Laboratory Evaluation of a Solenoid-Operated Hill Dropping Seed Metering Mechanism for Pre-germinated Paddy Seeds

Hensh Sujit,Raheman Hifjur 한국농업기계학회 2022 바이오시스템공학 Vol.47 No.1

Purpose A precision hill drop seed metering mechanism was developed for sowing of pre-germinated paddy seeds. Methods The metering mechanism comprised a rectangular metering plate with a hole in the middle, and it was kept at the outlet of the hopper, which was actuated by a push–pull type solenoid to drop the seeds in the form of hill. The triggering of solenoid was controlled by a sensor wheel fitted with an inductive proximity sensor. To reduce choking and bridging of seeds at the hopper outlet, agitation was made by rotating a rod in the hopper. The performance of the developed metering mechanism was evaluated using a grease belt. The effect of main operating parameters—forward speed (0.7, 1, and 1.3 km/h), metering plate hole diameter (9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 mm), and speed of the agitator (20, 40, and 60 rpm)—on the performance of the seed metering mechanism was studied in terms of missing index, multiple index, quality of feed index, mean hill spacing, coefficient of hill distribution uniformity, and coefficient of seed dropping uniformity in hills. Results The multiple index was found to be 0% in all the treatments. No visible damaged seed was found in any treatment. By applying response surface method, the optimum operating condition was found to be 0.84 km/h forward speed, 11.18-mm hole diameter, and 37.37-rpm agitation speed. The missing index, multiple index, quality of feed index, mean hill spacing, coefficient of hill distribution uniformity, and coefficient of seed dropping uniformity in hills at an optimized operating condition were obtained as 6.25%, 0%, 93.75%, 23.5 cm, 90.32%, and 65.22%, respectively. The frequency of occurrence of 3 to 5 seeds per hill was found in 64.8% of the solenoid strokes. The germination percentage of hill drop seeds was 91%. Conclusions Test results showed that the seed rate variation was much lower than drum seeder, and the number of seeds dropped per hill was closer to the pneumatic rice seeder.

Laboratory Investigations on Cutting Torque and Efficiency for Topping of Onion Leaves Using Wire-Type Rotary Unit

Kumawat Lokesh,Raheman Hifjur 한국농업기계학회 2022 바이오시스템공학 Vol.47 No.4

Purpose Topping is a prerequisite in harvesting of onion crop. Methods A laboratory setup comprising a rotary cutting unit with wire as working element was developed to measure the torque required to cut onion leaves along with topping efficiency. The developed set up simulated the topping process of an onion topper in actual field condition which helped to analyze the effect of different operational parameters (rotational speeds of cutting unit, cutting width, and forward speed of the machine) on cutting torque and topping efficiency. Experimental data obtained from this setup revealed that the rotary speed of the cutting unit and forward speed of the harvester should be below 1800 rpm and 1.2 km h−1 , respectively; otherwise, it may damage the onion leaves with poor topping efficiency. Mature onion crop (Pusa Red) at 110 days after transplanting were chosen as experimental samples. The range of cutting speed, cutting width, and forward speed were 1200–1800 rpm, 300–600 mm, and 0.22–0.33 m s−1 , respectively. Results Results showed that cutting torque requirement decrease with increase in cutting speed and increase with increase in cutting width and forward speed. The topping efficiency increased with increase in cutting speed, and it decreased with increase in forward speed. Cutting torque and topping efficiency estimation models based on multiple regression were also developed as a function of cutting speed, width, and forward speed of the machine. Conclusions The results presented here along with the developed models could be useful for designing the leaf topping unit of tractor or power tiller operated onion harvester.

Effects of Various Machine Parameters on Cutting Performance for High-speed Cutting of Paddy Crop

Modak Shreyas,Raheman Hifjur 한국농업기계학회 2022 바이오시스템공학 Vol.47 No.2

Purpose To achieve optimised cutting performance at higher forward speeds of existing combine harvesters, performance evaluation of available cutting systems was conducted to cut paddy crop (variety: Indrayani). Methods A tractor operated laboratory test set-up consisting of 1-m-wide cutterbar, reel and auger was developed. Freshly uprooted paddy crop was held upright using crop holder assemblies. Knife speed, cutting stroke and forward speed were iterated through set of design of experiments and dependent parameters like cutting force, specific cutting energy and overall cutting efficiency were measured. The results were then analysed and operating parameters were optimised for maximising the forward speed. The cutting performance with optimised parameters was then validated in the laboratory by operating test set-up at optimised settings. Results It was found that, with increase in the knife speed from 450 to 600 rpm at an interval of 50 rpm, the absolute cutting force was observed to be decreased; however, reverse trend was observed with increase in the cutting stroke from 50.8 to 101.6mmand forward speed from 2 to 6 km h−1. Statistically stroke length was the most significant factor (α = 0.01) impacting the cutting force and specific cutting energy requirement, followed by forward speed and knife speed. Overall cutting efficiency increased with increase in the knife speed and stroke length; however, a reverse trend was observed with increased forward speed. Highest forward speed of 6 km h−1 was achieved by setting the cutting system at knife speed of 600 rpm and stroke length of 76.2 mm, where peak absolute specific cutting energy, peak absolute cutting force and overall cutting efficiency were 162.9 kJ m−2, 1212.7 N and 86.4%, respectively. Validation experiments show a strong positive correlation coefficient of 0.944, 0.988 and 0.985 for peak absolute cutting force, peak absolute specific cutting energy and overall cutting efficiency respectively. Conclusions Thus, forward speed of existing combine harvesters could be increased at improved levels of cutting efficiency with the said optimization approach.

Development of Draft Force Estimation Model for Hand Tractor Powered Digger-cum-Conveyor by Rake Angle and Digging Depth

Kumawat Lokesh,Raheman Hifjur 한국농업기계학회 2023 바이오시스템공학 Vol.48 No.2

Purpose Predicting the draft requirement for an implement is crucial from the viewpoint of proper machine design. It was hypothesized that the draft requirement for moving the digger forward depends mainly on two major parameters, i.e., rake angle of the digging blade and depth of digging, which could be used to develop a linear regression model for estimating its draft requirement. Methods A digging blade of a digger cum conveyor (DCC) was typically mounted at an angle (known as rake angle) to remove the onion bulbs from the soil. In this study, a newly designed digging blade was used. A provision was made at both the ends of digging blade to vary the rake angle. Structural analysis of the digging blade was also studied to check the strength in terms of the displacement of each blade component. The rake angle of the digging blade and digging depth were measured using digital protractor and measuring scale, respectively. Investigations were carried out on draft requirement of DCC at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (22°19′ N, 87°19′ E), India, to test this hypothesis. A full factorial experimental design was made with draft measured using S-type load cell (5-tonne capacity) at three levels each of digging depth, rake angle, and operating conditions (i.e., digging without conveying, digging with conveying in 1 st gear and 2 nd gear as well) with the objective to acquire data on the draft force requirement of DCC. The experiments were carried out at a 0.82 km h −1 forward speed of hand tractor to evaluate the performance of the developed DCC in sandy clay loam soil at a moisture content of 11.84% (d.b). The independent variables were found to have signifi cant eff ect on the draft with digging depth having highest infl uence followed by rake angle and operating conditions. A linear regression model was carried out to develop a model for estimating draft requirement for DCC using SPSS statistics software. Results The effi ciency of draft model was assessed by various performance indices such as mean error (ME), coeffi cient of determination (R 2 ), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and value account for (VAF) and their values were found to be − 0.008, 0.91 0.026, 2.51, and 97.39, respectively. A good general agreement between measured and estimated draft was found with the data obtained from the separated set of data with an average absolute variation (AAV) of 1.98%. Conclusions Farmers and manufacturers could therefore rely on the developed drafts estimated model to provide users accurate information about the needed drafts for DCC.

Tillage Operation with a Tractor Drawn Rotavator Using an Embedded Advisory System for Minimizing Fuel Consumption

Kumari Anshu,Raheman Hifjur 한국농업기계학회 2023 바이오시스템공학 Vol.48 No.4

Purpose Improper selection of gear and throttle position during tillage operation affects soil pulverization and increases fuel consumption. The objective of this study was to carry out soil tillage with a tractor drawn rotavator by selecting optimum gear and throttle position by giving warning to the operator when wheel slip, velocity ratio (u/v), and load on the engine are not in the optimum range and advising the operator to control the tillage operation as well as load on the engine. Methods An embedded advisory system comprising sensors, microcontroller, and display units was developed. During tillage operation, data were obtained on wheel slip, u/v, throttle position, and engine speed through the developed sensing units, and they were compared with the optimum range of wheel slip, u/v, and engine speed using the embedded advisory system. Then the operator was warned and advised to adjust gear and throttle position so that the engine speed could be always maintained within governor control range as well as both wheel slip and u/v within the optimum range. The developed embedded advisory system was validated by comparing fuel consumption per hectare (FEI) incurred while carrying out tillage at depths 80 and 120 mm with different combinations of operating parameters (throttle and gear selection) and with operating parameters as advised by the advisory system. Results Results showed that wheel slip, u/v, and drop in engine speed were influenced by gear and throttle settings and depth of operation. It was also observed that there was a significant increase in fuel consumption with increase in depth of operation, throttle opening, and shifting of gear from L1 to L3. There was 12 to 85% increase in fuel consumption when carrying out tillage at different combinations of throttle setting and gears other than the advised operating parameters. Conclusions The FEI was found minimum for a selective combination of operating parameters at both depths of operation. The developed system could identify the combination of operating parameters at both the depths of operation at which wheel slip, u/v, and engine load were within the optimum range resulting in minimum FEI.

Development of a Novel Draft Sensing Device with Lower Hitch Attachments for Tractor-Drawn Implements

Kumari Anshu,Raheman Hifjur 한국농업기계학회 2024 바이오시스템공학 Vol.49 No.1

Purpose Measurement of draft is important for designing and testing a tillage implement or seeding machinery. This study aimed to develop an instrumentation setup which can be mounted between any category of tractor and diff erent tillage implements for accessing real-time draft values while carrying out tillage. Methods A novel draft sensing device was developed along with lower hitch attachment for diff erent categories of tractor and implement by measuring horizontal force at each hitch point using three force sensing units. The force sensing unit comprised an S-type loadcell packed between two U-shaped frame and a microcontroller-based data acquisition system. The fi nite element (FE) simulation was made to examine safety of the designed structure. Results The FE simulation result showed that stress induced on each element of force sensing unit was lesser than the yield strength of the material. The developed draft sensing device was tested both in the laboratory and in the fi eld during tillage operation. The signals received from force sensing units were observed to be varied linearly with the applied load with negligible hysteresis losses. Conclusion The draft values measured by the developed draft sensing device were found to be accurate with mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), root mean square error (RMSE), and maximum absolute error (MAE) of 4.39%, 8.83 kg, and 7.14%, respectively.