Automatic depth control system for a no-till seeder

Jiale Zhao, Longtu Zhu, Honglei Jia, Dongyan Huang, Mingzhuo Guo, Yongjiang Cong

Abstract


Sowing depth has an important impact on the performance of a no-till seeder. The seeds should be placed at optimal depth for rapid germination and emergency. To compensate the spatial variation in soil type and conditions, an automatic depth control system was designed, which consisted of a deformation sensor, an actuator and a controller. The deformation sensor was made of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film, which was fixed on the inner surface of the gauge wheel, and the output voltage was determined by the deformation of the wheel. Two models of the PVDF sensor with a tiled shape and an arched shape were set up to analyze the relationship between the output signal and the wheel deformation. In the experiments, the relationship between the output voltage and gauge wheel deformation was obtained, and the results were in accord with the model analysis results. The voltage of both sensors increase with the augment of deformation, the arched sensor was more sensitive than the tiled one. The arched sensor embedded in the control system was able to maintain the desired seeding depth within tolerance ±8 mm at driving speed of 2.78 m/s, which can satisfy the agronomic requirements for the no-till seeder.
Keywords: no-till seeder, sowing depth, control system, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film, sensor
DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20181101.3229

Citation: Zhao J L, Zhu L T, Jia H L, Huang D Y, Guo M Z, Cong Y J. Automatic depth control system for a no-till seeder. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2018; 11(1): 115–121.

Keywords


no-till seeder, sowing depth, control system, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film, sensor

Full Text:

PDF

References


Busari M A, Kukal S S, Kaur A, Bhatt R, Dulazi A A. Conservation tillage impacts on soil, crop and the environment. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 2015; 3(2): 119–129.

Karayel D. Performance of a modified precision vacuum seeder for no-till sowing of maize and soybean. Soil and Tillage Research, 2009; 104(1): 121–125.

Bahrani M J, Raufat M H, Ghadiri H. Influence of wheat residue management on irrigated corn grain production in a reduced tillage system. Soil and Tillage Research, 2007; 94(2): 305–309.

Altikat S, Celik A, Gozubuyuk Z. Effects of various no-till seeders and stubble conditions on sowing performance and seed emergence of common vetch. Soil and Tillage Research, 2013; 126(1): 72–77.

Chen Y, Monero F V, Cavers C, Lobb D, Tessier S. Effects of six tillage methods on residue incorporation and crop performance under a heavy clay soil condition. Transactions of the Asae, 2004; 47(4): 1003–1010.

Ozmerzi A, Karayel D, Topakci M. PM-Power machinery: effect of sowing depth on precision seeder uniformity. Biosystems Engineering, 2002; 82(2): 227–230.

Suomi P, Oksanen T. Automatic working depth control for seed drill using ISO 11783 remote control messages. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2015; 116: 30–35.

Karayel D, Ozmerzi A. Evaluation of three depth-control components on seed placement accuracy and emergence for a precision planter. Applied

Engineering in Agriculture, 2008; 24(3): 271–276.

Kiani S. Automatic on-line depth control of seeding units using a non-contacting ultrasonic sensor. International Journal of Natural and Engineering Sciences, 2012; 6(2): 39–42.

Nielsen S K, Norremark M, Green O. Sensor and control for consistent seed drill coulter depth. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2016; 127: 690–698.

Scarlett A J. Integrated control of agricultural tractors and implements: a review of potential opportunities relating to cultivation and crop establishment machinery. Computers & Electronics in Agriculture, 2001; 30(1): 167–191.

Weatherly E T, Bowers Jr C G. Automatic depth control of a seed planter based on soil drying front sensing. Transactions of the ASAE, 1997; 40(2): 295–305.

Adamchuk V I, Hummel J W, Morgan M T, Upadhyaya S K. On-the-go soil sensors for precision agriculture. Computers & Electronics in Agriculture, 2004; 44(1): 71–91.

Saeys W, Engelen K, Ramon H, Anthonis J. An automatic depth control system for shallow manure injection, Part 1: Modelling of the depth control system. Biosystems Engineering, 2007; 98(2): 146–154.

Saeys W, Wallays C, Engelen K, Ramon H, Anthonis J. An automatic depth control system for shallow slurry injection, Part 2: Control design and field validation. Biosystems Engineering, 2008; 99(2): 161–170.

Mouazen A M, Anthonis J, Saeys W, Ramon H. An automatic depth control system for online measurement of spatial variation in soil compaction, Part 1: Sensor Design for Measurement of Frame Height Variation from Soil Surface. Biosystems Engineering, 2004; 89(2): 139–150.

Celina M C, Dargaville T R, Chaplya P M. Piezoelectric PVDF materials performance and operation limits in space environments. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, 2004; 851: 449–460.

IEEE Standard on Piezoelectricity. ANSI/IEEE Standard 176-1987, 1987.

Huang D Y, Zhu L T, Jia H L, Yu T T. Automatic Control System of Seeding Depth Based on Piezoelectric Film for No-till Planter. Transactions of the CSAM, 2015; 46(4): 1–8. (in Chinese)

Sharma T, Je S S, Gill B, Zhang X J. Patterning piezoelectric thin film PVDF–TrFE based pressure sensor for catheter application. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 2012; 177(2): 87–92.

Yi J. A piezo-sensor-based “smart tire” system for mobile robots and vehicles. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2008; 13(1): 95–103.

Yoon H S, Washington G, Danak A. Modeling, optimization, and design of efficient initially curved piezoceramic unimorphs for energy harvesting applications. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, 2005; 16(16): 877–888.

Wang C Y. On symmetric buckling of a finite flat-lying heavy sheet. Journal of Applied Mechanics, 1984; 51(2): 278–282.

Santillan S T, Virgin L N, Plaut R H. Post-buckling and vibration of heavy beam on horizontal or inclined rigid foundation. Journal of Applied Mechanics, 2006; 73(4): 664–671.




Copyright (c)



2023-2026 Copyright IJABE Editing and Publishing Office