MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION OF THE VERTICAL STRESS DISTRIBUTION AT SOIL-TIRE INTERFACE IN CULTIVATED SOIL UNDER STATIC CONDITIONS

Abstract.

One of the important considerations of soil-wheel interaction research is stress distribution due to the wheel at the soil-tire interface and within cultivated soil mass. It influences trafficability, ride performance, and tractive performance. In this study, a group of pressure sensors were used to measure stress distribution at the soil-tire interface and within the soil mass at different axle loads, and inflation pressure values under static conditions. to (1) measure the vertical stress under different levels of the tire inflation pressures and the wheel loads, and determine the influence of these two parameters on the vertical stress on the topsoil; (2) develop empirical relationships between the mean stress from the depth within the soil mass, the tire inflation pressure, the wheel load, and the distance from the centerline of the wheel to the sensors using multiple linear regression; (3) based on the equation we developed, analyze the effect of tire inflation pressure and wheel load on mean vertical stress which can contribute to the exploration of the compaction. The results indicated that: (1) when tire inflation pressure decreased, the curve became smooth and the peak value of stress moved to the point near the edge of the wheel gradually, yet on the other hand, when the tire inflation pressure was not that low, the peak stress value occurred in the center; (2) the mean vertical stress was influenced by all four factors investigated in this (study-inflation pressure, wheel load, depth within the soil mass, and distance from the centerline of the tire); (3) to reduce compaction, the tire inflation pressure and wheel load should be reduced so that the contact area can be increased and the tire inflation pressure has a larger influence on the compaction than the wheel load.