Concept evaluations of three novel forwarders for gentler forest operations

Gelin, Olle; Björheden, Rolf

doi:10.1016/j.jterra.2020.04.002

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…In fact, pendulum arm technology obtained promising results in terms of rutting, but rubber tracks obtained the most encouraging results. In fact, rubber tracks used under loaded conditions were able to lower rut depth by up to three times as compared to conventional tracks [88], highlighting the importance to distribute the applied load. In this context, the response of tracks in relation to wheels of crawler tractors on soils exposed to different conditions of slope and traffic, caused significantly lower increases of bulk density and rutting [79,[89][90][91].…”

Section: Technical Featuresmentioning

confidence: 98%

Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Physical Disturbances Caused by Forest Machinery: a Comprehensive Review

et al. 2022

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Purpose of Review Ground-based mechanized forest operations can cause severe soil disturbances that are often long lasting and detrimental to the health of forested ecosystems. To reduce these soil disturbances, focus is being increasingly directed at identifying and using appropriate mitigation techniques. This systematic review considered 104 scientific articles and reported the main findings according to four core themes: terrain-related factors, operational planning, machine modifications, and types of amendments used to mitigate machine-induced soil impacts. Recent Findings For terrain-related factors, most severe disturbances occur on machine operating trails exceeding 20% slope and that soil bulk density and rut depth show greater increases in fine-textured soils. When considering operational planning, trafficability maps proved to be helpful in reducing the frequency and magnitude of soil damages as well as the length of trails needed within harvest sites, especially if they are regularly updated with weather information. Machine modifications, through high flotation tires, use of extra bogie axle, lower inflation pressure, and use of steel flexibles tracks, are highly researched topics because of the considerable upside in terms of machine ground pressure distribution and increased traction. Two main types of amendments emerged to mitigate soil disturbances: brush mats and mulch cover. Brush mats created from harvesting debris can spread the load of a machine to a greater area thereby lowering peak loads transferred to the soil. Brush mats of 15–20 kg m−2 are being recommended for adequate soil protection from harvesting operations. Summary To conclude, we outline recommendations and strategies on the use of soil mitigation techniques within cut-to-length forest operations. New research opportunities are also identified and discussed. Considering single factors causing machine-induced soil disturbances remains important but there is a pressing need for having a multi-disciplinary approach to tackle the complex problems associated with machine/soil/plant interactions.

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Section: Technical Featuresmentioning

confidence: 98%

Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Physical Disturbances Caused by Forest Machinery: a Comprehensive Review

et al. 2022

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“…The 20 m radius of curvature was fairly wide, and there was very little difference in the level of rut formation between straight and curved trails. In this, the present study differed from a study by Gelin and Björheden (2020), where the curved trail had smaller turning radii, oscillating steering angle (S-bend) and 8 to 10 passes. In addition, the load size in the study by Gelin and Björheden (2020) was roughly double the load in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…In this, the present study differed from a study by Gelin and Björheden (2020), where the curved trail had smaller turning radii, oscillating steering angle (S-bend) and 8 to 10 passes. In addition, the load size in the study by Gelin and Björheden (2020) was roughly double the load in the present study. Both more challenging test trail conditions and a heavier load mass are likely to cause more soil shearing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

The effect of bogie track and forwarder design on rut formation in a peatland

Ala‐Ilomäki

Lindeman

Mola‐Yudego

et al. 2021

International Journal of Forest Engineering

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The effect of forest machinery on the rut formation on extraction trails is an important aspect of forest operations. The aim of this study was to compare how track design and vehicle configuration affects rut formation on straight and curved test trails with no slash mats on peatland. Rut depth was observed from five machine-track combinations on several test plots after several passes and two different trail configurations, straight and curve. The observations (N = 760) were modeled using a mixed model approach to include the variation between the combinations. The results show that rut depth decreases exponentially with soil shear modulus, increases linearly with the number of passes and is not affected with the trail section configuration. The overall coefficient of determination is R 2 = 0.55. A first generation Ponsse Elk with Fomatec tracks (EFwo) showed the lowest rut formation, followed by a first generation Ponsse Elk with Fomatec tracks equipped with add-on track shoes (EFw), a Ponsse Buffalo with KOPA high flotation tracks (Kopa) and a Ponsse Elk 10 W with Olofsfors mixed tracks (E10W), while a Ponsse Elk with long wheelbase bogie and Olofsfors high-flotation tracks (LWB) showed the deepest rut formation. Vehicle dynamics on peatlands are still far from being fully understood and the paper highlights the complexity of the interactions of the variables studied while providing a valid modeling tool with applications in planning of forest operations and simulation.

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“…The linear motors have a force limit of 270 kN and the torque limit at articulation joints and wheel motors are set to 50 kNm and 20 kNm, respectively [5]. The Xt28 model has a mass of 16 800 kg [6], where the centre of mass position of each body was estimated to match that of the physical vehicle.…”

Section: Xt28 Forwarder Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An attractive alternative is to use actively articulated suspensions and individual wheel control. These have the potential to reduce the energy consumption and ground damage, yet increase traversability and tip over stability [11,6,21,10,9]. The concepts have been a reappearing topic in planetary exploration, military, construction, agriculture, and forestry applications, but not yet reached the maturity of practical use [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Control of rough terrain vehicles using deep reinforcement learning

Wiberg¹,

Wallin²,

Servin³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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We explore the potential to control terrain vehicles using deep reinforcement in scenarios where human operators and traditional control methods are inadequate. This letter presents a controller that perceives, plans, and successfully controls a 16-tonne forestry vehicle with two frame articulation joints, six wheels, and their actively articulated suspensions to traverse rough terrain. The carefully shaped reward signal promotes safe, environmental, and efficient driving, which leads to the emergence of unprecedented driving skills. We test learned skills in a virtual environment, including terrains reconstructed from high-density laser scans of forest sites. The controller displays the ability to handle obstructing obstacles, slopes up to 27 • , and a variety of natural terrains, all with limited wheel slip, smooth, and upright traversal with intelligent use of the active suspensions. The results confirm that deep reinforcement learning has the potential to enhance control of vehicles with complex dynamics and high-dimensional observation data compared to human operators or traditional control methods, especially in rough terrain.

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Concept evaluations of three novel forwarders for gentler forest operations

Cited by 12 publications

References 8 publications

Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Physical Disturbances Caused by Forest Machinery: a Comprehensive Review

Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Physical Disturbances Caused by Forest Machinery: a Comprehensive Review

The effect of bogie track and forwarder design on rut formation in a peatland

Control of rough terrain vehicles using deep reinforcement learning

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