The evolution of design of general purpose tracked tractors

BACKGROUND: The most important task, that supported the formation of mechanized agriculture in the 192030s, was the creation of domestic tractor industry. The Stalingrad (Volgograd) Tractor Plant, being the flagship of this important industry for many years, played a fundamental role in its development. AIMS: Justification of the relevance of the tractor industry creation within the process of the country industrialization. Analysis of the advantages of tracked tractors in comparison with wheeled tractors, justification of need for their mass production, determination of trends in the development of technical and operational characteristics of general purpose tracked tractors. METHODS: Analysis of the evolution parameters of the design of tracked tractors, produced by Stalingrad (Volgograd) Tractor Plant throughout its operation years, analysis of technical specification of the ten highest performance tracked tractors, produced in different years by this enterprise. RESULTS: It is found that the first tracked models were based on wheeled tractors, met the operation requirements in the soil and climate conditions of our country in the best way, as well as satisfied the need for the use of such machines for military purposes. The importance of using the energy saturation indicator as the main factor of the tractor performance at increased velocities is justified; the graph of behavior of this indicator, depending on production year, is given and trends of its further growth are noted. CONCLUSIONS: The energy saturation of tracked tractors, produced by the plant for 55 years, has increased by 1.85 times, from 7.5 to 13.91 kW. The experience of Volgograd tractor manufacturers should be analyzed and used in order to identify patterns, trends and modern directions of the tractor technology development.