Design, Manufacturing, and Strength Test of a 4-post ROPS Fitted on a Very Low-Profile Tractor (TRACLAS Project)

To improve the safety level when agricultural tractors work on slope under canopy, INAIL (the Italian National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work) funded a research project, named TRACLAS, devoted to set-up a prototype of low-profile compact tractor, not exceeding 1.60 m overall height, equipped with a 4-post ROPS (RollOver Protective Structure). After the complete set-up of the prototype, some field and lab tests were carried out to compare its performance with those of some comparable tractor models already on the market, used in vineyards, orchards and greenhouses. A basic step of the TRACLAS project was the execution of the strength test of the customized 4-post frame (th…