Agricultural tractor cab characteristics relevant for microclimatic conditions

Abstract

The basic purposes of an agricultural tractor cab are to provide comfortable environment for an operator and to protect him from vibrations, noise and other adverse influences. The microclimatic features of middle-sized tractor cabs are the focus of this paper. The microclimatic conditions are related with design features that influence heat processes between the cab and the environment, including the effects on the operator. One of methods for improvement of the microclimatic conditions and for reducing of air-conditioning energy consumption is prevention of cab heat gain, achieving this by appropriate heat rejection and insulation. Since the cab material characteristics and cab design play the main role in the heat transfer processes between the cab and the environment, these features are analyzed on existing middle-sized tractors cabs. The aim of the paper is to identify and evaluate most important influences, in order to create the basis for microclimatic and energy consumption reduction aspects of a tractor cab design. The results showed that the cab glazing is probably the most influencing factor, where the selection of the appropriate properties could be the way for cab and operator heat load reduction.