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Tire compaction information

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bvinduck
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 25 Duck, NC
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2007-02-07          139627

Does anyone know any formula for how much a tractor will compact the soil/ sand??

I have a JD 4600 with 460 loader

Thanks


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harvey
Join Date: Sep 2000
Posts: 1550 Moravia, NY
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2007-02-08          139643

I do not believe you will find a formula for 1 size fits all compaction. (I could be wrong but do not think so)!

Clays, Gravels, loams will all compact differently based on their compsition.

Tire manfactures do publish comparisons between their different tires and the traction pulling capibilities. I recall several articles of bias vs. radials.

You will have to search for this stuff because I can not remember where. ....

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kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
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2007-02-08          139645

Agreeing with Harvery, how wet the soil, how freguent your trips are over the same ground show a difference in my experience. ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2007-02-08          139648

You can do a very rough calculation pretty easily, but, when I finish explaining how to do it, I'll explain why it's a waste of time.....

First, look up the "flat plate" size (footprint) of your tires, the tread width, multiplied by the length of the contact area, for instance, according to the Firestone Tire Data book, a 17.5L24 R4 tire has a footprint of 192 square inches. On the fronts, 10-16.5 R4's would have a footprint of 72 square inches.

So, 2 rears at 192 each is 384 square inches, plus 2 fronts at 72 each is 144 square inches for a total load-bearing area of 528 square inches.

Now, according to Deere, the tractor itself wieghs 3,450 pounds, so without the FEL or B/H attached, or an operator or ballast on it, it applies a pressure of about 6.5 PSI to the ground.

Now, speaking of operators, the average 225 pound man, with size 9 shoes, which have a "footprint" of about 10.25" by 3.25" or about 33 square inches, but you rarely stand flat-footed, almost never when walking in fact.

So, when the above person steps on the ground with just one foot, they are exherting 225 pounds, divided by (generously) 33 square inches, 6.8 PSI to the ground.

If you talk about just the heel coming down at the beginning of each stride, triple that, plus a little for the impact itself, so nearly 25 PSI is created.

So, as I stated early on, a tractor at 6.5 PSI is of little concern compared to what humans can do at 25+ PSI, or about 4 times as much.

One of the biggest problems in turf maintenance is the foot traffic, not vehicles, although repeated traffic can cause compaction, it's nothing compared to what a crowd walking can do to a field of turf.

Best of luck. ....

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earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2007-02-08          139658

To add to Murf's explanation the other reason it's futile to try to put real-world compaction results to a formula is that there are some materials that don't compact like sand, pea gravel, river stone, and forms of crushed stone or concrete to name a few.

The other factors are moisture content, type of soil, clay or other solids content, and the list goes on.

As far as moisture goes I have had dry beach sand that I've tried to get dump trucks backed up over into a driveway. Got them stuck everytime until I sprayed it down with water and the trucks drove over it instantly, with no other compaction. ....

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