• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery Conference
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• 2000.11b
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• pp.154-161
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• 2000

A series of soil bin experiment was carried to investigate the effects of rotary blade shape, rotational direction of rotary blade, number of blade and soil cutting disk blade on the characteristics of partial tillage. Among the three types of rotary blades, rotary blade for cultivator was considered to be proper for partial tillage of direct seeder considering the torque requirements and ratio of soil breaking. There is no need to attach so many blades to the rotary shaft. Four rotary blades were enough for efficient partial tillage by rotary tiller. Though soil cutting disk blade assisted the better formation of seedbed furrow, attachment of the soil cutting disk blade increased torque requirements.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.369-378
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• 2000

The purpose of this study is to developed high-efficient rotary tillage system for a power tiller by improving the rotary blade. A kind of the rotary blade with single-edged blade(DS) was developed that requires lower tillage energy than conventional double-edged blade(CD) on the design theory for Japanese rotary blade. In order to find out the tillage characteristics between the single-edged blade and the double-edged blade for power tiller, experiments were performed in soil-bins which were filled up clay loam, loam and sandy loam, and then analyzed the effects of the factors such as soil texture, travelling speed, rotational speed, and tillage depth to each of the blades. And field tests were carried out to compare tillage performances of the two blades using rotary cultivator driven by conventional power tiller. The results of this study were summarized as follows; 1) On the soil bin experiment, it was found that tillage torque of the single-edged blade was less than the ones of the double-edged blade. The decreasing ratios of maximum tillage torque of the single-edged blade to the ones of the double-edged blade were 1 to 8% at clay loam, 5 to 20% at loam and 9 to 31% at sandy loam, respectively. 2) By the field tests, that the tillage performances with the single-edged blade compared with the double-edged blade was improved about 19% in field capacity, about 34% in fuel consumption, and 12.5% in soil breaking ratio. Furthermore, the fluctuation of engine speed, the variation of exhaust gas temperature, and the amount of soil clogging on the blade and straw wound on the rotary shaft showed lower values with the developed blade than the conventional blade. So, it may be concluded that tillage performance by the developed single-edged blade was improved compared with the one by the conventional double-edged blade.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.79-83
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• 2009

In this study, actual state of operation of rotary tillage was surveyed in the central part of Korea which includes 29 rural community around Asan city, Choongnam principal. 29 heads of the village and 44 farmers were surveyed at the field with a questionnaire on the operation of rotary tillage with farm tractors. Power requirement of rotary tillage operation was measured at the field of each farmers during rotary tilling operation in the central part of Korea. Summaries of this study are summarized as follows. 1) Operations of tillage and land preparation were found to be carried out with farm tractors by 98 percents which are results of the survey on 29 heads of the village and 44 farmers. 2) More than half of the farms had tractors with horsepower more than 38 kW which states that most tractors were supplied in middle and large size. 3) The case of applying secondary tillage after the first primary tillage were 79 percent among the most of operations of tillage and field preparation. Rotary tillage were carried out on the most of wet paddy fields and only 14 percent of dry fields were cultivated with rotary tillage. 4) 63.6 percent of farm tractors were surveyed to meet the recommended field capacity on tillage operation by the government which were ranged from 15.1 to 34.9 ha. And the field capacity of these farm tractors were greater than that of annual total area of operation field, 13.2ha (data from Information of agricultural machinery, National agricultural products quality service, Korea), which states the utilization of agricultural machinery was high in the area surveyed. 5) 46 percent of farmers changed the blade of rotary implement when they used it over the field capacity of rotary blade of 33 ha which is the area of field for rotary operation per a blade change. 55 percent of farmers changed the rotary blade more than once per two years. 6) The required power for rotary operation of each farm tractors were measured as 17.206 kW at untilled paddy field and 34.989 kW at untilled dry field on the average, respectively. The required power for rotary operation was measured as 28.248 kW on the average at the paddy field which had been plowed once and 28.015 at the paddy field that had rotary tillage operation. Untilled dry field showed the highest value of the required power for rotary operation.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.215-222
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• 2007

In the study, the cone index, the cohesion and the internal friction angle of soil were measured before and after tillage in order to suggest relative improvement in soil properties by comparing the two measured values before and after tillage. The tillage methods tested in the study were five combinations of plowing and rotovating; one plow tillage operation, one plow followed by one rotary, one plow followed by two rotary, one rotary without plow and two rotary without plow. The experiments were performed in a soil bin in Sunggyunkwan Univ. and in four selected test fields in Yeoju, Seodun-Dong, Suwon (especially, two different fields) and Chungju. In general, the internal friction angle and cohesion of soil increased with the increase of soil compaction. After applying the tillage operations, the internal friction angle reduced by 14 degree and the cohesion decreased up to about $2.2N/cm^2$ on the soil bin in comparison with those before tillage. The two values, however, reduced by 9 degree and up to about $1.0N/cm^2$ on the tested fields. The CIs for all the tillage operations on the soil bin and on 4 different test fields were decreased by 800 kPa in comparison with those before tillage. The best combination of tillage operations for decreasing the CIs of soil was one plow operation followed by one rotary. The CIs for one plow operation followed by two rotary were slightly higher than that for one plow operation followed by one rotary because one plow operation followed by two rotary crushed down the soil excessively, so that the porosity of soil decreased.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.279-286
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• 2012

Purpose: This study has been conducted to investigate the applicability of motion analysis of tillage blade for estimation of tillage characteristics of crank-type and rotary-type rotavators. Methods: The interrelation between tillage traces from motion analysis and field test results including rotavating depth, pulverizing ratio and inversion ratio at the same work conditions were analyzed for both crank-type and rotary-type rotavators. The work conditions include working speed of prime mover tractor and PTO speed of rotavators. For the motion analysis, joint conditions of main connecting component were specified considering the actual working mechanism of rotavator. Results: There were important correlations for the trend between motion analysis and field test results. Conclusions: Although further study is needed for applying motion analysis to estimate the accurate tillage related parameters such as rotavating depth, the soil pulverizing ratio and inversion ratio, it could be used to compare the tillage characteristics of various rotavators quickly and simply.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.423-430
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• 2001

The purpose of this study is to develop high-speed rotary tillage system for a power tiller by improving the rotary blade and the power train of transmission. Mechanical structure of gear train of rotary drive of conventional power tiller was simplified so that power can be transmitted directly from second shaft to tilling speed change shaft by rotating freely the transfer gear which changes the direction of rotation of shafts using needle bearing installed into middle shaft. A new gear train suitable for the single-edged rotary blade and high-speed rotary drive was developed with the rotational speed of rotary shaft faster than 7.5% at 1st-speed and 1.4% at 2nd-speed the one of conventional system by changing the numbers of teeth of gears of middle shaft, tilling speed change shaft and PTO shaft. Using the developed gear train for high-speed rotary drive, field tests were performed to compare tillage performances by the developed single-edged blade and by the conventional double-edged blade. The results showed that the performances by the single-edged blade compared with the one by the double-edged blade was improved about 18% in field capacity, about 34% in fuel consumption, and 9.4% in soil crushing ratio. Therefore, it may be concluded that tillage performance by the single-edged blade was improved compared to the one by the conventional blade. Evaluation of the developed system consisting of single-edged blade and gear train for high-speed rotary drive in field revealed that tillage performance of the developed system was similar to the one of field test conducted using the system consisting of single-edged blade and gear train for rotary drive of conventional power tiller However, considering the higher cone index of the upland field where evaluation was carried out compare to the one of the ordinary paddy field, it may be concluded that tillage performance of the developed rotary tilling system better than the one of conventional system.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.207-216
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• 2004

This study was intended to investigate the characteristics of ride vibrations transmitted to tractor operator during rotary tillage and plowing operations. Seat accelerations of a 41 ps diesel tractor in rotary tillage and plowing were measured and evaluated as specified in the ISO 2631-1. Effects of working speed and tilling depth on ride vibration were investigated. The level of ride vibration was also evaluated in terms of health guidance caution zones. Some of the results of the study are as follows: 1. The level of ride vibration in plowing was about 4.3 times greater than in rotary tillage. 2. The effect of working speed in rotary tillage differs depending upon the tillage depth. The level of ride vibration was increased with the speed, but it decreased over a certain tillage depth. Fore and aft vibration was 2.2-2.7 times severer than horizontal and vertical vibrations. Dominant frequency band was 1-3.15 ㎐ in fore and aft, 1-3.15㎐ and 16-25㎐ in horizontal, and 16-25㎐ in vertical directions. 3. Plowing reduced the ride vibration by 42.8-50.2%. But its positive effect decreased as the plowing speed increased. In plowing operation, ride vibration was similar degrees in fore and aft, horizontal and vertical directions. The dominant frequency band in plowing operation was 1-2.5㎐ in fore and aft, 1-2.5㎐ in horizontal, and 1-8㎐ in vertical directions. 4. On a basis of daily work hours of 4, total level of ride vibrations in plowing operation is likely to be harmful to operator's health.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.116-126
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• 2016

The objective of this study is to predict the fuel efficiency of an agricultural tractor. The fuel efficiency of the tractor during rotary tillage was predicted using numerical modeling. A numerical model was developed using Simulation X. Based on tractor power flow, numerical modeling consisted of an engine, transmission, PTO (power take off), and hydraulics. The specifications of major components utilized in the numerical model were the same as those of a 71 kW tractor (field test tractor). The load that was inputted for fuel efficiency prediction into the simulation model was obtained from a field test. Fuel efficiency predictions were conducted by comparing field test results and simulation results. In addition, it was performed by dividing the rotary tillage and steering section. Main results are as follows: first, t-values of engine torque were measured to be 0.31 in the rotary tillage and 0.92 in the steering section. Second, t-values of fuel consumption were measured to be 0.51 and 5.41 in the rotary tillage and the steering section, respectively. Finally, t-values of fuel efficiency were measured to be 1.72 and 40 in the rotary tillage and the steering section, respectively. The results show no significant differences with t-values of less than 5% in the rotary tillage. But, it shows significant differences in the steering section. Therefore, simulation for accurate fuel efficiency prediction requires a suitable algorithm or detailed design of the simulation model in the steering section.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2011

Analysis of load on major parts of the tractor power drive line is critical for efficient and optimum design of a tractor. The purpose of this study was to evaluate severeness of the tractor PTO driving axle during rotary tillage operation. First, S-N (stress vs. number of cycle) curve of a PTO driving gear was obtained through the fatigue life test using a PTO dynamometer. Second, PTO severeness was evaluated during rotary tillage operation. Torque measurement system was constructed with strain-gauge sensors to measure torque of a PTO axle, an I/O interface to acquire the sensor signals, and an embedded system to calculate severeness. The severeness of PTO was analyzed using measured torque data during rotary tillage. In the PTO gear life fatigue test, breakage time and bending stress of the gear were measured by tooth widths and torque change during the fatigue life test. The S-N curve showed a good linear relationship between bending stress and number of cycle (life) with a coefficient of determination of 0.97. For PTO severenss evaluation, rotary tillage operations were conducted at two PTO rotational speeds (level-1, level-2) under different paddy and upland field sites with different soil conditions. Results of averaged relative severeness for PTO level-1 and PTO level-2 were 1.96 and 3.34, respectively, at paddy field sites, and they were 1.36 and 2.51, respectively, at upland field sites. The results showed that the PTO driving axle experienced more severe load during rotary tillage at paddy fields than at upland sites, and relative severeness was greater at the higher PTO rotational speed under all of the soil conditions.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.83-93
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• 2018

Purpose: This study derived the consumed power and load characteristics of a tillage operation performed in an upland field located in Seomyeon, Chuncheon, Rep. Korea, where potatoes and cabbages were cultivated in two crops. Methods: A plow and rotavator were mounted on a tractor with 23.7 kW of rated power to perform the tillage operation. The work conditions were determined, considering the actual working speed of the tillage operation performed by the local farmers. The power consumption of the rear axle, engine, and power take-off (PTO), PTO torque, and tractive force were measured under each work condition. The consumed power and load characteristics were analyzed using their average values. Results: The rotary-tillage operation consumed more engine power than the plow operation for the same tractor-transmission gear condition. The PTO in the rotary-tillage operation and the rear axle in the plow operation consumed the most power. The power consumption of the engine and the PTO for the rotary-tillage operation tended to increase as the transmission gears of the tractor and the PTO became higher. In contrast, the rear-axle power consumption was insignificant. In addition, the PTO torque tended to rise as the tilling pitch increased. For the plow operation, the drawbar power and the rear axle power accounted for 68-90% of the engine power. The engine and rear axle power, drawbar power, and tractive force tended to rise as the working speed increased. Conclusions: The power consumption and load characteristics differed for the plow and rotary-tillage operations. They may also differ depending on the soil conditions. Therefore, the power consumption and load characteristics in various work environments and regions should be analyzed, and reflected in the design of tractors and working implements. The results derived from this study can be used as a reference for such designs.