Precision Farming
B. Besharati; A. Jafari; H. Mousazadeh; H. Navid
Abstract
IntroductionVarious methods have been performed to control weeds in the world and the use of herbicides is one of them, but public concerns about human health have changed interest in alternative methods. Thermal methods based on flame-weeder, hot air, steam, and hot water have the potential to control ...
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IntroductionVarious methods have been performed to control weeds in the world and the use of herbicides is one of them, but public concerns about human health have changed interest in alternative methods. Thermal methods based on flame-weeder, hot air, steam, and hot water have the potential to control weeds, but due to the high cost are not economical. Electromagnetic waves transfer energy into weeds and finally destroy them. The effect of radiation on plant mutation, high consumption of energy, and human health are problems for this approach. Unlike other methods, electrical energy is an ideal and non-chemical method for weeds. This method applies high voltage to weeds, their roots, and soil so that electric currents pass through them, and the vaporization of the liquid content of weeds kills the weeds. To increase the severity of damage to weeds, the development of a feedback mechanism is required. The ultrasonic sensor measuring physical parameters like plant height is a simple method. Some complex sensing systems include optical sensors such as infrared, and machine vision that require high-speed processors and expensive equipment. In this project, as a simple method, the monitoring of the electrical current passing through weeds was used for developing the feedback mechanism and increasing electric damage to weeds.Materials and MethodsIn this study, the system consisted of a high-voltage device that generated a 15 kV AC voltage to kill weeds, as well as a feedback mechanism that included a sensor to measure the electric current on the input of the weed killer and identify the presence of weeds and their annihilation. All parts were installed on a robotic platform, and an application on a laptop was connected to it via an access point for navigation and data reception. The system was tested in a greenhouse lab with various weeds. Initially, a test was performed to investigate the effect of high voltage on the weeds and establish relationships between the electric currents passing through weeds and their presence (before and after annihilation). During the test, the system was guided along a path and applied high voltage to kill the weeds. The feedback mechanism was then calibrated based on the extracted data on electric current relations. This allowed the system to detect weeds and their annihilation, enabling it to move to the next target once a weed had been eliminated. After calibration, a comparative test was conducted to evaluate the weed-killing efficiency of the two methods (with and without the feedback mechanism), and the results were analyzed using a t-test with p ≤ 0.01.Results and DiscussionThe observations indicated that the input electric current on the weed killer was dependent on the electric current passing through weeds. When the high-voltage electrode touched a weed, the electric current passed through it increased, and simultaneously, the high electrical energy destroyed the weed. After the removal of the weed, the electric current rapidly decreased. The average energy consumption per weed plant was estimated to be 250 joules, which can be compared with other methods. The final test comparing the use and non-use of the feedback mechanism revealed significant differences (P < 0.01) between the results obtained with and without the mechanism, demonstrating that the feedback mechanism increased the efficiency of weed annihilation. The sensing system used in the developed feedback mechanism is a simple method that is affected by the electrical resistivity of weeds. As such, it did not mistakenly detect other objects as weeds, unlike an ultrasonic mechanism. Based on these results, monitoring the electrical current passing through weeds proved to be a suitable method for developing a feedback mechanism for the weed killer to identify the presence of weeds and their annihilation.ConclusionThe use of high voltage as a non-chemical and alternative method for weed control has shown promising results. The study revealed that measuring the electric current applied to the weed killer was an effective and straightforward approach to developing a feedback mechanism. This mechanism aids in identifying the presence of weeds and ensuring their elimination by intensifying the damage inflicted on them through the application of high electrical energy. To further enhance the efficiency and speed of weed control, future research should consider integrating an automatic guidance mechanism with the weed killer.
H. Abdolmaleki; A. Jafari; H. Mousazadeh; A. Hajiahmad
Abstract
IntroductionAs the world population grows up, the quantity and quality of human food must be improved. The production yield of marine aquaculture and farming of aquatic organisms, as a valuable source of food, will be increased. Regular and online monitoring of the physical, chemical, and biological ...
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IntroductionAs the world population grows up, the quantity and quality of human food must be improved. The production yield of marine aquaculture and farming of aquatic organisms, as a valuable source of food, will be increased. Regular and online monitoring of the physical, chemical, and biological qualities of water and environmental parameters in such these controlled environments can be achieved by using advanced world technologies, such as autonomous boats. In this study, simulation of an autonomous boat has been done to help better understanding and control of this type of vessel in various environments such as dams, ports, rivers, aquatic ecosystems, and aquaculture. Hence, the main goal of this paper is to simulate and evaluate the guidance and navigation system of an autonomous boat based on the Fourth order of Runge-Kutta for determining the changes of water quality indices in a fish farming ponds.Materials and Methods In order to achieve the main goal of this study, an autonomous boat was designed and built. This boat as a general-purpose robotic trimaran boat has dimensions of 110 cm x 37 cm x40 cm and is made of Plexiglas 2 mm thick. Maximum forward speed of the boat is 125 cm s-1 (at 6850 rpm of brushless motors) and the turning radius is less than 61 cm. The environmental data can be transferred using Internet of Things (IOT), smartphones, SMS, and mini PC. The position and heading of the boat are determined using GPS and IMU data. The hydrodynamic and aerodynamic forces, moments, and coefficients of the boat model are determined and then applied in the mathematical simulation as the input of classic Runge-Kutta (RK4). The performance of the robotic boat navigational and control systems evaluated in a rectangular track with a length of 20 m and a width of 15 m in a fish farming pond in Karaj and 4 waypoints. The local coordinates of four corner of the mentioned rectangular in the pond was (0, 0), (0, 20), (15, 20), and (15, 0). The purpose of control system was to conduct the actuators in such way that boat be able to go to the next point. When the boat reaches the target distance of one m of the desired point, the next point will be introduced as a new target. The set point of boat speed was 0.4 m s-1 and zero state vector was [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]. Results and DiscussionThe maximum error of position and heading of the autonomous boat is 135 cm and 11 degrees, respectively. Also, in the speed PID controller test (40 cm s-1), the average and standard deviation of the speed calculated as 40 cm s-1 and 2 cm s-1, respectively. Maximum difference between the heading obtained from the Kalman filter and received from the GPS is 11 degrees. In some situations that high precision of heading angle is not required, the GPS data can provide such accuracy of the heading. Among the variables of longitudinal, latitude, time to reach the target area, yaw rate, heading, and forward speed the minimum and maximum of percentage error are related to forward speed and yaw rate, respectively. These values show good performance of the simulated model and PID controllers.Conclusion In this study, motion simulation and evaluation of a robotic boat was carried out using a model boat and MATLAB software. The mathematical model simulated the real boat behavior correctly and the boat can be used safely in fish farming ponds to monitor environmental conditions and water quality.
P. Fayyaz; S. S. Mohtasebi; A. Jafari; A. Masoudi
Abstract
Introduction Essences or essential oils are aromatic compounds that are found in different organs of the plants. Essences can be classified into three groups of natural, synthetic and natural like. Most of the methods that are used to detect and to distinguish essential oils are based on chromatographic ...
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Introduction Essences or essential oils are aromatic compounds that are found in different organs of the plants. Essences can be classified into three groups of natural, synthetic and natural like. Most of the methods that are used to detect and to distinguish essential oils are based on chromatographic methods. However, these analytical methods are time consuming and require expert operators to work with required devices. Moreover, it is necessary to prepare the samples. An electronic nose is known as a tool for mimicking the sense of smell. This tool usually consists of an array of sensors which are used to identify and to isolate a variety of complex odors at a low cost. Since there has been no research on the usage of an electronic nose system for detection and separation of essential oils, the purpose of this study is to develop and to evaluate an electronic nose system for identification and classification of various types of commercial lemon essential oils (synthetic types). Materials and Methods The proposed system consists of a sensor chamber, a sample chamber, an array of MOS sensors, electro valves, a pump, a data acquisition cart and, a processor. Essential oils used in this study includes eight types of synthetic commercial lemon essential oils that were prepared by ((Avishan Khane Tabiat Sabz)) Company located in chemistry and chemical engineering research center of Iran. One gram sample of each essential oil was prepared to be placed in the sample chamber. Each experiment was carried out in 9 replicates and in three stages of 1- Baseline correction (250 s) 2- Sample smell injection (400 s) and 3- Sensors chamber cleaning (200 s). Data received from the sensors signals were initially preprocessed and normalized and then three methods of principal component analyses (PCA), linear discriminant analyses (LDA) and artificial neural network (ANN) were used to process the data. Both PCA and LDA methods were run using the Unscramble x10.4 software and the artificial neural network was used with the help of NeuroSolution 5 software. In ANN, the classification was carried out using a multilayer perceptron (MLP) and Leave-one-out technique. Leave-one-out is an acceptable method for evaluating the performance of the classification algorithms when the number of samples is low. Results and Discussion In order to analyze the data obtained from the sensor array, first, the principal components analysis (PCA) method was used. In this method, the first two principal components of PC 1 and PC 2 totally covered 99% of the data variance. Another plot called as loading plot was used to determine the effects of each sensor responses in pattern recognition analyzes. According to this plot, all sensors had high loading coefficients. In case of distinguishing the lemon essential oils, the results of the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) method showed that this method can distinguish eight types of lemon essential oils with an accuracy of %98. The artificial neural network (ANN) also separated the essential oils with the accuracy of the above %91. Conclusion An Electronic nose system based on semiconductor metal oxide sensors is a powerful tool that can be used as a substitute for traditional methods. In general, this study showed that the electronic nose system based on MOS sensors has the ability to detect and to distinguish commercial lemon essential oils. Considering the wide ranges and economical nature of the essential oils, it is suggested that applications of the electronic nose can be more expanded in the subject of the essential oils of different products.
M. Feyzi; A. Jafari; H. Ahmadi
Abstract
Introduction Tree felling is an important part of forest exploitation. According to the condition of Iranian forests, mechanization in these forests has not been grown as it should be. Therefore, a main part of tree felling operations are performed by chainsaw. This machine can cause high level hand-arm ...
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Introduction Tree felling is an important part of forest exploitation. According to the condition of Iranian forests, mechanization in these forests has not been grown as it should be. Therefore, a main part of tree felling operations are performed by chainsaw. This machine can cause high level hand-arm vibration which is one of the main reasons of white finger syndrome. This syndrome affects the nerves, blood vessels, muscles, and joints of the hand, wrist, and arm. Reducing and controlling chainsaw vibrations are unlikely to be achievable without awareness of effective factors of it. So, the effects of various factors should be studied. It seems that, single cylinder engine and the interaction of the chain with wood can be the main reasons of chainsaw vibration. Therefore, in the current study the effects of engine rotary speed and wood type on the vibration acceleration of a common chainsaw have been investigated. In contrast to the previous studies, no-cutting condition as a control sample was added to experiments and the effects of cutting itself were evaluated. Experiments were also conducted in three different engine speeds to investigate the effects of interaction between wood species and engine speed. Materials and Methods The vibration acceleration was measured on three orthogonal axes on the front handle of Stihl-070 chainsaw. The measurements were conducted at three levels of engine speed (6000, 7720, and 8630 RPM) during four operations. The operations include cutting three types of Iranian woods (Beech, Hornbeam, and Alder) and no-cutting as a control sample. The experiments were conducted in split-factorial design where the operation was taken as main plot and different speeds and directions as factors. A single-axis piezoelectric accelerometer (VMI-192) was used to sense the vibration. Vibration signals were received and analyzed by a portable data acquisition system (Easy Viber). The RMS vibration acceleration at one-third octave frequency bands in the center frequency range between 6.3Hz to 1250Hz were calculated from acceleration-frequency vibration spectra. Then, the amounts of frequency-weighted vibration acceleration (ahw) were computed based on international standards. SAS software was used to analyze the data statistically. Results and Discussion The results of ANOVA showed that the effect of operation on frequency-weighted acceleration was insignificant, but the effects of engine speed and vibration axis were significant at the 1% level. When the chainsaw was free of cutting, the vibration acceleration values were lower in lower frequencies and higher in higher frequencies compared to cutting wood operations. There was a significant difference between the vibration acceleration in 6000 RPM engine speed and other two speeds, but the differences between 7720 RPM and 8630 RPM engine speeds was insignificant. However, an increase in engine rotary speed increased the value of frequency-weighted vibration acceleration. The acceleration-frequency vibration spectra had peaks at frequencies in accordance with the engine combustion frequencies (100 Hz in 6000, 125 Hz in 7720, and 160 Hz in 8630). Maximum value of unweighted vibration acceleration was observed during no-cutting operations in 6000, 7720, and 8630 RPM engine speeds to be 77.2, 138.6, and 139.0 m s-2, respectively. Vibration acceleration was highest along the Xh (perpendicular to the palm area) equal to 12.05 m.s-2 followed by Yh axis (along the third metacarpal bone) with the value of 9.12 m s-2. Altogether, the results of these tests indicated that the vibration level of employed chainsaw in this study is very higher than other machines has been investigated by other researchers. Conclusion The effects of wood species and engine speed on the hand-transmitted vibration of chainsaw were evaluated. The operation has not significantly affected the frequency-weighted vibration acceleration. However, cutting operations, increase and decrease the vibration acceleration values in lower and higher frequencies, respectively. The frequency-weighted vibration acceleration had higher values in higher engine speeds. Also, it is concluded that the risk of white finger syndrome among the operators of this type of chainsaw is very high.
N. Tarabi; H. Mousazadeh; A. Jafari; J. Taghizadeh Tameh
Abstract
Introduction
Calotropis is an evergreen and perennial shrub that grows in tropical areas of Iran and has valuable fibers in the bark of its stem. Fibers obtained from Calotropis stem have 75% cellulose. Tensile strength and modulus of the fibers is more than Cotton and elongation of the fibers is higher ...
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Introduction
Calotropis is an evergreen and perennial shrub that grows in tropical areas of Iran and has valuable fibers in the bark of its stem. Fibers obtained from Calotropis stem have 75% cellulose. Tensile strength and modulus of the fibers is more than Cotton and elongation of the fibers is higher than Linen fibers. Calotropis stem fibers are researched for paper pulp applications and also has been evaluated for some applications such as their fiber characteristics for cloth making.
However, there are no more studies on Calotropis bark fibers and very limited information is available about fibers extraction methods. In traditional methods of extraction, the stems were wetted for a period of 8 days and then the fibers were separated manually. In another method that was common in south region of Iran, the dried stems were threshed by hand and the fibers were separated from the crushed stems manually. These methods need cumbersome works, and require long times for processing. Therefore the aim of this study is to develop an extraction method for Calotropis bark fibers based on mechanical ways. Investigation of some importance characteristics, e.g. moisture content and rotational speed on the performance of extraction machine is another objective of this study.
Materials and Methods
Considering that the fibers are in the bark of the stems, extracting principle is based on bark separation by pushing of stems against some pairs of sharp blades. Since diameter of stems is variable, it is essential that the designed system to be capable of auto-adjusting for different diameters. So the stems were fed through the blades, via two serrated rollers. The roller, blade and other parts of a separated unit were tightened to a yoke, so when thick stems are inserted, the roller compresses the spring and moves up, as a result, the blade was pulled up. The Yoke was connected to the frame through two long screws. For complete debarking and fibers extraction, three separation units were arranged in series at the final design. For complete debarking from all sides, the second unit was attached while 90o rotated in relation to the first unit.
To evaluate the machine performance, the test specimens were provided from the south region of Iran, Kerman. Approximated length of test specimens was 150 cm. Firstly, petioles and leaves were removed at the nodes of the stems. Extraction efficiency of the machine was evaluated with three moisture contents (75% w.b., 65% w.b. and 55% w.b.) and six rotational speeds (30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 50 rpm). Stems with a moisture content higher than 75% w.b. and lower than 55% w.b. were not suitable for fiber extraction by the machine. Because latex flows from the stem at moisture content of higher than 75% w.b. and also the bark was being stuck on the stem at moisture content of lower than 55% w.b. The stem feeding capacity was evaluated at different moisture content and speeds as well. In order to investigate the power consumption due to moisture content and rotational speed, the consumed power per stem mass unit was calculated at three moisture contents and three speeds (35, 45 and 55 rpm).
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique was used to evaluate effect of different speeds and moisture contents. The study was planned as factorial experiments based on a completely randomized design and each treatment was replicated five times.
Results and Discussion
Based on the analysis of variance for extraction efficiency at different three moisture contents and six rotational speeds, it is obtained that the effect of moisture contents (at P≤0.01) and rotational speeds (at P≤0.05) were significant on the extraction efficiency. Comparison extraction efficiency at six speeds and three moisture content levels showed that the maximum extracting efficiency occurs at rotational speed of 40 rpm with the moisture content of 75% w.b. The average efficiency in this case was 95% approximately. Extraction efficiency at moisture contents of 65 and 55 % w.b. were 78-90% and 60-82% respectively. As the moisture content decreased, the bark was being bonded and stuck on the stem so the fibers were torn while debarking. It is found that the effect of speeds on the capacity was not significant. Average stem feeding capacity into the machine at rotational speed of 45 rpm and at three moisture contents of 75% w.b., 65% w.b. and 55%w.b. were respectively 46, 37 and 28 kg hr-1.
The effect of moisture content and rotational speed on the consumed power per stem mass unit was significant at 0.01 probability level. However, the consumed power per mass unit increased with decrease in moisture content and increase in rotational speed. The average of maximum consumed power per unit mass at moisture contents of 75%, 65% and 55% w.b. were 1.46, 1.70 and 1.85w g-1, respectively. Also 1 kg fibers were obtained from 22kg stems at a moisture content of 75% w.b. Finally, it is concluded that the fiber length varied from 10 cm to 80 cm by the mechanical method.
Conclusions
In this study, a machine that would be capable to extract fibers from stems of Calotropis was developed. Comparison of extracting efficiency at six speed levels and three moisture contents indicated that the maximum extracting efficiency (95%) is at rotational speed of 40 rpm with the moisture content of 75% w.b. Average stem feeding capacity into the machine at three moisture contents of 75% w.b., 65% w.b. and 55% w.b. were 46, 37 and 28 kg hr-1, respectively. Results showed that consumed power per unit mass is increased when moisture decreased. Also 1 kg fiber was obtained by 22kg stems at moisture content of 75% w.b.
M. Feyzi; A. Jafari; H. Ahmadi
Abstract
Introduction: Nowadays most of the agricultural and industrial tasks are performed using different machines and almost any people are exposed to the vibration of these machines. Just as sound can be either music to the ear or irritating noise, human vibrations can either be pleasant or unpleasant. Whole-body ...
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Introduction: Nowadays most of the agricultural and industrial tasks are performed using different machines and almost any people are exposed to the vibration of these machines. Just as sound can be either music to the ear or irritating noise, human vibrations can either be pleasant or unpleasant. Whole-body vibration and hand-arm vibration are two main types of unpleasant vibration. The hand-arm transmitted vibration can cause complex vascular, neurological and musculoskeletal disorder, collectively named as hand-arm vibration syndrome. The chainsaw is a portable machine, powered by a two-stroke engine. This machine is used by tree surgeons to fell trees, remove branches, and other activities such as prune trees. The chainsaw exposes own operators to high level of hand-arm vibration which can lead to problems such as vibration white finger syndrome and Raynaud's phenomenon. White finger syndrome affects the nerves, blood vessels, muscles, and joints of the hand, wrist and arm. It is clear that before trying to control the vibrations, the level of vibrations should be identified. Therefore, an investigation on the vibration level of this machine is crucial.
Materials and Methods: The Stihl-MS230 chainsaw was selected in this study. The size of this type of chainsaw is middle and it is equipped with anti-vibration system. According to the ISO-7505 standard, vibration must be measured at three speed level of engine. First at idling speed, second at nominal speed and third at 133% of the nominal speed or maximum speed of engine whichever is less (Racing). So 2800, 10000, and 13300 RPM Engine speed were selected. One of the employed accessories was ARMA ETI-TACHO tachometer which had been fabricated in Taiwan. The vibrations were measured and analyzed using the portable data acquisition system (Easy Viber). During the measurements, data acquisition system was powered by internal batteries. The vibrations were sensed by the piezoelectric accelerometer (VMI-192). The accelerometer mounted on an adapter inserted between the handle and accelerometer. The experiments were conducted in split plot completely randomized design. Ninety tests in two handles, three speeds of engine, three perpendicular axes and five repeats were conducted. The vibration acceleration at various conditions was measured and the root mean square of vibration acceleration was calculated based on acceleration-time spectrum. To investigate the characteristics of vibration in different speeds, the vibration spectrums in time domain were converted to spectrums in frequency domain. The frequency weighted RMS acceleration at 1/3rd octave bands from 6.3Hz to 1250Hz and the vibration total value was calculated from frequency spectrum. To analyze the obtained data, SAS software was used. Furthermore, the Duncan's multiple range tests were used to compare the RMS values.
Results and Discussion: Main source of vibration of chainsaw was single cylinder engine. The acceleration spectra of employed chainsaw had peaks in frequencies in accordance with the speed of engine. These peaks in 2800 rpm, 10000 rpm and 13300 rpm speeds of engine occurred in 46.5Hz, 166.5Hz and 221.5Hz, respectively. To achieve a safe design for handle of portable tools, identifying the frequency which leads to the maximum value of vibration acceleration is very useful. To avoid the resonance phenomenon, the natural frequency of handle must be far from dominant frequency of engine. The results of ANOVA showed that the RMS acceleration in different axes and different speeds were significant at 1% level. The maximum value of vibration acceleration, at idling engine speed, occurred in the lateral axis. In addition, the mentioned variable was maximized in normal and axial axes at nominal and racing speeds, respectively. The total value of vibration was increased when the speed of engine moving away from nominal speed. This increase in rear handle is very larger than front handle. The total value of vibration was maximized under rear handle and idling engine speed conditions. So the exposure to white finger disorder in right hand of operator is more probable. Total daily duration of exposure was assumed to be equal to 2h. According to the international standard (ISO 5349), 10% of the users can expect developing the symptoms of white finger syndrome less than seven years.
Conclusions: In chainsaw, strokes caused by combustion are the main source of vibration. On the front handle, the maximum value of vibration acceleration, at 2800, 10000 and 13300 RPM engine speed, occurred in the lateral, normal and axial axes respectively. The vibration acceleration value was maximized under rear handle and racing engine speed conditions caused by large value of vibration acceleration at 400Hz center of 1/3rd octave bands. The total value of vibration in idling and racing engine speeds, on rear handle are more than front handle significantly but in nominal engine speed, on rear handle is less than front handle.
A. Hajiahmad; A. Jafari; A. R. Keyhani; H. Goli; B. No'doust
Abstract
In this paper, a low-cost dynamometer for rolling, steered wheels is described. The dynamometer was constructed to determine whether such an instrumented mechanism was practical. Four S-beam load cells, an Opto-counter and a potentiometer were used to obtain all moments, and forces using dynamic and ...
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In this paper, a low-cost dynamometer for rolling, steered wheels is described. The dynamometer was constructed to determine whether such an instrumented mechanism was practical. Four S-beam load cells, an Opto-counter and a potentiometer were used to obtain all moments, and forces using dynamic and kinematic analysis. Minimal simplifying assumptions considered for the required calculations. Overturning, aligning and rolling resistance moments besides vertical force are directly measured by the load cells. The Opto-counter detects wheel angular velocity and the potentiometer was used to measure the steering angle. The results showed that the mechanism was very well calibrated with a coefficient of determination of over 0.99 and can be used to define wheel dynamic behavior.
H. Goli; S. Minaei; A. Jafari; A. R. Keyhani; A. Hajiahmad; H. Abdolmaleki; A. M. Borghaee
Abstract
In this research, four different positioning methods were compared in order to evaluate their accuracy, using a remotely controlled robot on a specific route. These methods included: using a single GPS module, combining the data from three GPS modules, using an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), and GPS/IMU ...
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In this research, four different positioning methods were compared in order to evaluate their accuracy, using a remotely controlled robot on a specific route. These methods included: using a single GPS module, combining the data from three GPS modules, using an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), and GPS/IMU data fusion. The comparison of these four methods showed that GPS/IMU data fusion along with a Kalman filter was the most precise method, having a root mean square error of 23.4cm. Integrating the data acquired simultaneously from three GPS modules with fixed and equally spaced position and far enough from each other, had a root mean square error of 31.3cm was the second most precise method. . Also analysis of the IMU data showed that due to cumulative errors, it was not a suitable method using a single IMU for positioning.
M. Namdari; Sh. Rafiee; A. Jafari
Abstract
Farm management needs creative methods to success. FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis) is a new method to analyze potential reliability problems in the development cycle of the project, making it easier to take actions to overcome such issues, thus enhancing the reliability through design or process. ...
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Farm management needs creative methods to success. FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis) is a new method to analyze potential reliability problems in the development cycle of the project, making it easier to take actions to overcome such issues, thus enhancing the reliability through design or process. Anticipating these failure modes, being the central step in the analysis, needs to be carried on extensively, in order to prepare a list of maximum potential failure modes. Risk is measured in terms of Risk Priority Number (RPN) that is a product of occurrence, severity, and detection difficulty. This study attempted to improve clod mean weight diameter and soil inversion as indicators of tillage quality by FMEA methodology. The results showed that low soil moisture, slow speed of ploughing and great depth of ploughing is the most important factors that increase clod MWD with 900, 630 and 560 RPN, respectively. Also for soil inversion the slow speed of ploughing, not using coulter, low soil moisture and great depth of ploughing are important factors with 720, 648, 490 and 420 RPN. Using a split - split factorial experiment with 16 treatments and three replications also acknowledged the results of this method. After reforming the conditions and re-testing the experiment, results showed that clod MWD was reduced 20% and soil inversion increased 2% approximately. This study proposes the use of this technique in agricultural management.
