Prospects of High-Speed Tillage

Field tests in sandy loam and clay soils were conducted with simple vertical tillage tools up to a speed of 18 ms^-1 (65 km h^-1) to determine the influence of soil types on the high-speed performance of tillage tools and the detailed relationship between draft and speed. A non-linear, dynamic finite element method (FEM) was used to simulate the variation in tool draft witii cutting speed. The prospects of high-speed tillage were discussed on tie basis of these experimental and analytical results.