Comparison of Work Performance of Crank-type and Rotary-type Rotavators in Korean Farmland Conditions

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to understand the work performance of crank-type rotavators and compare them with those of rotary-type rotavators in Korean farmland conditions. Methods: Tillage operations were carried out using both rotavators with the same nominal rotavating width and rated power. During the operations, PTO speed and torque, actual work speed, and rotavating width and depth were measured. To evaluate work performance, pulverizing ratio, inversion ratio, and specific volumetric tilled soil were calculated and compared for each rotavator. Results: It is found that the crank-type rotavator has better specific volumetric tilled soil performance and deep tillage, while the pulverizing ratio is worse. Conclusions: Crank-type and rotary type rotavator have diffenent properties each other in several work performances. It's important, therefore, to choose a suitable type of rotavator that satisfy the farmer's requirements in accordance with the condition of field and the purpose of tillage operation.

Tillage Characteristics Estimation of Crank-type and Rotary-type Rotavators by Motion Analysis of Tillage Blades

“…For crank-type rotavator, however, it did not show trace crossing and consequently cannot make 'd' at tractor gear higher than L1 for PTO gear of 1, and L3 for PTO gear of 2. Table 7 shows the field test results of the same test set up as that of motion analysis (Nam et al, 2012). The soil pulverizing ratio becomes smaller when actual working speed increases for both rotavators, which means that the soil pulverizing ratio according to actual working speed is consistent with the motion analysis result.…”

“…Field test using the same models of rotavator and tractor had been conducted in a Korean loamy sand soil (Nam et al, 2012). The actual working speed, rotavating depth, rotavating width, actual field capacity, volume of tilled soil, PTO output power and torque, soil inversion ratio and pulverizing ratio were measured at various tractor and PTO gear conditions shown in Table 4.…”

Fatigue Life Prediction of Crank-type Rotavator

“…In Korea, rotavator operation comprises 45% of the entire farm work cycle, and the power consumed by the tractor is the largest part, which mainly uses a rotary-type rotavator (Kim et al, 2011). Therefore, some studies were carried out with respect to the cultivation characteristics, although there is limited research on the use of crank-type rotavators (Nam et al, 2012). A crank-type rotavator is subjected to repeated loads during the cultivating operation due to its geometric structure.…”