Actuating force for transmission controls in small farm tractor considering driver’s comfort

NRUSINGH CHARAN PRADHAN; PRAMOD KUMAR SAHOO; DILIP KUMAR KUSHWAHA; INDRA MANI; MOHIT KUMAR

doi:10.56093/ijas.v92i7.113598

Authors

NRUSINGH CHARAN PRADHAN ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India
PRAMOD KUMAR SAHOO ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India
DILIP KUMAR KUSHWAHA ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India
INDRA MANI ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India
MOHIT KUMAR ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India

https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v92i7.113598

Keywords:

Low hp tractor, Tractor workspace, Force measurement, Controls

Abstract

Tractor drivers are exposed to a lot of physical and mental stress during field operations. In small tractor, less
space is available in workspace for tractor driver. Therefore, proper design of controls in workspace of small tractor
is imperative. A study was carried out at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute during 2021 to compare the
workspace configuration of small tractor with Indian Standard IS 12343:1998 and measure force requirements of
selected transmission controls. Most of the frequently used controls in the workspace of the selected tractor are
located at a range less than recommendations of the Indian Standard IS 12343:1998. Force measurements of selected transmission controls were performed in a field of size 30 × 15 m2. Tractor was attached with three implements (i.e. rotary tiller, cultivator and planter) and operated by three different operators. It was observed that mean force requirement of brake and clutch pedals were high for small tractors due to difficulty in operator’s sitting. However, the force requirements of accelerator, driving shift and range shift gear lever were close to the recommended values. The frequency of use of controls was also estimated to determine number of times tractor driver applied certain control in a defined area. The driving shift gear lever and range shift gear lever were observed as the most and least frequently used controls respectively in the tractor workspace during field operations. The measured forces will be used to design the automatic system for selected controls in small tractor.

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Author Biographies

NRUSINGH CHARAN PRADHAN, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India

Ph.D Scholar, IARI
PRAMOD KUMAR SAHOO, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India

Principal Scientist
DILIP KUMAR KUSHWAHA, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India

Scientist
INDRA MANI, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India

Principal Scientist
MOHIT KUMAR, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India

Ph.D. Scholar

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