Drip Irrigation System using BLDC Motor-driven Direct Pumping and Soil Moisture Sensor

Abstract

Drip irrigation system is very efficient in irrigating vegetables and crops. Conventional drip irrigation systems provide water to crops based on predetermined doses and schedules regardless of farmland conditions. Drip irrigation control that ignores soil conditions causes too little or too much water to be supplied which makes conventional drip irrigation still not optimal. This condition can be optimized by adjusting water supply according to soil conditions. In this study, drip irrigation is controlled by a Proportional-Integral (PI) control system using information from soil moisture sensor as a feedback signal. This system uses pressurized water generator from direct water pumping driven by brushless DC (BLDC) motor. Combination of PI control, soil moisture sensor and BLDC motor driven pump makes this system more efficient in using water and electricity than conventional drip irrigation systems. In the future, this drip irrigation system will be combined with solar panels to make it more efficient.