Instrumentation to measure FWDA tractor performance

by Pang, Tingfan

An instrumentation system was developed on a 63.4 KW FWDA (Front Wheel Drive Assist) KUBOTA M8 950DT tractor to measure tractor horizontal and vertical drawbar pull forces, rotational wheel speeds, true ground speed and fuel consumption. Three bi-directional strain gaged clevis pins were used as an integrally mounted three point hitch dynamometer. An on-board MEGADAC data acquisition system was employed for monitoring and recording tractor performance parameters. This system was interfaced with an IBM microcomputer via RS-232-C for data analysis. Procedures for development are reported along with results from field tests.