Optimum design of a Tractor hydraulics system by innovative material development and Correlation with physical testing 2023-01-0877

The tractor usage is growing in the world due to derivative of rural economy and farming process. It needed wide range of implements based on the applications of the customer. The tractor plays a major role in Agricultural and Construction applications. In a tractor, hydraulic system is act as a heart of the vehicle which controls the draft and position of the implement. Hydraulic system consists of Powertrain assembly, 3-point linkage and DC sensing assembly. The design of hydraulic powertrain assembly is challenging because the loads acting on the system varies based on the type of implement, type of crop, stage of farming and soil conditions etc., Hydraulic powertrain assembly is designed based on standards like IS 12207-2019 which regulates the test methods for the system based on the lift capacity of the tractor. In this paper, virtual simulation has been established to optimize the design and perform the test correlation. Now a days finite element analysis is more powerful to predict the durability of the components. Based on the Real-World Usage Pattern (RWUP), Lab and Track conditions. Multi Body Dynamic (MBD) analysis was performed to predicts the loads acting on the hydraulic system. Structural analysis was performed to predict the durability of the components. Based on the initial level of analysis, light weight tractors are performing better in multiple applications. Ferrous casting is one of the major materials are being used in tractor industries for many decades for housings and load bearing members. So based on the initial study, design optimization is done to reduce the mass considering the current manufacturing process and design requirements. Innovative material developed for a hydraulic powertrain component to meet the various load cases considered. Multiple trails were conducted to achieve the consistent mechanical and metallurgical properties considering the current casting practices and infrastructure available in India. Part with new material undergone all the validation cycles and there was no failure observed during physical testing. Correlation study was done to validate this process and achieved 93.8% & 94.7% of strain correlation. Further to correlate the hot spot locations, overload Testing was conducted till failure and failure trend matched with CAE analysis