Field studies of the supporting performance of an experimental vehicle on dry bulk sand

Introduction. Self-propelled machinery plays an important role in agriculture, in particular crop production. Each stage of the technological cycle for cultivating agricultural crops is associated with the operation of general-purpose (tractor, transport vehicles) and special-purpose equipment, which in field conditions move across agricultural lands and dirt roads of various conditions. The ability of equipment to operate in field conditions is determined by the bearing capacity of the supporting surface and the terrain, and their greatest impact affects the operation of transport equipment, the main mission of which is the timely and high-quality transportation of agricultural goods. One of the important conditions for the movement of transport equipment during field work is the condition of dirt roads and their bearing capacity. One of the most difficult bases for the supporting surface for the movement of automobile cargo vehicles is dry bulk sand, when moving along which, significant slipping of the loaded vehicle occurs or it gets completely stuck and further movement without external force becomes impossible. In turn, the use of additional units of equipment to pull out a stuck vehicle entails temporary losses, which reduces the quality of the transported cargo, as well as disrupts logistics chains and generally reduces the efficiency of the enterprise.
One of the possible directions for solving this problem is the development and use of motor vehicles with a combined mode of movement – rolling and walking, which allows, when driving on dirt roads with sufficient load-bearing capacity, to move by rolling, and in areas where it is not enough to switch to an alternative mode – walking functionally providing self-pulling. For the study, an experimental vehicle was designed and technically implemented with the ability to choose a method of movement – rolling or stepping.

Object. The object of the study is the support patency of an experimental vehicle on dry bulk sand.

Materials and methods. The reference cross-country ability of an experimental vehicle on dry bulk sand was determined in the field by studying parameters – the amount of current consumed by the engines, the distance traveled, the depth of the rut, the degree of soil compaction. The parameters of the supporting cross-country ability on dry bulk sand were determined and a comparative analysis was made without using the originality of the technical solutions included in the design of the experimental vehicle, and with their use.

Results and conclusions. An analysis of the results of field tests of an experimental vehicle on a base of dry bulk sand showed that: the maximum load during rolling movement is less than 350 N, after which complete slipping occurs and the vehicle gets stuck, in contrast to walking movement, which provides translational movement and is performed up to a load of 500 N, the limitation of which is determined only by the strength indicators of structural assemblies; the peak current consumption of the propulsion motors at a load of 350 N is 0.132 A, while when moving by walking and a load of 500 N it is 0.130 A; the maximum rut depth when moving by rolling and a load of 350 N is 2.2 times higher than when moving by walking, and when moving by a load of 500 N it is 0.7 cm less when moving by walking compared to a rolling movement and a load of 350 N; with increasing load, the degree of soil compaction increases and at a load of 350 N it is 1.029 when moving by rolling, and when moving by walking – 1.003. In turn, with a load of 500 N and movement by walking, the degree of soil is 1.015, which is 1.14% less than with a load of 350 N and the method of rolling movement.

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