Impact of soil moisture on wear intensity of the actuating elements of soil processing machines

The aim of the study consisted in the determination of the impact of soil moisture on wear intensity of bipod and tined actuating elements of soil processing machines made of different materials. We conducted the operation study according to the current regulatory documents on three types of soil processing machines: cultivators, plows, and common disk assemblies. Movement speed varied between 10...13 km/h for plows, and between 11...15 km/h for disk assemblies. During operation, we observed the change of linear dimensions and weight of the actuating elements of soil processing machines. Determination of the change of weight and linear dimensions was done after 10 ha of running time per one arrowheaded tine, 30 ha of running time per one disk, and 5 ha of running time per one trail. As a result of the studies, we have determined that the increase of soil moisture in sandy loam and clay loam soils leads to the increased wear intensity of the actuating elements of soil processing machines. Obtained mathematical dependencies allow determining the value of moisture where the most intensive abrasive wear of actuating elements takes place, after which the wear intensity decreases. Depending on the type of actuating elements, the moisture of sandy loam soils where the process of abrasive wear is the most intensive is 8...12 %, and for clay loam soils this figure is 9...13 %. The study of the impact of soil moisture on wear intensity of the actuating elements in clay soils was conducted at the moisture before and after the extremum of function, therefore the value of moisture where the most intensive wear takes place was determined experimentally. Consequently, when working in clay loam soils, the wear process for the actuating elements of the soil processing machine is the most intensive at the moisture of 13...16 %. The material of the actuating element of the soil processing machine does not influence the overall tendency of the impact of soil moisture on wear intensity