Agricultural Tractor Cabin Safety Analysis and Test Correlation

Abstract

Tractors are important vehicles for agricultural fields and they are widely used. Even if they do not be in the traffic due to their intended use, safety of the driver is important if the tractor is rollover. In tractor, the impact energy is provided by cabin or protective profile structure during rollover. Safety test conditions have been established by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by determining the loads that may occur in case of rollover. According to the standard which developed by OECD, the effects of the energy to be generated during rollover or impact on the structure are examined by performing tests under the specified loads. In this study, static loading test of tractor cabins is simulated by finite element method according to the ISO 3471 standart. Tractor cabin finite element models have been prepared with HyperMesh and HyperCrash software. Nonlinear explicit analysis of the model was performed under the loads applied during the test. . The analysis were carried out using RADIOSS software, based on the operating principle of the load carrying mechanism in order to simulate the test loads. The finite element model is limited to the frame connection points and the deformations are examined for three loading conditions. According to the results which are obtained from the test, the finite element analysis of the designed cabin was also validated.