The effects of design on the draught of undercutter-sweep tillage tools

Abstract The objective of this investigation was to study the influence of design parameters of tillage undercutter-sweeps on draught. Twenty-nine model tools were designed, fabricated and tested experimentally. The five factors under study were slide angle, nose angle, lift height, tool velocity and soil depth. The resulting data were analysed statistically to determine the influence of single and interacting factors on draught. The results show that nose angle and soil depth have significant effects on draught. At depths greater than 30 mm, there were poor correlations between design factors and draught.