Lightweight Design of Smart Agricultural Machinery and Its Synergy with Soil Conservation

Abstract

This study investigates the synergistic relationship between farm equipment light-weighting and soil conservation in precision agriculture systems. With finite element analysis (FEA) and field testing tests, we constructed an integrated "lightweight equipment-soil health-energy reduction" system for farm equipment design optimization. Experiments demonstrate that strategic material replacement and structure optimization are capable of reducing equipment weight by 18-32% without compromising functional integrity. Field tests reveal that light-weight tractors and implements conserve 25-40% of the soil compaction, 30% of rut depth, and improve physical soil properties like bulk density and infiltration rates. Energy consumption also reduced by 15-24% due to reduced rolling resistance and improved traction efficiency. The study provides agricultural engineers with a holistic method of equipment design that simultaneously takes into account machinery performance, soil conservation, and energy saving towards more sustainable agricultural mechanization.