• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.30-35
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• 2024

Domestic rice is more expensive than imported products, so it is necessary to reduce production costs to secure competitiveness. Low-density planting developed in Japan is a cultivation technology that reduces labor and production costs without yield loss. The area of low-density cultivation is continuously increasing. However, research on how rice transplanters adapt to low-density planting has not been conducted. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the optimal working conditions of a rice transplanter for low-density planting. Three types of rice transplanters were used and treated based on 3 conveying distance levels. The number of picked seedlings, pick missing rate, the number of planted seedlings, and the mis-planted rate were investigated to evaluate planting accuracy according to the transfer distance to the seedling tray. The results showed that the number of planted seedlings was 4.31~4.95 EA with an L1 seedling tray transfer distance (horizontal 9 mm, vertical 8 mm), but the mis-planted rate was higher than in other conditions. At L2 (horizontal 9 mm, vertical 10 mm) and L3 (horizontal 11 mm, vertical 8 mm) transfer distance conditions, the number of planted seedlings were 4.89-5.68 EA and 4.69-5.66 EA, respectively, with a low mis-planted rate of less than 3%. The results showed that if the transfer distance is adjusted properly, a rice transplanter can be used for low-density planting with high planting accuracy.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.36-43
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• 2024

The yield is basic and necessary information in precision agriculture that reduces input resources and enhances productivity. Yield information is important because it can be used to set up farming plans and evaluate farming results. Yield monitoring systems are commercialized in the United States and Japan but not in Korea. Therefore, such a system must be developed. This study was conducted to develop a yield monitoring system that improved performance by correcting a previously developed flow sensor using a grain tank-weighing system. An impact-plated type flow sensor was installed in a grain tank where grains are placed, and grain tank-weighing sensors were installed under the grain tank to estimate the weight of the grain inside the tank. The grain flow rate and grain weight prediction models showed high correlations, with coefficient of determinations (R2) of 0.9979 and 0.9991, respectively. A main controller of the yield monitoring system that calculated the real-time yield using a sensor output value was also developed and installed in a combine harvester. Field tests of the combine harvester yield monitoring system were conducted in a rice paddy field. The developed yield monitoring system showed high accuracy with an error of 0.13%. Therefore, the newly developed yield monitoring system can be used to predict grain weight with high accuracy.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.20-27
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• 2024

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of mechanizing onion harvesting on labor reduction and work efficiency in Shinan Area. The mechanized harvesting system comprised a stem cutter, digging harvester, and collector. The field tests showed that the average residual stem length after using the stem cutter was 13.22±5.01 cm, with a stem cutting ratio of 91.3% and a damage ratio of 0%. The digging harvester achieved a digging ratio of 100% and a damage ratio of 1.2%, while the collector's damage ratio was 4.1%, loss ratio was 2.7%, and debris mixing ratio was 3.2%. The total working capacity of the mechanized system was 2.3 h/10a, significantly reducing 97.2% of labor time compared to manpower. These results indicate that the mechanization of onion harvesting can effectively reduce labor costs and increase work efficiency. Future research should include performance verification in various environments and an economic analysis of the mechanized system.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 2023

The agricultural tractor ROPS test method according to OECD code 4 is a test to assess whether the driver's safety area can be secured when a tractor overturns, and reliability should be ensured. In this study, a model formula and procedure for calculating measurement uncertainty expressing reliability in the field of agricultural machinery testing were established according to the ISO/IEC Guide 98-3:2008. The characteristics of the ROPS test device were assessed and repeated tests were performed, and the were used as factors to calculate the measurement uncertainty. As a result of repeated tests, the accuracy was higher than 1.9 % in all load directions; thus, they were, applied to calculate the type A standard uncertainty. The final expanded uncertainty was calculated within the range of less than ± 7.76 kN of force and ± 6.96 mm of deformation in all load directions.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.42-49
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• 2023

In this study, the safety of fastening device for the agricultural by-product collector was evaluated according to the driving ground conditions by deriving the stress, static safety factor, and fatigue life using dynamic simulation. A 3D modeling of agricultural by-product collector was carried out, and simulation model was developed by applying the material properties. As a result of dynamic simulation, the magnitude of the maximum stress generated in the fastening device was the highest when driving on the flat off-road, followed by sloped pave-road and flat pave-road. Static safety factor and fatigue life were the highest when driving on the flat pave-road, followed by sloped pave-road and flat off-road. The safety of fastening device was confirmed that static safety factor was more than 1.0 and service life exceeded 9 years in all driving ground conditions.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.301-310
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• 2002

With a purpose to manufacture an onion peeler, the root cutting equipment of the onion could be attached to a prototype onion peeler was developed. Before the experiment, the distribution of the dimensions of the Korean native onion were measured. And some types of the blades to cut and remove the root of the onion were designed and such characteristics as feasible revolution, conveying speed, and power requirement were investigated. From the result of the test, the selected one among the various cutters was the wing type blade with the round blade to cut out the root and with the vertical blade to cut a circular line. The optimum operating conditions of the wing type blade were revealed the revolution with no load was at 630 rpm, and the conveying speed was 0.08 m/s. Under these conditions, the maximum torque was 5.25 kg·m and the power requirement was 33 W, respectively.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.74-79
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• 2019

In this study, an edible fresh corn harvest testing machine was designed and manufactured. And harvesting performance was analyzed through the field test. The testing machine is of the tractor attached type. It is connected to the tractor PTO shaft to transfer power to the each part of the harvesting machine. And it harvests fresh corn by one row through the processes of cutting, stem crushing, detaching, and collecting. The performance test was performed at PTO speed (540, 750, 1050 rpm, respectively), working speed (0.1, 0.15, 0.2 m/s, respectively), and cropping cultivation (row spacing·hill spacing 70·25 cm, 70·40 cm, 90·30 cm, respectively). The performance test was repeated three times in the 15 m section. The detachment loss ratio, uncollected crop ratio, damage ratio, and harvest ratio were analyzed. As a result of the performance test, it was analyzed that the PTO speed 540 rpm, running speed of 0.1 m/s, and row spacing·hill spacing 70·40 cm were the optimal condition.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.67-74
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• 2016

Objective: The aim of this study is to develop a farming shovel to reduce workload, which helps farmers lower the risk of musculoskeletal disease. Background: Most of work using farming tools including shovels requires repetitive works and awkward postures on body parts, and it could possibly cause work-related musculoskeletal disorders. It is necessary to develop and distribute farm equipment and tools in order to reduce physical workload. Method: To improve the most uncomfortable task perceived by ten farmers during the work with a shovel, the improved shovel was designed and made as a prototype for experiment for the comparison of the existing and improved shovels. Twenty males were recruited for this experiment, and muscle activity (%MVC) of six body parts and subjective discomfort ratings by body parts while working with a shovel were measured. A paired t-test was performed to compare physical workload between the existing shovel and the developed one. Results: A shovel applying foothold tied between shaft and blade was designed, which can help workers reduce repetitive bending of back and pressures for upper limbs while digging soil. According to compared evaluation of the developed shovel and the existing shovel, the developed shovel's %MVCs in all experimental muscles were significantly lower than those of the existing shovel. The developed shovel showed the biggest drop in perceived subjective discomfort rating of back, followed by arm and neck, compared to the existing shovel. Conclusion: It was confirmed that attaching a foothold to a shovel was an effective way of reducing workload in back and upper limbs during digging. Application: In the near future, if we put the prototype of developed shovel to practical use after making up for defects, it will help farm work environment be healthier and safer.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.54-61
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• 2022

This is a basic study analyzing emissions of an agricultural tractor during tillage operations. In this study, CO, THC, NOx, and PM considered as emission factor were analyzed during plow and rotary tillage operation by the tractor. Engine torque and rotational speed were measured through ECU. Engine power was calculated using engine torque and rotational speed. The emissions was calculated based on the number of units, rated power, load factor, and operating time. Results showed that the load factor was calculated almost twice, which was higher than 0.48. It was also observed that the emission of the tractor was variable for different agricultural operations because tractor loads were different based on operations. There was a difference in emissions due to differences in plow and rotary working hours. To estimate the emission of agricultural tractor based field operations in detail, it is necessary to consider TAF (Transient Adjustment Factor) and DFA (Deterioration factor). In the future, TAF and DFA will be considered to estimate emissions of the agricultural tractor. Finally, results of this study can contribute to the literature to estimate tractor emissions accurately.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.16-26
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• 2023

Although the upland field area of Korea is high as 44.8%, the platform optimized for the upland field is insufficient. It is necessary to develop an optimized platform for the upland field because the upland field environment is an irregular environment with many slopes. In addition, due to the characteristic of agricultural operations, the traction power and torque of the platform have to be sufficient. Therefore, in this study, a simulation model that can predict the traction power and driving torque of a crawler-type platform for the upland field was developed and validated using the specifications of the crawler platform. The simulation model was developed using Amesim (19.1, Siemens, Germany). The development of the model was conducted using the specifications of the platform. A measurement system was developed to validate the simulation model. The traction power data of the simulation model was validated with the traction force and vehicle speed. The driving torque data of the simulation model was validated with the torque of the sprocket on the crawler system. As a result of the analysis, the error between measurement and simulation results occurred within 10%, and it was determined that the traction power and driving torque prediction of the crawler platform using this model was possible.