Raheman Hifjur

Soil bin investigations were initiated with combined offset disc harrow (CODH) which unites the benefits of powered discs and combination tillage together through a front active-rear passive set configuration. The proposed configuration may help to achieve timeliness in sowing, better crop residue handling with reduced tillage passes and improved engine power utilization of tractor. The effects of speed ratio (u/v), front gang angle (α), operating depth and cone index (CI) on its draft, torque and power requirement were studied and compared with its traditional passively driven mode at an average soil moisture of 9–10% (db) in sandy-clay loam soil. Optimum system settings were found out before further performance evaluation in the field. The substantially reduced draft requirement with CODH might help to reduce the wheel slippage and improve field productivity while increased power requirement might prevent the under-loading of tractor engine. Tillage quality was assessed considerin...

A study was conducted for fuel characterization of a stable nano-oxide added water emulsified biodiesel blend (NWEB) prepared with optimal emulsifying parameters. NWEB prepared with Hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) value 5.0 indicated the least separation from emulsion layer as compared to other HLB values 4.3 and 6.0. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy was conducted in Mid-IR range to ensure the quality of biodiesel and emulsified fuel. The stability data of NWEB prepared with varying the emulsifying parameters were used in radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) for simulation of actual and predicted separation from emulsion. The well trained RBFNN model was coupled with particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique to find the optimal emulsifying parameters to produce a stable NWEB. The predicted optimal emulsifying parameters were found as 69.7 ppm nano-oxide concentration, 10% water, 1% surfactant and 2500 rpm of stirrer for a predicted separation of 0.90% after 3...

ABSTRACT An attempt has been made to produce stable water–diesel emulsion with optimal formulation and process parameters and to evaluate the performance and emission characteristics of diesel engine using this stable water–diesel emulsion. A total of 54 samples were prepared with varying water/diesel ratio, surfactant amount and stirring speed and water separation was recorded after 24 and 48 hr of emulsification. The recorded data were used in artificial neural network (ANN)-particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique to find the optimal parameters to produce water–diesel emulsion for engine testing. The predicted optimal parameters were found as 20% water to diesel ratio, 0.9% surfactant and 2200 rpm of stirrer for a water separation of 14.33% in one day with a variation of 6.54% against the actual value of water separation. Water–diesel emulsion fuel exhibited similar fuel properties as base fuel. The peak cylinder gas pressure, peak pressure rise rate and peak heat release rate for water–diesel were found higher as compared to diesel at medium to full engine loads. The improved air-fuel mixing in water–diesel emulsion enhanced brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of engine. The absorption of heat by water droplets present in water–diesel emulsion led to reduced exhaust gas temperature (EGT). With water–diesel emulsion fuel, the mean carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbon and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions reduced by 8.80, 39.60, and 26.11%, respectively as compared to diesel.

A microcontroller-based embedded digital display and warning system was developed for measuring wheel slippage, velocity ratio, PTO torque, and draft requirement of active tillage machinery. The hardware system included magnetic pickup sensor for measuring the engine speed, load cells and amplifiers to measure and amplify the sensing unit signals of the draft, proximity sensors for wheel slip, and PTO torque transducer for measuring the torque requirement. It was provided with buzzers and LEDs to warn the operator, whenever slip and velocity ratio were not in the desired range based on the algorithm, for maximum fuel efficiency and tractive performance. It measured slippage, velocity ratio, torque and draft with a maximum absolute variation of 12.90%, 7.92%, 8.99% and 11.57%, respectively. The developed system can be easily adaptable to any combination of tractor and tillage implements, and guide the operator for better soil tilth with lesser energy input.

Developing countries contribute 72% of the total vegetable production in the world. The transplanting operation is one of the most labor intensive in vegetable production. It is largely done by hand in India and most developing countries and incurs large investments in labor, time, and cost. This article presents the details of construction of vegetable transplanters in addition to recent advances in their development. Performance of transplanters under actual field conditions is discussed.

The aim of this study was to find out the thermal and environmental performance of a four-stroke, single-cylinder, direct injection 10-kW CI engine at varying engine load conditions using different test fuels. The formulated fuels, viz. CeO2 nanoparticles-dispersed water-diesel-biodiesel fuel blend (CNWEDB) and water-diesel-biodiesel fuel blend (WEDB), were prepared using emulsification technique using CeO 2 nanoparticles and water as additives in diesel-biodiesel blend (B20). The measured fuel properties of CNWEDB and WEDB satisfied the criteria of Indian Standard for biodiesel indicating their suitability for use in CI engine. The engine was run at various loads (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) randomly to assess its thermal and environmental performance with all test fuels. Thermal performance of CI engine was evaluated by measuring the parameters such as brake thermal efficiency (BTE), brake-specific fuel consumption (bsfc), exhaust gas temperature (EGT) and heat balance for all test fuels. The environmental performance of engine was assessed by measuring CO, HC and NOx emissions for all test fuels. Adding water and CeO2 nanoparticles into B20 improved BTE of engine by 7.65% over diesel. Also, the minimum heat losses were observed at 80% engine load for CNWEDB indicating a better conversion of fuel energy to useful work. EGT and bsfc of engine reduced with CNWEDB over WEDB and B20 fuels. Engine fueling with CNWEDB emitted 12.82%, 14.46% and 14.20%; and 30.77%, 43.67% and 26.80% lesser concentration of CO, HC and NOx emissions over WEDB and diesel, respectively.

Developing countries contribute 72% of the total vegetable production in the world. The transplanting operation is one of the most labor intensive in vegetable production. It is largely done by hand in India and most developing countries and incurs large investments in labor, time, and cost. This article presents the details of construction of vegetable transplanters in addition to recent advances in their development. Performance of transplanters under actual field conditions is discussed.