Evaluation Heavy Duty Tractor Performance Using CAN/Bus Technology

Tractors in Italy are still primarily utilized for tillage operations, which represents one of the most important factors in the budget of arable farms. In this study CAN/Bus interface was used for measuring and recording tractor fuel consumption of 220 HP heavy duty tractor. Tests were carried out during ripper plow operations, investigating the effect of plow depth on tractor fuel consumption. Results showed that the tractor with heavy ripper plow attached and operating at depths of 70, 150, 200, 300, 400 mm consumes respectively 15.040, 18.420, 26.550, 30.600, 30.800 L/h. Increasing the plow depth from 70 to 400 mm lead to fuel consumption increasing by 50%.The average fuel consumption is 30 L/h in the common plows depth of 300 and 400 mm which is close to results reported from other authors in previous investigations. Instantaneous fuel consumption during operation of ripper plow at five depths shows increase of instantaneous fuel consumption when working depth increases. During the field tests variations in timeconsumption diagram was observed, because of other factors, such as draft force variations and slippage, affecting fuel consumption during operations.