SNOW STABILIZATION USING DRY PROCESSING METHODS.

Experiments were made with several methods of dry processing and compacting snow on the Greenland Ice Cap. The Peter snow miller was used to process the snow initially, followed by compaction with vibratory compactors, rollers, and a D-8 tractor. The vibration frequency was found to have some effect on the degree of compaction with the vibratory compactors. Better results were obtained by precompacting with a roller before vibration. The best compaction was obtained using a D-8 tractor with low ground pressure tracks to compact the freshly processed Peter snow. Tests show that this method of processing may be adequate to produce a snow surface and base structure capable of supporting certain types of aircraft.