A study on the effect of electronic engine speed regulator on agricultural tractor ride vibration behavior

In this study, the effect of electronic speed adjustment on tractor ride vibration levels is examined. With normal pedal operation the engine rotational speed drops with an increasing load. The electronic regulator provides a constant speed mode of operation independent of the load. Vibration levels were measured under different operating conditions and surfaces. As a first series of tests, the tractor was driven on a conglomerate bituminous track at speeds of 20, 25 and 28 km/h. Vibration was measured upon the surface of the operator seat simultaneously in the x, y and z directions. The reference axis system was that defined by the ISO 2631-1 [1]. The weighted r.m.s. acceleration was found to be between 8% and 8.6% higher for the case where operation with electronic speed adjustment had been selected. Secondly, cultivating was chosen as the field task and the vibration was measured while the tractor was traversing a rough farm track at speeds of 6, 7.5 and 9 km/h. In this case, the vibration levels with automatic speed adjustment were between 4.3% and 8.6% lower than when driving with normal foot pedal operation. From the above results, we may infer that electronic speed regulation should not be used in transportation on asphalt country roads. On the contrary, it seems that electronic regulation has an advantage when used in typical field tasks such as cultivating. (C) 2010 ISTVS. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.