Evaluation of a Single Wheel Testing Device with Mechanical Transmission

Single Wheel Testing Device was projected, built, instrumented, and evaluated usinga mechanical transmission of a tractor, linked to a power take off of an auxiliary tractor. Thedevice was mounted using half of a standard tractor differential and transmission gear totalizing24 forward speed options. The Device was equipped with several sensors (torque, rotation,force, fuel consumption) hooked up to a data logger, permitting to determine wheel performanceparameters, net and gross traction coefficient, and tractive efficiency. Tests were realized indifferent soil surfaces and tire conditions, varying the forward speed and slip up to 14 km/h and34%, respectively, The results of a comparative research using radial and bias ply tires underdifferent tire pressures and loads showed the best performance for radial ply tires.