Using image analysis to measure two-dimensional soil deformation

A system for measuring two-dimensional deformation in a soil bin using video image analysis was developed and evaluated. Soil was placed in the bin [1.22 (wide)×9.1 m long] in 50 mm deep layers of nominally uniform bulk density (1.35 Mg m⁻³) to a total depth of 0.76 m. White polypropylene markers [6.4 (dia.)×25.4 mm] were placed in the soil such that vertical rectangular cross-sectional grids were exposed by removing selected bin modules. Video image analysis was used to determine vertical and horizontal coordinates of each marker which, in turn, were compared to measurements using a sonic digitizer which were accurate to ±0.5 mm.     

Effect of tine rake angle and aspect ratio on soil failure patterns in dry loam soil

Studies were conducted in a laboratory glass-sided soil bin with dry compact loam soil (c = 0.02 kPa, Φ = 20° and cone index 210 kPa) with the specific objective of observing the effect of flat tine rake angle and aspect ratio on soil failure patterns. The tine was moved in the soil in a quasi-static condition and soil failure patterns were observed through a glass window. Tine rake angles of 50°, 90° and 130° were used while aspect ratio effects were studied by varying both width and depth of the tine. Individual effects of width and depth were investigated by maintaining a constant aspect ratio of 2.0 but varying width and depth. Results obtained indicated that soil failure patterns are affected by tine design parameters. Soil failure patterns were observed to be of progressive shear type in all cases. For 50° rake angle tines, the patterns consisted of inclined shear lines starting from the tine tip and gradually moving upwards towards the horizontal soil surface, intersecting it at an average failure angle of 32°. In the case of 90° rake angle tines, the inclined shear surface was at a distance from the tine tip whereas, for 130° rake angle tines, prismatic-shaped stationary soil wedges were formed adjacent to the tine. Failure angles for the 90° and 130° rake angle tines were almost the same as those for 50° rake angle tines. The results of this study also indicated that aspect ratio alone cannot account for changes in soil failure patterns, their corresponding soil reactions, forward rupture or surcharge profiles. The effects are mainly due to the individual changes in width and depth. There were no distinct zones as described in the passive soil pressure theory. Soil failures were in regular cycles resulting in corresponding variations in the soil reactions on the tines.     

Effects of deformed volume, volume fraction and particle size on the deformation behaviour of W/Cu composites

Tungsten/copper (W/Cu) particle reinforced composites were used to investigate the scaling effects on the deformation and fracture behaviour. The effects of the volume fraction and the particle size of the reinforcement (tungsten particles) were studied. W/Cu-80/20, 70/30 and 60/40 wt.% each with tungsten particle size of 10 μm and 30 μm were tested under compression and shear loading. Cylindrical compression specimens with different volumes (D_S = H) were investigated with strain rates between 0.001 s⁻¹ and about 5750 s⁻¹ at temperatures from 20 °C to 800 °C. Axis-symmetric hat-shaped shear specimens with different shear zone widths were examined at different strain rates as well. A clear dependence of the flow stress on the deformed volume and the particle size was found under compression and shear loading. Metallographic investigation was carried out to show a relation between the deformation of the tungsten particles and the global deformation of the specimens. The size of the deformed zone under either compression or shear loading has shown a clear size effect on the fracture of the hat-shaped specimens.The quasi-static flow curves were described with the material law from Swift. The parameters of the material law were presented as a function of the temperature and the specimen size. The mechanical behaviour of the composite materials were numerically computed for an idealized axis-symmetric hat-shaped specimen to verify the determined material law.     

Force and pressure distribution under vibratory tillage tool

Experiments were conducted to study the force requirement and pressure distribution under vibratory tillage tools in a soil bin with a sandy loam soil. The tool was oscillated sinusoidally in the direction of soil bin travel. An octagonal ring transducer and pressure sensors were used to measure the forces and soil pressure on the blade. The tool was operated at oscillating frequency of 4.5–15.6 Hz and amplitude of 11–26 mm. The soil bin travel speed was varied from 0.05 to 0.224 m/s. The test results obtained showed both the horizontal force and the vertical force decreased with increase in oscillating frequency. The normal pressure on the blade surface varied considerably. The peak normal pressure was found to increase with increase in oscillating frequency, oscillating amplitude and soil bin travel speed. The change in average normal pressure with change in oscillating frequency and amplitude was also investigated.     

Fractal model for virgin compression of pure clays

The well-known linear relation between the void ratio and the logarithm of pressure for the one-dimensional consolidation has widely incorporated into elastoplastic constitute equation of soils, however, it is not at all straight line for more compressible clays and has several physically unaccepted properties. The compression of clays is explained by fractal theory, and is seen as a balance between the vertical pressure and repulsive force between clay plates. The distance between clay plates depends on the structure formation of the clay flocculation and clay surface. The structure formation of the clay flocculation and clay surface can be modeled by fractal approach. A new formulation of one-dimensional virgin compression of pure clays, expressed by the linear function of ln ν–ln p or ln e–ln p, is proposed based on the fractal model for clay structure. The linear function of ln ν–ln p is suitable to express the virgin compression of the extremely high plasticity clays up to the high pressure of 5000 kPa. For low plasticity clays, the virgin compression satisfies with the linear relationship of ln e–ln p at the pressure higher than 100 kPa. These too are show to be in satisfactory agreement with experimental data. The gradient of the plots of ln ν–ln p and ln e–ln p is related to the fractal dimensions of clay structure, the fundamental material parameters for the first time.     

Heat transfer characteristics of a planar water jet impinging normally or obliquely on a flat surface at relatively low Reynolds numbers

The heat transfer characteristics of a planar free water jet normally or obliquely impinging onto a flat substrate were investigated experimentally. The planar jet issued from a rectangular slot nozzle with a cross section of 1.62 mm × 40 mm. The mean velocity at the nozzle exit ranged from 1.5 to 6.1 m s⁻¹. The corresponding Reynolds number range based on the nozzle gap and the mean velocity was 2200–8800. Constant heat-flux conditions were employed at the solid surface. Various impingement angles between the vertical planar jet and the inclined solid surface were investigated: 90° (normal collision), 70°, 60°, and 50°. In the case of normal collisions, the Nusselt number is high at the impingement line, and decreases with departures from it. The stagnation Nusselt numbers were compared to the predictions of several correlations proposed by other researchers. In oblique collisions, the profiles of the local Nusselt numbers are asymmetric. The locations of the peak Nusselt numbers do not coincide with the geometric center of the planar jet on the surface.     

The effect of roller pressure and share of plant matter in mulching soil cultivation on its density and water content

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the roller load (with cultivating tools) and doses of plant matter (straw and charlock) mixed with soil on the air and humidity conditions of such soil. The innovation of the research consisted in abandoning the use of Kopecky’s cylinders: the bulk density of mulched soil was determined by measuring its mass and volume, which it obtained in vases before and after the roller work. Capillary infiltration was also carried out for soil in vases.Variable research factors characterizing the roller working conditions in the mulching tillage, were: source/type of plant material cut into 10 cm chopped straw, its share in soil, three ranges of soil water content and vertical unit load on the roller.Increasing the straw dose to 30 Mg^.ha⁻¹ reduces the bulk density from 1.17 to 0.76 g^.cm⁻³, while increasing the dose of charlock to 60 Mg^.ha⁻¹ under these conditions, it reduces the density to 1.03 g^.cm⁻³. At the same time, humidity conditions change: volumetric water content decreases in case of straw from 13.9% to 8.5% and increases in case of charlock to 17.4%. Changes occur also in case of full water capacity.     

Experimental validation of computational fluid dynamics modeling for narrow tillage tool draft

Energy requirement of a tillage tool, mostly represented by tool draft, is a function of different soil–tool interaction components like soil parameters, tool parameters and system parameters. Soil–tool interaction modeling was conducted using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach considering soil as a Bingham material. Soil bin tests were conducted to validate tool draft predictions obtained from this numerical modeling. Numerical predictions and soil bin experiments for the tool draft were observed with 40 mm wide vertical tool operating at four different depths of 40, 80, 120, and 160 mm. The tool was operated at four different operating speeds of 1, 8, 16 and 24 km h⁻¹ in clay loam soil with two moisture contents of 14% and 20%. Thus, the experimental design consisted in a (2 × 4 × 4) complete randomized factorial with two replications for each test. Simulation results over-predicted tool draft in comparison to the experimental values. The difference between the predicted and measured draft were not consistent and ranged from 1% to 42%, with an average of 24% and 22% for moisture contents of 14% and 20%, respectively. The agreement of simulation data with experimental values was higher at shallow depth of operation and lower tool operating speed. The correlation coefficient between the simulation and experimental draft were found to vary from 0.9275 to 0.9914.     

Evaluation of an empirical traction equation for forestry tires

Variable load test data were used to evaluate the applicability of an existing forestry tire traction model for a new forestry tire and a worn tire of the same size with and without tire chains in a range of soil conditions. The clay and sandy soils ranged in moisture content from 17 to 28%. Soil bulk density varied between 1.1 and 1.4g cm⁻³ with cone index values between 297 and 1418 kPa for a depth of 140 mm. Two of the clay soils had surface cover or vegetation, the other clay soil and the sandy soil had no surface cover. Tractive performance data were collected in soil bins using a single tire test vehicle with the tire running at 20% slip. A non-linear curve fitting technique was used to optimize the model by fitting it to collected input torque data by modifying the coefficients of the traction model equations. Generally, this procedure resulted in improved prediction of input torque, gross traction ratio and net traction ratio. The predicted tractive performance using the optimized coefficients showed that the model worked reasonably well on bare, uniform soils with the new tire. The model was flexible and could be modified to predict tractive performance of the worn tire with and without chains on the bare homogeneous soils. The model was not adequate for predicting tractive performance on less uniform soils with a surface cover for any of the tire treatments.     

Non-linear finite element analysis of cone penetration in layered sandy loam soil – Considering precompression stress state

Axisymmetric finite element (FE) method was developed to simulate cone penetration process in layered granular soil. The FE was modeled using ABAQUS/Explicit, a commercially available package. Soil was considered as a non-linear elastic plastic material which was modeled using variable elastic parameters of Young’s Modulus and Poisson’s ratio and Drucker–Prager criterion with yield stress dependent material hardening property. The material hardening parameters of the model were estimated from the USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory – Auburn University (NSDL-AU) soil compaction model. The stress–strain relationship in the NSDLAU compaction model was modified to account for the different soil moisture conditions and the influence of precompression stress states of the soil layers. A surface contact pair (‘slave-master’) algorithm in ABAQUS/Explicit was used to simulate the insertion of a rigid cone (RAX2 ABAQUS element) into deformable and layered soil medium (CAX4R ABAQUS element). The FE formulation was verified using cone penetration data collected on a soil chamber of Norfolk sandy loam soil which was prepared in two compaction treatments that varied in bulk density in the hardpan layer of (1) 1.64 Mg m⁻³ and (2) 1.71 Mg m⁻³. The FE model successfully simulated the trend of cone penetration in layered soils indicating the location of the sub-soil compacted (hardpan) layer and peak cone penetration resistance. Modification of the NSDL-AU model to account for the actual soil moisture content and inclusion of the influence of precompression stress into the strain behavior of the NSDL-AU model improved the performance of FE in predicting the peak cone penetration resistance. Modification of the NSDL-AU model resulted in an improvement of about 42% in the finite element-predicted soil cone penetration forces compared with the FE results that used the NSDL-AU ‘virgin’ model.     

Influence of soil and vehicle parameters on soil rut formation

Soil and vehicle parameters have significant effects on soil rut formation. A randomized design was used to investigate the effects of five treatments: soil texture, soil moisture, vehicle type, turning radius and velocity, on rut depth, rut width and rut index, which measure the degree of soil disturbance. This vehicle rutting study was conducted on four off-road military vehicles under two soil moisture conditions and two soil texture conditions at Fort Riley, Kansas. A GPS-based vehicle tracking system was used to track the vehicle dynamics, and rut measurements were taken manually. SAS 9.1 was used to investigate the effects of soil and vehicle parameters on rut formation. Results show that all the vehicle parameters (vehicle type, weight, velocity and turning radius) and soil parameters (soil texture and moisture) are statistically significant to affect rut formation.     

Estimation of a three-dimensional tyre footprint using dynamic soil–tyre contact pressures

A method for estimating the three-dimensional (3D) footprint of a 16.9R38 pneumatic tyre was developed. The method was based on measured values of contact pressure at the soil–tyre interface and wheel contact length determined from the contact pressures and the depths and widths of ruts formed in the soil. The 3D footprint was investigated in an area of the field where the pressure sensors of the tyre passed in a soft clay soil. The tyre was instrumented with six miniature pressure sensors, three on the lug face and the remaining three on the under-tread region between two lugs. The instrumented tyre was run at a constant forward speed of 0.27 m/s and 23% slip on a soft soil, 0.48 MPa cone index, 25.6% d.b. moisture content for four wheel load and tyre pressure combination treatments. The 3D footprint assessment derived from soil–tyre interface stress used in this research is a unique methodology, which could precisely relate the trend profile of the 3D footprint to the measured rut depth. The tyre–soil interface contact pressure distributions results showed that as inflation pressure increased the soil strength increased significantly near the centre of the tyre as a compaction increase sensed with the cone penetrometer.     

Experimental flow study over a blunt-nosed axisymmetric body at incidence

The flowfield over a blunt-nosed cylinder was examined experimentally at a low subsonic speed for Re=1.88×10⁵ and angles of attack up to 40°. Velocity measurements were carried out (employing a seven-hole Pitot tube) as well as wall static pressure and wall shear-stress measurements. Surface flow visualization was applied using liquid crystals and a mixture of oil–TiO₂. For all the examined cases no flow asymmetries were found. For high angles of attack (20° and above) a separation “bubble” appears at the leeside of the nose area (streamwise flow separation). The basic feature of the circumferential pressure distribution at the after body area for these angles of attack is a plateau close to the suction peak and a fast recovery next to it. One streamwise vortex on each side of the symmetry plane is formed as well as a separation bubble about 90° far from this plane, where the cross-flow primary separation line is located. Each cross-flow primary separation line starts at the leeside nose area and moves towards the windward side along the cylindrical after body. The space between the two primary separation lines close to the wall is characterized by high flow fluctuations on the leeside, compared to the low fluctuations of the windward side.     

High-pressured solid atomic hydrogen with photodissociation

A novel method to realize solid metallic hydrogen is proposed as a new path to high energy density states of hydrogen. High-pressured atomic hydrogen could be metalized at a density of 0.1 g/cm³ below 1000 K, which is much less than the previously expected in the solid molecular hydrogen(about 1.43 g/cm³ at 300 K). This density will be obtained at pressures of less than 100 GPa with a conventional static compression technique. Atomic hydrogen at this density could be created from molecular hydrogen using three-photon absorption of a 250 nm short pulse laser light to cause photodissociation. Calculations taking into account the wavefunction of the molecular hydrogen are presented.     

Modeling soil-bulldozer blade interaction using the discrete element method (DEM)

Limited studies have been conducted to establish scaling relationships of soil reaction forces and length scales of bulldozer blades using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) technique. With a DEM-based similitude scaling law, performance of industry-scale blades can be predicted at reduced simulation efforts provided a calibrated and validated DEM soil model is developed. DEM material properties were developed to match soil cone penetration testing. The objectives of the study were to develop a DEM soil model for Norfolk sandy loam soil, establish a scaled relationship of soil reaction forces to bulldozer blade length scales (n = 0.24, n = 0.14, n = 0.10, and n = 0.05), and validate the DEM-predicted soil reaction forces on the scaled bulldozer blades to the Norfolk sandy loam soil bin data. Using 3D-scanned and reconstructed DEM soil aggregate shapes, Design of Experiment (DOE) of soil cone penetration testing was used to develop a soil model and a soil-bulldozer blade simulation. A power fit best approximated the relationship between the DEM-predicted soil horizontal forces and the bulldozer blade length scale (n) (R² = 0.9976). DEM prediction of soil horizontal forces on the bulldozer blades explained the Norfolk sandy loam soil data with a linear regression fit (R² = 0.9965 and slope = 0.9634).     

Induced parallel vortex shedding from a circular cylinder at Re of O(10) by using the cylinder end suction technique

In the present work, the objective is to attempt to induce parallel vortex shedding at a moderately high Reynolds number (=1.578 × 10⁴) by using the cylinder end suction method, and measure the associated aerodynamic parameters.We first measured the aerodynamic parameters of a single circular cylinder without end suction, and showed that the quantities measured are in good agreement with equivalent data in the published literature. Next, by using different amount of end suction which resulted in increasing the cylinder end velocity by 1%, 2% and 2.5%, we were able to show that the above corresponded to the situation of under suction, optimal suction and over suction, respectively. With optimal suction, we demonstrated that the end suction method works at Re = 1.578 × 10⁴. The shape of the primary vortex shed became straighter than when there is no end suction, and parameters like cylinder surface pressure distribution, drag force per unit span, as well as vortex shedding frequency all showed negligible spanwise variation. Further careful analyses showed that when compared to the naturally existing curved vortex shedding, with parallel vortex shedding the mid-span drag per unit span became slightly smaller, but the drag averaged over the cylinder span became slightly larger. For cylinder surface pressure, it was found that cylinder end effects mainly influenced the surface pressure in the angular ranges −180°  β < −60° and 60° < β  180°. Without end suction, the cylinder surface pressure in the above ranges was found to increase (become less negative) slightly with |z/d|, but such increase disappeared when optimal end suction was applied, and the cylinder surface pressure distribution became spanwise location independent. As for the vortex shedding frequency (Strouhal number), although the Strouhal number showed spanwise variation when there is no end suction and negligible spanwise variation when optimal suction was applied, the difference between the spanwise averaged Strouhal number was quite negligible. With under suction, the spanwise dependence of various aerodynamic parameters existed, but was found to be not as significant as when no end suction was applied at all. With over suction, the flow situation was found to be practically no change from the optimal suction situation.     

Effects of tillage systems on compaction and crop yield of Albic Luvisol in Croatia

This four-year experiment was conducted in north-west Slavonia (agricultural area of Croatia) to evaluate the effects of different tillage systems on compaction of silty loam soil (Albic Luvisol). The compared tillage systems were: (1) conventional tillage (CT), (2) conservation tillage (CM), (3) no-tillage system (NT), and the crop rotation was corn (Zea mays L.) – winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) – corn – winter wheat. For detecting the soil compaction, bulk density and penetration resistance were measured during the growing seasons. In all seasons and tillage systems, the bulk density and penetration resistance increased with depth and the greatest increase from surface to the deepest layer in average was observed at CT system. The bulk density and penetration resistance increased at all tillage systems during the experiment, but the greatest increase was also observed at CT system. The greatest bulk density (1.66 Mg m⁻³) and the greatest increase of 6.4% were observed at CT system in the layer 30–35 cm. In the first season, the bulk density was the greatest at NT system, but during the experiment the lowest average increase of 1.9% was observed at this system. The greatest penetration resistance of all measurements (5.9 MPa) was observed in the last season at CT system in depth of 40 cm. The lowest average increase of penetration resistance 11.4% was also observed at NT system. The highest yield of corn in the first season was achieved with CT system while in other seasons the highest yield of winter wheat and corn was achieved with CM system.     

Soil displacement beneath an agricultural tractor drive tire

Soil strain transducers were used to determine strain in an initially loose sandy loam soil in a soil bin beneath the centerline of an 18.4R38 radial-ply tractor drive tire operating at 10% travel reduction. The initial depth of the midpoints of the strain transducers beneath the undisturbed soil surface was 220 mm. Strain was determined in the vertical, longitudinal, and lateral directions. Initial lengths of strain transducers were approximately 118 mm for the longitudinal and lateral transducers and 136 mm for the vertical transducer. The tire dynamic load was 25 kN and the inflation pressure was 110 kPa, which was a recommended pressure corresponding to the load. In each of four replications, as the tire approached and passed over the strain transducers, the soil first compressed in the longitudinal direction, then elongated, and then compressed again. The soil was compressed in the vertical direction and elongated in the lateral direction. Mean natural strains of the soil following the tire pass were −0.200 in the vertical direction, +0.127 in the lateral direction, and −0.027 in the longitudinal direction. The mean final volumetric natural strain from the strain transducer data was −0.099, which was only 35% of the mean change in natural volumetric strain calculated from soil core samples, −0.286. This difference likely resulted from the greater length of the lateral strain transducer relative to the 69 mm lateral dimension of the soil cores. The strain transducer data indicated the occurrence of plastic flow in the soil during one of the four replications. These results indicate the complex nature of soil movement beneath a tire during traffic and emphasize a shortcoming of soil bulk density data because soil deformation can occur during plastic flow while soil bulk density remains constant.     

Influence of turning radius on wheeled military vehicle induced rut formation

A rut is a depression or groove formed into the ground by the travel of wheels and tracks. Ruts can cause severe influences on soil and vegetation, and reduce vehicle mobility. In this paper, rut depth and rut width were used as the main indicators to quantify a rut. A new indicator, rut index, was proposed, combining rut depth and rut width. A Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) and a High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) were used for testing the influence of turning radius on rut depth, rut width and rut index. The LAV and the HMMWV were operated in spiral patterns at different speeds. Differential GPS data for the vehicles were collected every second during the spiral. Rut measurements were manually taken every 4-7 m along each of the spiral tracks. The results of field tests indicate that rut depth, rut width and rut index increase with the decrease of turning radius, especially when turning radius is less than 20 m. Velocity influences rut formation for the LAV but not HMMWV.     

Total axle load effects on soil compaction

Theoretical and applied research has shown that the pressure at a point in the subsurface soil is a function of both the surface unit pressure and the extent of the area over which it is applied (total load). Thirty years ago, most of the soil compaction from vehicle traffic was in the plow layer and was removed by normal cultural practices. As equipment has increased in size and mass, machine designers have increased tire sizes to keep the soil surface unit pressure relatively constant. However, the increase in total axle loads is believed to have caused an increase in compaction at any given depth in the soil profile, resulting in significant compaction in the subsoil.Two tires of different sizes, a standard agricultural tire and a flotation tire were used to support equal loads. Soil pressures were measured at three depths in the soil profile directly beneath each of the tires. Two soils were used and each was prepared first in a uniform density profile, and then they were prepared with a simulated traffic pan (layer of higher density) at a depth of approximately 30 cm.Results showed that the presence of a traffic pan in the soil profile caused higher soil pressures above the pan and lower pressures below it than was the case for a uniform soil profile. The soil contact surface of the flotation tire was approximately 22% greater than the agricultural tire. The greater contact surface did reduce soil pressures at the soil surface, of course, but the total axle load was still the dominant factor in the 18–50 cm-depth range used in this study.