The Random Vibrations of the Active Body of the Cultivators

Abstract

The article continues the exposition of the results obtained in researching an agricultural machine for processing soil, designed for research with applications including exploitation. The MCLS (complex machine for soil tillage) was designed to research the working processes of the instruments intended for soil processing. The MCLS cultivator is a modulated machine (it can work for three working widths: 1, 2, and 4 m, with tractors of different powers) that is designed to use a wide range of working bodies. The experimental data obtained with the structure with a working width of 1 m and the results of their processing within the framework of the theory of random vibrations are presented in this article. The experimental results are analysed as random vibrations of the supports of the active working bodies. As a result, the main characteristics of random vibrations are exposed: the distribution function, the average value, the autocorrelation, and the frequency spectrum. These general results regarding random vibrations are used for several critical applications in the design, execution, and exploitation of some subassemblies and assemblies of agricultural machines of this type. The main applications include estimating the probability of the occurrence of dangerous load peaks, counting and selecting the load peaks that produce fatigue accumulation in the material of the supports of the working bodies, identifying some design deficiencies or defects in the work regime, and estimating the effects of vibrations on the quality of soil processing. All of the outcomes are composed of applications in MCLS research and exploitation. The applications pursue well-known objectives of modelling the working processes of agricultural machines: safety at work, increasing the quality of work, optimising energy consumption, and increasing productivity, all in a broad context to obtain a compromise situation. The material and the method are based on experimental data acquisition, processing, and interpretation.

Superior Inferential Statistics of the Experimental Data of a Complex Experimental Cultivator

“…The results presented in this article are the last of the series of those presented by Cardei and collaborators (Cardei et al, 2023a;Cardei et al, 2023b;Cardei et al, 2023c) regarding the numerical data obtained in the field with a complex structure of experimental cultivator MCLS.…”

“…The working material of the research whose results are presented in this article is made up of the strain gauge measurement recordings made in experiments carried out in 2022, presented in detail in Cardei et al (2023a and2023b).…”

“…The physical structure whose characteristics were analysed in the research described in this article and in the related precedents (Cardei et al, 2023a(Cardei et al, , 2023b(Cardei et al, , 2023c) is a working variant of a cultivator, equipped with working bodies whose supports allow vibrations of an appreciable amplitude of assemblies formed by bodies and supports. Moreover, the vibrations are transmitted to the supporting structure, leading to errors in the working depth.…”

“…The dependence of some parameters of the dynamics of agricultural aggregates on the forward speed has been studied for many decades, with various solutions appearing in many publications (Letosnev, 1959;Moenifa et al, 2014;Cardei et al, 2019;Cardei et al, 2020;Ranjbar et al, 2013;Naderloo et al, 2009;ASAE, 2003 andMcKyes, 1985;Owen 1989;Larson, 1964;Fechete-Tutunaru et al, 2019;Cardei et al, 2023b;Damanauskas, Janulevicius, 2022;Dizaji, 2022;Karmarkar, Gilke, 2021;Askari et al, 2017;Al-Suhaibani, Ghaly, 2010;Elsheika et al, 2021;Deshpande, Shirwal, 2017;Saleh et al, 2021;Rashidi et al, 2013), for example. In general, the draft force depending on the main parameters that define the soil, the geometry of the working bodies, the mass of the machine, the forward speed, the working depth, and the working width was studied and modelled.…”

Considerations Regarding the Effects of Shocks and Vibrations on Operators of Self-Propelled Agricultural Equipment

“…In addition to concerns for increasing the functional performance of agricultural machines, the designers and manufacturers of agricultural machines constantly make substantial efforts to limit the exposure of agricultural operators to vibrations (Singh et al, 2022;Vlăduţ et al, 2013;Sorică et al, 2017). They are constantly looking for solutions to improve the comfort of the tractor operator, by designing and implementing ergonomic solutions such as active seats, front suspensions or cab suspension systems (Cutini et al, 2017;Cârdei et al, 2023;Vlăduţ et al, 2014).…”