Traction Characteristic

a group of relationships between tractive force and the tractive effort, speed of movement, fuel consumption, speed of rotation of the engine shaft, and other characteristics of traction or transport vehicles.

The traction characteristic makes it possible to evaluate the dynamic, economic, and other indexes of vehicles and is determined—for example, for a tractor—by calculation (the theoretical traction characteristic) or by traction testing. The traction characteristic depends on the power of the engine, the type of propulsion device, the weight of the vehicle, and the physicome-chanical properties of the surface over which the vehicle is moving. The traction characteristic is also used to calculate rational combinations of traction vehicles and various agricultural and industrial implements.