Measurement of contact area, contact pressure and compaction under tires in soft soil

This paper reports about measurements of the contact area of agricultuural tires in a soil bin. Four tires of the dimensions 12.5/80-18, 13.6–28, 16.9–34 and 16.9–26 were tested on a soft sandy loam. Because the existing models for predicting the footprint are complicated, a simplified model has been established, yielding good results. Measured different contact areas of all four tires are nearly constant related to wheel load except for a small increase at higher loads. Using rated loads and applying the appropriate inflation pressure, the ground pressure of a group of similar tires in loose sandy loam is independent of the tire dimensions. Measured soil compaction under at tire a various wheel loads is compared with results obtained by a mathematical model.