Soil Transportation by Peristaltic Movement-Type Pump Inspired from the Lubrication System of the Large Intestine and Ceramic Art

In this study, we proposed and verified a new transport method for sediments with low water content in peristaltic movement-type pump. In recent years, high-rise buildings have been built in urban areas because they are a more efficient use of land space. Therefore, excavation work is growing in scale. Currently, excavated sediment is carried vertically by a large construction machine with a clamshell; however, this operation has physical and temporal limitations. In the design of our new transportation system, we used the large intestine and pottery as models and proposed a method to use the sediment itself, combined with water, as a surface lubricant. The intestinal tract transports mass by muscle contraction and relaxation, or peristalsis. We aimed to miniaturize and automate the vertical transport of excavated sediment using a peristaltic conveyance device that simulates the intestine. We performed vertical transport of sediment with low water content, which was not possible to lift in previous studies, using this method. Additionally, we constructed a water-contributing system and succeeded in the vertical transport of viscous, intermediate, and sandy soil with low water content.