A Track Type Oil Palm Fresh Fruit Bunch In-Field Transporter for Low Bearing Capacity Peat Terrain

Year 2011, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 7 - 12, 01.02.2011

Mohammad Hadi Ghassemı Azmi Yahya Ataur Rahman

Abstract

A
tracked type vehicle with 1800
mm X 350
mm size metal reinforced rubber tracks and 550 kg capacity rear tipping
fruit bin has been successfully designed, developed, and evaluated to solve the
problems of in-field transportation of oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB) on
low bearing capacity peat terrain in Malaysia. This 2-men operation machine
system consists of an operator who drives the vehicle and a worker who loads
the cut oil palm FBB into the fruit bin of the vehicle at every picking point
in the field. The machine is
equipped with a 37.7 kW @ 3600 rpm 4TNE84 Yanmar diesel engine coupled
in-tandem with two units of 50 cm³/rev @ 350 bar SAMHYDRAULIK
variable displacement HCV 50 Series axial piston main pumps where each pump is
used to run a 565 cm³/rev @ 250 bar SAi GM2 600 series high torque
hydraulic motor to provide the rear sprocket torque for the rubber track. The
required engine size was estimated based on the mathematical models for the
vehicle straight and turning motions on intermediate condition of peat terrain
with bearing capacity of 19.50 kN/m².  Field performances of the vehicle under the
engine speed of 1500 to 2500 rpm and total vehicle mass of 1950 to 2650 kg resulted with
traveling speed ranging from 8.28 to 11.85 km/hr and 6.43 to 10.42 km/hr on asphalt
and tilled soil, respectively. The vehicle average
sinkage on low bearing capacity peat terrain at vehicle total mass of 2500 kg was found to be 104.2 mm which is 13.04% lower
than the critical sinkage of 120
mm for the low bearing capacity peat terrain. The average
sinkages under vehicle total mass from 1950 to 2650 kg ranges from 71.73
to 108.1 mm
on tilled soil and 81.13 mm
to 130.08 mm
on low bearing capacity peat terrain. The average sinkages of the right track
is greater than that of left track by 20.52% during left turning while the
average sinkages of the left track is greater than that of right track by
15.98% during right turning.

Keywords

Peat soil, low bearing capacity terrain, track transporter

References

• Dolmat, M. T., 2005. Technologies for Planting Oil Palm on Peat. Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Bangi, Selangor D.E., Malaysia.
• MacFarlane, I. C., 1969. Muskeg Engineering Handbook. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Malaysia.
• Pinches, M. J., and J. G. Ashby, 1989. Power Hydraulics. Prentice Hall International Ltd, Sheffield, UK.
• Rahman, A., A. Yahya, M. Z. Bardaie, D. Ahmad and W. I. W. Ishakl, 2005. Design and Development of a Segmented Rubber Tracked Vehicle for Sepang Peat Terrain in Malaysia. International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems 12(3), 239-267.
• Rahman, A., A. Yahya, M. Z. Bardaie, D. Ahmad, W. I. W. Ismail and A. F. Kheiralla, 2004. Mechanical Properties in Relation to Vehicle Mobility of Sepang Peat Terrain in Malaysia. Journal of Terramechanics 41(2004), 25-40.