On forestry machine and soil interaction for sustainable forestry

Abstract: More than 50 percent of the land area of the Nordic countries Finland, Norway, and Sweden are covered by dense forests and they are among the most important producers of forest products in the world. Forestry in these countries is based on sustainable management principles – reforestation follows harvesting. Furthermore, increasing demands for more gentle techniques and technologies with less negative impact on the environment ask for development and implementation of new processes and new machine solutions. The increasing interest in developing forest management approaches that are based on gentleness to the environment requires better understanding of the interaction between the forestry machines and the terrain in the harvesting process.Paper A describes the purpose for model-based and simulation design of the next generation of forestry machines and proposes an enabling modeling and model configuration framework.Paper B presents the measured soil properties, ground pressure, and multi-pass rutting results from a field test with medium-sized forwarders operating on soft soil. The test data was then correlated with results from empirically-based WES-models.Paper C presents multi-pass rutting results for a tracked forwarder, with and without loading, operating on soft soil. Various models for predicting rutting was compared with the measured single- and multi-pass results for straight and S-curve driving.Paper D presents the reasons for, and the realization of, a test rig for characterizing the shear properties of rooted soil.