A review of the effect of implement geometry on soil failure and implement forces

This article reviews the basic relationships between the geometry of tillage tools and soil physical properties on the nature of the soil disturbance ahead of the tool. These relationships are valuable to designers and operators of cultivation equipment in selecting the optimal design of the soil working elements and their supporting frame. In addition to the disturbance, the magnitude and direction of the resulting soil forces are important when both designing and using such equipment. Reference is made to an integrated model to predict these forces using a number of spreadsheets, which predict the draught force of a range of implements to within 20% of the measured value.