Design and testing of a field-testing unit for agricultural soil-engaging tools
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Date
2019
Authors
Kuntavalli Venkatesh, Sumanth
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Journal ISSN
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Abstract
Tillage and seeding, the physical manipulation or disturbance of the soil for crop production, are important aspects of agriculture. Over the ages, farmers have relied on agricultural machinery and tools to improve crop productivity and agriculture sustainability. New and efficient agricultural machines are developed and tested frequently to satisfy the ongoing demand for crop production. Tillage and seeding play an important role in modern day crop production. However, field testing units specifically built for evaluating different tillage and seeding tools (named as soil-engaging tools) are not available. Therefore, the main objective of this research was to develop a field-testing unit to test soil-engaging tools for agriculture. The field-testing unit is designed to have the following specifications: capable of traveling on highways; versatile for mounting different soil-engaging tools; adjustable toolbar gang angle (0 to 22ยบ) and tool working depth (1-16 in). The major mechanical components of the testing unit include a mainframe, subframe, rocker arm, two transportation wheels, and a hydraulic system. The testing unit is also designed to equip electronic instruments, such as a dynamometer, laser profilers, and high-speed cameras to monitor soil dynamic properties. The field-testing unit is designed, manufactured and tested for the operating conditions and feasibility of selected tools. Results showed that the field-testing unit generally met the design specifications.
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Keywords
Agriculture, Machine design, Tillage, Tool Testing, Concept design.
Citation
Chicago