• Journal of Drive and Control
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.133-140
• /
• 2020

Traction performance of a tractor varies depending on soil conditions. Sinkage and slip of the driving wheel for tractor frequently occur in a reclaimed land. The objective of this study was to develop a tractor suitable for a reclaimed land. Traction performance was evaluated according to soil conditions of reclaimed land and paddy field. Field experiments were conducted at two test sites (Fields A: paddy field; and Field B: reclaimed land). The tractor load measurement system was composed of an axle rotation speed sensor, a torque meter, a six-component load cell, GPS, and a DAQ (Data Acquisition System). Soil properties including soil texture, water content, cone index, and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured. Referring to previous researches, the tractor traveling speed was set to B3 (7.05 km/h), which was frequently used in ridge plow tillage. Soil moisture contents were 33.2% and 48.6% in fields A and B, respectively. Cone index was 2.1 times higher in field A than in field B. When working in the reclaimed land, slip ratios were about 10.5% and 33.1% for fields A and B, respectively. The engine load was used almost 100% of all tractors under the two field conditions. Traction powers were 31.9 kW and 24.2 kW for fields A and B, respectively. Tractive efficiencies were 83.3% and 54.4% for fields A and B, respectively. As soil moisture increased by 16.4%, the tractive efficiency was lowered by about 28.9%. Traction performance of tractor was significantly different according to soil conditions of fields A and B. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the traction performance of tractor for smooth operations in all soil conditions including a reclaimed land by reflecting data of this study.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.23-29
• /
• 2023

Microfluidic reactors have been made to achieve significant development for the generation of new functional materials to apply in a variety of fields. Over the last decade, microfluidic reactors have attracted attention as a user-friendly approach that is enabled to control physicochemical parameters such as size, shape, composition, and surface property. Here, we develop a centrifugal microfluidic reactor that can control the flow of fluid based on centrifugal force and generate multifunctional particles of various sizes and compositions. A centrifugal microfluidic reactor is fabricated by combining microneedles, micro- centrifuge tubes, and conical tubes, which are easily obtained in the laboratory. Depending on the experimental control param- eters, including centrifuge rotation speed, alginate concentration, calcium ion concentration, and distance from the needle to the calcium aqueous solution, this strategy not only enables the generation of size-controlled microparticles in a simple and reproducible manner but also achieves scalable production without the use of complicated skills or advanced equipment. Therefore, we believe that this simple strategy could serve as an on-demand platform for a wide range of industrial and academic applications, particularly for the development of advanced smart materials with new functionalities in biomedical engineering.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.28 no.7
• /
• pp.1231-1237
• /
• 2022

In the present study, the optimization of the main particulars of a ship using AI-based design search techniques was investigated. For the design search techniques, the SHERPA algorithm by HEEDS was applied, and CFD analysis using STAR-CCM+ was applied for the calculation of resistance performance. Main particulars were automatically transformed by modifying the main particulars of the ship at the stage of preprocessing using JAVA script and Python. Small catamaran was chosen for the present study, and the main dimensions of the length, breadth, draft of demi-hull, and distance between demi-hulls were considered as design variables. Total resistance was considered as an objective function, and the range of displaced volume considering the arrangement of the outfitting system was chosen as the constraint. As a result, the changes in the individual design variables were within ±5%, and the total resistance of the optimized hull form was decreased by 11% compared with that of the existing hull form. Throughout the present study, the resistance performance of small catamaran could be improved by the optimization of the main dimensions without direct modification of the hull shape. In addition, the application of optimization using design search techniques is expected for the improvement in the resistance performance of a ship.