Research of possibilities for efficient use of wide span tractor (vehicle) for controlled traffic farming

Abstract

In part, the economic effect gained from the introduction of controlled traffic farming can be directly determined by the area of the field lost under the engineering (or traffic) zone of the vehicles involved. With a wide span tractor, as with other vehicles, the area lost under the traffic zone will depend upon how efficiently operations in the field are organised. The purpose of the present investigation is to substantiate the design and other parameters of the wide span tractor from a position of efficient land use in controlled traffic farming. Theoretical studies, synthesis of the construction diagram and parameters of the wide span tractor were carried out using computer simulation of its operation. These studies indicated that planning of the field for controlled traffic farming with the use of a wide span tractor should take into consideration its track width and its field operational parameters. The use of a contemporary design of wide span tractor with a track width more than 7.5 m results in field traffic zone losses of no more than 5 -6 %, which is quite acceptable. Practical use of a wide span tractor for controlled traffic farming needs automatic steering to reduce field traffic zone area losses by a factor of 1.5 times compared with manual steering.