• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.303-313
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• 2011

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of axle weight distribution and inflation pressure of tire on the fuel economy of tractors as well as operational range of tractor engine in terms of engine speed and power when a 4WD tractor of 38.2 kW rated power at 2500 rpm is used for plowing and flooded-field rotavating in paddy fields. (1) Plowing operation required an average engine power of 9.6~13.5 kW which equals 25~35% of rated PTO power. Engine speed ranged from 1,320.4 to 1,737.4 rpm, work velocity from 3.4 to 4.8 km/h, and fuel consumption from 3.2 to 4.2 L/h, respectively. (2) Flooded-field rotavating required an average engine power of 11.5~18.5 kW which equals 30~48.4% of rated PTO power. Out of this 6.2~12.2 kW was used for PTO power. Engine speed ranged from 1,557 to 2,067 rpm, work velocity from 2.5~5.4 km/h and fuel consumption from 3.2~5.5 L/h, respectively. (3) Axle weight distribution, inflation pressure of tire and moisture content of soil did not affect significantly the specific volumetric fuel consumption but affected significantly the fuel consumption per unit area of operation. Fuel savings amounted to 65% in plowing operation and 20% in flooded-field rotavating when the axle weight distribution and inflation pressure of tire were optimally adjusted. (4) Optimal adjustment of axle weight distribution and inflation pressure of tire are expected to save fuel consumption by 10~65% per unit area of operation in plowing and 10~20% in flooded-field rotavating.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.183-194
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• 1999

Using the dynamic model and simulation program TDA developed in the previous paper, effects of design parameters of an agricultural tractor-trailer system on its vertical seat vibrations were investigated. The tractor-trailer system was excited by traversing over a half-sine bump. The excitation frequencies were determined by traveling velocity of the tractor and a half-sine bump selected appropriately. TDA predicted the autospectra of the vertical seat accelerations with different values of design parameters and compared them to analyze their effects. The design parameters included positions of engine, cab, and seat mountings as well as their dynamic properties. The results of this study suggested guidelines with which an improved structure of tractor may be developed in the early stage of design for a better ride quality.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.584-593
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• 2016

In this study, an improvement design method for reducing the vibration of fenders equipped in a tractor is proposed through the establishment of a finite element model and the topology optimization. As the original shapes of the parts cannot be altered, an improved design model was derived in which a stiffener was attached to the border of parts. Thus, the first resonance frequency was increased by approximately 16 Hz, which was confirmed to be the frequency interval for avoiding the idle and operating frequency of the engine. Finally the improved design model was applied to confirm the effect of vibration reduction. Therefore, it can be concluded that the improved design model of the tractor fender is effective at reducing vibrations of the tractor fender.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.549-560
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• 1998

The dynamic model of a tractor-trailer system developed in the first part of this paper was verified in this article by comparing the simulated acceleration responses of the system with actually measured ones. A commercially available tractor and a trailer were used for the verification test. Values of the model parameters were measured or theoretically derived if the measurement was practically impossible. The tractor-trailer system was operated with different forward speeds over three equally spaced half-sine bumps on the flat concrete surface. Results of the verification tests showed that autospectra of the measured and simulated accelerations of the tractor-trailer system agreed well up to the frequencies slightly feater than the fundamental frequencies of the ground excitations and at the frequencies of engine excitations. The mean of normalized errors of the simulated responses to the measured ones was estimated to be less than 10% for all the test runs. The peak responses in the autospectra also coincided well both in the frequency and magnitude.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.344-350
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• 1993

The purpose of this study is to develop design equations to calculate optimum specifications and dimensions such as weight, engine horsepower, etc. of the tractor necessary to perform stable rotary tillage. The main results of this study are as follows. 1. A wheel-lug ought to receive a special resistance in downward direction which resists the lug's upward motion on wet sticky soil surface. The authors introduce a new academic name of the "lift resistance(上昇抵抗力, 상승저항력)" for such a force which resists retraction of a wheel lug from the soil in the upward trochoidal motion. This force is composed of the frictional force acting on the trailing and the leading lug side, and the "perpendicular adhesion(鉛直付着力, 연직부착력)" acting on the lug face and the undertread face on adhesive soil. 2. The "lift resistance ratio(上昇抵抗力係數, 상승저항력계수)" and the "perpendicular adhesion ratio(鉛直付着力係數, 연직부착력계수)" were defined, which are something similar to the definition of the motion resistance ratio, the traction coefficient, etc. 3. The design equation of the optimum weight of a rotary tiller mounted on the tractor derived by calaulating the forces acting on the rotary blades. 4. The design equations to calculate optimum specifications and dimensions such as weight, engine horsepower, etc. of the tractor necessary to perform stable rotary tillage were derived. It becomes clear that the optimum weight of a rotary tiller and a tractor can be estimated in planning design by means of putting about 21 design factors of the target into the equation. These equations are useful for planning design to estimate the optimum dimensions and specifications of a rotary tiller as well as a tractor by the use of known and/or unknown design parameters.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery Conference
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• 2000.11c
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• pp.819-826
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• 2000

This study was performed to develop a measurement system of tractor field performance for plow and rotary operations. Measurement system for tractor consisted of torque sensors to measure torque of drive axles and PTO axle, speed sensors to measure rotational speed of drive axles and engine, microcomputer to control data logger, and data logger as I/O interface system. The measurement system was installed on four-wheel-drive tractor. Four-element full-bridge type strain gages were used for torque measurement of drive axles and optical encoders were used to measure speeds of drive axles and engine. Slip rings were mounted on the rotational axles. Signals from sensors were inputted to data logger that was controlled by microcomputer with parallel communication. Sensors were calibrated before the field tests. Regression equations were found on completion of the calibrations. The field experiment was performed at paddy fields and uplands. Rotary and plow were used when the tractor was operated in the field. Travelling speeds of the tractor were 1.9 km/h, 2.7 km/h, 3.7 km/h, 5.5 km/h, 8.2 km/h, and 11.8 km/h. Operating depths of implements were maintained approximately 20cm during the tests. Torque data of drive axles were different at each location during plow and rotary operations. Results showed that torque of rear axles were greater than those of front axles. Total torque were 6860 - 11064 Nm at the upland and 7360 - 14190 Nm at the paddy field for plow operations. It was found that torque at the paddy field were about 20% greater than those at the upland for plow operations. Torque data showed that rotary operations required less power than plow operation at the paddy field and the upland. Torque measurements at each axle for rotary operations were only 8 - 16% of plow operations in the upland and 15 - 20% in the paddy field.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.359-365
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• 2019

This paper is a basic study for the performance evaluation, durability improvement and optimal design of tractor transmission. The engine torque of the 78 kW agricultural tractor during rotary tillage was measured using CAN communication. It was calculated with equivalent torque and then analyzed. In order to develop a reliable tractor, it is important to convert measured torque in various agricultural operations into equivalent torque and analyze it. The equivalent torque was calculated using Palmgren-Miner's rule, which is a representative cumulative damage law. The equivalent torque of rotary tillage period and steering period are 229.2 and 136.7 Nm, respectively. The maximum and average torque during rotary tillage period are 336.0 and 234.4 Nm, respectively. The maximum and average torque of the steering period are 288.0 and 134.6 Nm, respectively. The engine torque in rotary tillage period is higher than in the steering period because of cultivation of soil through PTO. The maximum and rated torque of engine are 387.0 and 323.0 Nm, respectively, which are 183% and 136% higher than the equivalent torque during rotary tillage and of steering section. Because transmission of agricultural tractor in Korea companies is generally designed by the rated torque of engine, there is a difference from measured torque during agricultural operations. Therefore, it is necessary to consider it for optimal design.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.83-93
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• 2018

Purpose: This study derived the consumed power and load characteristics of a tillage operation performed in an upland field located in Seomyeon, Chuncheon, Rep. Korea, where potatoes and cabbages were cultivated in two crops. Methods: A plow and rotavator were mounted on a tractor with 23.7 kW of rated power to perform the tillage operation. The work conditions were determined, considering the actual working speed of the tillage operation performed by the local farmers. The power consumption of the rear axle, engine, and power take-off (PTO), PTO torque, and tractive force were measured under each work condition. The consumed power and load characteristics were analyzed using their average values. Results: The rotary-tillage operation consumed more engine power than the plow operation for the same tractor-transmission gear condition. The PTO in the rotary-tillage operation and the rear axle in the plow operation consumed the most power. The power consumption of the engine and the PTO for the rotary-tillage operation tended to increase as the transmission gears of the tractor and the PTO became higher. In contrast, the rear-axle power consumption was insignificant. In addition, the PTO torque tended to rise as the tilling pitch increased. For the plow operation, the drawbar power and the rear axle power accounted for 68-90% of the engine power. The engine and rear axle power, drawbar power, and tractive force tended to rise as the working speed increased. Conclusions: The power consumption and load characteristics differed for the plow and rotary-tillage operations. They may also differ depending on the soil conditions. Therefore, the power consumption and load characteristics in various work environments and regions should be analyzed, and reflected in the design of tractors and working implements. The results derived from this study can be used as a reference for such designs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.45-54
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• 2019

In this study, we analyze the rattle noise of a power takeoff (PTO) driveline and develop a PTO driveline resonance model. We measured the rattle noise of the PTO driveline on the output shaft and, by analyzing the rattle noise in the time domain, we determine that the engine expansion stroke period matches the sound pressure of rattle noise. This finding helped us demonstrate that the rattle noise is caused by the collision between the PTO driving gear and the gear driven by the engine expansion stroke; the torsional vibration caused by this collision is affected by the angular velocity fluctuation of the PTO drive shaft. By measuring the angular velocity of the PTO drive shaft, we confirm that the angular velocity fluctuation of the engine flywheel tends to excessively amplify the PTO drive shaft angular velocity fluctuation. We conclude that the resonance, which occurs when the operating frequency of the engine is close to the natural frequency of the tractor power transmission system, causes the excessive angular velocity fluctuation of the PTO drive shaft. We performed a modal analysis of the PTO driveline resonance and, using the characteristic equation, we show that the resonance occurs when the engine rotation speed is close to 850 rpm, which matches the natural frequency of the PTO driveline.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.1147-1158
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to measure the engine torque and rotational speed of a 67 kW class agricultural tractor according to tire type during plow tillage and to analyze the gear strength of the driving shift for the tractor. A field test was performed under the condition with a single tire (Test A) and dual tires (Test B) to increase the ground width of the rear tires. A load monitoring system was developed, and the engine torque and rotational speed were measured using controller area network (CAN) communication. The engine torque and rotational speed during plow tillage were calculated as the equivalent torque and speed using Palmgren Miner's rule. As a result, the equivalent torque and speed in Test A and Test B were 181.0 Nm and 1,913 rpm and 206.1 Nm and 2,130 rpm, respectively. As the ground width of the rear tire was increased, the bending stress in Test B was about 9.9 to 10.5% higher than that of the Test A, and the contact stress was about 4.6 to 4.9% higher than that of the Test A. Under all conditions, the safety factor for the bending and contact stress was 1 or more. Thus, the driving shift gears for the dual tire type are considered safe.