Effect of Tire Lug Height, Forward Speed and Cast Iron Ballast on Tractor Performance
Abstract
The study was conducted at El Rahad Agricultural Scheme (Block 8( Sudan, during the period Feb.-May 1996 where the soil is a heavy
cracking clay. The objective of the study was to improve the performance of the tractor when worn tires were used. The performance of the tractor, wheel slippage, fuel consumption and field capacity of the tractor were measured. Three levels of tire lug height were used, namely, 35 mm (new tire), 20 mm (medium worm tire) and zero mm (fully worn tire). Four levels of cast iron ballast were used, namely, zero, 63, 126 and 252 kg were distributed between rear tires. Moreover, three levels of tractor forward speed (5.6, 6.9 and 10.6 km/hr) were employed. The results indicated that there was a significant improvement in tractor performance when using worn tires through the use of cast iron ballast on the rear wheels. It was found that tires with zero mm lug height and 252 kg cast iron ballast decreased tractor wheel slippage and fuel consumption by34% and 18%, respectively, and increased tractor field capacity by 16.2 % Moreover, when tires with 20 mm lug height and 252 kg cast iron ballast were used, the slippage and fuel consumption were decreased by 41.7 % and 18.2%, respectively, and tractor field capacity was increased by 14.5%. The tractor with tires lug height of 35 mm and 252 kg cast iron ballast, decreased slippage and fuel consumption by 22% and 11.5%, respectively, and increased tractor field capacity by 13.5%.
References
Domler, K. W. and A.E. Willon 1978. Tractive efficiency-maximum or optimum. Transactions of ASAE 21 (4) :650- 658.
Gee-Clough, D.M.,G.P. McAllister and D. W. Evernden. 1977. Tractive performance of tractor drive tyres. l. The effect of lug height Journal Agricultural Engineering Research 22 (4): 373-384
Gill, W.R. and B.G. Vanden Berg. 1968. Soil dynamics in tillage and
traction. Agricultural Handbook 316. USDA, Governmental Printing Office, Washington, D. C. 51IP
Gloker, O. T. 1984. Introduction to testing agricultural machinery. Tamboul Testing and Training Center, Agricultural Engineering Administration, Ministry of Agriculture, Sudan.
Kepner, R. Baner and EL. Barger. 1972 Principles of Farm Machinery. Second edition. The AVI Publishing Company. INC. USA.
Liljedahl, J.B., W.M. Carleton and W.S. David. 1979. Tractors and Their Power Units. Third edition. John Wiley and Sons. Inc. New York.
Raghaven, G.S., V.E. Mckges and M. Chasse. 1976. Effect of wheel slip on soil compaction. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 22 79-83
Reed, I.F. and J. W. Shields. 1950. The effect of lug height and rim width on the performance of farm tractor tires. Society of Automotive Engineering Journal 58 (12) 40-44
Taylor, J.H. 1974. Lug angle effect on traction performance of pneumatic tires.
Transactions of ASAE 17 195-197.
Upadhyaya, S.K., J. Mehlschau, D. Wulfsohn and J.L. Glancey. 1989
Development of a unique, mobile, single-wheel traction testing machine. Transactions of ASAE 29 (5): 1243-1246.
Vasey, G.H. and I. T. Naylor. 1959. Field tests on 14-30 tractor tires.
Agricultural Engineering Research 3 (l) 1-8
Watyotha, C. and Salokhe. 2001. Tractive performance of cage wheels with opposing circumferential lugs. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 79 (4):389-398.
Wulfsohn, D. 1987. Tractive Characteristics of Radial Ply and Bias Ply Tires in Califomia Soil. M.Sc. thesis, Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis.
