Agrothermie – Design and testing of a hydraulically-actuated, vibrating plough
Research Task/Objectives
Machine for inserting the collector at a depth of 2 m
At Agrothermie, geothermal collectors are used for heat extraction, entry and storage. The geothermal collectors are laid at a depth of 2 m over a large area in the ground and thus form an ecologically harmless way of supplying local heat. Because today's laying systems can’t meet the requirements for the economic use of agricultural land, the institute is concerned with the development of a new vibrating plough, which is hydraulically actuated and adjusted. The aim of introducing these vibrations unit is to reduce the traction force requirement through the excitation of the laying tool.
Approach
Machine for laying geothermal collectors
Within the project, a specification was drawn up and system variants were developed. Preferred variants derived from these were set up as demonstrators, which were further investigated by simulation and experiment. From this, a tractor available at the TU Dresden was equipped with the vibrating plough, which was hydraulically actuated and adjusted. With the help of excited vibrations, the reduction of traction force could be demonstrated.
The article is based on the results of the research project "System development hydro-actuator and tool coupling gear with test bench and field investigations", which was initiated and financed by the research fund BMWi, Ref. No. PtJ 03ET1427B .