How do corrugations form?

I don't know what forms them, but do know they form quick. On out last major trip, I was No4 in a convoy of 4. On the cross country bits corrugations were starting to form by the time I crossed where the others had travelled. Speed wasn't really an issue we would have been lucky to be doing 40kph across a fresh sand surface.

Worse corrugations would have to be a toss between the Anne Beadell and the Alice to Finke road.

Martyn

Speed is a myth, so to all the people whom whine its the traffic travelling faster than they do:p

Corrugations have been a problem since horse and cart, kinda eliminates speed;)

If corrugations are anything to do with vehicle tyres you would think that only the section of road where the wheels run would be corrugated?
The corrugations seem to be as bad in the center of the road where no tyre contact is made. This is even the case on single track roads where the center of the track is seldom touched by vehicle tyres, other than the odd motorcycle.
When you look at the dunes in the Simpson you can see a similar pattern caused by the elements alone.

one word: Toyota's

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Originally Posted by uninformed

one word: Toyota's

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My old boy drives toyota's...........he is yet to overfill his crankcase and kill an engine;)

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Originally Posted by Discomark

If corrugations are anything to do with vehicle tyres you would think that only the section of road where the wheels run would be corrugated?
The corrugations seem to be as bad in the center of the road where no tyre contact is made. This is even the case on single track roads where the center of the track is seldom touched by vehicle tyres, other than the odd motorcycle.

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Correct!, its a phenomenon that's happened forever, I don't think there is a complete answer as to why, lots of theories though

Dr Karl apparently has the answer.
CORRUGATIONS 2

Its quite simple really, we see examples of it every day all around us.
Next time a young lithe 20 year old girl passes by, have a good look.
Then when I, or one of a similar mature aged person walks past, have another good look.
Notice the difference in the skin?
Those wrinkles are caused by aging.
The world is getting older too you know!
Regards
Glen

See lots of them in my line of work;);););)
Acceleration/Deceleration certainly makes them worse.A loose surface will corrugate very quickly.
And its VERY easy to make them with the machine that is supposed to take them out.Grade too fast and the machine will bounce,run a rock over with the front wheel which inturn lifts the blade by the same amount,the back wheels then go over the new bump and the process repeats itself;);););)
You can tell if the grader steerer made them,vehicle corrugations are 90deg to the road,the grader ones are at the angle the mulboard was set at.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2014/02/64.jpg
Andrew

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Originally Posted by Discomark

If corrugations are anything to do with vehicle tyres you would think that only the section of road where the wheels run would be corrugated?
The corrugations seem to be as bad in the center of the road where no tyre contact is made. This is even the case on single track roads where the center of the track is seldom touched by vehicle tyres, other than the odd motorcycle.
When you look at the dunes in the Simpson you can see a similar pattern caused by the elements alone.

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Corrugations on the old Stuart Highway were reputed to be visible in excavation to six feet deep. There was no point in grading the road any longer, that's one reason why the new road was built away from the old one. Pounding wheels shift dirt quite a distance, sideways too. Cars try to take different lines depending on the state of the track, I do that all the time to find a smoother line. Current wheel marks may date to after the last rain.

As for ripples on sand dunes, they are another example of waves being built by something flowing over the sand, wind in this case. Still an energy transfer taking place. On a windy day, those ripples migrate downwind.