Tensile Force Monitoring on Large Winch-Assist Forwarders Operating in British Columbia
The forest industry around the world is facing common challenges in accessing wood fiber on steep terrain. Fully mechanized harvesting systems based on specialized machines, such as winch-assist forwarders, have been specifically developed for improving the harvesting performances in steep grounds....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Forestry
2018-07-01
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| Series: | Croatian Journal of Forest Engineering |
| Online Access: | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/300549 |
| _version_ | 1811339445148844032 |
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| author | Omar Mologni Peter Dyson Dzhamal Amishev Andrea Rosario Proto Giuseppe Zimbalatti Raffaele Cavalli Stefano Grigolato |
| author_facet | Omar Mologni Peter Dyson Dzhamal Amishev Andrea Rosario Proto Giuseppe Zimbalatti Raffaele Cavalli Stefano Grigolato |
| author_sort | Omar Mologni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The forest industry around the world is facing common challenges in accessing wood fiber on steep terrain. Fully mechanized harvesting systems based on specialized machines, such as winch-assist forwarders, have been specifically developed for improving the harvesting performances in steep grounds. While the mechanization process is recognized as a safety benefit, the use of cables for supporting the machine traction needs a proper investigation. Only a few studies have analyzed the cable tensile forces of winch-assist forwarders during real operations, and none of them focused on large machines normally used in North America. Consequently, a preliminary study focused on tensile force analysis of large winch-assist forwarders was conducted in three sites in the interior of British Columbia during the fall of 2017. The results report that in 86% of the cycles, the maximum working load of the cable was less than one-third of the minimum breaking load. The tensile force analysis showed an expected pattern of minimum tensile forces while the forwarders were traveling or unloading on the road site and high tensile forces when operating on steep trails, loading or traveling. Further analysis found that the maximum cycle tensile forces occurred most frequently when the machines were moving uphill, independently of whether they were empty or loaded. While the forwarders were operating on the trails, slope, travel direction, and distance of the machines from the anchor resulted statistically significant and able to account for 49% of tensile force variability. However, in the same conditions, the operator settings accounted for 77% of the tensile force variability, suggesting the human factor as the main variable in cable tensile force behavior during winch-assist operations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:26:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c4c503620414891bc8d753ea2a2853d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1845-5719 1848-9672 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:26:43Z |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | University of Zagreb, Faculty of Forestry |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Croatian Journal of Forest Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c4c503620414891bc8d753ea2a2853d2022-12-22T02:35:14ZengUniversity of Zagreb, Faculty of ForestryCroatian Journal of Forest Engineering1845-57191848-96722018-07-01392193204204187Tensile Force Monitoring on Large Winch-Assist Forwarders Operating in British ColumbiaOmar Mologni0Peter Dyson1Dzhamal Amishev2Andrea Rosario Proto3Giuseppe Zimbalatti4Raffaele Cavalli5Stefano Grigolato6Università degli Studi di Padova Department of Land Environment Agriculture and Forestry Viale dell’Università, 16 35020 Legnaro ITALYFPInnovations 2665 East Mall Vancouver British Columbia V6T 1Z4 CANADAFPInnovations 2665 East Mall Vancouver British Columbia V6T 1Z4 CANADAUniversità degli Studi di Reggio Calabria Località Feo di Vito 89122 Reggio Calabria ITALYUniversità degli Studi di Reggio Calabria Località Feo di Vito 89122 Reggio Calabria ITALYUniversità degli Studi di Padova Department of Land Environment Agriculture and Forestry Viale dell’Università, 16 35020 Legnaro ITALYUniversità degli Studi di Padova Department of Land Environment Agriculture and Forestry Viale dell’Università, 16 35020 Legnaro ITALYThe forest industry around the world is facing common challenges in accessing wood fiber on steep terrain. Fully mechanized harvesting systems based on specialized machines, such as winch-assist forwarders, have been specifically developed for improving the harvesting performances in steep grounds. While the mechanization process is recognized as a safety benefit, the use of cables for supporting the machine traction needs a proper investigation. Only a few studies have analyzed the cable tensile forces of winch-assist forwarders during real operations, and none of them focused on large machines normally used in North America. Consequently, a preliminary study focused on tensile force analysis of large winch-assist forwarders was conducted in three sites in the interior of British Columbia during the fall of 2017. The results report that in 86% of the cycles, the maximum working load of the cable was less than one-third of the minimum breaking load. The tensile force analysis showed an expected pattern of minimum tensile forces while the forwarders were traveling or unloading on the road site and high tensile forces when operating on steep trails, loading or traveling. Further analysis found that the maximum cycle tensile forces occurred most frequently when the machines were moving uphill, independently of whether they were empty or loaded. While the forwarders were operating on the trails, slope, travel direction, and distance of the machines from the anchor resulted statistically significant and able to account for 49% of tensile force variability. However, in the same conditions, the operator settings accounted for 77% of the tensile force variability, suggesting the human factor as the main variable in cable tensile force behavior during winch-assist operations.https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/300549 |
| spellingShingle | Omar Mologni Peter Dyson Dzhamal Amishev Andrea Rosario Proto Giuseppe Zimbalatti Raffaele Cavalli Stefano Grigolato Tensile Force Monitoring on Large Winch-Assist Forwarders Operating in British Columbia Croatian Journal of Forest Engineering |
| title | Tensile Force Monitoring on Large Winch-Assist Forwarders Operating in British Columbia |
| title_full | Tensile Force Monitoring on Large Winch-Assist Forwarders Operating in British Columbia |
| title_fullStr | Tensile Force Monitoring on Large Winch-Assist Forwarders Operating in British Columbia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tensile Force Monitoring on Large Winch-Assist Forwarders Operating in British Columbia |
| title_short | Tensile Force Monitoring on Large Winch-Assist Forwarders Operating in British Columbia |
| title_sort | tensile force monitoring on large winch assist forwarders operating in british columbia |
| url | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/300549 |
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