TIRE AND SUPPORT AREA AS A FUNCTION OF VERTICAL LOAD AND TIRE PRESSURE

Abstract

A comprehensive increase in the efficiency of mobile agricultural machinery is impossible without taking into account the level of impact of its movers on the soil, while the most important target is to improve the coupling qualities of tractors and agricultural machines, including by increasing the size of the contact area of the mover with the supporting base. The dimensions of the contact surface at the soil-tire interface will determine the specific pressure of the pneumatic wheeled equipment on the soil, which in turn determines the level of environmental safety of the “mechanized vehicle – environment – crop” system. Agricultural tires, widely used in the Russian Federation, were chosen as objects of research, in total 22 options. The studies were carried out at vertical load levels from 10 to 60 kN and tire pressure from 50 to 500 kPa. As a result of the research, the authors proposed a method for determining the contour area of the contact of modern wheel propellers, with a change in external (wheel axle load) and internal (in-tire pressure) factors. The level of adequacy of the mathematical model, calculated by the Nash–Sutcliff modeling efficiency criterion, was 0.991. Simplicity and sufficient accuracy for engineering calculations make it quite suitable for practical use.