Integrated soil tillage force prediction models

This paper describes the integration of a series of models to predict the forces acting on a range of tillage tools from simple plane tines to mouldboard ploughs. The results show that the horizontal (or draught) and vertical forces can be predicted with average errors of -3% and +33%, with the majority of the predicted values within +/- 20% and +/- 50% of the measured values respectively. The models adequately reflect the changes in soil strength and implement geometry. All of the predicted values given have been estimated using a spread-sheet based model which is freely available. (c) 2006 ISTVS. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.