Study of the mechanism of rut formation during wheel movement in the soil

Abstract

Intensification of soil cultivation with the extensive use of agricultural machinery and multiple passes of machinery leads to soil over-compaction and degradation in conditions for growing agricultural crops. Wheeled machinery is the most widely used in modern agriculture. This study examines the stress state of the soil and the mechanism of rut formation during wheel movement in soil. For experimental studies, it is appropriate to represent the soil as a continuous deformable medium with properties of elasticity, viscosity, and plasticity. The research utilized the finite element method, employing the FEMAP with NX NASTRAN software complex, as well as the photoelasticity method with the PPU-7 polarization-projection unit. ED-6 epoxy resin hardened with methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride was used as an optically sensitive material. It was established that when the wheel moves in the soil, the soil flow that runs into the wheel is divided into two parts. In the upper part, where tangential stresses predominate, the soil shifts and accumulates in front of the wheel in the form of a growth as a result of the bulldozer effect. Below this level, where normal stresses prevail, soil densification occurs, meaning that a certain compacted core is formed, and its particles gradually shift under the wheel.

Keywords

• wheel
• soil
• stressed-deformed state
• track