article · Agriculture
Response surface methodology was evaluated to predict the tractive performance of an agricultural tractor undertaking semi-deep tillage. Measurements assessed tractor slippage, drawbar power, and traction efficiency across two tillage implements, namely a paraplow and a subsoiler, three operating depths, four forward speeds, and two vertical load conditions across 192 field test points. The results showed that tool type, operating depth, and forward speed significantly influenced tractive performance, whereas vertical load alone did not. Higher speeds and greater operating depths increased wheel slippage and decreased traction efficiency. The response surface modelling effectively visualised these dynamic relationships in three dimensions. Under optimal conditions identified for the paraplow tine at a 30-centimetre depth and a forward speed of 2.07 kilometres per hour, the model predicted 6.75 per cent slippage, 2.23 kilowatts drawbar power, and 82.91 per cent traction efficiency.
Tillage is an energy-intensive agricultural task where poor machinery efficiency wastes fuel and causes excessive soil disruption. Accurately modelling how operating speed, working depth, and implement selection affect tractor performance enables operators to optimise machinery settings, lowering operational costs and improving energy efficiency during field operations.
This work presents an applied, field-tested predictive model that could inform decision-support tools for farm managers, agricultural contractors, and machinery manufacturers seeking to optimise tractor settings for semi-deep tillage. The research is at an applied stage, supported by 192 empirical field data points, but would require packaging into operational guidance software or onboard tractor telemetry to achieve commercial use.
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This study aimed to evaluate the ability of the response surface methodology (RSM) approach to predict the tractive performance of an agricultural tractor during semi-deep tillage operations. The studied parameters of tractor performance, including slippage (S), drawbar power (DP) and traction efficiency (TE), were affected by two different types of tillage tool (paraplow and subsoiler), three different levels of operating depth (30, 40 and 50 cm), and four different levels of forward speed (1.8, 2.3, 2.9 and 3.5 km h−1). Tractors drove a vertical load at two levels (225 kg and no weight) in four replications, forming a total of 192 datapoints. Field test results showed that all variables except vertical load, and different combinations of this and other variables, were effective for the S, DP and TE. Increments in speed and depth resulted in an increase and decrease in S and TE, respectively. Additionally, the RSM approach displayed changes in slippage, drawbar power and traction efficiency, resulting from alterations in tine type, depth, speed and vertical load at 3D views, with high accuracy due to the graph’s surfaces, with many small pixels. The RSM model predicted the slippage as 6.75%, drawbar power as 2.23 kW and traction efficiency as 82.91% at the optimal state for the paraplow tine, with an operating depth of 30 cm, forward speed of 2.07 km h−1 and a vertical load of 0.01 kg.
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DOI: 10.3390/agriculture11111043
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