Which Is Better, Wheeled Tractor Or Tracked Tractor?
Although wheeled tractors are currently more popular among domestic users, the use of crawler tractors has been on the rise in recent years due to their unique advantages. Despite their increasing strangeness, crawler tractors have become more essential in farm operations because of the benefits they offer over their wheeled counterparts. In comparison, the various advantages that make crawler tractors a preferred option over wheeled tractors are becoming more apparent.
When comparing crawler tractors to wheeled tractors, it's evident that crawler tractors have superior adhesion and traction. In fact, with the same weight, crawler tractors have the potential to produce 1.4-1.8 times the traction force of wheeled tractors. This has been proven through actual testing, where the 140 hp C1402 crawler tractor was 1.3 times more powerful than the 180 hp 1804 wheel trailer, despite the latter being 400 kg heavier than the former.
The efficiency of traction for wheeled tractors is generally lower than that of crawler tractors. According to theoretical calculations, the traction efficiency for wheel tractors is around 55-65%, while the crawler tractor can achieve 70-80%. This means that the effective power of the engine for a wheel tractor is lost by 15% more than that of the crawler tractor, even when they have the same horsepower. Testing has shown that when comparing the traction performance of crawler and four-wheel drive wheeled tractors on hard ground and cultivated land, the crawler tractor has a traction efficiency that is about 10-20% higher. In simple terms, a crawler tractor with 85 or 90 horsepower can be used as a wheel tractor with more than 100 horsepower.
Soil structure is greatly influenced by the specific pressure, adhesion, and overall grounding that it experiences. The pressure that is applied to soil can cause it to compact and become denser, while adhesion plays a key role in the strength and stability of the soil. In addition, the influence that the surrounding environment has on the soil can also impact its structure. Overall, it is important to understand these factors in order to better manage and maintain healthy soil.
Tracked tractors are a better option than wheeled tractors. This is because they have a lower specific pressure to ground, which enables them to have better tire adhesion and reduced slip rate. In contrast, wheeled tractors have a much larger grounding specific pressure, resulting in poor traction and a higher slip rate. For instance, a 95.6 kW Dongfanghong C1302 crawler tractor has a specific pressure to ground of 47.7kPa, while a wheeled tractor in the same horsepower section has a specific pressure of around 104kPa, which is twice as much as the crawler tractor.
Tests have shown that a high-power wheeled tractor operating with five-plough has a slip rate of 10-20%, and sometimes it reaches 25%, especially in moist soil conditions with a firmness of 0.3MPa and a speed of about 7.2km/h. Therefore, tracked tractors are the better option for farmers, especially when dealing with moist soils, as they offer better traction and reduced slip rates compared to wheeled tractors.
The wheeled tractor exerts significant pressure on the ground, resulting in the rear wheel always moving in the furrow while ploughing. This motion produces a shearing effect on the soil, which damages the soil structure in the tillage layer. With continuous use of the tractor for cultivation over a few years, a hard bottom layer can form beneath the soil layer, which affects crop growth and soil water storage. Even after raking, the soil may still have small compact and hard lumps, resulting in the destruction of the microstructure of the soil. In the central and northwest regions of Henan, farming surveys revealed that the deep furrow created by the rear wheel during sowing operations could lead to uneven seed sowing depth and soil coverage, negatively impacting sowing quality and causing issues for subsequent watering operations.
According to experiments conducted, it was observed that the rate of seedling emergence on cultivated land after being compacted by a wheel is only around 30-40%. However, when the same land was crawled over and compacted, the emergence rate went up to 80-90%. This is mainly because the ratio of grounding when using a crawler is comparatively low, resulting in lesser soil compaction when compared to a wheel tractor. Additionally, the deep ploughing effect of a crawler is highly effective, making it an ideal choice for low, wetland operations. It is worth noting that some large-scale farms have strictly prohibited the use of wheel tractors when the moisture content is above 50mm due to their lesser effectiveness in such circumstances.
