In this section i am going to touch upon few innovative projects that is carried on personally ; some of them is innovative for the technical approach, some else for the content
Log missions in field
This activity is frequently underestimeted and neglected, it is not innovavative by ittself but it becomes innovative if log data is scaled to a lod profile in order to replicate at the test bench what happens in field.
| MIssion by ECU |
| MIssion by CAN1 |
| Mission by CAN2 |
VIrtual Gear Box Test
Input data: gear box and transmission pattern, vehicle and trailer masses, virtual path (slope, rolling resistance), FlyWheel engine power
Output data: Cumulative, specific, istantaneus fuel consumption, time to complete the path
Hardware: real tractor, fuel flow meter, eddy current dyno (in this case) applied to tractor PTO
Software operation: it calculates the load force (parallel to the ground) needed to balance virtual gravity and frictions/ rolling resistance, knowing the tyre radius and the ratios of all gear (virtual), it up shifts or down shifts depending on the flywheel engine power available at a certain engine set point speed.
Since the Gear box is simulated it does not work at all: in the test bench tractor engine and dyno work only, the dyno applies to the PTO the torque corresponding to a certain gear, slope, rolling resistance.
In this way i simulated different gear box ratios and different Load Profiles, without building any gear box prototype or performing any field test. Please do not care of the poor graphic interface, the video was recorded just to remind to myself what i did| Virtual Gear Box Simulator |
Catalytic converter developmet for FPT F45 Engine
We were aware that in some condition (cold environment temperature and low engine load determining exhaust gas temperature around 200_ 260 C) we could have some problem, ..but it was end of July and the ambient temperature was close to 40 C, after two days the down pipe was like this:
| Disaster |
It was clear we had some design problem
I recorded the real mission profile, then i applied it to PTO shaft to an AVL test Bench programmed by AVL Puma, in this way i replicate precisely the critical load profile and through several design changes we could develop this part , then we analysed the behavior focusing to signle operating points
| One sigle point of urea build up MAP |
Simulator and test bench panel for Hybrid Tractor
Relatively new technology following the magic words of the current time, “Green Economy”: the Goal is the tuning of mix between contribution of torques from diesel engine, electric generator, electric motor through the most of applications
Input data: Diesel size (torque curve, BSFC map), generator size (torque/current curve and limitations), Motor size (torque/current curve and limitations), Mission Profile ( in terms of load torque through the time), Transmission pattern
Output Data: Cumulative fuel consumption, Path Time
Hardware: a) Hybrid tractor+ fuel flow meter + Dyno Pto; b) Simulation only (no hardware)
Software: a) software calculates the scaled load torque (from mission profile) and applies it to Pto Shaft of a stationary tractor, the need of fuel for a certain path is the finger of the progresses, b) Simulation: all data of electrical machines, diesel engine and transmission pattern are loaded, depending on the mix of torques the virtual load profile will be balanced time by time, fuel consumption is calculated from the knowledge of the diesel torque & speed available in the diesel efficiency map.
The software can work in both configurations, like a simulator only or testing a real prototype!
| Hybrid Simulator&Bench Control |
Tyre inflating pressure Control
As the most of farmers know the Agricultural Tyre is the last ring of kinematic chain, then the imlating pressure of tyre impacts on both tractor beheavior (especially traction, fuel consumption and soil compactation) in field and driveability on the road. Considering the importance of this key tractor component a welknown tyre company required me the study and the design of completly new centralised inflating system, i provided the first prototype at the end of July 2018, it can be confifigured in three different layouts, depending on the layout design it can inflate a typical Tyre 710/70R38 starting from 1.2 bar up to 1.6 in 120 s, or 3 seconds .....It was introduced at Agritechnica in Nov 2019, called CTIS.
| Sketch_1 |
| Sketch_2 |
| First Prototype |
Gear Box Electrically Actuated
Effective, reliable, impressive quick shifting, comfort level improvement
| First Prototype |
| Harsh Downshift |
Shifting time in standard conditions starting from clutch engaged to clutch re-engaged: less than 250 ms.
| Standard Upshift |
