SOIL SURFACE PROFILE METER FOR SIMPLE TILLAGE TOOLS

ABSTRACT A meter was developed to discern the profile of the soil surface as the soil was displaced by a simple tool having different rake angles, face widths, travel rates, and extemal friction. The profiles show that the cross-section of the soil above and ahead of the tool was a partially defined quadrilateral. It was largely unaffected by the travel rate and the external friction; whereas, all four variables affected the trajectories of the soil above and behind the tool. Of the four, only the rake angle and the external friction appeared to be causally related to the soil reactions.