Cotton-harvester-flow simulator for testing cotton yield monitors

Authors

  • Ruixiu Sui USDA-ARS, Cotton Ginning Research Unit
  • J. Alex Thomasson Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, Texas A&M University
  • S. D. Filip To Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Mississippi State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25165/ijabe.v3i1.216

Keywords:

cotton yield monitor, precision agriculture, sensor, cotton harvester

Abstract

An experimental system was developed to simulate the pneumatic flow arrangement found in picker-type cotton harvesters. The simulation system was designed and constructed for testing a prototype cotton yield monitor developed at Mississippi State University.  The simulation system was constructed to approximate the pneumatic cotton flow system of a cotton picker, and was capable of operating with varying cotton flow rates.  The simulator was tested with different cotton flow rates, and the relationship between feeder rate and amount of conveyed seed cotton was found to be consistent.  Further, the simulator was used to conduct tests with the novel optical cotton yield monitor, which proved accurate at measuring the amount of seed cotton flowing through the simulator.  Finally, some differences between laboratory testing and field-testing were noted: seed cotton becomes fluffed and twisted when recycled through the simulator, and seed cotton stored in the laboratory tends to be of lower moisture content than cotton during harvest. These differences should be considered when using a laboratory simulator to test cotton yield monitors.

Keywords: cotton yield monitor, precision agriculture, sensor, cotton harvester

DOI: 10.3965/j.issn.1934-6344.2010.01.0-0 

Citation: Ruixiu Sui, J. Alex Thomasson, S. D. Filip To.  Cotton-harvester-flow simulator for testing cotton yield monitors.  Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2010; 3(1):

Author Biographies

Ruixiu Sui, USDA-ARS, Cotton Ginning Research Unit

USDA-ARS, Cotton Ginning Research Unit, 111 Experiment Station Road, P.O. Box 256 Stoneville, MS 38776, USA

J. Alex Thomasson, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, Texas A&M University

Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA

S. D. Filip To, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Mississippi State University

Associate Professor, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA

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Published

2010-03-31

How to Cite

Sui, R., Thomasson, J. A., & To, S. D. F. (2010). Cotton-harvester-flow simulator for testing cotton yield monitors. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 3(1), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.25165/ijabe.v3i1.216

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2010): IJABE

Section

Information Technology, Sensors and Control Systems

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