Revisited applicability of polymeric composite materials for designing tractor hoods

The paper shows the possibility of using composite materials for design and production of tractor hoods. A method for calculating thermal loads with allowance for convection and radiation in the underhood space and its application in thermoelastic calculation were developed. The results of the most thermoelastic calculation of the hood, taking into account its composite structure and using aeroelasticity approaches, are presented; the paper shows necessity to allow for thermal loads when designing a hood of a composite material. Application of the method described in this paper allowed calculating the hood deformation under constant thermal loads and showed the advantages of using a composite material.