Increasing efficiency of agricultural production by reducing the specific energy consumption of a machine and tractor unit

Abstract

Due to sharp rise in prices for petroleum products, reducing the costs of producing agricultural products is especially relevant at present. It is possible to reduce the average energy intensity of a machine-tractor unit by increasing the annual load and productivity.  One of the ways to solve this problem is to increase the hitch weight coming to the drive wheels of the power vehicle by installing the proposed pressing and unloading mechanism which makes it possible to regulate the load between the axles of the power vehicle. Based on the obtained data, it was found that the redistribution of the hitch weight between the axles of the tractor, due to the installation of the presented device, increases the productivity of the machine-tractor unit during the main working time by 5.2%, and consumption costs are reduced by 15.5% in terms of the volume of work performed. Similar results were obtained during harrowing, continuous tillage and transportation. Time-lapse observations of the operation of a machine-tractor unit with a device installed on it for redistributing the load between tractor axles confirmed a decrease in specific energy consumption compared to a machine-tractor unit without an installed device for redistributing the load between tractor axles during rolling from 153.29 MJ ha to 140.35 MJ ha, with continuous tillage - from 166.68 MJ ha to 161.57 MJ ha. Corresponding reduction in specific energy costs occurred in harrowing and transport operations. Conducted theoretical and experimental studies show that one of the ways to reduce specific energy consumption is to increase the productivity of the machine-tractor unit which is carried out by improving the quality of the traction means of the power vehicle, by redistributing the load on the propelling devices in the tractor running system.