Tractor research paper for college

JohnV2000 · Nov 15, 2019

Hello everyone!

I am a freshman in college (Penn State, Beaver Campus), and for my English class, we have to do a research paper. I am majoring in chemical engineering, but I love old tractors and I think tractors go hand in hand with engineering (although maybe not chemical engineering). So, I decided to do my paper about old tractors.

As of now, my working thesis is: Examining the reasons for and benefits of an increase in tractor drawbar pull weight from the introduction of tractors until 1980.

Any inputs about the thesis would be welcomed.

My thesis has to be specific (requirement for the writing) and I need to include 5 or more sources.

I am wondering if anyone her knows of any good journal articles, website articles, books, or other resources that talk about drawbar pull weight? Also, any sources about power advancements and increases or the benefits of more drawbar pull (larger implements, etc) would also be very helpful.

I know this is not the most typical post on this forum, but I really enjoy this forum and greatly respect everyone for how much help I have gotten with my Super C.

Thanks!

John

centash · Nov 15, 2019

Most ag colleges should have a good text book for agricultural engineering students
that cover all aspects of tractor performance. Another source may be the Nebraska
Tractor Tests and any affiliated publications by their laboratory.

Good luck!

Ben

Blueford4000 · Nov 15, 2019

(quoted from post at 14:18:54 11/15/19) Hello everyone!

I am a freshman in college (Penn State, Beaver Campus), and for my English class, we have to do a research paper. I am majoring in chemical engineering, but I love old tractors and I think tractors go hand in hand with engineering (although maybe not chemical engineering). So, I decided to do my paper about old tractors.

As of now, my working thesis is: Examining the reasons for and benefits of an increase in tractor drawbar pull weight from the introduction of tractors until 1980.

Any inputs about the thesis would be welcomed.

Ooops....inserted my text in the middle of yours!

The Nebraska Test results for tractors goes way back....guessing to the 1950s. Online search will get you a link. They tested hp at the drawbar for most tractors.

You may drown in the amount of data they have.

BlueFord.

My thesis has to be specific (requirement for the writing) and I need to include 5 or more sources.

I am wondering if anyone her knows of any good journal articles, website articles, books, or other resources that talk about drawbar pull weight? Also, any sources about power advancements and increases or the benefits of more drawbar pull (larger implements, etc) would also be very helpful.

I know this is not the most typical post on this forum, but I really enjoy this forum and greatly respect everyone for how much help I have gotten with my Super C.

Thanks!

John

Blueford4000 · Nov 15, 2019

(quoted from post at 14:18:54 11/15/19) Hello everyone!

I am a freshman in college (Penn State, Beaver Campus), and for my English class, we have to do a research paper. I am majoring in chemical engineering, but I love old tractors and I think tractors go hand in hand with engineering (although maybe not chemical engineering). So, I decided to do my paper about old tractors.

As of now, my working thesis is: Examining the reasons for and benefits of an increase in tractor drawbar pull weight from the introduction of tractors until 1980.

Any inputs about the thesis would be welcomed.

Ooops....inserted my text in the middle of yours!

The Nebraska Test results for tractors goes way back....guessing to the 1950s. Online search will get you a link. They tested hp at the drawbar for most tractors.

You may drown in the amount of data they have.

BlueFord.

My thesis has to be specific (requirement for the writing) and I need to include 5 or more sources.

I am wondering if anyone her knows of any good journal articles, website articles, books, or other resources that talk about drawbar pull weight? Also, any sources about power advancements and increases or the benefits of more drawbar pull (larger implements, etc) would also be very helpful.

I know this is not the most typical post on this forum, but I really enjoy this forum and greatly respect everyone for how much help I have gotten with my Super C.

Thanks!

John

jCarroll · Nov 15, 2019

Drawbar pull weight is just half of the equation. Work done is pull per unit of time. Said differently, the same drawbar pull at twice the speed is twice the work -
which is really the ultimate objective.
Rubber tires were very important in increasing the operating speed of tractors under drawbar loads (typically tillage).

Corn row spacing was based on using horses to cultivate corn. Shrinking the row spacing when horses were not used changes the equation.

It will be hard to separate each factor in powered agriculture in the past 100 years.

Post your draft document - and don't take offense at the comments.

jeffcat · Nov 15, 2019

Here is an excellent place to start. They have been testing tractors since you
had to wind them up. Just joking. Other guys will give you tons of advice but
the Nebraska test set the standards for the country when tractors were a
novelty.

db4600 · Nov 15, 2019

There?s a dynamic in that which gave us some fairly large
prairie tractors before the idea of Fords and Farmalls for
everybody caught on. You will likely find that this will parallel
the bonanza farms and the movement away from horses. CH
Wendell?s Encyclopedia of American Farm Tractors would
prove to be a good asset in your endeavor and worth while
having after the fact.

SHALER · Nov 15, 2019

John you are incredibly fortunate that you live very near a good resource on this topic. He is Mr. Sam Moore who I beleive lives in South Beaver Twp. Do some googling
around. He wrote a column in the Farm & Dairy for about 25 years titled "Rusty Iron" and just stopped doing it a month ago. You need to get ahold of him, he will be a
great help to you.

JK2 · Nov 15, 2019

The Department of Agriculture printed yearbooks with a different topic each year from in the 1800's until I think 1992. The one for 1960 is titled "Power to Produce". It should be available at your library. You can also buy one for $10.00 at the link below. This year book follows the power use on farms from very early (man & horses) until 1960. I don't remember if it has everything you are looking for but has a lot of information.
HTH
You can buy a copy here:

thethresherman · Nov 15, 2019

Sam sold his house in Salem, OH and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to be near his daughter.

Tom OConnor · Nov 16, 2019

John,

You might consider changing direction of your research paper to the progression of the history of
the sprayers used on the modern farm. You could start out with the old oil drum built on the back
of the tractor seventy years ago and the old orchard sprayer and follow it right up to the present
day sprayer with the direct chemical injectors that injects the chemical right in the high
pressure water line that is feeding the booms. I would also cover how the GPS system works and
opens and closes the boom valves automatically. You could also include how the spray controller
has its own unique computer that adjusts the pressure on the booms to componsate for speed of travel. Hope this helps Tom

JohnV2000 · Nov 16, 2019

Thank you everyone!

The Nebraska tractor tests are definitely great resources, thanks for pointing them out. I will try to get ahold of that 1960 Department of Ag book as well.

I am definitely open to changing my thesis, I am going to do some more research and just see what is out there. For this writing, my professor told me to pick a topic that has sufficient research available, so I want to make sure I pick something that I can find info for.

Tom, the sprayer thesis seems very interesting, as are the other ideas you mentioned. I am going to use my university library and database resource to see what kind of info I can find pertaining to them.

John

Leroy · Nov 16, 2019

John, I have never been close to a college so just what is a thesis and how long do you have to prepair one? Week? 10 days? month? Back in my day at school very few people ever went to college, even some teachers had never been to college. Could start teaching with just a high school education.

Janicholson · Nov 16, 2019

Remember the issue of wheel spin versus tractive force. (controversial) A rubber tire provides its highest force to the ground (not pavement) with a
certain amount of slip, based on a variety of variables. This slippage might be 4-5% the number is not important, and varies some in the same field.
Every bit of slippage is wasted energy. Adding weight to prevent wheel slippage can reduce the slippage to near zero. This increases the efficiency
and increases the compaction of soil. If the engine power is directed through gears that are strong enough to withstand running the tractor at
maximum torque with no wheel spin in the lowest gear, with no wheel spin, all is well. If the owner/operator increases the engine power, the drive
train becomes vulnerable to excessive wear or breakage. When tracks (rubber or steel) are used, the slippage can be near eliminated, but in both
cases the drive efficiency is reduced by the .complexity and friction of the components. All manufacturers know this. There are in fact pieces of
equipment sold with warnings not to use full engine power in lower gears/ratios. Wheel spinout can be considered a mechanical fuse for the drive
train. An example of a "fail" in this topic are the Farmall 460 and 560 as delivered on their introduction. The final drives were slightly modified
versions of the Farmall 350 and 450 tractors, and suffered bearing failures from tillage use. IHC recalled them for upgrades. The whole topic is a
branching tree of variables dedicated to successful farming, reliability, efficiency bragging rights, profits, and sales. Best of luck in your
efforts, From a University Prof. Jim

JohnV2000 · Nov 16, 2019

(quoted from post at 09:52:17 11/16/19) John, I have never been close to a college so just what is a thesis and how long do you have to prepair one? Week? 10 days? month? Back in my day at school very few people ever went to college, even some teachers had never been to college. Could start teaching with just a high school education.

Leroy, the thesis is basically the main idea of my writing. The writing is supposed to be at least 4 or 5 pages, and I have just under a month to write it. I agree that college never used to be as common as it is now.

Jim, thanks for the info. That is very interesting about how some tractors were not designed to be full throttle in low gear. I am going to explore that idea some more.

ss55 · Nov 16, 2019

"As of now, my working thesis is: Examining the reasons for and benefits of an increase in tractor drawbar pull weight from the introduction of tractors until 1980."

You might consider changing part of your title from "tractor drawbar pull weight" to "tractor drawbar pull force". Both weight and force can be expressed in pounds, but as you take more engineering classes you will see that they are very different things.

As others have already said, some of the major innovations were:
rubber tires;
weight transfer systems (3 point hitch, snap coupler, fast hitch, eagle hitch, etc.);
and front wheel drive/four wheel drive articulated tractors/tracks.

Tractor research paper for college

JohnV2000

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