Determination of design requirements and characteristic analysis of powertrain configurations for electric tractors based on actual agricultural workload

Determination of design requirements and characteristic analysis of powertrain configurations for electric tractors based on actual agricultural workload | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Determination of design requirements and characteristic analysis of powertrain configurations for electric tractors based on actual agricultural workload Da-Vin Ahn, Ji-Tae Kim, Kyeongdae Kim, Gyu-Ha Han, Seung-Je Cho, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8615965/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Determining the design requirements for an electric tractor is crucial for its optimal configuration, as specifications vary across different agricultural operations, field sizes, and field characteristics. This study delineates the design requirements for electric tractors based on agricultural workload assessments. Subsequently, electric-tractor powertrain configurations were proposed, and their performance characteristics were analyzed. Initially, the agricultural workload for tractors with internal combustion engines of comparable class was measured during plow tillage, rotary tillage, and driving operations. Following this, the design requirements for electric tractors were conceptualized as power envelope curves derived from the measured agricultural workloads. These requirements were categorized into traction power and PTO (power take-off) power design requirements, considering the distinctive features of tractor operations in agriculture. Based on these stipulated requirements, three electric-tractor powertrain configurations were suggested. The performance of these configurations was evaluated concerning motor specifications, structural complexity, powertrain efficiency, and control difficulty. The results can be used as a basis for a methodology for establishing electric-tractor design requirements and for devising powertrain configurations, serving as a significant resource for future electric-tractor design and development. Physical sciences/Energy science and technology Physical sciences/Engineering Electric tractor tillage operations system requirements powertrain design Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementarymaterial.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 20 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 19 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 15 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 14 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 02 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 20 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 17 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 17 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 16 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8615965","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":585051908,"identity":"b367dc30-943c-4a9b-a991-00e2efb05b41","order_by":0,"name":"Da-Vin Ahn","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Korea Institute of Industrial Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Da-Vin","middleName":"","lastName":"Ahn","suffix":""},{"id":585051909,"identity":"d69c6d09-5dd8-4400-a087-b4d1ab8d942d","order_by":1,"name":"Ji-Tae Kim","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chonnam National 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This study delineates the design requirements for electric tractors based on agricultural workload assessments. Subsequently, electric-tractor powertrain configurations were proposed, and their performance characteristics were analyzed. Initially, the agricultural workload for tractors with internal combustion engines of comparable class was measured during plow tillage, rotary tillage, and driving operations. Following this, the design requirements for electric tractors were conceptualized as power envelope curves derived from the measured agricultural workloads. These requirements were categorized into traction power and PTO (power take-off) power design requirements, considering the distinctive features of tractor operations in agriculture. Based on these stipulated requirements, three electric-tractor powertrain configurations were suggested. The performance of these configurations was evaluated concerning motor specifications, structural complexity, powertrain efficiency, and control difficulty. The results can be used as a basis for a methodology for establishing electric-tractor design requirements and for devising powertrain configurations, serving as a significant resource for future electric-tractor design and development.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Determination of design requirements and characteristic analysis of powertrain configurations for electric tractors based on actual agricultural workload","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-05 09:11:34","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8615965/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-02-20T05:38:16+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-19T13:44:04+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-15T13:40:05+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-14T09:46:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"147864513580315681380139986105913381978","date":"2026-02-06T16:30:08+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"36859356778624332151837409800283627134","date":"2026-02-03T12:46:21+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"316243417563082778932057147618816419481","date":"2026-02-03T07:51:11+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"12696208387332365451274201176820035435","date":"2026-02-03T00:26:24+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-02T22:00:14+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-20T17:55:14+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-01-17T09:56:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-01-17T09:53:56+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-01-16T06:24:24+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"e8444307-15d1-4301-b6f7-a6cc5bd002a9","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 5th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":62240566,"name":"Physical sciences/Energy science and technology"},{"id":62240567,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-23T16:08:58+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-8615965","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-44453-0","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2026-03-21 15:58:38","publishedOnDateReadable":"March 21st, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-05 09:11:34","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-026-44453-0","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-44453-0","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8615965","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8615965","identity":"rs-8615965","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}