elastic failure occurred. The results indicated that a joint having a higher number of dovetails per unit width and more allowable glue surface area on the joint were more resistant to the applied load. The thin, low-angled dovetails with three dovetails were the strongest, averaging over 8kN for maximum load, compared to the weakest load of over 6kN load for the thicker, low-angled dovetails with only two dovetails. When only the angle was changed, and not the number of dovetails or thickness of these dovetails, the 14° dovetail experienced slightly higher strength readings than the 7o dovetail. This could be attributed to the fact the higher angled joint had slightly higher available glue surface area. This would indicate that the angle of the dovetails does not greatly affect the overall strength of the joint.
A comparison of the forces developed at the peat-geotextile interface using woven and nonwoven fabrics
(University of New Brunswick, 1985) Small, Robert Peter; Dr. R. Douglas; Douglas, R.
A viable solution to the problem of constructing roads on compressible soils, specifically peat, is discussed in this paper. Other methods are presently employed, including brush-matting, but not to any great success. This report studies an alternative technique, the use of woven and nonwoven geotextile fabrics. Tests using a shear box and three heights of aggregate, five, ten and twenty centimeters, are described and the resulting conclusions are discussed. It was found the shear force developed between the geotextile fabric and peat was a combination of adhesion and friction forces. Furthermore, the adhesion force was found to represent only a small portion of the total shear force. The nonwoven fabric was found to initiate the largest failing force (shear force) for each aggregate height tested. Also, in each.test the maximum shear force for the woven fabric developed at a smaller displacement than it did for the nonwoven fabric. Key words: adhesion force, compressible soil, friction force, geotextile fabric, peat, shear box, shear force
A comparison of two full tree harvesting systems employed by Valley Forest Products Limited Nackawic, New Brunswick
(University of New Brunswick, 1978) Bradford, Victor E.; Kelly, Loren M.; Lawless, James R.; Mersereau, J.
The purpose of this study was to determine, through sound engineering practices, the optimum choice between two mechanical harvesting systems to be used by Valley Forest Producst Limited of Nackawic, New Brunswick. The harvesting system being utilized at the time of this study was the Koehring Feller Forwarder Model KFF (KFF) and the Morbark Chiparvester Model 22 (Chipper). The system that was used for comparison consisted of International Harvester Feller Bunchers, a Morbark Chiparvester and Clarke Ranger 667 Grapple Skidders. In order to acquire the data necessary to prepare this report, the authors spent a total of five days in the field observing the KFF system in operation. A sample of thirteen (13) loads, eight for operator one and five for operator two, was obtained for the Koehring Feller Forwarder and a sample of seventeen (17) loads was obtained for the Morbark Chiparvester. The authors initiated a time and motion study of the.KFF system by employing stop watches and two Bolex 16 mm time and motion cameras. These cameras operated, one on a synchronous drive and the other on an impulse drive. Functions, performed in short time intervals such as the time to shear a tree, were observed and accurately recorded by these cameras. Stop watches were used to record larger time intervals such as total cycle time per KFF load. It was determined that the KFF averaged 6,440 centiminutes (cmin.) to acquire a load averaging 11.4 cunits and the chipper averaged 2,650 cmin. to chip one van load, averaging 7.25 cunits. The machine system comparison was made on the basis of the cost per cunit of wood produced at roadside. Because the volume per tree of the KFF system was 7.71 merchantable cubic feet (ft3) and that of the previous system was 4.56 ft3 , the cost was determined for the area of study and then converted to cost in the stand with trees of smaller volume. It was determined that the KFF system cost $14.24 per cunit in the study in which tree size was 7.71 ft3. This became $18.13 per cunit after adjustment for operation in the smaller volume stand. The Feller Buncher system cost was well documented, therefore a cost of $34.47 per cunit was obtained from Valley Forest Products Limited. On a cost per cunit basis, the KFF system proved to be the most favourable. When road construction cost per cunit was balanced against variable forwarding cost per cunit, an optimum forwarding distance of 500 ft. was obtained. It was determined that the KFF system should be operated under hot logging conditions, based on this 500 ft. forwarding distance.
A comparison of two standards to aid in the understanding of occupational whole body vibration
(University of New Brunswick, 1993) McCuaig, Andrew Bruce; Richards, Jeremy
Whole body vibration is any oscillating mechanical disturbance that vibrates within a frequency range of 0.5 to 80 hertz. There exist two vibration standards, International standard, ISO 2631 and British Standard, BS 6841, that attempt in different ways to evaluate human exposure to whole body vibration. It was found that the ISO standard, which uesd an equal sensation subjective method, has become outdated and that the newer British standard, which evaluates vibration levels using a more flexible vibration dose method is the preferred guide to use. Although both standards are only vibration evaluation guides, the continuing evolution of standards like ISO 2631 and BS 6841 will provide for better evaluation in the future. Key Words: Whole body vibration, BSI 6841, ISO 2631
A comparison of two systems of establishing trees on coal strip mine spoils
(University of New Brunswick, 1984) Miller, William Timothy; Robak, E.
Strip mining for coal found under forested areas leaves large areas of land totally unproductive. The spoils that are left behind are low in nutrients, have a poor water retaining capacity, are unstable, and have a low pH. The treatment system that is commonly carried out on these spoils to reforest them is called the agricultural system. It involves grading followed by primary and secondary site preparation, fertilization, and liming. The proposed system involves grading and then planting each tree in an auger hole filled with soil which will promote tree growth. The cost of planting a jack pine stand by each system is compared. The costs associated with establishing a Christmas tree plantation by the auger system are presented. The results indicate that although the auger system offers several advantages over the agricultural system, it is very expensive by comparison. Key Words: agricultural system, auger system, Christmas trees, costs, plantation, spoils
A guide to forest road maintenance in Newfoundland
(University of New Brunswick, 1976) Strong, Warren
This report is intended as a guide to maintenance of government Forest Access roads on the Island of Newfoundland. The roads maintenance is the responsibility of a forest roads technician in each of the nineteen forest units on the island. The guide gives the main causes of maintenance problems and how to deal with them in summer and winter during logging operations and later when the roads are used for fire and recreation purposes. A general guide for planning maintenance systems is given along with suggestions for preventive maintenance of roads.
A guideline for making equipment replacement decisions
(University of New Brunswick, 1989) Underhill, Doug; Rickards, Jeremy; Richards, Jeremy
At the present time, only a small portion of Canadian forest companies have a standardized, written replacement policy that is based on economic theory. By not replacing their equipment at the optimum time, these companies are loosing money. Two replacement models, the FERIC Complex model and the Stewart model, were analysed and compared using data for a fleet of Koehring feller forwarders. The Stewart model was found to be a more useful tool for assisting equipment managers in making equipment replacement decisions. Guidelines to assist equipment managers in performing replacement analysis are suggested and recommendations are made for more research into this area. Key words : replacement policy, FERIC Complex model, Stewart model.
A guideline for the installation of culverts on forest roads
(University of New Brunswick, 2000) Abernethy, Bradley; Daugharty, David; D. Daugharty
There are many culverts installed in forest roads each year that fail prematurely, due to improper installation techniques. This report presents a general guideline for the proper installation of culverts on forest roads. The guideline is based on eleven common modes of failure identified from forty-two case studies. This study was carried out from May to September, 2000. It was concluded from this study that vertical deflection, collapse and erosion were the most frequent failure modes. It was also determined that the main causes to all the failures found were inadequate compaction and improper depth placement of the culvert. These to types of causes resulted in 38 of the 42 cases. These results were then used for the formulation of a installation guideline to avoid the failures observed. The culvert installation guideline presented at the end of this report is a concise step by step guide to installing culverts. There is an additional laminated field guide which highlights the two most problematic steps, inadequate compaction and improper depth placement of the culvert. Information concerning basic soil mechanics, and culvert structures are also presented in this manual as background information, that is vital for road builders to know when performing culvert installations . The installation guideline will help lower road construction and maintenance costs.
A harvesting system for low ground strength soils (ground bearing capacity soils II and III) at Acadia Forest Products Ltd.
(University of New Brunswick, 1982) Boucher, Yves; Bjerkelund, T.
A theoretical analysis applied to harvesting systems indicates that a modified conventional, low risk harvesting system is well suited to work on ground capacity II and III sites at Acadia Forest Products, in New Brunswick. The use of different high flotation tires (e.g. Good Year, United Tire and Rolligon) on skidders is examined and proposed as an element of a Feller-Buncher-- Skidder--Delimber harvesting system.
A history of mobile slasher development
(University of New Brunswick, 1972) LeClerc, Romeo Alphonse
This thesis describes the development of the mobile(portable) slasher from the early 1930*s to the present time. Three different types of portable slashers are explained: 1. Table type slasher. 2. Swinging or Drop Circular Saws type slasher. 3. Portable Motor(Chain) Saws type slasher. These three types of slashers are shown in many examples such as the Waterous Portable Slasher, "Paul Bunyan" Wood Sawing Machine, Marathon-Nesco Slasher, etc. Then Marathon Paper Mills Ltd developed the self-loading, end-haul, self-propelled, circular saw slasher in about 1950 which is basically the same as is used today except for a few changes. Also detailed are the timber harvesting companies which used the mobile slashers and had them built to their specifications.
A manual for conducting productivity studies for forest machines
(University of New Brunswick, 1997) LeBlanc, Jody; C.H. Meng
Productivity studies are used in logging operations to evaluate the technical and operating characteristics of forest machines, and to relate the effects of environmental and operational factors to machine or system productivity. This information can be used to evaluate new equipment, compare equipment alternatives, schedule production, prepare budgets, improve the efficiency of logging operations and therefore reduce overall costs. A manual was developed to assist in conducting productivity studies for forest machines, which outlines the various methods of collecting time data and environmental and operational data, and also outlines a methodology for analysing the data that is collected in the field to formulate a productivity equation. Data analysis is performed using regression analysis, and the use of dummy variables to represent qualitative variables in the analysis is described. An example is outlined using a sample set of fictitious data to illustrate the methodology, and the use of the SPSS computer statistics package is explained for this purpose. Key words: logging machines, logging operations, machine productivity, productivity function, regression analysis, time study.
A method for consolidating company owned woodlots
(University of New Brunswick, 1987) Pollock, Sheila J.; Robak, E.
In Eastern Canada, consolidation of small, isolated, company owned woodlots is becoming an important management practice for many large forest product companies. As companies are faced with future shortages of softwood and rising wood costs, this alternate method of woodlot management might be the key to providing companies with an essential supply of cost competitive wood in the future. This thesis presents a method for consolidating company owned woodlots and discusses the advantages of carrying out this practice. Three consolidation techniques ( Sell and Purchase, Trade with the Crown, and Exchange with Another Freehold Woodlot Owner ) are described along with the criteria required to help a company decide which of their woodlots should be considered for consolidation. Woodlot appraising will also be discussed. The woodlot cruise information used in this report was gathered in 1982 from a number of Freehold woodlots owned by a large Northern New Brunswick forest company and is the basis from which this report is written. This woodlot information is presented in this report and is used to illustrate the proposed method of consolidation. One woodlot is also used to illustrate a method for appraising woodlots. All units of measure used in this report are in the metric system. Keywords: Freehold Woodlots, Woodlot Appraising, Woodlot Consolidation
A preliminary investigation into the conceptual development of a multi-headed harvester
(University of New Brunswick, 1981) Lovas, Alan D.; LaPoint, Gerald
This report outlines the problems associated with long distance off-road harvesting. Overall systems reliability and productivity are found to be central objectives in systems development. A machine employing a programmable controller to sequence two felling heads, twin bunks, bundlers and a removable delimber is judged to be the optimal solution.

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