Abstract
Nowadays, in the face of continuous technological progress and environmental requirements, all manufacturing processes and machines need to be optimized in order to achieve the highest possible efficiency. Agricultural machines such as seed drills and cultivation units are no exception. Their efficiency depends on the amount of sowing material to be used and the patency of seed transport tubes or colters. Most available control systems for seed drills are optical ones whose operation is not effective when working close to the ground due to large dusting. Thus, there is still a need to provide seed drills with sensors to be equipped with control systems suitable for use under conditions of massive dusting that would shorten the time of reaction to clogging and be affordable for every farmer. This study presents an analysis of grain motion in the sowing system and an analysis of the operation efficiency of an original piezoelectric sensor with patent application. The novelty of this work is reflected in the new design of a specially designed piezoelectric sensor in the sowing unit, for which an analysis of indication errors was carried out. A seed arrangement of this type has not been described so far. An analysis of the influence of the seed tube tilt angle and the type of its exit hole end on the coordinates of the grain point of collision with the sensor surface and erroneous indications of the amount of sown grains identified by the piezoelectric sensor is presented. Low values of the sensor indication errors (up to 10%), particularly for small tilt angles (0° and 5°) confirm its high grain detection efficiency, comparable with other sensors used in sowing systems, e.g., photoelectric, fiber or infrared sensors and confirm its suitability for commercial application. The results presented in this work broaden the knowledge on the use of sensors in seeding systems and provide the basis for the development of precise systems with piezoelectric sensors.
Highlights
Technological progress poses numerous challenges for researchers and constructors
This study presents an analysis of grain motion in the sowing system and an analysis of piezoelectric sensor operation efficiency according to an original solution with application to the Patent Office of the RP (P.438435)
An analysis of the influence of the seed tube tilt and the exit hole end type on the coordinates of the grain point of collision with the sensor and the indication errors in the amount of sown seeds detected by the piezoelectric sensor was carried out
Summary
Technological progress poses numerous challenges for researchers and constructors. Constant pursuit of manufacturing efficiency improvement methods involves application of better agrotechnical soil cultivation and sowing procedures. High performance seed drills and soil tilling and sowing machines are most commonly applied in sowing [5]. They use integrated soil cultivation [6], application of which involves control of the piping system and colter clogging [7] as well as monitoring the amount of seeds to be sowed which is of key importance in precision farming systems [8,9,10]. The elements of standard seed drills with mechanical or pneumatic dosing systems such as seed delivery tubes or colters are not commonly equipped with electronic systems for control of seed delivery tube clogging or for the amount of grains. Application of computer technologies in combination with modern sensors enhances productivity, has a positive impact on the natural environment, and reduces the costs of manufacturing [12]
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