THE APPLICATION OF MOHR-COULOMB SOIL MECHANICS TO THE DESIGN OF WINGED SHARES

An attempt is made to apply formulae and methods of Mohr-Coulomb soil mechanics and algorithms, used to calculate interactions between narro w tines, to the design of winged shares to determine the influence of their main parts, namely, the wings and the leading chisel. This enabl ed the prediction of draught forces for winged shares and the determin ation of an optimum rake angle for the wings and the chisel. It was fo und that a leading chisel has a major influence on the draught force r equired by winged shares. A prototype share was built and tested and t his showed that theoretical predictions of draught force for an improv ed share design can be made, where the working depth is sufficiently g reat. (C) 1997 Silsoe Research Institute.