Implement Draft Research Articles

EFFECT OF PLOUGHING AND PLANTING DEPTHS ON DRAFT OF DUAL-PURPOSE MOULDBOARD PLOUGH CUM PLANTER

This study presents an experimental inquiry into the effects of two independent variables on the draft force of a mouldboard plough/planter: planting depth (0 – 5 and 6 – 10 cm) and plowing depth (6 – 10 and 11 – 15 cm). A dual-purpose mouldboard plough/planter was developed to expedite the cultivation of maize by speeding up the ploughing and planting processes. Based on planting and ploughing depths, the draft force of the implement was evaluated. Field experimental procedures were used to conduct the trials, and parametric testing was used to analyze the data. The final formula for calculating the draft force depends on a number of soils engineering characteristics, including soil bulk density and type, tool specifications, such as cutting width and implement weight, and operational factors, such as ploughing depth and moisture content. The study's findings show that ploughing depth has a greater impact on a mouldboard plough/planter's draft force; the maximum draft force of 1.5 kN was recorded at planting depths of 6 to 10 cm and ploughing depths of 11 to 15 cm. The data indicates that the draft force of the cum planter is significantly (p~0.05) affected by the depth of ploughing. The ploughing depth and planting depth on draft force were shown to have a strong association in the linear regression model, with a coefficient of determination (R 2 = 0.75) for draft force indicating high correlations among the components. Ploughing depths are always responsible for explaining the difference in draft force. The results suggest that any change in the plowing depths provides a considerable forecast of the implement's draft force, since the plowing depth was the largest predictor of the draft force. The best results from the mouldboard plough/planter are achieved when planting and ploughing are done at depths of 0–5 cm and 5–10 cm, respectively.

Effects of long-term monocropping, rotation cropping, and fertilization on energy and fuel requirements for fall moldboard plowing in a clay-loam soil

With recent increases in energy costs, information on energy inputs is becoming a more important aspect in management decisions on selection of crop production systems. The effects of long-term (45–55 years) monocropping, rotation cropping, and fertilization on tillage energy (implement draft and tractor fuel consumption) were determined for a Brookston clay-loam soil in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Treatments included fertilized and unfertilized monocrop (continuous) corn (Zea mays L.), and a four year fertilized and unfertilized corn – oat (Avena sativa L.) – alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) – alfalfa rotation with all phases of the rotation present in each year. The corn and second year alfalfa plots were moldboard plowed each fall after crop harvest, and then spring-tilled (disc, harrow) prior to planting; oat and first year alfalfa plots were not fall plowed or spring-tilled. Moldboard plow draft and tractor fuel consumption were measured annually from 2004 to 2014 using an instrumented tractor and the same plow and settings.Monocrop unfertilized corn consistently exhibited the greatest plow draft and tractor fuel consumption. Draft averaged over ten years was 13.0% higher for unfertilized than fertilized rotation corn, and 15.5% higher for fertilized than unfertilized second year alfalfa; fuel consumption was 10.4% higher for unfertilized than fertilized rotation corn and 5.1% higher for fertilized than unfertilized second year alfalfa. These differences were attributed to treatment-induced changes in soil strength. Both plow draft and fuel consumption were lower in rotation corn relative to monocrop corn, while plow draft was greater in fertilized alfalfa relative to unfertilized alfalfa due to greater root growth. This study demonstrated that long-term cropping systems can have substantial impacts on the energy required for tilling a clay loam soil.

Evaluation of Tractor Field Performance Using Visual Basics Programming for Agricultural Farm Lands

The purpose of this research was to developed a program in visual basic software for predicting tractor implement performance of tractor implement combination. A conventional tillage system with a mounted mouldboard plough and three bottoms was used to collect data from a Chery tractor (Model RM750) with a four-wheel drive. The soil texture class were determined in laboratory. Soil cone index value was measured using a SpotOn digital compaction meter. The output of the visual basics simulation in this study was obtained by varying the depth of operation and soil cone index for an experimental farm field. From the simulation output the results this study covers of drawbar power, implement draft, pull, tractive force, fuel consumption, slip, power delivery efficiency, dynamic weight and wheel dynamic reactions were drawn by varying depth and soil cone index value.

Development and Evaluation of Automated Slip and Draft Control System for Tractor

A microcontroller-based Automatic Slip Control System (ASCS) and Automatic Draft Control System (ADCS) for 2WD tractors was devised to automatically alter the depth of operation to keep the wheel slip and implement draft within a pre-specified range. An electro hydraulic lift link system was devised to control the depth of the implement's operation. The technology continuously checks wheel slip and draft in the field and notifies the hydraulic system, which changes the implement's depth if the wheel slip and draft exceeds the specified range. Experiments were conducted with defined slip ranges of 10–15, 15–20, and 20–25% for ploughing and cultivating activities. Field capacity and drawbar specific fuel consumption were measured as performance criteria. With the ASCS, the slip was found to range from 15–24%, versus the desired range of 15–20%, while with the current draft control system, it was found to range from 12–48% Tractor Draft Control System (TDCS). Fuel consumption was determined to be 20.13, 21.11, and 22.98 l/ha for ploughing operations with TDCS at initial depth settings of 150, 180, and 220 mm, respectively. However, ASCS resulted in a significant increase in fuel efficiency, with an 11.2% reduction in consumption. When compared to the TDCS, it consumed 4 to 14% less fuel during ploughing operations. Field capacity was increased by 3.4–14.5% due to ASCS and ADCS. The measuring efficiency of the devised system was determined to be greater than 99%.

Performance of hoe and triple disc furrow openers on no-till grain drills in a fine sandy loam soil

The success of no-till crop production depends largely on achieving initial crop establishment. Many designs of no-till grain drill furrow openers have been developed to cut through surface residue and plant seeds into undisturbed soil; the opener performance can vary widely under different soil and residue conditions. A field experiment was conducted to compare seeding performance, implement draft and tractor fuel consumption for two no-till grain drills with contrasting opener types, hoe and triple disc, for planting wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under Atlantic Canada conditions. A randomized complete block experimental design was employed with two no-till openers, three ground speeds, 5, 8 and 11 km h−1, and three target seeding depths, 20, 40 and 60 mm. Emergence counts and actual seeding depths were measured. Drill draft and tractor fuel consumption were measured with an instrumented tractor. Opener type and ground speed had no effect on seeding depth, vertical scatter of seed, or emergence rate indicating that both opener types performed equally well. Effect of ground speed on opener draft was not significant (P > 0.05), but effect of seeding depth was highly significant (P < 0.001) for both opener types; opener draft was about 200 N higher for the hoe than the triple disc opener at the same speed and depth. Tractor fuel consumption (L h−1) was higher for higher ground speeds, but when fuel consumption was expressed on an area basis (L ha−1), the fuel consumption was lower at higher ground speeds owing the improved tractor operating efficiency. This demonstrates opportunities for fuel savings by proper matching ground speed to tractor size. The results are applicable to similar soil conditions throughout the world, but may not be applicable in different or more difficult no-till seeding conditions such as a fine textured cohesive soil, compacted soil or large quantity of surface residue.

Automatic tractor slip-draft embedded control system

A microcontroller-based embedded system for automatic slip-draft control was designed, developed and tested for a 2WD tractor. The system synchronously measures and controls the wheel slip and implement′s draft closer to the set ranges under varying field conditions. Actual and theoretical speeds were digitally acquired through the controller-Hall Effect combination employed on front and rear wheels for the digital accession of the wheel slip. Implement draft was recorded using a three-point linkage dynamometer placed between the tractor and implement. The developed system was evaluated with test tractor and analogized with the existing draft control system. A maximum slip variation of 2% was witnessed between the computed and the indicated values in the developed system. The novel intelligent slip-draft control system also amounted to improve the tractive performance of 9.17% and 6.05% during ploughing and harrowing respectively when analyzed against an existing draft control system. It also minimizes operator fatigue and improves the operation efficiency resulting from a minimum intervention for depth and draft control under dynamic field conditions.

Efficiency of disc harrow adjustment for stubble tillage quality and fuel consumption

The compact disc harrow due to post-harvest tillage is used to incorporate the stubble and plant residues into soil, to induce their decomposition and to increase mineralization. The high-cut winter rape stubble is often main challenge of clear disc harrowing, especially in clay loam soil at minimum expenditure of fuel consumption. The aim of this study was to find optimal tillage performances and determine the fuel consumption what required to achieve the preferred level of stubble tillage in loam and clay loam soil after winter oilseed rape harvest. The tillage quality and fuel consumption were investigated in dependence on harrow disc angle (10°, 15° and 20°), tillage depth (5 and 8 cm) and working speed (1.4; 1.9; 2.5; 3.1; 3.6 m∙s−1). The tractor “CASE 135″ was instrumented with data acquisition system and was used to measure fuel consumption, actual working speed and implement draft. Research developed the efficient adjustment of aggregate regime mode to the best soil structure and plant residue incorporation. The beneficial relationship was established by obtaining tillage quality level to fuel consumption, which varied from 2.6 to 5.9 L·ha−1 in depending of soil type (loam and clay loam). Based on research results, the optimal fuel consumption (2.85 L·ha−1) was identified at disk harrow adjustment: disc angle 10°, working speed 3.5 m∙s-1 on both soils, but in different tillage depth 8 cm on loam and 5 cm on clay loam soil.

Refurbishment and evaluation of a two-wheeled tractor

The refurbishment of GUTBROD-WERKE/80 two-wheeled tractor for better functioning and subsequent field performance evaluation was carried out. Physical and mechanical inspections were done to ascertain the state of the tractor. The observed faults were; rusted and stuck carburetor, damaged induction coil, rusted fuel control, stuck wheels, worn out tires, and no implement attachment base. The faults were corrected by designing coupling flanges for implement attachment; replacement of carburetor and worn-out parts. The tractor was tested by conducting a field evaluation using standard equations and procedure. The results obtained showed that the field efficiency and effective field capacity were 61.50%, and 0.032ha/hr respectively. The fuel consumption was 0.43L/hr at a depth and width of cut of 8.94cm and 27.46cm respectively at an average soil moisture content of 13.2%. The implement draft and drawbar pull were 1.13kN and 0.43kW respectively. The tractor performance shows its suitability for small farm work.Keywords: two-wheel tractor, refurbishment, effective field capacity, field efficiency

Investigation of the Effect of Soil Moisture Content, Contact Surface Material and Soil Texture on Soil Friction and Soil Adhesion Coefficients

Abstract Soil friction and soil adhesion increase the implement draft force and energy consumption particularly in the tools that have larger contact area with soil. The main ways of lowering the total draft force of the tillage tools include the use of proper materials in tools structures as well as application of the tools in appropriate soil moisture content condition. This paper investigates the effects of soil moisture content, contact surface material and soil texture on soil friction and soil adhesion coefficients. To measure the coefficients of soil friction and soil adhesion, a measurement system was developed at the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili. Experiments for each soil texture were performed at five levels of soil moisture content and four contact materials of steel, cast iron, rubber, and teflon with three replications. Results have shown that in all soil types, the effects of soil moisture content and contact materials had a significant effect on the coefficient of both soil friction and soil adhesion at the probability level of 1%. The coefficient of friction increased with soil moisture content increment and reached its maximum and then had a drop in the fluid phase. Results have shown that the mean values of soil friction and soil adhesion coefficients were significantly different from the studied soils.

Draft Prediction of Commonly Used Tillage Implements for Sandy Clay Loam Soil in India

Draft requirements for prototypes of mouldboard plough, cultivator and offset disc harrow with different widths of cut or number of tools were measured at four levels of depth and four levels of forward speed in three soil compaction levels in a soil bin with sandy clay loam soil at an average soil moisture content of 9.58% (d.b.). Effect of depth was more significant on draft of mouldboard plough and offset disc harrow, whereas number of tynes was the most significant factor for cultivator. Rate of increase of draft with respect to depth was higher as compared to forward speed, cone index and width of cut for all implements tested. Draft values predicted by ASABE model were compared with those obtained from soil bin tests at three compaction levels. Quite often, the measured draft values were found to be about 2.9, 1.7 and 1.65 times more than the ASABE predicted values for mouldboard plough, cultivator and offset disk harrow, respectively. An equation similar to the ASABE model incorporating cone index was developed using stepwise regression analyses to model the draft of tillage implements for the range of soil and operating condition tested. Field tests with commercial models of these implements were conducted to acquire data for draft by developing appropriate instrumentation to validate the developed draft equation. The average absolute variations between the predicted and measured values of draft were within 5.5 % and 11.6% for all the implements tested, and thus validated the developed draft prediction equation.

Effect of Jatrophaand Ethanol Biofuel Blending on Performance of Agricultural Diesel Engine Tractors - Sudan

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of fuel type ( pure diesel, blending 10% of Jatropha oil with diesel (J10%), blending 14% of Jatropha oil with blending (J14%),blending 10% of ethanol with diesel (E10%), blending 14% of ethanol with diesel (E14%), blending 10% of Jatropha oil and 10% of ethanol with diesel (J10%, E10%) and blending 14% of Jatropha oil and 14% of ethanol with diesel (J14%, E14%)), on exhaust gases, engine speed, implement draft and power requirement and fuel consumption. The results showed that, Blending J14%, E14% recorded the highest rate of fuel consumption as 4.60 l/h compared with pure diesel which recorded 3.90 l/h. Pure diesel fuel recorded the lowest engine speed of 2174 rpm, while the fuel blends recorded engine speed in the range of 2529 – 2583 rpm. The fuel blend J14% recorded the lowest ppm of CO and of NO2.The J10%, E14% and J10% with E10% blending’s recorded the lowest SO2 as zero ppm. Pure diesel recorded the highest power requirement of 6.81 kW while J14% recorded the lowest power of 5.32 kW. Ethanol blending’s showed higher power than Jatropha blending by 19.7%. Statistical analysis showed that, the effect of fuel blending on draft and power, gases exhausted, engine speed and fuel consumption were not significant.

SIMULATION OF AUTOMATIC CONTROL SYSTEMS OF TILLAGE UNITS

The studies were performed to improve workflow of hydraulic automatic control systems of the tillage units. Tillage quality should not deteriorate. Working bodies of tillage machines have to be moved automatically. Automated devices can be separated into two groups: direct and indirect action. It is preferable to indirect action. The article presents analysis of automatic devices used into tillage machines. Automatic control systems can be hydraulic, electro-hydraulic and pneumatic. Mechanical systems are not effective. Hydraulic systems are cheaper electric and pneumatic. They provide best of energy and quality indicators of technological process of tillage. Automatic control systems are uses draft forces, hitch position, depth of the implement, speed, acceleration and other sensors. Method of computer modeling and optimization of hydraulic automatic control systems of tillage units was developed. Results of computer modeling of hydraulic automatic control systems help to select direction of improving quality and energy indicators of technological process of tillage. Optimized combine implement depth and draft control system of arable unit allow reducing deviation the draft force of the plow; deviation of the depth of plowing is equal to or smaller than agro-technical requirements. Deviation of the draft force was decreased to 13.5 % for deviation specific soil resistance - 20 %, depth of plowing - 0.21 m, deviation of the depth of plowing - 0.019 m (9 %). Deviation of the depth of plowing may be decreased to 0.010 m (4,8 %), but deviation of the draft force shell be increased up to 16.2%. Optimized hydraulic automatic control system of garden tiller with a trapezoidal mechanism leaves smaller untreated soil area from 1.37-1.46 times.

Development of improved intercultural hoe

The interculturing operation breaks the upper surface of the soil, uprooting the weeds, aerating the soil, making good mulch, so moisture inside properly retained from evaporation. In the animal-drawn hoe, the implement draft and the capacity of the animals to provide the required power will also affect performance, as will ergonomic considerations related to the comfort of the operator. A intercultural hoe could be easily handled, light, strong, durable, cheap, adjustable for different crops and can be easily manufactured locally. The present bullock hoe consists occupied the space coverage of width 95 cm, total height of 102 cm, three number of tynes and angle 41 0 . The shape of blade is rectangular and beam length of 236 cm. The field capacity of the implement was noted to be 0.27 hectares per hour which included the turning losses, the field capacity was found to be 0.17 hectares per hour for the area of 10×20 m 2 , which gives the field efficiency of 81.43 per cent.

The Influence of the Soil Water Content in the Soil-Tool DEM Model

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) for describing the action mechanism between soil and sweep tool can be used to perform a detailed analysis of draft force, soil cutting, clod-crushing and loosening by taking into account the tillage speed and the three soil phases. This study describes the simulation of the 3D DEM soil model and a cultivator sweep digitized with a 3D scanner, showing the soil—sweep interaction as a function of implement draft force and implement operating speed. The suitability of the model is validated by comparing the results of laboratory and simulated shear tests (static validation) with the results of soil bin tests (dynamic validation). The mechanical parameters of the sandy soil used for the soil bin tests were measured using the direct shear box test. Cohesion for the soil model used during simulations was set using the parallel bond contact model, where the determining factors were the Young modulus for particle contact (Ec) and bonding (Ēc), the Poisson’s ratio (nu), the normal (σ) and shear (τ) bond strength and the radius of the related volume (cylinder). Once the DEM model parameters were set, the draft force values measured during dynamic testing were harmonized using the value for viscous damping (ci). The dynamic soil—sweep model was validated using the viscous damping applied based on the simulated and measured draft force values. The validation of the Young modulus to 0.55e6 Pa (Kn = 1.73e4 N/m, Ks = 8.64e3 N/m) enabled us to set the draft force values of the model for different speeds (0.8–4.1 m/s) with an accuracy of 1–4%. During the analysis of changes in tillage quality, the developed dynamic soil—sweep model showed a high degree of porosity (48%) due to grubbing in the attenuated speed range (0.5–2.1 m/s), and a decreasing tendency (0.41–0.39%) in the non-damped speed range (2.1–4.1 m/s). After the initial equilibrium state, the ratio of average particle contacts for the given porosity decreased in the attenuated speed range (coord number: 4.8), and a slight decrease was also found above speeds of 2.1 m/s (coord number: 5.2). In the model, clod-crushing was examined based on the ratio of sliding contacts, and we found a continuous increase (sliding fraction: 2–15%) in the speed range used for the simulation (0.8–4.1 m/s).

Implement Draught and Power Requirement for Tillage operations in Gezira Soil (With Special Reference to Massad Area)

Implement Draught and Power Requirement for Tillage operations in Gezira Soil (With Special Reference to Massad Area)

Measurement of weight transfer in two wheel drive tractor by developed ring transducer

Weight transfer or weight shift is, in fact, reaction transfer or change in the reactions of front and rear wheels of the tractor. Weight transfer because of drawbar loading decreases soil reaction against the front wheels and increases reaction against the rear wheels. A study was done to measure the dynamic front wheel reaction of the tractor and thereby the weight transfer from front to the rear wheel. Developed ring transducer was attached below the tractor's front axle to measure the front wheel reaction. Field experiments were conducted using Ford-3630 tractor with three different implements viz., 3-bottom mould board plough, 9-tyne cultivator and offset disc harrow. For each operation, the parameters such as dynamic front wheel reaction, draft, slip and depth were measured. The instrumented link forces were used to calculate implement draft. Slip was calculated by measuring actual speed in the field at different depths and theoretical speed on a concrete surface in the same gear and throttle position. The dynamic front wheel reaction was measured by using the developed ring transducer and thus, the weight transfer from front to rear was calculated. Also the weight transfer for a given draft was calculated theoretically and compared with the experimentally determined weight transfer. The data indicated that weight transfer increased with increase in draft. The maximum variation between theoretical and experimental values of weight transfer was found to be 12.62 per cent. This variation may be due to some assumptions made in theoretical calculation as well as due to vibration of the front axle while operating the tractor in the field.

Performance of tractor and tillage implements in clay soil

A mobile instrumentation system was developed and mounted on an MF 285 tractor to measure the performance parameters of the tractor and attached implements. The system measures implement draft, fuel consumption, real forward velocity, tillage depth and engine speed. Other parameters such as wheel slippage, drawbar power and traction efficiency would be calculated by ASABE standard. Overall energy efficiency for the tractor-implement system was calculated, too. Three implements included of moldboard plow, disk plow and chisel plow at four forward velocities (1.5, 2.3, 3 and 4km/h) in 23cm depth and 1500rpm engine speed was examined. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of resulted data revealed that increase of forward velocity results in increase of implement draft, wheel slippage, drawbar power and overall energy efficiency but results in decrease of traction efficiency. Furthermore, fuel consumption decreased by increase of velocity from 1.5km/h to 3km/h but increased by increase of velocity from 3km/h to 4km/h. Moreover, it was observed that draft requirement for implements in tests ranged from 8.2kN for the disk plow to 13kN for the chisel plow and fuel consumption ranged from 10.72L/ha for the chisel plow to 26.5L/ha for the moldboard plow. The ranges in mentioned parameters indicate that energy saving can be readily done by selecting energy-efficient implements and by proper matching of the tractor size and operating parameters to the implements.

Development of a fuel consumption equation: Test case for a tractor chisel-ploughing in a clay loam soil

Fuel consumption and tillage draught were measured when chiselling in a clay loam soil in Badjgah Research Station, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. An 81 kW tractor (MF-399) instrumented with a data acquisition system was used to measure fuel consumption, actual forward speed, theoretical forward speed, slip and implement draught. The effects of blade width (5 and 10 cm), tillage depth (10, 15 and 20 cm) and actual forward speed (3, 4 and 5 km h−1) upon fuel consumption were investigated. Fuel consumption was assumed to be a function of wheel numeric, slip, net traction ratio, rolling resistance ratio, chisel-tool aspect ratio and actual forward speed. Collected data were used to model the tractor fuel consumption using dimensional analysis approach. Results were compared to fuel consumption rates as predicted by ASAE Standards (D497.4). The comparisons showed that the standard overestimates fuel consumption by 26–53%. Results from regression (F-test) between predicted and measured fuel consumption data showed that the slopes for fuel consumption with the 5 and 10 cm blade widths were not significantly different from 1:1 line (P ≤ 0.05). Consequently, the fuel consumption rate can be successfully predicted by the model with good accuracy.

Investigation of the soil translocation process depending on the angle of setting the leveler moldboard

A theoretical assumption of the effect of the angle of setting moldboards toward the direction of travel on soil translocation is examined. Results of investigations to reduce longitudinal translocation of soil of an embankment into the excavation of a temporary irrigation ditch without mixing its upper dry and lower wet layers and implement draft are given.

Computerized instrumentation system for monitoring the tractor performance in the field

A high precision computerized instrumentation package was developed and mounted on a 50 kW tractor to monitor and measure various performance parameters of a tractor and implement system. The system was intended to be used for the compilation of a database of draft requirements of tillage implements. The system designed to measure: three-point linkage forces, ground speed, tillage depth, fuel consumption, forward speed, slip, engine speed, hydraulic pressure and fluid temperatures. The data acquisition unit was based on a high speed multi processors Campbell Scientific CR3000 data logger linked to a microcomputer using suitable transducer. The average calibration constants for the rear wheel speed, fuel consumption and three point linkage transducers were 0.0364 m/pulse, 0.000142857 l/pulse and 0.66 mV/kN respectively. The data acquisition system was capable of scanning rate up to 100 K sample/s. Data acquisition system was developed to measure draft of primary tillage implements in vertisol.