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Automated Plough Assistance in Tractor

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 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 29, No. 7, (2020), pp. 131-140

Automated Plough Assistance in Tractor

Nithya Priya S, Kannaki. S, Saravana Kumar R, Saravanan S, Yadunath Gurudeep R O

Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Sri Krishna College of Engineering and
Technology, Coimbatore-641008, Tamilnadu, India.

Abstract
The main objective of this project is to bring automation in agriculture to reduce manpower and
increase productivity. In this project automation is installed in a normal agricultural tractor by using
the existing hydraulic system in tractor. It focuses on reducing human based work during ploughing
operation in fields thereby allowing to work for longer hours without muscle fatigue. Usually while
ploughing the operator has to repeatedly turn the steering wheel, press clutch, shift gears, apply brakes
and to lift and lower the implement connected to the three point hitch. This project reduces some of
these fundamental operations. Which are explained one by one. The application of brakes while turning
is automated by continuously monitoring the steering angle and applying the brakes accordingly. The
lifting and lowering of implement is done by sensing the position of the gear shift lever. When the
steering is turned above a set angle in either left or right direction the respective brake is applied by
using separately operated hydraulic cylinders. When the gear is shifted to reverse position the
controller senses the position and lifts up the implement by controlling the hydraulic cylinder connected
to the position control lever.
Keywords: PC Lever, Brake, Hydraulic Cylinders, Solenoid Valves, Encoder, Reservoir, Arduino, Limit
Switches
I. INTRODUCTION
Tractor is an engineered vehicle, specifically designed to provide high speed (or torque) slow speed for
the use of trailer or machinery in agriculture or construction. Generally, the term is used to describe an
agricultural vehicle, which provides the energy and traction to plow agricultural tasks exclusively (and
basically), but is nowadays a variety of tasks. Agricultural tools can be placed on the back of the tractor
or mounted on it, and can also provide a power source when the tractor is applied. A tractor is commonly
used in fields for the process of ploughing with the help of a suitable implement. Plough (UK) or Plow
(US) an instrument or farm used for basic farming to prepare soil for sowing or planting seeds. The
plough is traditionally made by working animals, such as bulls and horses, but by tractor on modern
farms. A plough can be made of wood, iron or steel, in which an attached blade or stick is used to cut
and loosen the soil. This is a fundamental tool of most history and one of the most important discoveries.
The earliest plowing wheels were small, but Celtic people began to use a wheel plow in Roman times.
The primary purpose of cultivation is to replenish the top layer of soil, bring fresh nutrients to the
surface, and at the same time allow the weeds and remains of previous crops to be buried and
decomposed. As the plough pulls through the ground, it forms long trenches of fertile soil called firoz.
In modern usage, plowed fields are usually left to dry and separated before planting. A soil is plowed
and plowed, and the top layer settles 12 to 25 cm (5 to 10 inches), where fine plant eaters thrive. While
ploughing the human operator has to manually apply all mechanical controls which needs huge
attention. This project aims at reducing some of the controls like the brakes and implement control
lever. Which brake lifting are monitored by the electronic circuit such as solenoid valve, arduino, relay,
rotary encoder which used to deal the braking with help of actuating the hydraulic and the solenoid
valve and another important motive is lift the tractor implement automatic .the lever is considered as
PTO lever will the lift the implement. We are going to lift the PTO lever automatically by uses of
electronic circuit and mechanical component such as hydraulic cylinder. This is the motive of our
project.
II. METHODOLOGY
Before starting this project, it is important to research existing machines and the technologies
used in them. This will help us understand any existing problems and try to find solutions for these
problems in such a way that it can be implemented in our project. Going through the literature also
helps us understand the practical outcomes of the project and how to attain the required outcom

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Vol. 29, No. 7, (2020), pp. 131-140

Working Principle- This project is to bring possible automation in the field of agriculture. So the
brakes and implement control are selected to be automated. The major part of the project is choosing
the adequate power system for the actuators. We were in need of huge force and hydraulic power is
readily available in tractors so we chose hydraulic power system to automate brakes and implement
control lever. We equipped the normal agricultural tractor with three hydraulic cylinders. Out of which
two are front flanged which facilitates mounting on the on the brakes. Another cylinder has a clevis
mount which facilitates mounting the cylinder on the implement control lever. We are using Electronic
components to control the hydraulic cylinders and solenoid valve such as relay, arduino board ,from the
Electronic circuit we can notify the following direction of tractor from which the brake has apply.
suppose is tractor brake is press in left side the electronic circuit will indicate the direction by led bulbs,
and important process is to noted as implement lift. Implement which will be attached back side of the
tractor. Our main motive is to lift the implement automatically so we are lifting the implement by the
help of hydraulic cylinders and solenoid valve.

TYPES OF FARM MACHINES

Tractors suited for agricultural and horticultural works are generally of three types.
a. Agricultural Tractors
b. Utility Tractors
c. Compact Tractors

a. Agricultural tractors: An agricultural tractor automatically powers the direction of travel, enabling
enclosed clay soil and other agricultural equipment, according to standard large, heavy-duty tractors, to
suit its intended purpose for commercial and domestic agriculture.
b. Utility tractors: Utility tractors are considered compact in size, useless compared to farm tractors, but
they are professional in handling heavy duty and generally suited for private farms and small commercial
farming operations.
c. Compact tractors: Compact tractors (some manufacturers are sub-compact or compact-utility tractors).
They are smaller, less powerful, or both than utility tractors, and are suitable for small, private farms. They
offer larger operational efficiency than lawn and garden tractors and ATVs, and are handled with important
features such as PTO and three-point hitch, which is not the case with most lawn and garden tractors.
HYDRAULICS – SURVEY
Hydraulic systems are based on Pascal's Law of Principle, which states that the pressure is limited
by the finite liquid, which is transmitted at low, equal angles in all directions to the inner surface of
the container. This theory sends large forces to produce relatively small forces. In a primary hydraulic
system, the force is required on the parameters of the bore size of cylinder and the pressure supplied
by pump to the cylinder. As well as, the speed of the piston is related.
III. SELECTION OF COMPONENTS

The basic components of a fluid power and electronic

systems are:
a. Reservoir
b. Pumps
c. Directional Control Valves
d. Relief Valve
e. Connectors & Fittings
f. Cylinder
g. Microcontroller
h. Solenoid Valve
i. Relay
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Vol. 29, No. 7, (2020), pp. 131-140

j. Inductive Proximity Sensor

k. Rotary Encoder

a. Reservoir:
A well-built reservoir is a tank in which oil is kept until the system requires fluid. It dissolves the heat from
the liquid, separates the oil from the air and expels the contaminants in the oil. The reservoir basically has
fluid three times more than the pump output per minute.

Fig 1 .Reservoir

b. Pump:
The purpose of hydraulic pumps is to provide fluid flow to the hydraulic system. Since the pump provides
flow, it is the energy for the liquid. This produces the flow with the force needed to overcome the stress
induced by the load. With fluid flow, this energy is converted into pressure. Hydraulic pumps are used to
convert fluid from the reservoir into mechanical energy, while the rest from the hydraulic circuit to
mechanical energy. The most common two types of pumps are centrifugal pumps and reciprocating pumps.
the which used in the hydraulic system are having positive displacement and pump which don’t have non-
positive displacement pump which produces a continuous flow, which will not provide a positive internal
seal against the slippage

c. Direction Control Valve:

The directional control valve is a structure that drives the flow of fluid in a hydraulic system to a point.
Additionally, they can be operated by differential pressure acting on the opposite sides of the valve
element or manually, mechanically or electrically. Two or more methods of operating a single valve
often assist in different stages of its operation.

d. Relief Valve:
A type of control pressure is required for the safe and efficient operation of hydraulic circuits, system
components and related equipment. There are several types of automatic pressure control valves. Some of
them only escape pressures beyond the set pressure, reduce some pressure to a low pressure system or
subsystem, and put some pressure into the system. Pressure relief valves are obtained in hydraulic systems
to prevent system stress up to a certain set level. When it reaches the set level, the pressure relief valve
takes action and sends the excess flow from the system back to the tank.

Fig 2. Pressure Relief Valve

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Vol. 29, No. 7, (2020), pp. 131-140

e. Connectors and Fittings:

A variety of connectors and fittings are required for the liquid power system. The fittings are used to
connect the units of the hydraulic system, which include the separate sections of the communication
system. Depending on the type of connector or fitting conduction system (pipe, tubing or flexible hose),
the liquid medium and the maximum operating pressure of the system. The most common types of
connectors are thread connectors, flared connectors, flexible hose couplings and reusable fittings. Thread
connectors are used in low pressure pipe systems. The connector is cut with standard pipe threads on the
inner surface of the connector. The pipe end is threaded externally to connect the connector. Standard pipe
threads are slightly damaged to ensure a tight connection.
f. Cylinder:
Hydraulic cylinder is a method of converting the energy stored in a hydraulic fluid into a linear direction.
In addition, it produces a force that results in linear motion, while the liquid motor produces torque as a
result of rotary motion. It has many applications and can be solo acting or double acting. In this paper we
are using three hydraulic cylinders for the actuation process. The cylinder specification consist of one inch
bore and the stroke length of 210mm, which is used to actuated by the tractor specification.

Fig 3. Hydraulic Cylinders

Operation of Hydraulic cylinders:

While the control valve is in the neutral position, the pump flow is passed through the valve and back
into the reservoir. As the valve moves, the oil is directed toward the piston of the cylinder and causes the
piston to move when lifting the rod. If the valve returns to neutral, the oil gets stuck in the cylinder, keeping
the pump flow constant when returning to the reservoir. Moving the valve in the opposite direction causes
the oil to return to the reservoir through the valve. The relief valve system somewhat limits the pressure.
Relief valves are usually inserted into directional control valves.

Fig 4. Operation of Hydraulic Circuit

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Vol. 29, No. 7, (2020), pp. 131-140

g. Microcontroller
This project uses Arduino Mega microcontroller to process the inputs and control the outputs. The
Arduino Mega 2560 is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega2560. It includes 54 digital input
/ output pins (15 of which can be used as PWM outputs), 16 analog inputs, 4 URT (hardware serial
ports), 16 MHz crystal oscillator, USB connection, power jack, and an ICSP header. And the Reset
button. The Arduino Mega initially has female header pins which is prone to slippage so these pins are
removed and JST pins are soldered to the microcontroller board. JST Pins have a lock which prevents
the cables from slipping during operation.

Fig 5 Arduino MEGA

h. Solenoid Valve:
A valve is a device which regulates, directs or controls the flow of fluids inside a pipeline by opening,
closing, or partially obstructing the orifice of the pipeline. A valve can be opened and closed, opened or
closed mechanically, electrically and manually. Solenoid valves are valves that can be actuated i.e. opened
or closed using electricity. The electric current is passed through a coil also called as solenoid coil which
in turn produces a magnetic field which moves a spool or poppet inside a valve thereby opening or closing
the valve.

Fig 6. 4/2 DCV with all port open

i. Relay:
Switches are used to turn on an electrical appliance, open paths in a circuit and much more. Mechanical
switches are manually operated switches which we commonly use in homes. Relay is an electromechanical
switch, actuated by an electrical signal. Relays are used to ON and OFF greater power appliance or load
by using a low power signal. In this project the higher power load is the solenoid valve which operates at
12V DC the low power signal is the Arduino Mega which operates at 5V DC. The solenoid coil has positive
and negative terminals. Among them one terminal is connected to the power supply i.e. battery of the
tractor and another terminal is connected to the NO terminal of the relay. The another terminal of the
battery is connected to the common port of the relay. When Arduino sends a trigger signal to the relay the
switch is closed and the current flows from common port to one of the terminal of the solenoid which
completes the circuit and hence the valve gets actuated
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 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 29, No. 7, (2020), pp. 131-140

j. Inductive Proximity Sensor:

Inductive proximity sensor uses the principle of electromagnetic induction to detect objects. This sensor
is able to detect metal with no contact to the surface of the metal. In this project the inductive proximity
sensor is used to limit the travel of the hydraulic cylinders used in the brakes

k. Rotary encoder:
A rotary encoder electro-mechanical device that converts the angular position of a shaft or axle
to analog or digital output signals using magnetic hall effect sensor. To find whether the shaft is rotating
in clockwise or counter clockwise two hall effect sensors are mounted at a certain angular distance this
arrangement of two hall effect sensors gives a new name to the sensor called quadrature rotary sensor. The
timing of the square wave pulse of two of these sensors are compared and the direction of rotation of the
shaft or the axle is calculated using the Arduino Mega microcontroller. The specifications of the rotary
encoder used in this project is listed below.

Parameter Value
Number of hall effect 2- Quadrature
sensors arrangement

Operating voltage 5-12V DC

Sensing type Absolute

Table 1.1 Encoder specifications

Fig 7. Electronic Circuit

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Vol. 29, No. 7, (2020), pp. 131-140

IV. MATHEMATICAL MODELING

a. Force Analysis:(Brake)
Length of the Pedal(l) = 0.105m
Standard Force acting on a pedal (F) =600N = 0.6kN. The force should be applied on the entire brake
pedal, therefore the load is said to be a “uniformly distributed load”
Total value of UDL:
= 0.6 * 0.105
= 0.063kN
Sum of upward force = Sum of downward force
RA + RB = 0.063kN ----- (1)
Moment of A:
∑MA = 0
RB * 0.105 - 0.063 * 0.0525 = 0
RB = 0.105 – 0.0033 = 0
RB = 0.0033 / 0.105
RB = 0.0315 kN
Sub the value RB in equation (1), we get,
RA + 0.0315 = 0.063
RA = 0.063 – 0.0315
RA = 0.0315 kN

SHEAR FORCE:
SFA = -0.0315 + 0.063
SFA = 0.0315 kN
SFB = -0.0315kN

BENDING MOMENT:
BMB = 0kNm
BMA = 0kNm
BMC = 0.00083kNm

The bending moment is maximum at point where SF changes the sign, where SF becomes zero, the BM
will be maximum. From SFD w.k.t at point C, the SF is zero, after changing its sign.
Hence BM is maximum at point C, but the BM at C is +0.00083kNm

Maximum BM = +0.00083kNm
Take y = 1mm (Since, it is a rectangular beam section)
To calculate moment of inertia about rectangular section:
I1 = bh3 / 12
I1=50*(105)3/12
I1 = 4823437.5 mm4
I2 = hb3 / 12
I2=105*(50)3/12
I2 = 1093750 mm4
Bending Stress:
∴σb =
I=I1-I2
I=4823437.5 -1093750
I = 3729687.5 mm4
Σb = 2.2253* 10-4N/mm2
Permissible stress for mild steel = 0.66 * Fy
Fy=0.66*240
Fy=158.4N/mm2
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Hence the design is safe

b. Area Of Brake Pedal:
Area =l *b
Area=5250mm2
Force =600N(Standard)
Pressure=Force/Area
P = 600 / 5250
P = 0.114 N/mm2
Pressure=114000 N/m2
c. brake cylinder selection:
P = F/A
P = 175 * 105 * 3.14 d2 =600*4
d2 = 600*4/175*105*3.14
d=6.607*10-3mm
d. position control lever:
A1=(a+b/2)*h
A1 = (20+33/2)*195
A1=5167.5mm2

A2=3.14(R12-R22)
A2=3.14(752-152)
A2=53295.86mm2
Total Area=58463.36mm2
P=F/A
P=200/58463.36
P=0.00342N/mm2
P=3420N/m

V. HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATION
This project has concept of dealing automation in tractor brake and to lift the implement in the tractor. we
have the aim to automate the braking system in the tractor by using the hydraulics cylinder and solenoid
valve by using the electronic components .the cylinder are attached in the brake drum which will be
actuated by the cylinder, hydraulic cylinder are plug into the pump which has contain the hydraulic cylinder
and which flow the pump to hydraulic cylinder and actuated by the solenoid valve. The tractor has two
brake such as left brake and the right brake ,we have attached the each hydraulic cylinder in the brake drum
we have fluid energy flow from the pump of the tractor and the implement has to be automated by using
the solenoid valve by actuating the hydraulic cylinder. The electronic components consist of solenoid valve,
relay, solenoid valve ,connectors, inductive proximity sensor, and rotary encoder which used to control the
solenoid valve and hydraulics cylinder which used to indicate that which side of the brake is pressed, and
the implement is which used lift automatically when the gear lift to 1st level the implement should be lifted
automatically

Fig 8. Three Dimensional of Brake

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Vol. 29, No. 7, (2020), pp. 131-140

Fig 9. Third Dimensional of PC Lever

We are using Electronic components to control the hydraulic cylinders and solenoid valve such as relay,
arduino board ,from the Electronic circuit we can notify the following direction of tractor from which the
brake has apply. suppose is tractor brake is press in left side
the electronic circuit will indicate the direction by led bulbs, and important process is to noted as implement
lift. Implement which will be attached back side of the tractor. Our main motive is to lift the implement
automatically so we are lifting the implement by the help of hydraulic cylinders and solenoid valve. The
hydraulic cylinder which has power of 12 volt and stroke length of 200mm which required amount of
power to lift the implement. And the electronic component which used as the instrument to monitor the
tractor parts and used to push the signal from the hydraulic cylinders and solenoid valve basically solenoid
valve used to control the flow and direction of liquid. This valve can be used for both hydraulic and
pneumatic cylinder but we are using the hydraulic cylinder for high power consumption. In this project
microcontroller plays the major roll for us the microcontroller is consider as arduino MEGA which program
are stored in this microcontroller board and it act according to the program which was given by the users.
Here electronic circuits are connected with solenoid valve ports from that connection are given by
respective circuit. solenoid valve provide multi dimensional usage such flow control and with relay
attached to spot out indication of operation by the tractor. Rotary encoder is used to find out angle of
steering rotated by the operator. When the operator rotate the steering by 90 degree it used to sense and
indicate via relay, here relay plays the prime role in the electronic circuit. overall the impact of this project
to construct automation in the tractor.

V. CONCLUSION
This project presents the design and implementation of a automatic braking system and lifting the
implement automatically by using mechanical components and the electronic circuit. As we discussed
the project is based on the tractor, which we have to attach the hydraulic cylinder in the respective place
and should be inserted near the brake drum. Here steering control in the tractor plays the main roll because
when turn the tractor steering it will turn to certain degree so we have attached rotary encoder measure
the angle of the steering and the measured angle will send to the electronic circuit which their relay will
play the main roll their because relay will indicate the which side of the direction of tractor is moved and
by using program which was created by using the microcontroller and used move in required direction
.solenoid valve used measured the flow of the fluids. This valve actuating in closed center using electricity
solenoid coil which produces a magnetic field which moves a spool or poppet inside a valve thereby
closing the valve. And the implement which should automatically lifted by PC lever.
REFERENCES

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3. 10.4028/Www.Scientific.Net/Amr.945-949.1513

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Vol. 29, No. 7, (2020), pp. 131-140

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