Effect of Operating Conditions of an Agricultural Tractor on Fuel Consumption (Part 3)

——Puddling and Mole Drainage Tests——

Abstract

We investigated the effect of operating conditions such as traveling speed gears, Power Take-Off (PTO) gears and engine speed of a 24kW agricultural tractor on fuel consumption in puddling and mole drainage with a constant blade pitch of a puddling harrow and with a constant vibrating frequency of a vibrating subsoiler. Fuel consumption was reduced by shifting to a higher traveling speed gear and PTO gear and by lowering engine speed. At constant traveling speed, the reduction rates when compared with fuel consumption at full throttle are 25 to 40% for puddling (traveling at 0.5m/s) with PTO power at 20% of maximum PTO output and 30 to 40% for mole drainage (traveling at 0.5m/s) with working power at 15 to 20% of maximum PTO output.