Paper Contents
Abstract
Straight shank subsoiler (SSS) instrumented subsoilers was developed for alleviation of compaction on agricultural land. Draughts and soil disturbance of the subsoilers were measured during operation in as sandy clay loam soil. The SSS was designed and constructed for use by the tool carrier in loosening soil hard pan. Shanks from the machine were hitched to the tool bar of the carrier. A 100 kN calibrated load cell was connected to the tool carrier via the drawbar of a 36 kW, 4-wheel drive new Holland tractor and operated at three different speeds; 1.1, 1.6 and 2.5 Kmh. The load cell was connected to the data logger via instrumentation amplifier. Laptop computer system was connected to the data logger to download the draught data for each shank which was operated at four levels of depth; 9, 18, 27, 36 and 45 cm. Results showed that the penetration resistance reduced after the soil loosening. The trend of draught measurement during field operation showed that the draught force increases with soil depth for the operating speed at 1.1 and 1.6 Kmh, while there was reduction with soil depth at 2.5 Kmh. This result showed that the use of Straight shank subsoiler (SSS) is dependent on the operating speed of the tractor.
Copyright
Copyright © 2023 Abisuwa, T. A.. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.
