• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.151-162
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• 1997

Chemical application is one of the most important field operation in rice production. Rolling of a boom due to local unevenness and softness in fields causes a local under/over-application of spray. In this study, the vertical movement of boom tips due to unevenness of ground in paddy fields was investigated, and an active pendulum suspension control system was designed and tested for compensating the movement and balancing the boom to the ground. The results for testing the performance of the control system showed that the system could balance the boom both in flat and inclined fields. The active pendulum control system developed in this study could be properly used for improving spraying performance of a boom sprayer.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.10-18
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• 2016

A front-end loader (FEL) mounted on an agricultural tractor is one of the most commonly used implements to mechanize routine agricultural tasks. When the FEL is used with a loaded bucket, careful operation is required to maintain safety and avoid spillage when the tractor passes a bump because a change in the gravity center of the tractor due to varied loadings can affect the stability of the tractor. Use of a boom suspension system consisting of accumulators and orifice dampers can be instrumental in reducing pitching vibrations while increasing the handling performance of the FEL-mounted tractor. The objective of this research was to reduce bump shocks by adding an orifice and a flow control valve to the original hydraulic circuit composed solely of accumulators. A simulation study was performed using the SimulationX program to investigate the effects of an accumulator and an orifice-throttle damper on bump shocks. Results showed that the peak pressure on a boom cylinder and the vertical acceleration of a bucket were significantly affected by use of both an accumulator and an orifice damper. In a field test conducted with a 75-kW tractor, the peak pressure of the boom cylinder, and the root mean square (RMS) vertical acceleration of the bucket and seat were reduced by on average, 23.0, 42.2, and 44.9% respectively, as compared to those measured with the original accumulator system, showing that an improved design for the accumulator hydraulic circuit can reduce bump shocks. Further studies are needed to design a tractor suspension system that includes the effects of cabin suspension and tires as well as dynamic analysis.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.210-215
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• 2018

It is difficult to count colonial cyanobacteria Microcystis cells since the thickness of colonies is constrained by amorphous mucilage, making it impossible to estimate the number of cells. Disaggregation of Microcystis colonies into single cell is needed to improve the accuracy and precision of cell density estimation of naturally collected samples. Uultrasonic treatment method is commonly used owing to the simplicity and immediacy of the procedure. However, amplitude, frequency, and duration of ultrasonic treatment also cause cell loss during the experiment. Optimal ultrasonic treatment has not been standardized yet. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate optimal ultrasonic treatment by analyzing cell density and colony numbers. We collected colonial Microcystis from Changnyeong-Haman weir area in Nakdong River during harmful algal boom period from September to October in 2017. Ultrasonic treatment method was applied to disrupt colonies into single cells to enumerate cell density. Among treatment conditions, results from continuously treated for 100 seconds were found to be the optimum to reduce colonies to a suspension of single cell without cell losses under high and low density of Microcystis cells. Lugol iodine fixed cells followed by sonication showed less negative impact of cell damage within the optimal treatment time (100 seconds). Furthermore, disaggregated cells treated by sonication enables microscopic observation more easily since gas vacuoles were collapsed to facilitate sedimentation of cells under the counting chamber for quantitative enumeration of buoyant Microcystis cells.