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ThesisItem Restricted STUDIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF C.I. ENGINE USING ETHYL ESTER AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL(PAU Ludhiana, 2011) Rajneesh Kumar; Anoop Kumar, DixitThe agriculture sector of the country is mainly dependent on diesel for its motive power and to a large extent for power applications. Increased farm mechanization in agriculture, further increases requirement of this depleting fuel source. To overcome the problems associated with the use of petroleum derived fuels, it becomes necessary to develop alternative fuels with properties comparable to petroleum based fuels. Among the alternative fuels, biodiesel fuel has received much attention in recent years for use in diesel engines and could be one alternative in the country to reduce petroleum diesel import. Research has been done in the country using methanol. But, methanol is toxic in nature. Ethanol is derived from biomass. Ethyl ester derived from plant oils by using ethanol brings extra carbon atoms through ethanol molecule which slightly increases the heat content and the cetane number. Ethyl esters have lower cloud and pour points than the methyl esters. This fact improves the cold start of engine. Jatropha plant oil is non edible oil so it was selected for preparation of ethyl ester. The available Jatropha oil had high free fatty acid therefore, a twostep transesterification process was used to prepare ester for the study. Fuel characteristics of different blends of ethyl ester and diesel were determined in terms of kinematic viscosity (cS), gross heating value (MJ/kg), density (g/cm3), flash point (ºC), cloud point (ºC) and pour point (ºC) and were compared with that of pure diesel fuel. Thereafter, five blends of ester and diesel were used as fuel at four levels of loads i.e. 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% of the rated load for engine performance study at two different compression ratio (16.5:1 and 18.5:1) and compare the results with the results obtained in case of diesel fuel. Maximum recovery of ester was obtained by pretreating the oil with 5% H2SO4 and 20% ethanol and then its transesterification using 30% ethanol and 3% KOH. Kinematic viscosity (cS), density (g/cm3), flash point (ºC), cloud point (ºC) and pour point (ºC) of all blends of ethyl esters (B10, B20, B30 and B40) were higher than that of diesel and gross heating values (MJ/kg) of all biodiesel blends were less as compared to diesel. Nitric oxide (NOx) emissions in case of all biodiesel blends were more as compared to diesel. NOx concentration in exhaust gases was increased with increase of ester in blends and also increased with increase in compression ratio. Carbon monoxide (CO) emission for all biodiesel blends was less as compared to diesel. CO concentration in exhaust gases was decreased with increase in percentage of ester in the blend and also decreased with increase in compression ratio. Brake thermal efficiency for all biodiesel blends was more as compared to diesel. Brake thermal efficiency increased with increase in load and also increased with increase in compression ratio. Brake specific fuel consumption in case of blends was more as compared to diesel. Brake specific fuel consumption decreased with increase in load as well as with increase in compression ratio.ThesisItem Open Access Performance evaluation of a tractor operated air assisted orchard sprayer(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2016) Bathla, Rajan; Singh, S.K.Performance evaluation of a tractor operated air assisted orchard sprayer had been undertaken. Hollow cone nozzles and double action nozzles were used to study the performance of the sprayer. The sprayer was tested in laboratory at four operating pressures (3, 4, 6 and 8 kg/cm2) and three blower speeds (1288, 1883 and 2541 rpm) to determine the suitable operational parameters for the sprayer. The combination of 8 kg/cm² pressure and 1288 rpm blower speed was found to be the suitable combination which was selected for field test. Sprayer was operated in the field at three forward speeds (0.76, 1.09 and 1.64 km/h), and different parameters were recorded and analyzed. Volume median diameter and uniformity coefficient for hollow cone nozzles varied from 162 to 300 µm and 1.62 to 2.88 respectively and for double action nozzles, it varied from 127 to 166 µm and 1.29 to 2.34 respectively. The droplet density on upper and underside of leaves for hollow cone nozzles varied from 43 to 178 and 69 to 301 drops/cm2 respectively and for double action nozzles, it varied from 72 to 203 and 51 to 98 drops/cm2 respectively. Volume of spray deposition on upper and underside of leaves for hollow cone nozzles varied from 107.4 × 10-6 to 383.79 × 10-6 cc/cm2 and 100.59 × 10-6 to 781.93 × 10-6 cc/cm2 respectively and for double action nozzles, it varied from 120.23 × 10-6 to 216.05 × 10-6 cc/cm2 and 54.76 × 10-6 to 172.15 × 10-6 cc/cm2 respectively.ThesisItem Restricted Ergonomic evaluation of walk behind type self propelled paddy transplanter(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2016) Goyal, Gagandeep; Chhuneja, N. K.The self propelled walk behind type paddy transplanters are gaining popularity as they require comparatively lesser initial investment and are easy to operate and maintain as compared to riding type. The ergonomic aspects of walk behind paddy transplanter are of great importance as the operator has to walk behind the machine for a distance of about 10-20 km for 8-hours a day and that also under puddled field conditions. Besides walking in field, stress due to mechanical vibrations, human workload, noise, etc. also affect performance of the operator. The research was planned to study the effect of operational parameters of walk behind self propelled paddy transplanter on physiological parameters, noise, vibrations and work-rest schedule. Hand-arm vibrations were the maximum along x-axis (vertical) and the minimum along y-axis (lateral). Soil type had non-significant effect on vibrations acceleration. However, vibrations increased with increase in forward speed of the paddy transplanter. The mean values of vibrations total value varied from 8.6 to 14.0 m/s2 among all the treatments. The equivalent 8-hours vibrations exposure was found to be ranging between 7.4 and 12.0 m/s2, which was very much higher than the limiting value of 2.8 m/s2 for safe operation of machine. The mean values of sound pressure level varied from 74.0 to 85.7 dB(A) among all the treatments. The mean values of oxygen consumption varied between 607.6 and 1052.6 ml/min with corresponding relative load between 18.1 and 37.3% among all the treatments. The mean values of energy expenditure rate varied between 12.7 and 22.0 kJ/min. The physiological workload was found to be in the category of light work at 1.3 and 1.8 km/h of forward speed of paddy transplanter; but, as moderate work at a forward speed of 2.3 km/h. The physiological responses viz. heart rate, volume of oxygen consumption, discomfort ratings and noise were within the desired limits at the maximum available forward speed of 2.3 km/h of the machine, which also gives the maximum possible field capacity. At this forward speed, a work schedule of about 45 minutes of operating the paddy transplanter followed by a rest of about 15 minutes is desired, which can be easily achieved if the two workers interchange their work after every 45 minutes.ThesisItem Open Access Development of Relationship between Remotely Sensed Data at Different Crop Growth Stages and Yield Monitor Data for Maize Crop(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2016) Sanodiya, Rajeshwar; Manjeet SinghThe average yield of maize in India is only 2.47 tonnes/ha as against the global average of 5.47 tonnes/ha. To meet the food grain requirement of 480 million tonnes by the year 2050 in India, with the increasing challenges of biotic-abiotic stresses experienced by crops, introduction and adoption of modern technologies in Indian agriculture is inevitable. Precision farming is one of the technology which helps to find these goals. Monitoring of crop growth and forecasting its yield well before harvest is very important for better crop and food management. Hence, the study has been carried out to develop the empirical relationship between remotely sensed data at different crop growth stages and yield data for maize crop. Spectroradiometer, infrared camera, N-Tester and chlorophyll content meter (CCM) were used to collect data at different growth stages of the crop to develop relationship with the yield monitor data. The near infrared (NIR) camera was mounted on parrot AR. Drone 2.0 frame for image acquisition. Maize field was harvested by the combine harvester mounted with yield monitor to generate the yield map of the field. The average yield of the field recorded by yield monitor was 3913.9 kg/ha with standard deviation of 390.12 kg/ha and coefficient of variation of 9.33 %. The data revealed that the grid size has non-significant effect on yield and error at 5 % level of significance. Statistical linear regression models were used to develop empirical relationship between the sensor data and yield at three growth stages of maize crop. The yield prediction equations have maximum coefficient of determination (R²) i.e. 0.90, 0.84, 0.86 for NDVI (R630-690 and R760-900), N-Tester and NDVI (NIR camera) respectively at silking stage (R1). While for CCI, the maximum coefficient of determination i.e. 0.87 was observed at dough stage (R4). All sensor values like NDVI, CCI and N-tester values were positively correlated with yield data at all growth stages of maize. The data revealed a close linear relationship between NDVI (NIR camera) and NDVI (R630-690 and R760-900) with coefficient of determination (R2) value 0.80. Similarly there was a close relationship between CCI and N-tester values with coefficient of determination (R2) 0.79. It was concluded that the silking stage (R1 stage) i.e. 55 DAP was the most prominent stage for yield prediction using NDVI. Yield can be predicted 48 days before harvesting using reflectance data captured by spectroradiometer.ThesisItem Restricted Development and evaluation of tractor operated flail type forage harvester with chaffing system(PAU, 2015) Goyal, Rajesh; Mahal, Jaskarn SinghFodder harvesting, transporting and its chopping is a major resource consuming component in dairy farming business. To do all the above three operation simultaneously, a tractor operated flail type forage harvester cum chopper was developed in the Dept of FM&PE, PAU. But machine could not become popular at farmer’s field because of uneven size of cut of fodder. Thus a study was undertaken to develop and evaluate a tractor operated flail type forage harvester with chaffing system. For this, flail unit of already developed machine was studied for different flail peripherial speeds ( 3 levels : 25, 29 & 35 m/s ) and forward speeds ( 3 levels : 2.5, 3.8 & 4.6 km/h ) for harvesting two types of fodder crops i.e Maize and Sorghum. Bulk density of fodder chopped by flails, height of cut, harvesting efficiency, flail throw efficiency were taken as performance parameters. Optimum combination of parameters were Flail peripherial speed of 35 m/s and forward speed of 2.5 km/hat which loss of fodder was minimum due to maximum flail throw efficiency and harvesting efficiency. The bulk density of fodder chopped by flails at these speeds was 103.5 kg/m3. A tractor operated flail type forage harvester with chaffing system was developed by replacing screw conveyer & blowing cum chopping mechanism with belt conveyer and positive feed chaffing system respectively. For this, design of belt conveyer and chaffing system was done considering the cropping intensity of fodder crop, bulk density of fodder chopped by flails and field capacity of machine at the optimum selected speed of machine. The developed machine was evaluated for three forward speeds (3 levels: 2.0, 2.5 & 3.0 km/h) and three conveyer speeds (3 levels: 0.55, 0.70 & 0.85 m/s) on two crops maize and sorghum. The forward speed of 2.0 km/h and conveyer speed of 0.55 m/swas foundto be best among all the studied parameters. The weighted size of cut of chopped fodderfor maize and sorghum fodder was 3.09 cm and 3.04 cm respectively. The fuel consumption, height of cut, harvesting efficiency, material capacity and field capacity for maize and sorghum fodderwas 6.25 l/h, 4.8 cm, 98.0 %, 6.53 t/h & 0.23 ha/h and 6.48 l/h, 4.9 cm, 98.5 %, 6.60 t/h & 0.23 ha/hrespectively.ThesisItem Open Access STUDIES ON EFFECT OF BLADE SHAPE AND SPEED OF ROTARY PUDDLER ON PUDDLING QUALITY(PAU, 2011) Gurvinder SinghA study was conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana to evaluate the performance of commonly used rotary blades of different shapes in terms of power requirement, pudding quality on selected soils and to find out the best combination of blade shape and rotary speed of rotary puddler. Experiments were conducted on three blade shapes (J, C and L) at three rotor speeds (245, 263 and 280 rpm) in two types of soils S1 (Clay 10.2%, Silt 17.2% and Sand 72.6%) and S2 (Clay 21.4%, Silt 15.5% and Sand 63.1%) to study the effect of blade shape and rotor speed on puddling index, infiltration rate, PTO power requirement and fuel consumption. The treatment combinations were compared with control (Puddling with cultivator x 2 + Planker x 1). For measuring puddling index, soil water suspension samples were taken in graduated glass tube after the operation of rotavator and were kept undisturbed for 48 hours. Infiltration rate was measured by fixing the measuring scales in the field after puddling which gave the amount of water infiltrated into the soil. PTO power requirement was measured by installing a torque transducer on the PTO shaft. Fuel flow meter was installed in the fuel line of the tractor to measure fuel consumption. The results for each dependent parameter (puddling index, infiltration rate, power requirement and fuel consumption) were analyzed on the basis of Randomized Block Design (RBD) test using software “SAS 9.2 Version”. J shape blades gave maximum puddling index (70.22 and 73.78 %) and minimum infiltration rate (0.04 and 0.01 mm/h) at 280 rpm rotor speed in comparison to C and L blades and control for both soils S1 and S2 respectively. J shape blades required minimum PTO power (18.89 and 19.10 kW) and consumed minimum fuel (16.35 and 16.40 l/ha) at 245 rpm rotor speed as compared to C and L blades and control for both soils S1 and S2 respectively. J shape blades deposited maximum clay content (21.07 and 28.27 %) and minimum sand content (60.97 and 54.03%) in top 10 mm layer of soils S1 and S2 respectively. J shape blades at rotor speed of 280 rpm gave better results for puddling index, infiltration rate, PTO power requirement and fuel consumption as compared to C, L and control for both soils S1 and S2 respectively. So, J shape blade at 280 rpm rotor speed can be considered as the best combination for puddling.ThesisItem Restricted Design and fabrication of pea depoding machine(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2011) Parminder KambojAgro processing is regarded as a sunrise sector of Indian economy in view of its large potential for employment and income generation. In India, post- harvest processing of agricultural produce is very low in comparison to other countries, which may be mainly due to lack of processing technologies. There is a dire need to develop more processing machinery for value addition of agricultural produce with a reduction in time and labour. Pea is an important cool season, leguminous crop of India. Manual removal of peas from pods is a labourious and time consuming job with one person depod about 3-3.5 kg of peas from pods in one hour. In view of non-availability of efficient pea depoding machine work on design and fabrication of power operated pea depoding machine was undertaken by Department of Processing and Food Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Computer aided design of machine was made by using “Solid Works” software. The machine is based on the principle of friction generated by the rubbing of pea pods between the blade and the sieve of the machine which helps in opening the pods of pea grains. The model of machine was fabricated by using the low cost material available in the market and computer aided design helps to find dimensions of various components of machine in very small time. A simulation model of machine was made, which gives very fine representation of machine components. Performance evaluation of machine was done to optimize these machine parameters by such as RPM of blades shaft, blade size and clearance between sieve and blades. Based upon performance analysis the depoding efficiency of pea was 95.4% and whole grain efficiency of peas was 91.3% with grain damage of 2% was obtained at 60 RPM and 10 mm clearance between blades and sieve by using blades of 2.5” size aligned at angle of 1800 with respect to each other. This machine is simple in design and is capable of extracting 30 kg/h of shelled peas. This technology will save time and labour and will provide maximum benefits to the farming community by enhancing their incomeThesisItem Open Access Performance evaluation of a tractor operated trailed type boom sprayer(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2016) Jassowal, Navneet Singh; Shashi Kumar SinghA tractor operated trailed type boom prayer was selected to evaluate its performance under local agro-climatic conditions. To select suitable operational parameters of the sprayer, the sprayer was initially tested under laboratory conditions. Under laboratory conditions, it was observed that the nozzles spaced at 50 cm apart on the boom gave comparatively uniform spray distribution when the sprayer was operated at higher pressure keeping nozzle height 55-60 cm above the target surface. The droplet density varied from 29 to 174 drops/cm2.The area covered by droplet spots on the leaves under laboratory conditions varied from 9.10 to 25.06 mm2/cm2 and volume of spray deposition on upper side of leaves varied from 194.11 to 626.23 ×10-6 cc/cm2. The sprayer was operated in the cotton field at three forward speeds (2.5, 3.5 and 4 km/h) and at five fluid flow pressures (3.5, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 kg/cm2)for its performance evaluation. The droplet density on leaves varied from 26 to 177 drops/cm2.Area covered by droplet spots on upper side of the top leaves, middle leaves and bottom leaves varied from 14.18 to 24.70 mm2/cm2, 11.01 to 23.07 mm2/cm2 and 8.74 to 17.22 mm2/cm2 respectively. Volume of spray deposition on upper side of the top leaves, middle leaves and bottom leaves varied from 330.19 to 677.87 × 10-6 cc/cm2, 293.27 to 633.99 × 10-6 cc/cm2 and 202.71 to 685.57 × 10-6 cc/cm2 respectively.