When participating in the construction of large-scale national infrastructure projects, the first lesson I learned was that the failure rate was zero. Whether it was the back of the bridge abutment during the construction of the cross-sea bridge or the marshalling yard during the laying of high-grade railways, the quality of the foundation compaction directly determined the entire project's lifecycle. At such critical moments, I never considered any alternative solutions other than the diesel impact tamper.
The core reason why I only trust diesel power in heavy engineering is its unparalleled compaction depth. I compared the same weight-level electric tamper and diesel tamper, and when dealing with a crushed stone soil layer over 40 centimeters thick, the deep penetration ability of the diesel engine was something that the electric motor could hardly match. I adjusted the governor of the diesel engine to make each impact generate an instantaneous burst force of up to 18kN to 20kN. This force could penetrate the surface and directly act on the aggregates deep in the foundation, ensuring that the soil particles reached the maximum degree of interlocking. I led a large-scale dam cofferdam project, and the acceptance results showed that the area compacted with my calibrated diesel equipment had a compactness coefficient (K) of over 0.97, which surprised all the on-site supervisory engineers.
I highly value the thermal stability of diesel engines under continuous high loads. Heavy engineering often means high-intensity continuous operations. In the summer of Pakistan, I made my diesel impact tamper operate continuously for 14 hours at a temperature of 48 degrees Celsius. The forced air-cooling circulation system I designed used the high-pressure airflow generated by the flywheel rotation to sweep the deep-type heat dissipation fins on the cylinder cover. This physical cooling mechanism is simple and extremely reliable. In contrast, electric equipment is prone to protective shutdown due to coil overheating under high-intensity continuous operation. I cannot accept delays in the critical schedule due to equipment "resting", so I always insist on choosing that diesel "tough guy" that can fight until the end with me.
The advantage of the diesel engine's self-weight is also the reason for my choice. In heavy compaction operations, the weight of the equipment is an important component of the impact force. I optimized the structural ratio of the diesel engine and the base to precisely control the center of gravity on the impact center line. This design not only made the compaction effect more uniform but also gave the machine a "stability" feeling. When I personally operated it bouncing on the hard roadbed, I could feel that each bounce really hit the soil, rather than bouncing superficially on the surface. This solid feedback gave me absolute confidence to ensure the quality of the work.
Finally, I have to talk about the logic of on-site supply. On large construction sites, diesel is ubiquitous as a common energy source. Whether it's an excavator, a bulldozer, or a generator set, they all share a common diesel supply system. I don't need to prepare a charging station for the impact tamper or drag a cable several hundred meters long. The universality of this energy source greatly simplifies my on-site management, allowing me to focus all my energy on monitoring the compaction quality. In those critical moments that determine success or failure, this simple force is often the most reliable guarantee.
