Evaluation of the Changes in Dimensions of the Footprint of Agricultural Tires under Various Exploitation Conditions

This paper presents an innovative method to determine the impact of agricultural wheels on soil. The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions, and the parameters of the tire footprints on the soil were analyzed. The tested parameters were the width, length, and depth of the footprint, the cross-section area of the tire, and the area of the footprint. All parameters were determined using the 3D scanning method. Two types of tires, two levels of vertical load, and three levels of inflation pressure were used. The aim of the research was to demonstrate differences in changes in the footprint parameters as a result of changes in the operational parameters of the tires. It was found the bias-ply tire was less responsive to changes in the width and length of the footprint than the radial tire. Moreover, it was shown that radial and bias-ply tires achieved similar values for the footprint area but in the case of bias-ply tires, there was a much greater footprint depth. This means that the side parts of the footprint of bias-ply tires have a more vertical profile, so they carry the vertical loads to a lesser extent.