Development of an Electric Powered Light-Stilt-Tractor for the Application of Biological Plant Protection Products in Corn

Abstract

Biological plant protection is growing steadily in conventional agriculture since it has some significant advantages compared to chemical products. These are the better biological compatibility and the avoidance of resistance development with comparable effectiveness at the same time. This paper presents a concept for a lightweight stilt-tractor with a serial hybrid electric drive train for application of biological plant protection products on the field. First of all, the requirements, resulting from the concrete application scenario, are described in order to define a suitable drive concept. This consists of two separate electric motors, which are connected to the respective drive wheel via two gear stages, consisting of a planetary gear and a chain drive. A 48 V battery serves as a buffer for covering power peaks and for short time purely electric drive. The continuous power demand of the vehicle is supplied by two power generator units, which take over the function of a range extender. Challenging for the construction are, in particular, the clear passage height of 1.80 m resulting from the application, the vehicle width that has to be adapted to the respective distance of the corn row and the position of the driver’s cabin above the rows of corn. In addition, the vehicle must be transported to its place of use on a standard car trailer. Due to these requirements, there is a need for a variable height and width adjustment while at the same time ensuring the stability of the vehicle.