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Comparative experimental study of microclimate conditions in farm tractor cabs

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Abstract

This paper presents an experimental investigation of microclimate conditions in farm tractor cabs. The experiment was carried out on two different used tractors in warm outdoor conditions with solar radiation. One tractor was originally equipped with an air-conditioned cab, and the other one was retrofitted with air-conditioner. The results have been analyzed, discussed, and compared between the two tractors with respect to the thermal comfort criteria. After the hot soak there was no significant difference in microclimate conditions between the tractors. The microclimate conditions inside the cabs were very unfavourable at the beginning of cool-down process. When the air-conditioning system was activated, the mean values of the effective temperature in both tractors reached an acceptable level after approximately 30 minutes. However, the tractor that was retrofitted with air-conditioner showed poorer performance regarding the thermal comfort. The spatial non-uniformity of air temperature was high, air temperatures remained above 30°C in the head zone and interior surface temperatures resulted in high thermal radiation. Less effective air distribution within the cab space was identified as a cause of local discomfort in the tractor that was retrofitted with air-conditioner.

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Abbreviations

A :

Operative temperature corrective factor

AC:

Air-conditioner

CFD:

Computational fluid dynamics

D :

Black globe diameter

HVAC:

Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning

t a :

Air temperature

ta_vent :

Air temperature in air vent

ta_feet :

Air temperature at feet level

ta_head :

Air temperature at head level

ta_mean :

Mean air temperature

ta_st_wheel :

Air temperature at the steering wheel

ta_waist :

Air temperature at waist level

t g, t_bg :

Black globe temperature

t mr :

Mean radiant temperature

t o :

Operative temperature

t prA / B, t_pr_A/B :

Plane radiant temperatures in A and B direction, respectively

v :

Air velocity

ε :

Emissivity of black globe

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Acknowledgements

This paper has been supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia through project no. 451-03-47/2023-01/200156 “Innovative scientific and artistic research from the FTS activity domain”. The measurements were carried out within the work on Damir Homa's Master’s thesis at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Mechanization and Design Engineering.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanization and Design Engineering, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia

    D Ružić & D Homa

  2. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia

    M Simikić & S Vejnović

Authors
  1. D Ružić
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  2. D Homa
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  3. M Simikić
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  4. S Vejnović
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D Ružić.

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Ružić, D., Homa, D., Simikić, M. et al. Comparative experimental study of microclimate conditions in farm tractor cabs. Sādhanā 48, 258 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-023-02306-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-023-02306-w

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