Agricultural systems engineering (greenhouse, fish farming, mushroom production)
P. Shamsi Roodbarsar; S. R. Mousavi Seyedi; D. Kalantari; K. Ghasemi
Abstract
IntroductionIt is predicted that the world population will grow to 9.3 billion by 2050 and the urban population will increase by 73%, growing from 3.6 billion to 6.3 billion. This huge population requires abundant food production. A plant factory with artificial light (PFAL) is a closed growing system ...
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IntroductionIt is predicted that the world population will grow to 9.3 billion by 2050 and the urban population will increase by 73%, growing from 3.6 billion to 6.3 billion. This huge population requires abundant food production. A plant factory with artificial light (PFAL) is a closed growing system that is insulated against heat and air. The plants grow on shelves under horizontal artificial lighting. The main goal of PFAL is commercial plant production, but mini PFALs do not have commercial goals and are used to produce plants in small domestic sizes. Plants that are less than 30 cm tall, and grow well in relatively low light conditions and at high planting densities, are suitable for the plant factory. Therefore, plants such as rice, wheat, and potatoes are not suitable for cultivation in a plant factory.The main purpose of this research is to study the proper light quality for growing radish plants. All light treatments had a significant effect on biomass, sugar, and photosynthetic pigments of radish. The results showed that the highest amount of chlorophyll a was 0.964 mg g-1 fresh leaf weight and the lowest amount was 0.318 mg g-1 fresh leaf weight. For chlorophyll b, the highest value was 0.666 mg g-1 wet weight and the lowest value was 0.229 mg g-1 wet weight. The highest and lowest carotenoid contents were 74.75 mg g-1 and 30.6 mg g-1 wet weight, respectively. The highest sugar content was 0.717 μg g-1 dry weight and the lowest was 0.02 μg g-1 dry weight. The highest fresh and dry weights of the plant were 0.27 g and 0.014 g, respectively, while the lowest values recorded were 0.155 g and 0.007 g, respectively. In this study, plant length was also examined, but no significant difference was observed between different light treatments. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the light composition (R2, G0, B1) was the most suitable light regime for use in the designed system.Materials and MethodsThe plant studied in this investigation was radish. The place of growth was a vertically built system consisting of four floors, each divided into two sections. A controller was required in each section to regulate parameters such as light time, temperature, and moisture. The controllers were designed using Fritzing software and built with parts and sensors like DHT 11, Arduino UNO based on ATMEGA328P, Relay module Arduino, data logging shield, and driver module RC. A programming platform like Arduino was used to write codes for controlling the remaining parameters. This study tested seven different light treatments, plus sunlight as a control, to investigate their effects on radish growth. The light treatments were developed by adjusting the number of three different lights: red, green, and blue. LEDs were installed after designing and constructing the m-PFAL system. Based on previous research conducted in this field, all LED lights were positioned above the shelves to ensure that the plants received an appropriate amount of light in a vertical orientation. Additionally, light reflectors were installed beside the plants to provide proper lighting for the lower leaves. The experimental design involved a completely randomized design with eight treatments and three replications, and all data analysis was conducted through SAS software. The average comparison was performed using the Duncan method at a probability of 1% and 5%.Results and DiscussionThe results indicate that the light regime (R2, G0, B1) resulted in the highest amount of chlorophyll "a", which was significantly different from both the control and other treatments. The treatment with the lowest amount of chlorophyll "a" was (R1, G0, B0), which did not differ significantly from the control or (R1, G1, B1). The treatment with the highest amount of chlorophyll "b" was (R2, G0, B1), which differed significantly from the control but not from (R2, G1, B0) or (R1, G0, B2). Using a mixed light treatment of blue and red resulted in higher amounts of photosynthesis pigments, especially when the red light was more prevalent. The treatment with the highest wet weight was (R2, G0, B1), which did not differ significantly from natural light. The treatment with the lowest wet weight was the just red light treatment, which was much lower than the other treatments. The dry weight of the radish was 4-6 percent of its wet weight, and the treatment with the highest dry weight was (R2, G0, B1), which did not differ significantly from (R0, G1, B2) or (R1, G0, B0). The treatment with the highest amount of sugar was (R2, G0, B1), which was significantly higher than other optical regimes used and natural light. Because the production of carbohydrates and sugar is directly related to photosynthesis, it can be concluded that the state of photosynthesis was most proper in the (R2, G0, B1) treatment.ConclusionThis study investigated the optimal light quality for the healthy and rapid growth of radish plants in a plant factory. LED lights can be an excellent alternative to natural light when there are limitations, such as in greenhouses or multi-floor plantings. The results show that the best light mixture was red and blue lights, with more red light than blue light, while the worst light regime was just red color, which had a negative effect on all parameters.
Bioenergy
S. R. Mousavi Seyedi; S. M. R. Miri
Abstract
IntroductionIncreasing industrialization, growing energy demand, limited reserves of fossil fuels, and increasing environmental pollution have jointly necessitated for exploration of a substitute for conventional liquid fuels. Vegetable oils can be used as alternatives to petroleum fuels for engine operation. ...
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IntroductionIncreasing industrialization, growing energy demand, limited reserves of fossil fuels, and increasing environmental pollution have jointly necessitated for exploration of a substitute for conventional liquid fuels. Vegetable oils can be used as alternatives to petroleum fuels for engine operation. These oils are mixtures of free-fatty acid molecules to contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. The ability to simulate the process of converting chemical energy to heat, energy users of computational fluid dynamics software in the design, analysis, and optimization of high-tech tools. Also, simulation saves time and reduces costs, workforce, and the space required.Materials and MethodsIn this research, a one-dimensional computational fluid dynamics solution with GT-Power software was used to simulate a four-cylinder, four-stroke, direct injection diesel engine to study the performance and exhaust emissions characteristics with different speeds and blends at full load. The engine speeds were chosen to be 1100 to 1400 rpm at an interval of 100 rpm. Also, fuel blends such as diesel (as a base), B5, and B10 biodiesel were selected for engine testing. To model a engine, we should have the dimensions of the engine, input air collection, output gases collection, the amount of sprinkled fuel, valves properties, combustion, and some of the estimates corresponding to the cylinder’s thermodynamic parameters when opening the output and input gate and to exchange the heat inside the cylinder as the input data. The model mainly consisted of an air cleaner, intake valve, exhaust valve, intake and exhaust port, injection nozzle, engine cylinder, and engine. Engine cylinder’s intake and exhaust ports are modeled geometrically with pipes. Before this investigation was carried out, a validation model for evaluation was done by experimental and simulation data. The validation results showed that the software model error is acceptable.Results and DiscussionThe engine performance and emissions were evaluated in terms of engine torque, specific fuel consumption, NOx, and CO emission at different engine speeds and fuels at full load. The results showed that with increasing the engine speeds, torque increased. On the other hand, the maximum engine torque for the diesel engine is slightly lower than the biodiesel-blended that increased by 4.4% because of the higher density and viscosity of biodiesel than diesel. Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC) is a measure of the fuel efficiency of any prime mover that burns fuel and produces rotation, or shaft, power. The results indicated that by increasing engine speeds, the SFC increased. A fuel with a lower heating value should be injected with more mass into the engine. This will increase the SFC. So, the maximum engine SFC for the diesel engine is more than the biodiesel-blended that decreased by 4.45% because of better fuel combustion and more power generation of biodiesel than diesel. The only nitrogen oxide that can be formed in an engine combustion temperature is nitrogen monoxide (NO). This pollutant factor can be converted to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) over the time of exhaust gas. The results showed that with increasing the engine speeds, the NOX emissions decrease steadily and then increases, which is due to the high temperature in the cylinder. The viscosity and density of fuels have an effect on NOX emission, and because of the larger droplets of the fuel, it released NOX. The highest NOx emissions belong B10 biodiesel in 1400 rpm, due to the high oxygen content of this fuel and the lowest NOx emissions belong B10 biodiesel in 1300 rpm, due to the low density of the fuel compared to diesel. CO is a colorless and odorless gas, whose even very low concentrations are dangerous for humans and animals. The results showed that with increasing the engine speeds, the CO emission decreased and the minimum CO emission for diesel engine is more than the biodiesel-blended that decreased by 37.61% because of excess oxygen availability and complete combustion in biodiesel than diesel.ConclusionThe results of this study showed that the B10 blend in high engine speeds, generally had the best performance and emissions characteristics among the three fuels used in this study. Also, this investigation will assist in the development of WCO biodiesel as a viable sustainable fuel source through the use of a CFD model, optimized engine configuration, and technical report.
Design and Construction
M. Hasannia Samakoush; S. R. Mousavi Seyedi; A. Mahdavian
Abstract
IntrodutionNowadays, supplying the needed food for people is one of the main global issues. Among foods, rice as the second vital crop has an important role in the world. The amount of global rice losses is about 21 percent and in Iran is reported between 16 to 30 percent that the most amount of it belongs ...
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IntrodutionNowadays, supplying the needed food for people is one of the main global issues. Among foods, rice as the second vital crop has an important role in the world. The amount of global rice losses is about 21 percent and in Iran is reported between 16 to 30 percent that the most amount of it belongs to harvest (mowers and crushers) part. The measuring device for rice picker combine losses at lab scale is a tool which could report the losses of separating and cleaning units. One of the advantages of this device is choosing maximum speed by the operator with considering the acceptable amount of seed losses. Therefore, research about detecting and decreasing this type of losses is important. In this research, only the losses of the harvesting step, especially at the end of a combine harvester machine was addressed. Different methods included piezoelectric and acoustic sensors, load cell, and FIS controller were used as the measuring device of rice picker combine seed losses. In this research, on the contrary with other studies, the slope of meshed plate and humidity of product was measured using a piezoelectric sensor at lab scale under different conditions of the rotational speed of meshed plate. Therefore, the general purpose of this research was design, construction, and evaluation of the measuring device for rice picker combine losses based on the piezoelectric sensor at lab scale to measure the seed losses in the straws at the end of the machine at rice picking.Materials and MethodsA meshed plate with the 100 × 60 cm2 dimension was one of the main parts of the measuring device of seed losses. The diameter of its meshes was 7 mm based on the rice seed size. It separates the rice seeds from straws. Separated seeds from this part were fallen on the other plate which is mounted under the meshed plate. The seeds through four separated routes were fallen on the sensors and output pulses from sensors were sent to the operator plus shown at a monitor. The used seeds at tests were selected from Fajr rice cultivar with a high yield and short height. The used piezoelectric sensor had the ability to convert imposed force and pressure to voltage and vice versa. After the seed falling on the sensor and its vibration, the piezoelectric sensor worked as a beam fixed at one end. The used Integrated Circuit (IC) was ATMEGA328, which receives the needed data through the sensor as a processing and action system. An electric motor was used to create the rotational speed of meshed plate. The LCD indicator was used for monitoring the obtained data from the test. The amount of seed losses at the end of rice picker combine machine was studied using the piezoelectric sensor with high sensitivity for detecting seeds to separate the seeds from straws. The tested sample in this research was 1 kg straw plus 52 g seed which was equal to 3 percent loss at the end of the harvest combine machine. The experimental design was a simple randomized complete design with three replications. The used treatments included the rotational speed of meshed plate at 3 levels (50, 75, and 100 rpm), the slope of meshed plate at 3 levels (25, 37, and 45 deg) plus humidity at 3 levels (12, 18, and 24 percent). Then the data analysis was done using the conducted test design. The GenStat software was used for data analysis.Results and DiscussionThe analysis of variance table showed that all treatments have a significant difference in the number of rice lost seeds at 1% probability level. The interaction between the rotational speed of meshed plate and seed humidity had a significant difference at the 1% level. On this base, the best separation of seed from straw recorded at 100 rpm and 12% humidity. The reason was the higher vibration of the meshed plate at high rotational speed and better separation of seeds at low humidity. Increasing the slope of meshed plate and humidity of seeds caused decreasing in the device efficiency. Because the motion speed of the sample on the meshed plate increased with increasing the slope of the meshed plate, a lower period was needed for separating the seeds from straws, and this separation at higher humidity was done hardly. The highest efficiency at this condition was obtained with 12% humidity and 25º slope. Increment of the rotational speed of meshed plate and decrement of meshed plate slope caused the best separation by the device. Its reason was high vibration at the high rotational speed and having enough time for separating the seeds from straws at a low slope of the meshed plate. The best angle for separating was 37º. Increment of the rotational speed of meshed plate, decrement of meshed plate slope, and sample humidity caused increasing the device efficiency. The reasons were high vibration at high rotational speed, having enough time for separating seeds from straws, and decreasing the compression at low humidity amounts. The results showed that the best device efficiency with 95.51% was obtained at 100 rpm rotational speed, humidity of 12%, and 25º slope of the meshed plate.ConclusionIn this research, a measuring device for detecting the amount of seed losses combined by straws at the end of a rice picker combine machine was designed and constructed, and then was assessed. The results of lab tests showed that increment of the rotational speed of meshed plate plus decrement of meshed plate slope and sample humidity causes an increment of device efficiency. With installation and evaluation of this device on the rice picker combine machine, the needed correction at the farm will be done and the amount of losses will be decreased.
Design and Construction
O. Esmand; S. R. Mousavi Seyedi; D. Kalantari
Abstract
Introduction The use of new technology in planters is one of the most important factors in the advancement of agricultural science. In the present study, an electronic warning system has been designed and implemented to prevent large seeds from falling from the fall pipe into the ground groove. In this ...
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Introduction The use of new technology in planters is one of the most important factors in the advancement of agricultural science. In the present study, an electronic warning system has been designed and implemented to prevent large seeds from falling from the fall pipe into the ground groove. In this study, three types of corn, bean and soybean seeds have been used, using two laser and microwave sensors. Viewing and comparison of the two sensors and their performance in two conditions of medium and high sensitivity in both laboratory and field conditions were conducted. In this case, the differences between the two sensors in different sensitivities have been evaluated and compared. The performance of the sensors in seed count has also been studied and compared. According to the results obtained in both cases, the sensors performance was acceptable, and especially in the maximum sensitivity of the sensors, they were able to handle well the clogs created in different situations (clogging down or above the fall pipe or emptying the seed tank). Detect and alert in a timely manner. Also, the count of seeds in all three seed types was recorded with high accuracy compared to the actual number. Materials and Methods Three types of coarse seeds (corn, beans and soybeans) as well as two types of sensors (laser and microwave) with two levels of medium sensitivity and high sensitivity were used for the experiments. Laser sensors are one of the most precise instrumentation and industrial automation tools that use laser light to detect objects or even precise distances. The function of the microwave sensor is that the high frequency waves are transmitted when the power supply is connected. These waves are reflected back to the module receiver if they hit objects. The open waves in the module are multiplied by the frequency of transmission by the mixer and a low-output (IF) signal is generated. The output frequency is equal to the difference between the frequency of the transmitted and reflected waves caused by the Doppler effect. Based on this frequency, the presence of a moving object and its speed are detected. Experiments were carried out at both laboratory and field levels and in both moderate and high sensitivity modes using variable resistance mounted on the controller. The equivalent distance for each seed test is 100 meters, so twice for each seed in the laboratory and field level for each of the laser and microwave sensors in both high and medium sensitivity modes. In this system, in case of falling pipe clogging due to seed accumulation or mud under the falling pipe or other factors, an alert system (warning beep), along with the corresponding LED light, indicates a problem in the seed fall system and the operator alerts paying attention to the LED light (green or red) will detect the problem. Results and Discussion The results indicated that by installing a variable resistance inside the circuit, different sensors can be created in the sensors. Increasing the sensitivity of the sensor as much as possible can cause higher the efficiency of the sensor. In the two cases of medium and high resistance, sensors work with medium and high sensitivity. It works since both modes have been tested and the results have been satisfactory. The accuracy of counting and seed detection accuracy between two laser sensors and microwave sensors in two medium and high sensitivity modes were calculated and evaluated. The experiments in the laboratory showed that the difference in the number of seed count by laser sensor compared to the actual number in maize seed at medium and high sensitivity were 87.4% and 94.3%, respectively, in bean seeds 89.1% and 94.2%, respectively. And in soybean seed were 89.4% and 92.3%, respectively. Conclusion The developed embedded system can successfully check and announce the instantaneous state of three types of grain tested (corn, beans and soybeans) in the seed delivery tube of a hand single-row planter with visual cues (on or off LED lights) and audible signals (on or off the alarm), whenever there is a grain flow or no grain flow. Likewise, the developed system can show the blockage at the end of the seed delivery tube with visual indications of the green and red lights on or off and the alarm sound described in detail. These warnings are indications of a fall pipe failure or lack of grain flow in the grain measuring mechanism toward the opening groove and then into the ground. This type of detection alerts the operator in a timely manner by monitoring the status of the grains in the measuring system and ensuring that the grains are located in the ground.
Design and Construction
S. Hasantabar; S. R. Mousavi Seyedi; D. Kalantari
Abstract
Introduction Nowadays, due to growth and development of the husbandry and its worthiness in providing human basic needs, affecting parameters such as costs, efficiency and fuel consumption is significantly important. So, increasing the efficiency of threshing machine could lead us to huge savings in ...
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Introduction Nowadays, due to growth and development of the husbandry and its worthiness in providing human basic needs, affecting parameters such as costs, efficiency and fuel consumption is significantly important. So, increasing the efficiency of threshing machine could lead us to huge savings in energy. However using the conventional drums and concaves have some problems such as damaging seeds due to impact, complicated manufacturing technology and spending a lot of energy in separating process. Therefore in order to overcome above mentioned problems especially energy consumption, a new seed pod husker based on rubbing was designed, fabricated and tested in this research. Materials and Methods Practical tests of this device were carried out on soybean which was harvested in a farm of Babolsar city. The experimental design was simple randomized complete design with three replications. The rotational speed of rollers and distance between rollers varied in three levels of 110, 170, and 210 rpm and 7, 8, and 9 mm for soybean. The measured parameters consisted of efficiency, separation and loss. For designing the seed pod husker, the required electric motor power and the torque for separating seeds from its pods were calculated. After reviewing the physical and mechanical characteristic of some seed pod crops specially, soybean, a seed pod husker was designed in SOLIDWORKS 2013 software. In order to facilitate seeds separation from the pod, it was preferred to use the right-round and left-round Archimedes screw on the rollers. According to the preliminary evaluations, it was considered to use a speed range of 110 to 210 rpm; it was because of that the speed lower than 110 rpm was not able to open pods and the speed higher than 210 rpm caused hyper movements of pods. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and mean comparisons and interaction between the parameters were performed using the SPSS 22 software. Results and Discussion The results indicated that the rollers were acceptable and sticking of pods were not seen. Results indicated that the efficiency of this device was increased with increasing the rotational speed and then was decreased. Increasing the rotational speed was led to increase separation. It is because of this fact that the performance of the husker’s component will be more powerful and crops suffer bigger impacts. The chart of device loss had a relatively upward slope. It could be due to a tougher collision between the seeds and the rollers. Increasing the roller distance, first decreased the efficiency of soybean and then increased that. The results indicated that separation efficiency decreased by increasing the distance. The reason for that was due to unavailable necessary force to separate the seed and pod. As the roller distance increased, the total losses of the device also increased. The reason for this was likely increasing in the movement of the seeds. Conclusion The results of practical tests and qualitative observations showed that the device had sufficient resistance against the maximum torque produced by the crop. Influence of rotational speed of rollers and rollers clearance on the efficiency, separation and loss were significant for new fabricated seed pod husker (p < 0.01). The capacity of the machine for soybean was 28.506 (kg hr-1). To achieve maximum efficiency, maximum separation and minimum loss for soybean, authors suggest using (9mm-170rpm), (7mm-210rpm) and (9mm-110rpm) compounds, respectively. Eventually, it is suggested to evaluate this machine for other seed pod crops and for other parameters such as germination percentage, electric conductivity and ergonomic issues such as noise and machine vibration. Of course, it is recommended to survey the impact of length of husking roller, shaft rotation method and thread types on measurement parameters.
