Traction and braking force on three surfaces of agricultural tire lug

The objective of this research was to improve the performance of an agricultural tire by designing the shape of the tire lug. For the first stage of this research, pressure sensors were mounted in the leading lug side and the trailing lug side and tri-axial force transducers were mounted in the lug face of a small agricultural drive tire to find out the function of each lug surface. Traction forces were measured on the lug face and the leading side at 20.0% slippage and on the lug face at 10% slippage, as would be typical when a tractor is used for plowing. Braking forces were measured on the lug face and the trailing side at −10.0% slippage, as would be typical when a tractor is used for rotary tilling. The results of three tire inflation pressure conditions (39.2 kPa, 78.5 kPa and 118 kPa) also show the similar tendency to produce traction and braking forces on three surfaces of an agriculture tire lug. Relationships between forces on the lug surfaces and the soil reaction were determined.