Abstract
Interactions between cage wheel and soil under the wet paddy field condition were analyzed. The cage wheel as a traction aid to driving tires of tractor was attached to the outside of the tires. The driving torque transmitted only to the cage wheel was measured and its effect on the total driving torque by both the tires and cage wheel was analyzed. Mathematical models were developed to predict the soil thrusts y a single lug and by the cage wheel with many lugs, respectively. Experimental results showed that as the diameter of cage wheel increased, positive effects of the cage wheel on the traction also increased. About 33-40% of the total traction force was obtained by the cage wheel with a diameter 1,182mm and 49-55% with a diameter 1,222mm. The peak thrust of the single lug of cage wheel increased by 31% and 59%, respectively when the diameter of the cage wheel increased from 1,182mm to 1,222mm and 1,262mm. The thrust by the cage wheel was estimated by using the developed mathematical models and the results were proved that the models are reliable for the estimation of the traction by the cage wheels.
