Feasibility of operating air cushion vehicle in wetland paddy field

The problem of sinkage of machinery, poor trafficability and compaction of soil in wetland paddy fields has stimulated new interest to make an investigation of a new device for performing the field operations. Since an Air Cushion Vehicle (ACV) has the ability to travel unimpeded over a variety of difficult surfaces, whose load-bearing properties make it difficult for other vehicles to move, this may be a suitable device for overcoming the above problems. The air cushion concept has been considered for application to off-road transport ever since the early days of its development, but so far it has not been employed for wetland paddy field operations. Therefore, a study of this type was undertaken at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok. This paper describes the feasibility of using an ACV in wetland paddy fields. It shows that there is a reduction of drag force of about 60%, which is quite significant.