Design and development of equipment for measuring the draft requirement of animal drawn implements

Date

1992

Abstract

The study aimed to design and develop instruments for simultaneous monitoring of draft, speed and depth of cut in testing an animal-drawn upland plow under field conditions. Design requirements included robustness, accuracy, convenience in use, adaptability to a data logger, low cost, and suitability for field use. Fabricated were a 500-kg pull meter and a linkage type pull angle meter for measuring draft, a trailing wheel type speed meter and a level type depth gage. The instruments were calibrated and their performance under upland field condition was tested. The pull angle meter, compared with hitch geometry method, was found to be more appropriate for measuring the pull angle of the pull meter. The pull angle meter utilizes a precision potentiometer and a 1:4 step up gear drive, and has an accuracy of +/- 2 °. Calibration of the trailing wheel speed meter, using a compact four-wheel tractor to achieve uniform speed, yielded linear regression lines. A sample field test validated the calibration curve of the speed meter. The speed meter is equipped with a tachogenerator and has an accuracy of +/- 0.024 m/s in the range of 0.4 to 1 m/s. Average plowing depths measured by depth gage did not differ from those measured with a steel tape (or ruler). Using the pull angle meter sensor assembly for testing, an accuracy of +/- 2 cm was obtained. In a dry run conducted with the set of instruments installed on a plow, the operator did not experience any difficulty in starting or maneuvering the plow, except when turning at furrow ends during which the operator experienced some heaviness in lifting the plow. Excluding calibration of the speed meter, the instruments can be easily be set up and prepared by two persons including the plow operator in about half an hour.

Document Type

Master Thesis

Degree

Master of Science in in Agricultural Engineering

Language

English

LC Subject

Plows, Agricultural machinery, Agricultural implements

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

LG 995 1992 A2 O75

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