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Subject: Farm, Machinery and Power × Author: Kumari Nisha × End date: 2023 × Start date: 2020 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Study on tillage-induced soil compaction using an embedded microprocessor based cone penetrometer
    (CCSHAU, Hisar, 2023-02) Kumari Nisha; Upadhyay, Ganesh
    Soil compaction is a major concern for agricultural field management which can either positively or negatively affects plant growth and crop yield. Measurement of compaction in terms of soil penetration resistance or cone index (CI) using a hand penetrometer requires more time and effort. Therefore, to reduce the human engagement, a tractor hydraulic assisted embedded microprocessor based penetrometer was developed to make the results easy to monitor and also decrease the human error. The developed penetrometer consisted of a driving system for pushing the penetrometer probe into the soil up to the desired depth at the desired speed, a sensor unit for measuring the force required to push the probe and depth of penetration, and a data logging system. The driving system consisted of a directional control valve and a double-acting hydraulic cylinder actuated by the tractor hydraulic system. A load cell was fitted between the cylinder and penetrometer rod to measure the penetration resistance. An ultrasonic sensor mounted beneath a circular plate fixed in the cylinder rod monitored the depth of penetration. A WiFi module helped to transmit the data to a developed Android mobile application through WiFi. The developed system was successfully able to measure a maximum soil penetration resistance of 5000 kPa up to a penetration depth of 500 mm. The embedded system of the penetrometer comprised various components such as Arduino Uno microcontroller, I2C, WiFi module, HX711 amplifier, 9 V battery etc. The acquired data also includes date/time parameters along with latitude and longitude locations picked up from the GPS system of the mobile. The performance of the developed embedded microprocessor based cone penetrometer was also assessed based on sensor performance characteristics such as accuracy, sensitivity, non-linearity, and non-repeatability. The average and maximum absolute variations in the cone index values measured with the developed system and a hand-held digital penetrometer were observed to be 22.50% and 25.13%, respectively. A study was also conducted to quantify the data regarding freshly induced soil compaction beneath the tillage working depth purely due to the tilling action of the active tillage machinery such as Rotavator, Power harrow, and PTO-operated disc tiller in terms of parameters such as cone index, bulk density, and porosity. The results of compaction study showed that the maximum soil compaction beneath the working depth (120-220 mm depth range) in terms of increment in soil CI and bulk density and decrement in soil porosity occur in treatment T1 (1 × rotavator) followed by treatments T4 (1 × cultivator + 2 × disc harrow), T3 (1 × PTO-operated disc tiller), and T2 (1 × power harrow).