Munehiro Takai

Theoretical analysis of a wheel driven root crop harvester

Abstract A prototype of a wheel driven trailer was developed to simulate a wheel driven trailed root crop harvester. The mobility of the prototype tractor-trailer system was improved by driving the trailer wheels by a mounted engine. A mathematical model to predict the mobility and the stability of the system was developed. The model was validated by field experiments conducted in plowed, rotary tilled and untilled fields. The model was found to predict performance with a high accuracy. Parameter studies were conducted to investigate the effects of several design parameters, such as the peripheral velocity ratio (Rs), the weight of the trailer (m1), the trailers C.G. location (LL) and the height of a hitch point (h), on the mobility and the stability of the system.