Vibration over the whole body of the agricultural tractor operator in standardized testing

Abstract

One of the main variables affecting the productive performance of agricultural tractor operators that can cause serious health problems is the vibration generated during the operation of this machine. The objective of this study was to evaluate the vibration of the entire body of the operator through the seat of an agricultural tractor in a standardized vibration track test. We used a tractor with 92 kW of power in the engine in four conditions of ballasting and four speeds of displacement. A three-axis accelerometer was fixed to the tractor seat to assess the effect of vibration on the operator's body. Were acquired the resulting mean acceleration, vibration dose, crest factor and dose projection parameters for 8 hours of work. All statistical analyzes were performed with the Tukey test (p < 0.05). The higher speeds generated the worst working conditions except for the resulting minimum acceleration. Maximum ballasting resulted in less damaging conditions when combined with lower travel speeds. Vibration dose values did not reach the exposure limit. In the projection A(8) all treatments were above the action level or in the region of uncertainty.