Performance Evaluation of Tractor drawn Drip Lateral Coiler

Transcription

1 AJAB 1(1), (45-53) 2016 Performance Evaluation of Tractor drawn Drip Lateral Coiler D S Karale, U S Kankal & V P Khambalkar Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra, India (Received: 23/03/2016; Accepted : 12/05/2016) Abstract The tractor operated drip lateral coiler was fabricated at Department of Farm Power And Machinery, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV), Akola and evaluated for its feasibility test in actual field condition. During hand coiling operation of the drip laterals, it got very difficult to make the bundles due to its weight on hands and folds occurs during coiling. Hand pulling and twisting occurs on drip laterals which damage them. Similarly for placing and coiling the laterals, the labour has to work in a bending posture, which increases the drudgery in operation due to which labours demand the more wages. Besides these constrains, the efficiency of manual coiling and de-coiling is very poor and improper coiling and decoiling increase the damage to the laterals and reduces the life of the laterals. It was observed that the average field efficiency of the tractor operated lateral coiler was 87% and for manual coiler was found to be 78.26%, whereas in hand coiling was observed as 63.46%. The cost of coiling operation in tractor operated lateral coiler was observed as Rs/ha 468/- where as in manual coiler and hand coiling operations it was found to be Rs/ha 650 and Rs/ha 1280/- respectively. Net saving cost of tractor operated drip lateral coiler was worked out and it was observed that 28% and 63.43% over manual coiler and hand coiling method, respectively. Key Words: Drip Lateral, Coiling, De-coiling, Manual, Performance JEL Classification: Q13 Paper Classification: Research Paper Introduction Drip irrigation system is the most important mechanized irrigation input of the row crop. Most of the crop of Vidarbha is row crop and drip play important role in recent crop production. In the row crop, the lateral is placed between the rows, and is a major hurdle during sowing, intercultural, harvesting etc. In India total area under drip irrigation is about ha and in Maharashtra is ha (Sankarnarayanan & Nalayini, 2011). As the laterals are made up of P.V.C. pipes (16mm) it is prone to damage, if not handled carefully. To achieve the proper utilization of this mechanization input, it is to be placed before sowing and to be removed before harvesting. These jobs are needed to be done carefully and skillfully to avoid the damages due to folding or twisting of tube during handling and to make the suitable bundle to store properly. It is very difficult to make the bundle in the field during collection of the laterals from the field. Hand 45

2 AJAB Volume 1 Issue pulling and coiling on hands causes the twist which may cause the crack spots and damage the laterals when stored in such conditions. Similarly for placing and coiling the laterals, the labour needs to work in bending posture, which increases the drudgery in the operation. Besides these constrains, the efficiency of manual coiling and de-coiling is very poor and improper coiling and de-coiling increased the damage to the laterals and reduces the life of the laterals. Therefore, the farmers demand the power operated coiler for more efficient and timely work. Literature Review Bida (1998) developed and evaluated the manual lateral coiler and it was observed that the average length of 200 m lateral recoiled in 3 minutes 20 sec but it was reported that during the coiling the laterals roll over and come from reel. Also it was stated that the speed of recoiling was constant throughout the length. It was also observed that the average speed of coiling during first segment at 1/3 length of lateral was 0.58 m/s and for the last segment, it was observed at 0.83 m/s which is nearly doubled of the first segment. Taley et. al., (2006) developed manual coiler and tested for its performance with 150m long segment of drip lateral in the field and reported that overall performance of machine good in terms of field capacity, field efficiency, and reduction in cost. Keeping the above facts in mind, present investigation was undertaken to design, develop and perform feasibility testing of tractor operated lateral coiler. Department of Farm Power and Machinery developed a manually operated drip lateral coiler. Material and Methods Tractor operated lateral coiler was designed on the basis of agronomical & machine parameters, and specification of drip lateral. Agronomic parameters such as name of crop, sow spacing, height of crop etc, has been taken into consideration in design of machine with specification of laterals like minimum permissible coiling diameter, the lateral pipe diameter, length of one lateral etc. Development of Drip Lateral Coiler As per PTO power requirement a 35 hp tractor was selected for operating the drip lateral coiler on the basis of the requirement of the lateral in fields which are already laid out. The coiler is designed with suitable mechanism for coiling the laterals mechanically. It is necessary to reduce speed which is given to transmission shaft by PTO shaft. PTO shaft speed in ideal condition is 220 rpm which is not suitable for coiling drip lateral pipe by coiler. To understand all condition & situation for coiling drip lateral pipe, speed of reel or coiler should be about 40 RPM which is more suitable for effective coiling of drip lateral pipe. The power transmission in lateral coiler is shown in Figure.1 46

3 AJAB Figure 1.The power transmission in lateral coiler The prototype drip lateral coiler was fabricated based on the dimensions obtained from design. Machine consists of main frame, power transmission system, reel, main transmission shaft. Reel. A drip lateral coiler consist of two reels. The diameter of outer ring and inner ring is 90 cm and 33 cm. The material used for the fabrication of these reel is mild steel. The power provided to reel by means of main transmission shaft. Supporting Disc Plate. Supporting disc plate was provided in order to support the base of reel and which is made up from mild steel having diameter 18 cm attached with the bottom side at the center. Flexible Vertical Flats. Flexible vertical flats are provided to hold the laterals. Eight flexible flats were welded at inner ring vertically for each unit at an equal distance between two successive flats. The constructional material of these flats was used as mild steel. The size of flat is 35 cm in length and 4 cm in width. The portion is kept free to provide flexibility for the laterals to be taken out easily without much effort as these flats goes inner simply by pressing or load of the coil. It is given a slight bend at the top portion 25cm from the base. Transmission Shaft. Solid MS shaft having a diameter of 3.1 cm was used in drip lateral coiler. The overall length of the shaft was 100 cm. DPI P205 bearing having base diameter of 2.5cm provided at both end of the shaft. Frame. The overall dimension of frame is 200x40cm (LxB). The frame is made up of mild steel angle size 40x0.5 cm to give more strength to the structure and provide support to the reel. Hitch. Three point linkage systems were provided for mounting and transportation of the implement. Bevel gear. The bevel gear is used for transmission in right angle of the power which is received form belt and pulley system for rotating the reel. Two pairs of bevel gear were used. Prototype drip lateral coiler is shown in plate No.1. The details specifications of developed tractor operated lateral coiler are presented in Table 1. The Isometric view of tractor operated lateral drip coiler is presented in Fig

4 AJAB Volume 1 Issue Plate 1: Prototype drip lateral coiler Figure 2. Isometric view of tractor operated lateral drip coiler Table 1: Specifications of tractor operated drip lateral coiler S. No. Particulars Details 1. Overall dimension of machine (L B H) cm 2. Weight of machine 110kg 3. Power source 35or below 35 hp tractor 4. PTO shaft speed (ideal) 220 rpm 5. Gear type Bevel gear 6. Belt drive Open flat belt drive 7. Bearing Ball bearing 8 Frame dimension (L B) cm 9. No. of reel Size of shaft 100 cm in length with 4.8ϕ 11. Bearing DPIP205(8 in no.) (Continued) 48

5 AJA 13. Pulley 4 ( 2 of double groove pulley & 2 of single groove pulley) 14. No. of open belt 3 ( B section belt, two 55 & one 35 ) 15. No. of bevel gear 6 ( 4 of 20 teeth & 2 of 28 teeth) Performance Evaluation of Tractor Operated Coiler The prototype tractor operated drip lateral coiler was evaluated in actual field condition. The field trials of machine were carried out in CRS fields, Dr. PDKV, Akola. During the experiment various parameters were records as listed below. a) Condition of field 1) Location 2) Kind of field 3) Length 4) Width b) Condition of crop 1) Name of crop 2) Height of crop 3) Row spacing c) Condition of labour 1) Skilled labour Testing Procedure The operation of the coiling and de-coiling was performed at the CRS, Dr. PDKV, Akola field. The manual coiling and coiling by manual coiler operations was observed with three different labours and the actual time taken, visual observations like folding of laterals and postures of work was recorded. For tractor operated drip laterals, coiling operations, the tractor engine speed, fuel consumption, and time required to cover the area was measured. For testing of coiling operation, a 200m drip lateral coiler of a size 16mm diameter was used in all three methods. Cost Economics Coiling Operation The cost to fabricate coiler has been carried out. For the fabrication cost, components wise cost of material was taken in to consideration. The cost of operation of machine by using the following procedure as given in BIS Result and Discussion The comparative performance result of coiling lateral by hand, manual coiler and tractor operated drip lateral coiler are outlined. The results obtained are tabulated in an organized manner to evaluate the performance of coiler. Tractor Operated Drip Lateral Coiler The newly developed tractor operated coiler at a time can coil two bundles. The average time required for recoiling the pair of 200m laterals was observed at 3 minutes 18 seconds. The actual field capacity of tractor operated coiler was observed 0.64 ha per hour. And the efficiency of the machine was 87 %. The coiling of drip lateral by using tractor operated drip lateral coiler is shown in plate ADMA

6 AB Volume 1 Issue Hand Coiling Plate 2. The coiling of drip lateral by using tractor operated drip lateral coiler The actual field capacity of tractor operated coiler was observed ha per hr and the efficiency of the machine was observed at %. Hand coiling is shown in Plate 3. Manual Coiler Plate 3. Hand coiling method The actual field capacity of manual coiler was observed as 0.09 ha per hr. and field efficiency of the machine was found as %. Coiling of drip lateral by manual coiler are shown in Plate No

7 AJAB Plate 4. Coiling of drip lateral by manual coiler Comparative performance of the coiling operations with traditional methods It was observed that, average field efficiency of the tractor operated lateral coiler was 87% which is greater than the manual coiler operation (78.26%) and whereas for coiling by hands, it was observed as 63.46%. The field capacity of the tractor operated coiler was 0.64 ha/h which is four to five times higher over the traditional operations. The coiling operation was satisfactorily in both tractor and manual coiler whereas in coiling by hands near about all the rounds were fold at upper and lower side of the hand. Performance results of coiling method are presented in Table 2. S. No. Table 2: Comparative performance result of coiling operation Comparative parameters Tractor operated drip lateral coiler Manually operated drip lateral coiler Manually coiling 1 Size of plot, m 200x50 200x50 200x50 2 Length of drip coil, m Theoretical field capacity, ha/h Actual field capacity, ha/h Field efficiency % Total operational cost Rs./ha Net saving cost of tractor operated coiler, % Cost of Coiling Operation The fabrication cost of tractor operated lateral drip coiler was worked out and found to be Rs /-, which is reasonable. The cost of coiling operation in tractor operated lateral coiler was observed as Rs/ha 458/- where as in manual coiler and hand coiling was found to be Rs/ha 650 and Rs/ha 1280/- respectively. Hence the tractor operated coiler is more suitable to the already owner of the tractors. The cost of operation in tractor operated coiler was observed less than the coiling operation on hands and manual coiler. 51

8 AJAB Conclusions Volume 1 Issue The overall performance of drip lateral coiler was found to be satisfactory. From the field observations, following conclusions were drawn. 1) It was observed that the average field efficiency of the tractor operated lateral coiler is 87 % which is greater than the manual coiler operation (79.67%) and whereas for coiling on hands, it is observed as 75%. This might be due to the fact that labours required more time for rest in working day and to start the next round. 2) The cost of coiling operation in tractor operated lateral coiler was observed as Rs/ha 458/- where as in manual coiler and hand coiling was found to be Rs./ha 650 and Rs/ha 1280/- respectively. Hence the tractor operated coiler is more suitable to the already owner of the tractors. 3) Net saving cost of tractor operated drip lateral coiler was worked out and to be 28% and 63.43%, over manual coiler and hand method, respectively. 4) The coiling operation was satisfactory in both tractor and manual coiler whereas in coiling on hands, nearly about all the rounds were folded at upper and lower side of the hand. This may be due to no exact circular section at the knee and hand palm where the round completed during coiling on hands. Limitations of the Study and Scope for Further Research Such type of machine is useful to farmers for collection of drip lateral from field. Presently practice followed by farmers to collect drip lateral is with the help of hand. In this method pulling and twisting occurs on drip laterals which get damaged and in turn affects its life. Application of such machine will help farmer to save money as well as time with less effort. De-coiling operation will be possible with minor modification in flexible vertical flats. References Bida, H. D. (1998). Thesis of design, fabrication and testing of de-coiler for drip laterals. (Unpublished B.Tech Thesis), Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, India. Indian Standard ( ). Test code for estimating cost of farm machinery. Sahay, J. (2006). Elements of agricultural engineering. India: Jain Brother Publications. Shankar Narayanan, K., & Nalayini, P. (2011). Low cost drip cost effective and precision irrigation tool in BT cotton. Technical Bulletin. Taley, S. S., Bhende. S. M., & Tale, V. P. (2006). Testing, evaluation and modification of manual coler for drip lateral. AMA, 37(1),

9 AJAB Authors Profile Dhiraj S Karale is working as Assistant Professor at Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, India. His significant contribution is in development, testing and evaluation of farm machinery. His area of interest is teaching and extension of improved machinery. He is presently focused on development of plant protection equipments for orchard and field crops. He has published more then 35 research articles. Uddhao S Kankal is a Research Assistant in Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, India. He has made significant contribution in teaching, research and extension activities of farm machines and equipments. He has expertise in design, development and testing of agricultural machineries. He has written number of research papers in national and international reputed journals. Vivekkumar P Khambalkar is Assistant Professor at Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, India. His expertise is in renewable energy, energy management and precision farming. He has worked on precision farm machines and its evaluation. He is the recipient of Young Engineer Award-2012 of Institution of Engineers, India for valued contribution in agricultural engineering. He has also received Young Scientist Award-2014 of Bioved Research Society, Allahabad, India for contribution in the field of renewable energy. He has bagged best papers awards in various national conferences/seminars. He wrote more than fifty scientific research articles in national and internationally reputed journals. 53