Justification of the Parameters for Arranging New Working Bodies on the Frame of a Steam Cultivator

The paper highlights that existing steam cultivators do not always meet the quality requirements for the technological process of surface tillage, particularly when equipped with sweep shares. The performance of steam cultivator working bodies can be improved through a fundamental redesign involving the complete elimination of sweep shares. ( Research purpose ) The study aims to determine the optimal arrangement of working bodies on the frame of a steam cultivator. ( Materials and methods ) The proposed design of the new working element, excluding sweep shares, consists of a shank with a chisel and consecutively mounted left- and right-sided flat cutters. ( Results and discussion ) The study identified three distinct soil conditions affecting the draft resistance of the steam cultivator’s working element: solid –without loosened soil on the sides; semi-solid – with loosened soil on one side; and free – with loosened soil on both sides. It was established that most efficient arrangement of an even number of working bodies on the cultivator frame is a two-row configuration with adjustable working width. In this arrangement, half of the working bodies operate under solid conditions, one operates under semi-solid conditions, and the rest operate under free conditions, which ensure the lowest draft resistance. ( Conclusions ) The calculations yielded the following optimal parameters for arrangement of working bodies on the steam cultivator frame: a two-row arrangement with an even number of working bodies; a total of 6 working bodies; a machine working width of 3 meters; a longitudinal spacing between working bodies of 52–54 centimeters ; and a transverse spacing of 48–50 centimeters.