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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Auburn, Alabama » Soil Dynamics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #124811
Title: SOIL STRESS RESIDUALS AS PREDICTORS OF SOIL COMPACTION

Author
item TURNER, REED - AGRL TECH CENTRE, CANADA
item Raper, Randy

Submitted to: American Society of Agricultural Engineers Meetings Papers
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/2001
Publication Date: 8/15/2001
Citation: Turner, R., Raper, R.L. 2001. Soil stress residuals as predictors of soil compaction. ASAE Paper No. 01-1063. ASAE, St. Joseph, MI. 20 pp. (Technical handout) .

Interpretive Summary: Soil compaction limits crop yields reducing profit. Quick and easy field methods are needed to detect susceptibility in the field. A promising new approach examines pressure recorded by a simple pressure bulb after a tire has passed over it. One such method has been developed. The technique allows final pressure remaining on a sensor buried in the soil to be measured long after vehicle traffic has passed. This capability (which requires no electronic or computer equipment) may enable producers to assess whether their soil is in a compacted state prior to agricultural machnery operation on it.

Technical Abstract: Data from soil ground pressure sensors show that residual stress, or the net stress remaining after a vehicle has passed over the sensor, is proportional to peak stress or peak compaction force. This suggests a simple way to measure and compare soil compaction between different vehicles or treatments. This paper reviews two methods of measuring peak and residual soil stress, comparing results from a simple method to results from a more rigorous method, and reports the magnitude of the measured residual stress, and the relationships between residual stress, vehicle ground pressure and soil compactibility. Favorable results were obtained when comparing these residual pressures versus the maximum soil pressures. Differences were also measured between various tire inflation pressures, tire loads, sensor depth, and between tires and tracks. Favorable comparisons were also made between this simple pressure bulb sensor and a more complex electronic sensor used to measure the entire soil stress state. Because of this research, producers may be able to use these simple pressure bulbs to predict when their fields are compactable and avoid trafficking them.