DESIGN AND TESTING OF HYDRAULIC DRIVE SYSTEM FOR CRAWLER-TYPE TIGER-NUT HARVESTER

Tiger-nut is widely cultivated in sandy soils across China, and the mechanization level for harvesting remains low. Harvesters are mainly medium- and small-sized tractor-drawn models, which exhibit weak driving capability, a large turning radius, and poor stability. This paper presents the design of a crawler-type tiger-nut harvester hydraulic-driven travel system, with the required hydraulic motor displacement of 44.65 mL∙r-1 and hydraulic pump displacement of 44.58 mL∙r-1. Experimental results from the harvester showed that the harvester’s linear travel deviation rate ranged from 1.19% to 2.10%, with an average travel speed of 1.08 m∙s-1 and the average value of radius for forward left turn and forward right turn is 2740 mm and 2748 mm. The harvester can achieve bidirectional stepless speed regulation in the field, ensuring stable harvesting performance and meeting the design requirements for the tiger-nut harvester.