Computer simulations to maximise fuel efficiency and work performance of agricultural tractors in rotovating and ploughing operations

•A tractor model was proposed to simulate its fuel efficiency in tillage operations.•The best strategy for fuel efficiency was proposed by a linear model.•The models predicted different control strategies for different tillage operations.•Best strategies increased fuel efficiency by 28.6–81.3% over the worst strategies.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of five control variables of a tractor: ballast, tyre inflation pressure, transmission gear, engine speed, and work load on three fuel efficiency parameters: fuel consumption per work hour (FC), fuel consumption per tilled area (FCA) and specific volumetric fuel consumption (SVFC). This was done for moldboard ploughing and rotovating operations by computer simulation. A tractor model was constructed with four sub-models: engine and power train, fuel consumption, tractive performance, and draught and power requirement. The simulated fuel efficiency values were in a range of 3.3–6.5% error in average when compared with those obtained from field experiments carried out in a paddy field under the same operational conditions. Based on these results, the tractor model was considered acceptable for simulations to find a general relationship between the fuel efficiency parameters and the control variables.Using the tractor model, 162 simulations were performed under the various combinations of the control variables on the basis of a full factorial design. The simulation results were used to develop linear regression models from which strategies can be established to maximise fuel efficiency. The best strategy reduced FC, FCA, and SVFC by 81.3, 61.1, and 52% under ploughing, and by 58.9, 75.7 and 28.6% under rotovating operations, respectively, when compared with those for the worst strategy.