Milled Uniform Travel Surface

Abstract

Cutting elements may be used to degrade hard surfaces in roadway surface milling, earthworking, mining, or other in situ disintegration processes. A plurality of such cutting elements may be disposed on a movable base and thereby brought into engagement with a degradable surface. Groupings of the plurality of cutting elements may comprise unique cutting surface geometries. Various groupings may be arranged on the movable base such that the degradable surface forms a cross-sectional topography resembling a waveform comprising truncated peaks.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A degradation platform, comprising:
 a plurality of cutting elements disposed on a movable base; and   wherein groupings of the plurality of cutting elements comprise unique cutting surface geometries.   
     
     
         2 . The degradation platform of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a first grouping of the plurality of cutting elements comprises conical shaped cutting surface geometries; and   a second grouping of the plurality of cutting elements comprises flat shaped cutting surface geometries.   
     
     
         3 . The degradation platform of  claim 2 , wherein the flat shaped cutting surface geometries are formed as semicircular cylinders. 
     
     
         4 . The degradation platform of  claim 2 , wherein cutting elements from the first grouping are alternated with cutting elements from the second grouping in a series. 
     
     
         5 . The degradation platform of  claim 2 , wherein cutting elements from the first grouping are in a series parallel to a series of cutting elements from the second grouping. 
     
     
         6 . The degradation platform of  claim 2 , wherein cutting elements from the first grouping are alternated with cutting elements from the second grouping when viewed tangentially. 
     
     
         7 . The degradation platform of  claim 2 , wherein the first grouping is disposed at a greater distance from the movable base than the second grouping. 
     
     
         8 . The degradation platform of  claim 2 , wherein at least two cutting elements from the first grouping precede a cutting element from the second grouping in a direction of motion of the movable base. 
     
     
         9 . The degradation platform of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a first grouping of the plurality of cutting elements comprises cylindrical shaped cutting surface geometries; and   a second grouping of the plurality of cutting elements comprises flat shaped cutting surface geometries.   
     
     
         10 . The degradation platform of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a first grouping of the plurality of cutting elements comprises dome shaped cutting surface geometries; and   a second grouping of the plurality of cutting elements comprises flat shaped cutting surface geometries.   
     
     
         11 . The degradation platform of  claim 1 , wherein the movable base is a rotatable drum. 
     
     
         12 . The degradation platform of  claim 1 , wherein the movable base is a continuous chain. 
     
     
         13 . The degradation platform of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of cutting elements is detachable from the movable base. 
     
     
         14 . The degradation platform of  claim 1 , wherein the groupings are interchangeable. 
     
     
         15 . The degradation platform of  claim 1 , wherein the movable base is disposed on a translatable vehicle. 
     
     
         16 . A degradable surface, comprising a cross-sectional topography resembling a waveform comprising truncated peaks. 
     
     
         17 . The degradable surface of  claim 16 , wherein the waveform comprising truncated peaks is uniform. 
     
     
         18 . The degradable surface of  claim 16 , wherein the waveform comprising truncated peaks is triangular. 
     
     
         19 . The degradable surface of  claim 16 , wherein the waveform comprising truncated peaks is sinusoidal. 
     
     
         20 . The degradable surface of  claim 16 , wherein the cross-sectional topography further comprises valleys wherein spacing between the valleys varies.