Load and Safety Analysis for Plow Operation in Dry Fields

초록

This study derives load characteristics and analyzes the safety of plowshares operating in dry fields. We mounted a three-blade, reversible plow on a 23.7 kW tractor and measured the plow’s tractive force as well as the torque from the engine output shaft on the rear axle under various working speeds (L4, M1, M2, M3). We chose a Korean test site of Seomyeon, Chuncheon with sandy soil texture, as determined using the USDA method. We constructed the load spectrum for torque and tractive force using measured data and derived the fatigue life of the plowshare from a stress-cycle (S-N) curve of the plow material. Our results show that the M3 gear maximizes the driving shaft torque loads and, applying the tractive force load spectrum, creates a cumulative damage sum of 4.14x10-5. Considering sampling time, we estimate a fatigue life of 805 hours while using the M3 gear. When using the other working speeds, however, all of the stress levels fell within the endurance limits and, therefore, our model predicts infinite plowshare lifetimes. For this analysis, we used a yield strength of 1,079 MPa for the plowshare and static safety factors, analyzed using the maximum stress, between 6.83 and 8.63 under each working speed.

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