Tyre Configuration and Axle Load of Front-Wheel Assist and Four-Wheel Drive Tractors Effects on Soil Compaction and Rolling Resistance under No-Tillage

Abstract

Selecting the appropriate tyre configuration and settings for heavy farm vehicles is important to ensure that soil compaction and power loss in rolling resistance are minimised and traction is optimised. This study investigated the effect of front-wheel assist (FWA, ≈75 kN) and four-wheel drive (4 WD, ≈100 kN) tractors fitted with different tyre configurations (single, dual), tyre sizes and inflation pressures on soil strength (a proxy for soil compaction), and rolling resistance. Single-pass tests were performed on a Typic Argiudoll (≈23% clay, bulk density: 1305 kg m−3) managed under permanent no-tillage. Results showed that average power losses in rolling resistance were 7.5 kN and 5 kN for the 4 WD and FWA tractors, respectively. The average rut depth increased by approximately 1.4 times after a pass of the 4 WD compared with the FWA tractor. The soil cone index (0–600 mm depth) increased from 2023 kPa (before traffic) to 2188 and 2435 kPa after single passes of the FWA and 4WD tractors, respectively (p < 0.05). At the centreline of the tyre rut, dual tyres reduced the soil cone index a little compared with single tyres, but they significantly increased the volume of soil over which soil strength, and therefore soil compaction, was increased. For both tractors (regardless of tyre configuration or settings), soil strength increased to the full measured depth (600 mm), but relative changes before vs. after traffic became progressively smaller with increased soil depth. The power loss in rolling resistance was consistently greater with the heavier tractor, and rut depth was directly related to tyre inflation pressure.

Mechanization Assessment of Soil Compaction Induced by Traffic of Farm Machinery

“…While the best values of energy use efficiency observed under clay soil, particularly when the tire pressure was high Table 2. This outcomes were consistent with the data observed by [15]. Table 2.…”

“…Thus, this results might be confirmed that the outcomes of this interaction were more related to the contact area between wheels and soil, which were higher when the tire pressure is low. These comparisons were also investigated by [15] who confirmed that the high tire pressure is reducing soil contacting area and draught force, which resulted higher energy use efficiency. 5 have shown the effects of overall interaction between the three investigated factors on the studied indicators.…”

Determining conditions for providing maximum traction efficiency of tractor as part of a soil tillage unit

“…In work [7], attention is drawn to the fact that an increase in traction efficiency can be achieved due to the use of allwheel drive and the redistribution of the weight of the tractor along the axles, taking into account the configuration of the tires. In the cited work, along with efficiency, the influence of tractor drives on soil compaction is given a decisive place.…”

Intelligent technology for determining the optimal air pressure in the tires of agricultural tractor wheels

“…Степень повреждения структуры почвы, связанного с её уплотнением, зависит от нескольких взаимодействующих факторов. В ранних работах В. Сене по моделированию сделан вывод о том, что нагрузка на колесо является существенным фактором, определяющим напряжение, передаваемое на глубокие слои почвы [4]. Кроме того, исследования различных типов почв показали значительное влияние уплотнения на структуру агрегатов глубоких слоёв почвы [5].…”