Detection of Target Reference Points of a Hand Tractor Based on Transfer Path Analysis Technique

Abstract

In this study, transfer path analysis (TPA) technique was employed to estimate the best reference points to the response point of a hand tractor. Six locations of the hand tractor, specifically, engine-right-side front, engine-right-side rear, engine-cover top, chassis, gearbox, and middle between handle-base and handgrip were considered as reference points; whereas, handgrip was regarded as a response point. For TPA analysis, the power spectrum densities of the seven locations were populated into a 3rd-order tensor. To improve the accuracy of response point vibration estimation, two reference points were selected for TPA analysis. Finally, the best contribution was determined using the root mean square error (RMSE) methods. Result indicated that chassis-gearbox combination are the best target points for the response point.