Electric Charge On Tillage Tools Cuts Pulling Resistance

Electric Charge On Tillage Tools Cuts Pulling Resistance TILLAGE EUIPMENT Miscellaneous 18-3-39 Instead of buying a larger tractor to pull ever-bigger cultivators and chisels through the field, you can give the shanks an electrical charge to lower pulling resistance and then use a smaller tractor, says University of Arizona ag engineer Dennis Larson. He's been able to reduce draft by up to 39 percent by applying 40 volts to tillage shanks. The idea works best in moist, loam soil. Applying a small electrical current to the surface of tool shanks reduces drag because the charge pulls soil moisture across the tool. The film of water lubricates the metal and allows it to slice more freely through the soil. So far the idea hasn't been tested in the field. Larson rigged up a bin and dragged a specially mounted cultivator shovel through it. Two coulters mounted behind the shovel acted as a ground. Both were mounted on an insulated bar. Using 40 volts in a loam soil with 17 percent moisture content reduced draft by up to 39 percent and cut tillage energy costs by 30 percent. That was at speeds of 5 mph. When clay was added to the soil, draft reductions went down. In soils without much moisture, draft reduction was only 11.6 percent. "The reduction of tillage forces is really dramatic in the right soil and moisture conditions. We tended to see more reduction as we progressed from drier to wetter soil conditions. What we don't know is how fast the water moves and will will it keep up with the implement at higher speeds." (Grainews)

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