Destroying LOFAR — Load #1

With the initial preparation work completed, it is time to actually go for it. So, with the area cleared, the digger ready, staff on stand-by, and cameras rolling, the first load of snow was gingerly dropped onto the raised test tile.

The digger had picked up four hundred kilogrammes of snow and was going to attempt to drop half of it onto the tile.

We held our breath.

As the sequence shows, the first drop went on just fine. The tile showed no sign of stress or strain and so the remainder of the digger bucket was also put onto the tile. Thus, a 400 kg load was in place and the tile (or at least part of it) was hold it out without any problems. We also didn't have any problems with the snow not leaving the digger bucket or issues to do with the reach of the digger to a suitable drop area. Additionally, all the snow that was in the bucket actually then stayed in a solid pile on the tile, without any sliding or blowing off.

So, the result that we have so far is as follows:

Load   Mass    Total#1   400kg    400kg

With smiles all around, we sent the digger over to get a second load of about the same size. But the outcome of the next dump of snow will be in the next post, which will be posted up in the next hour or so.