Application of traction balance analysis to increase operating efficiency of road-building machines

Abstract

Operation of road-building machines is attributed to accelerations, especially in case of speeding-up or taking-off. Established accelerations in machine assemblies and interfaces, as well as in their units, cause additional dynamic loads that increase parts wear and decrease their service life. Acceleration is facilitated by vibration that increases deformation of parts and assemblies, which infringes specified settings and disturbs the process flow, making it unstable. Besides, the engine power utilization factor and machine capacity decrease, fuel consumption increases, which eventually affects economic parameters. It has been demonstrated in practice that optimum conditions of road-building equipment operation, in terms of occurring accelerations and vibrations, take place when unit driving force and the sum of motion resistance forces are approximately equal. Analysis of the traction balance curve of a machine under review, as related to adherence parameters, reveals areas that can be used to determine the maximum traction that can be generated by this machine under particular operating conditions. For instance, in case of low adherence values, a machine is unable to take off and the wheels will be slipping, until the balance point is reached. Further, as the balance point is exceeded, the machine can overcome motion resistance, unless it exceeds the difference between the maximum driving force and the sum of resistance forces, i.e. in case of normal operation. In case of operation within the high adhesion area, a machine engine can stall. Traction balance analysis results of a particular machine can be used to anticipate reasonable conditions and efficiency of road-building machines operation.