Improving the performance of a ploughing tractor by means of an auxiliary carriage with motorized axle

The article describes the analysis of results from field tests on ploughing units based on a modular draft device (MDD). This device is named MDD-100 and consists of an energy module and a technological module. The energy module is a universal tractor with a rated draft resistance of 16 kN. The technological module is an additional axle, equipped with an active wheel drive, a threepoint hitch linkage, and a saddle-type semi-trailer. During the working process, the draft resistance of the energy and the technological modules of the MDD-100 add up. As a result, the draft resistance of the latter may reach 26 kN, and more. This allows the MDD-100 to be classified as a draft device in traction class 3 and be used with agricultural machines with a large working width. The MDD-100 was tested with a five-bottom mounted plough with a working width of 1.75 m and a draft resistance of 24-28 kN. The best option for driving the MDD-100 with a plough was its movement with the right-side wheels in the furrow. The draft resistance of the plough would decrease by 12.0%, if the option of the MDD-100 outside the furrow is used. This ensured a 12.8% reduction in the skidding of the MDD-100 wheels and a 13.1% decrease of fuel consumption for the ploughing unit. Compared to a 4WD tractor, the use of a modular draft device with a 6WD wheel arrangement offered a greater stability of the ploughing depth.

Mathematical Model for Evaluating Slippage of Tractor Under Various Field Conditions

The slippage is an essential criterion for evaluating the fuel consumption and the field performance of tractor. The objective of this research was to develop mathematical models using Design Expert software for modelling and predicting slippage of the CASE JX75T tractor (India manufacture) under operational field conditions. In this research, a chisel plough was used as a loading tool for the tractor under four levels of ploughing depths, with three levels of speed and two levels of cone index (CI) in silty clay soil texture. The experiments were carried out in the site of Basrah University. The results obtained from the fieldwork were analysed to evolve mathematical models and equations to predict and evaluate the performance of the tractor when the slippage occurred. According to the obtained results, the single effects of the parameters (CI, tillage depth, and forward speed) on the slippage were highly considerable (P<0.0001). Moreover, the interaction of the parameters were significant (p<0.05). The slippage of tractor increased by 187 and 116 % with increasing ploughing depth up to 25 cm and forward speed up to 1.53 m.s-1, respectively. On the other hand, tractor slippage reduced by 34% when CI increased up to 980 kPa. The data analysis showed that the developed model has passable imitation ability and excellently executed in confront of the actual data. This confirms the accuracy of the model for predicting tractor slippage under different fieldworks.

Influence of the Plough with Tekrone Mouldboards and Landsides on Ploughing Parameters

This paper is dedicated to Tekrone composite material utilization in agricultural machinery. In terms of its technical properties, tekrone is very similar to steel 60 that is used for production of plough mouldboards and landsides. However, Tekrone shows more preferable characteristics, because its friction coefficient (kf) is 2.6 times lower in contrast to steel 60. This fact indicates that the draft resistance can be decreased by replacing the plough mouldboards and landsides made of steel 60 with their counterparts made of Tekrone. This science hypothesis was confirmed by experimental investigation results. Analyses showed that utilization of plough with Tekrone mouldboards and landsides instead of steel ones significantly reduces their sticking to the wet soil. This results in a “soil moves over plough mouldboard surface” process instead of a “soil moves over soil” process. The plough draft resistance was decreased by 13.6% after replacement of the steel equipment with Tekrone one. Simultaneously, the performance of new tractor-plough aggregate was increased by 12.6%, the specific fuel consumption was reduced by 11.8%, and the preserving probability of the agrotechnological ploughing depth tolerance (±2 cm) was increased from 88% to 93%.

Effect of Ploughing Depth, Tractor Forward Speed, and Plough Types on the Fuel Consumption and Tractor Performance

Cost of fuel has a significant impact on the input costs of agricultural production, especially during primary tillage. It is affected by several parameters including tractor forward speed, depths of ploughing, and plough types. The experiment was performed in a Soil Hall at Harper Adams University, United Kingdom, in April 2015. A Massey Ferguson 8480 4WD tractor was used for investigating objectives of this study. The experiment was performed in a sandy loam soil texture at 11.73% soil moisture content and 1.35 (g/cm3) dry bulk density to study the amount of fuel consumption (l/ha) and the performance of tractor with effect of moldboard and disc ploughs as ploughs type, 15 and 20 cm as ploughing depth and 5 and 7 km/h as tractor forward speeds. The results showed that fuel consumption with a disc plough 5% was higher compared to the moldboard. Fuel consumption decreased approximately 8% when tractor at 7 km/h. Fuel consumption significantly decreased about 34% when ploughing depth increased from 15 to 20 cm. The power requirement to operate moldboard plough was higher by about 14% than a disc. The power requirement at speeds of 7 km/h was higher compared to the speeds of 5 km/h by about 27%. When the depth of ploughing increased from 15 to 20 cm, the power requirement increased by about 1.5%.

Pressure in the hydraulic system of three point hitch of tractor equiped with electrical and mechanical control

The goal of the measurement of the tractor ZTS 164 45 equipped with digital electrohydraulical control EHR-D BOSCH during ploughing with ploughs KUHN (4 bottoms) and 5 PHX 35 (5 bottoms) was to obtain time dependent states of pressure in the hydraulic system of the three point hitch of tractor. From the point of view of comparison of obtained results testing conditions were determinated with respect to physical and mechanical properties of soil such as soil volume mass, soil humidity, penetration resistance and shear resistance of soil. Beyond these measurements also measurements of operation parameters as a&nbsp;ploughing depth, ploughing width, working speed and fuel consumption were accomplished. The measured results of physical and mechanical properties of soil show big content of loam elements and stones in the soil. Simultaneously the measured results of the operation parameters of the ploughing sets confirmed that the ploughs KUHN and 5 PHX 35 are suitable for tractor ZTS 164 45. Based on the measured results there is a possibility to infer following conclusions: Control system of the three point hitch offers a reliable function. Hydraulic circuit is equipped by an improper distributor which causes pressure peaks which are corres-<br />ponding with safety valve adjustment. Hydraulic circuit has a&nbsp;low conductive resistance. Loading of tractor body is higher when using mounted plough than with semi mounted plough.