• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2010

Tractor PTO output and fuel consumption rate under the korean paddy and various paddy operations were measured and analyzed, in which all the measurements were accomplished by the OECD tractor test codes and the collected information will be utilized for defining tractor energy efficiency class and its test methods. Tractor PTO performance tests were conducted under full-load, part-load and various engine RPMs with part-load at the engine laboratory, while the paddy operations were dry land plowing, wet and dry land rotary tilling and wet land preparation under various soils. As a whole, the rated tractor outputs were ranged from 17% to 100% in the various tillage and land preparation operations, however, the loads for the paddy operations of 1,700 to 2,000 rpm were very close to the OECD tractor load distribution thus it would be appropriate to adopt OECD tractor test codes to measure energy consumption efficiency of tractor.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.77-84
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• 2010

In this study, we tried to predict tractor power output, fuel consumption rate and work performance indirectly in order to develop an eco driving system. Firstly, we developed equations which could predict tractor power output and fuel consumption rate using characteristic curves of tractor power output. Secondly, with actual engine rpm determined by initial engine rpm and work load, tractor power output and fuel consumption rate were forecasted. Thirdly, with speed signals of GPS sensor system, it was possible to foresee tractor work performance and fuel consumption rate. Lastly, precision of the eco driving system was evaluated through tractor PTO test, and effects of the eco driving system were investigated in the plowing and rotary tilling operations. Engine rpm, power output, fuel consumption rate, work performance and fuel consumption rate per plot area were displayed in the eco driving system. Predicted tractor power outputs in the full load curve were well coincided with the actual power output of prototype, but small differences, 1 to 6 ㎾, were found in the part load curve. Error of the fuel consumption rate was 0.5 L/h, 4.5%, the greatest, and 1 to 3 L/h at the part load curve. It was shown that 69% and 53% of fuel consumption rates could be reduced in plowing and rotary tilling operations, respectively, when the eco driving system was installed in tractor.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.171-179
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• 2013

Purpose: A simulator for the design and performance evaluation of a tractor with a hydro-mechanical transmission (HMT) was developed. Methods: The HMT consists of a hydro-static unit (HSU), a swash plate control system, and a planetary gear. It was modeled considering the input/output relationship of the torque and speed, and efficiency of HSU. Furthermore, a dynamic model of a tractor was developed considering the traction force, running resistance, and PTO (power take off) output power, and a tractor performance simulator was developed in the co-simulation environment of AMESim and MATLAB/Simulink. Results: The behaviors of the design parameters of the HMT tractor in the working and driving modes were investigated as follows; For the stepwise change of the drawbar load in the working mode, the tractor and engine speeds were maintained at the desired values by the engine torque and HSU stroke control. In the driving mode, the tractor followed the desired speed through the control of the engine torque and HSU stroke. In this case, the engine operated near the OOL (optimal operating line) for the minimum fuel consumption within the shift range of HMT. Conclusions: A simulator for the HMT tractor was developed. The simulations were conducted under two operation conditions. It was found that the tractor speed and the engine speed are maintained at the desired values through the control of the engine torque and the HSU stroke.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.46-53
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• 2022

RIn this study, a test tractor that could measure various types of agricultural operational loads was developed, and its performance was verified. This tractor could be used to measure the load generated during agricultural work and convert the related data into a database. A test tractor was developed using an 80-kW-rated load tractor, and it could measure various types of field test data, such as engine torque and rpm, wheel torque, PTO(power take-off) torque, hexometer, IMU/INS sensor, steering angle sensor, hydraulic pressure, and flow sensor data. To verify the developed test tractor, a verification test using an agriculture rotavator was performed. The test conditions were L1, L2, and L3 based on the tractor's main and sub-transmission stages, and stages 1 and 2 were selected as the PTO. In a comparison of the analyzed test data, similar tendencies in the test results of this research and other research (Kim's research) were seen. Through this, the developed test tractor was verified. In the future, we plan to conduct research on the tractor developed in this study using various attached working machines.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.31-75
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• 2000

The tractor is the most important machine for farming keeping probably this position also for feeding the future fast growing world population. Band width of power and functions continues to increase worldwide, examples are given. Regarding the high developed countries, general farming demands as well as precision farming issues require closed loop control principles for the system "driver-tractor-implement". Progress in information technologies supports this trend, but comprehensive component and system developments are necessary to make the tractor ready for automatic or semi-automatic controls. The following technical highlights are, for example, discussed for Europe: hydropneumatic front axle suspensions, 50 km/h top speed, front brakes, electronically controlled multivalve diesel engines, automatic hydrostatic power split CVTs, load sensing hydraulics with proportional valves, improved cab and working places with "operations by wire" and more electronics on board than ever before.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.383-390
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• 1999

When a tractor travels slope lands, problems of operator safety and the reduction of job efficiency usually occur. Therefore, maintaining the tractor body being horizontal is critical to improve the security of traveling and the job performance. An experiment was made in a soil bin using the experimental model system built and equipped with a leveling control system. Adaptability of the control system was tested and investigated by analyzing system response in time and frequency domains. Control response time of hydraulic cylinder with 10lpm flow rate on a step input of 10$^{\circ}$slope was about 0.42sec. And it showed a linearly increasing trend without any hunching state. A steady state error of 0.6$^{\circ}$occurred but it was negligible. The hydraulic control system showed a little phase differences within the range of 0.4Hz input frequency. The experimental model showed that implementation of the proposed tractor control system to on slope lands tractor was feasible.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 1990

An automatic guidance system based upon two position-measurement systems was designed to record where the tractor traveled and to guide the tractor along the predetermined path. An algorithm, using the kinematic behavior of tractor movement, was developed to determine the steering angle to reduce lateral position error. The algorithm was based upon constant travel speed, constant steering rate, and zero slip angles of the tractor wheels. The algorithm was evaluated through use of computer simulation and verified in field experiments. Results showed that the distance interval between position measurements was an important factor in guidance system performance. The position-measurement error of the guidance system must be less than 5 cm to be acceptably precise for field operations. An algorithm based upon a variable steering rate might improve the stability of the guidance system. More accurate measurement of tractor position and yaw angle, and faster error processing are required to improve the field performance of the guidance system.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.85-90
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• 1994

To evaluate the capability of design engineering of tractor manufacturers in Korea, a survey was conducted at the four leading tractor manufacturers in August 1993. The survey involved discussions with and written questions to senior design engineers about the technologies being practiced for concept design of tractor and its functional components. Results of the survey revealed that the Korean tractor manufacturers are about 10 to 20 years behind Japanese firms in design engineering. Nevertheless, the production technology, particularly for tractors less than 40PS, were found to have developed enough to compete with foreign manufacturers in terms of its cost and quality. However, Korean tractor manufacturers must develop their own engineering and technologies for design in order to compete with foreign tractors in international market.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.87-94
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• 1995

When farmer loads and unloads farm products with a trailer, linked to a tractor, the tractor-trailer is backed up to the loading duck. However, travelling backward is not easy and takes a time for even skilled operators. Therefore, unmanned backing up is necessary to save the effort. A backward controller of tractor-trailer was simulated using fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms. Operators drive the tractor-trailer back and forth several times for backing up to the loading duck. As the operators did it, a backward controller was designed using fuzzy logic. And genetic algorithms was applied to improve the performance of the backward controller. With the strings coded with the fuzzy membership functions, genetic operations were carried out. After 30 generations, the best fitted fuzzy membership functions were found. Those membership functions were used in the fuzzy backward controller. The fuzzy controller combined with genetic algorithms showed the better results than the fuzzy controller did alone.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.27-36
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• 2020

The aim of this study is to design a simulation model for an electric All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) tractor to evaluate the performance of the selected component and agricultural work ability. The electric AWD tractor consists of four motors independently for each drive wheel, and each motor is combined with an engine generator, a battery pack, and reducers. The torque data of a 78 kW-class tractor was measured during plow tillage and driving operation to develop a workload cycle. A simulation model was developed by using commercial software, Simulation X, and it used the workload as the simulation condition. As a result of simulation analysis, the drive system, including an electric motor and reducers, was able to cope with high load during plow tillage. The SOC (State of Charge) level was influenced by the output power of the motor, and it was maintained in the range of 50~80%. The fuel consumed by the engine was about 18.23 L during working on a total of 8 fields. The electric AWD tractor was able to perform agricultural work for about 7 hours. In the future study, the electric AWD tractor will be developed reflecting the simulation condition. Research on the comparison between the simulation model and the electric AWD tractor should be performed.