Determination of the efficiency of a plowing unit with an electro-hydraulic control system of working bodies

Abstract

BACKGROUND: When performing plowing operations with modern tractor units equipped with automatic control systems for hitches, various methods of regulating the depth of soil cultivation are used. The main attention should be paid to compliance with agricultural requirements and fuel consumption reduction. However, there is no integrated numerical criterion for joint assessment of these technological process parameters, helping to justify a reasonable regulation method. AIMS: Development the integral criterion for assessment of the efficiency of plowing unit operation and selection of a reasonable method for adjusting the depth of cultivation for specific soil conditions. METHODS: Mathematical modeling of a plowing unit including the Belarus 1523 tractor with an electro-hydraulic system for controlling the hitch and with the PLN-4-35 four-furrow mounted plow. RESULTS: When using the positional method of adjusting the soil cultivation depth, the total fuel consumption per shift is mp = 28.18 kg with a variation of the cultivation depth Va = 9.99%, when using the power method — mp = 29.74 kg and Va = 5.25%, when using the height method — mp = 29.78 kg and Va = 3.23%, and when using combined methods of adjustment, such as positional-power or height-power, the fuel consumption is mp = 28.94 kg, Va = 5.01% and mp = 29.58 kg, Va = 2.63% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The comparative analysis of the research results shows that, given the force and kinematic disturbances from the soil on the plowing unit, the preferred method of adjusting the soil cultivation depth is the height-force method with a mixing coefficient of α = 0.5. With this method, the value of the integral criterion is respectively 1.4 and 1.2 times lower than with force and height adjustment methods.