Paper No.

96-1095 An ASAE meeting Presentation

A DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM TO MONITOR TRACTOR PERFORMANCE by A. A. AL - JANOBI Assistant Professor and S. A. AL - SUHAIBANI Professor

Department of Agricultural Engineering King Saud University Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Written for Presentation at the 1996 ASAE Annual International Meeting Sponsored by ASAE Phoenix Civic Plaza Phoenix, Arizona July 14 - 1 6 , 1 9 9 6

Summary: A data acquisition system was developed to measure various tractor performance parameters such as wheel forces, three-point linkage forces, drawbar force, PTO torque and ground speed. An electronic circuit was designed and fabricated to provide exact angular position measurement of the clevis bolts in the tractor wheels at any travel speed and scanning rate of the datalogger used. This measurement is found to be more accurate and reliable as compared to the measurement by the marker pulse of the optical shaft encoder, which is dependent on the datalogger scanning time. The force measurement from the clevis bolts combined with the angular position measurement gives the total horizontal and the vertical components of forces on the revolving wheel. An onboard datalogger was used to sample signals from the various transducers as well as the angular position measurement circuit in the system. The system was field tested for its performance and found to be accurate and reliable in measurement of tractor performance parameters. Keywords: Data acquisition system, tractor performance, clevis bolts, angular position, scanning time The author(s) is solely responsible for the content of this technical presentation. The technical presentation does not necessarily reflect the official position of ASAE, and its printing and distribution does not constitute an endorsement of views which may be expressed. Technical presentations are not subject to the formal peer review process by ASAE editorial committees; therefore, they are not to be presented as rcfereed publications. Quotation from this work should state that it is from a presentation made by (name of author) at the (listed) ASAE meeting. EXAMPLE - From Author's Last Name, Initials. "Title of Presentation." Presented at the Date and Title of meeting, Paper No. X. ASAE, 2950 Niles Rd., St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659 USA. For information about securing permission to reprint or reproduce a technical presentation, please address inquiries to ASAE. ASAE, 2950 Niles Rd., St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659 USA Voice:616.429.0300 FAX: 616.429.3852 E-Mail:<hq@asae.org>

A DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM TO MONITOR TRACTOR PERFORMANCE

A b d u l r a h m a n AL-Janobi* and Saleh AL-Suhaibani*

1. I N T R O D U C T I O N

Recent developments in computer based data acquisition systems greatly increased the ability to scan and record various performance parameters of tractors and implements. These systems differ in complexity from measuring one or two parameters to onboard computer based data acquisition systems

measuring several parameters simultaneously. Their design and fabrication varied according to individual data collection requirements.

AL-Suhaibani et al., (1994) made an extensive review of instrumentation systems used to measure and record tractor and implement performance

parameters. Some researchers made attempt to develop portable instrumentation systems by considering their cost, complexity and non adaptability to other tractors. Lackas et al., (1991) developed a portable data acquisition system to measure the draft requirements and operating speeds of soil engaging

implements. Thomson and Shinners (1989) developed a portable instrumentation system to measure draft and speed when using either pull type or three point hitch mounted implements. * Department of Agricultural Engineering College of Agriculture, King Saud University Post Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.

Presently most of the researchers have been involved in the development of computer based data acquisition systems for monitoring performance parameters of tractors. The objectives of this work were to develop : 1) a data acquisition system for monitoring, storing and processing tractor performance parameters and 2) an electronic circuit to provide exact angular position measurement of clevis bolts in the revolving tractor wheels, which should be independent of the scanning time of the datalogger.

2. DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM

The block diagram of the data acquisition system is shown in Fig. 1. The system consists of a number of transducers, PRTs (Platinum resistance

thermometers), shaft encoders, a datalogger, an activity box and a personal computer. This system was designed and developed to install on the MF 3090 tractor. All the components except the computer were accommodated in suitable places of the tractor. The shaft encoders were mainly used to determine the

travel speed and the angular position of the clevis bolts in the wheels from the vertical reference passing through the wheel center. The activity box was used to provide regulated power supplies to the datalogger as well as to the transducers with input from tractor's 12 V DC power supply and at the same time it was used to determine the activity being performed during field operations.

The main part of the data acquisition system was the datalogger mounted in a desk to the left of the tractor operator. It was flexible due to a wide range of instructions for scanning and sampling signals from the transducers. First the results of measurements were stored in input storage locations and then being sent to final storage when the output flag was set. Intermediate storage was used to hold intermediate values during processing of some instructions. The

execution interval of the system was restricted to a range from 0.0125 to 6553 seconds. (CR7 Operator's Manual 1988).

The datalogger was equipped with 24K ROM and 40K RAM of memory and input/output cards like analog input card, excitation card and pulse counter card. The analog input card was provided with 14 single ended/28 differential input channels capable of measuring analog signals range from +/- 5 mV to +/- 5 V with an accuracy of 0.04 %. The excitation card was provided with 8 analog outputs and 2 continuous outputs of range +/- 5 V and 8 digital control outputs of maximum 5 +/- 0.1 V and minimum less than 0.1 V. The pulse counter card was provided with 4 channels each capable of accumulating upto a maximum of 32767 counts per scan interval. The count was incremented when the input voltage changed from below 1.5 V to above 3.5 V.

A cassette tape system was used for loading program from computer to the datalogger as well as for data storage during field operations. The program could also be entered through the key pad provided on the control module panel of the datalogger. The tape system could be connected to the D type port on the control module panel as well as to the PC201 tape read, clock, serial I/O card in the personal computer to transmit and receive data at 9600 baud rate. The computer was located in the Research Station. During field operation, the

sampled data were stored in a cassette tape and at the end of the experiment the stored data were transferred to the computer for further processing.

Communication could also be established between the PC201 card in the computer and the D type port on the control module panel with an optically isolated RS232 interface SC32A to transfer program to the datalogger as well as to view the values in final storage locations while the program was executing. This helped to test and judge the program before the tractor was taken to the field for experiments.
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2.1 Angular position measurement circuit (APMC)

The right front and rear wheel of the MF 3090 tractor were equipped with two wheel torque and weight transducers to measure the torque and forces acting on the tractor wheels. Each transducer incorporated three factory built load sensing clevis bolts placed 120 apart. The design and development of the transducer was reported by AL-Janobi et al., (1995). An optical shaft encoder of 100 pulse per revolution was used to determine the travel speed. Also at the same time the output of this shaft encoder together with the response from an electronic circuit were used to obtain the angular position of the revolving wheel. The force measurement from the clevis bolts combine with the angular position measurement gave the total horizontal and vertical components of forces on a wheel in motion. The measurement of the angular position mostly depends on the tractor front wheel speed. So this measurement would be affected by the

scanning time of the datalogger if it would be measured by utilizing both the 100 and the single marker pulse signals from the optical shaft encoder. Therefore, designing a system where the angular position measurement does not depend on scanning rate of the datalogger is very important. The APMC was developed to sense the angular position of the clevis bolts in the tractor wheel at any speed and scanning rate.

The connection between the shaft encoder and the electronic circuit is shown in Fig. 2. The output from a magnetic pickup was used to indicate the exact vertical position of clevis bolt No. 1. This position was considered as the vertical reference and from which the angle was measured in the clockwise direction. The magnetic pickup was connected to a stationary facing a metal piece above the clevis bolt No. 1 on the inner end of the wheel as shown in Fig. 2.

The electronic circuit was designed around two JK flip-flops, two AND gates and a voltage regulator. The circuit is shown in Fig. 3. The regulated power supply produced output of 5V with input from 12V tractor battery. This 5V supply was fed to the inputs of both flip-flops. The two flip-flops used one for each right front and rear wheel were reset by 5 V digital output from the excitation card of the datalogger at the beginning of execution of the program. The output signals of both the flip-flops were sent to two AND gates together with the corresponding magnetic pickup outputs. The datalogger was used to monitor and record the output response of the two AND gates.

2.2 Calibration

All the force transducers used in the system were calibrated against appropriate standard load cells using a specially designed and built calibration rig and the other transducers were calibrated conventionally (AL-Suhaibani et al., 1994). The datalogger accuracy was checked with a standard cell voltage of 1.01859 V and it was with in the specified range of 0.04 %.

2.3 Software and data collection

A performance test program was developed and documented for the datalogger to scan the transducers of the data acquisition system every second. A flow chart for the data collection and storage routine is illustrated in Fig. 4. The program was then transferred from the computer to the onboard datalogger in the tractor and tested for the required measurements before the instrumented tractor was taken to the field for experiments.

The push button switch in the activity box was used to start and stop execution of the program in the datalogger during the field operations. When the

button was pressed the program was executed and then the sampled data were stored in the final storage locations of the datalogger. When the buffer of the datalogger was full with the data, it would be automatically downloaded to the cassette tape in the connected tape recorder. At the end of each run the push button was pressed to stop execution of the program and the rest of the data in the buffer was manually downloaded in to the cassette tape. By this method a number of individual test runs were made and a series of data were collected. At the end of the field test, the data stored in the cassette tape for different runs were transferred and stored in the computer for further processing using the Lotus software package.

The rotary switch mechanism in the activity box could provide six distinct voltages to the datalogger during the test run. By moving the switch to one of the six positions, the voltage transmitted to the datalogger identified the activity being performed by the tractor by a number ranging from 1 through 6. The activity could also be indicated by a set of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) provided over the lid of the activity box.

3. RESULT AND PERFORMANCE

The data acquisition system was field tested at King Saud University's Agricultural Research and Experimental Farm at Dirab. At first it was mainly decided to conduct a field test to observe and evaluate the performance of the electronic circuit for measuring the angular position of the clevis bolts in the revolving wheels along with the measurement of some of the other parameters considered. The instrumented tractor was kept near to the Research Station and the program developed in the computer was loaded into the datalogger through the SC32A serial interface. After the check out of the instrumentation system and the data recorded in the storage locations of the datalogger from the various
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transducers, the tractor was taken to the field. Then the tractor was driven unloaded over a leveled sandy loam soil surface at three different speeds (2.8, 3.7 and 5.4 km/hr). For each speed the datalogger sampled and recorded signals from the transducers and APMC in the instrumentation system. The parameters measured included the pulse outputs from both the optical shaft encoders before and after the appearance of the magnetic pickup output pulses and the forces in the load sensing clevis bolts of both the right front and rear tractor wheels. The difference in number of pulses would be exactly proportional to the angular position of the clevis bolt No. 1 from the vertical reference passing through the wheel center. A sample of data collected during the field test is presented in Table 1.

4. C O N C L U S I O N S

A data acquisition system was developed for the MF 3090 tractor and field tested for its performance. The system was found to be accurate and reliable in sampling, storing and processing the data collected from the various transducers during the field operation. The angular position measurement circuit provided accurate measurement of angular position of the revolving wheels than using the marker pulse of the optical shaft encoders.

REFERENCES

1.

AL-Janobi, A., S.A. AL-Suhaibani, A.A. Bedri, A.S. Babeir (1995). A precision wheel torque and weight transducer for the most common agricultural tractors. AMA Agricultural Mechanization in Asia, Africa and Latin America (in press). AL-Suhaibani, S.A., A.A. Bedri, A S . Babeir and J. Kilgour (1994). A mobile instrumentation package for monitoring tractor performance. Research bulletin No. 40. Agricultural Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh. CR7 Operator's Manual (1988). Campbell Scientific, INC.

2.

3. 4.

Lackas, G.M., R.D. Grisso, M. Yasin and L.L. Bashford (1991). Portable data acquisition system for measuring energy requirements of soil-engaging implements. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 5 : 285-296. (1989). A portable instrumentation system Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 5(2):

5. Thomson, N.P and K.J. Shinners for measuring draft and speed. 133 - 137.

Table 1. Field test data

Rear Wheel
Rear Wheel Pulse 0 15 29 44 59 74 91 106 0 20 41 62 85 105 124 145 166 188 RWP Pin 1 Vert. 0 0 14 29 44 59 76 91 0 0 0 0 4 24 43 64 85 107 Pinl Force [kNl 2.356 9.85 12.77 8.47 -0.29 -3.015 -1.255 5.984 14.79 13.12 1.073 -3.935 4.958 16.38 14.07 0.174 -2.761 8.41 Pin 2 Force [kNl -1.669 -3.194 1.83 10.74 13.48 10.67 2.496 -2.418 -2.584 9.28 16.87 7.38 -3.511 -0.575 13.74 17.42 6.472 -3.005 Pin 3 Force [kNl 11.57 5.771 -0.515 -3.798 -0.561 7.32 12.42 10.92 RW Angle [deg.1 0 0 50 104 158 212 273 327 Front Wheel Pulse 0 20 37 54 73 92 111 130 FWP Pin 1 Vert. 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 38

Front Wheel
Pin 1 Force [kNl -4.157 -2.676 2.567 4.989 1.645 -3.673 -4.48 0.484 -4.725 -1.921 4.975 2.208 -5.084 -1.065 4.562 2.377 -4.238 -2.211 0.164 -3.505 5.686 -3.015 -0.544 4.349 -4.938 1.788 Pin 2 Force PcN] 3.182 -1.587 -4.471 -1.565 3.827 4.901 0.346 -3.856 4.121 -2.85 -3.719 3.489 4.061 -3.329 -3.063 3.301 4.267 -2.578 4.814 -1.226 -2.12 4.903 -3.791 0.866 3.809 -4.452 Pin 3 Force [kN] 1.245 4.505 2.502 -2.454 -4.697 -0.687 4.68 4.431 0.764 4.91 -0.392 -4.793 1.094 5.337 -0.576 -4.362 0.524 4.937 -3.578 4.987 -2.205 -1.303 4.88 -4.314 1.39 3.275 FW Angle [deg.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 68 136 0 0 0 0 64 162 241 324 414 511 0 126 255 388 525 648 781 910

Runl(Speec 1 2.8 km/hr)

Run 2 (Speed 0 4.553 -3.569 0 0.438 0 12.47 0 12.85 14 2.236 86 -1.636 154 2.541 230 13.87 306 14.12 385 0 0 0 43 144 252 363 468

3.7 km/hr) 0 0 27 0 50 0 75 0 102 18 129 45 67 151 174 90 115 199 226 142 0 39 75 112 150 184 221 257 0 35 71 108 146 180 217 253

Run 3 (Speed = 5.4 km/hr)

0 0 16.18 29 0 4.544 60 0 -5.087 91 12 10.68 119 40 10.54 149 70 -1.927 180 101 3.944 209 130 16.04 RWP - Rear Wheel Pulse FRW - Front Wheel Pulse -0.827 2.656 14.16 -3.7 6.383 11.22 -3.855 9.08 9.19 -4.828 13.55 6.024 -0.726 13.67 3.535 0.092 RW - Rear Wheel FW - Front Wheel

APMC & Wheel torquemeter setup

From wheel Torquemcter Rear wheel Torquemeier Magnetic Pickup Magnetic Pickup TPL Dynamometer Drawbar Dynamometer PTO Transducer Fifth wheel Sensor

(I)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6 )

Shaft Encoder Circuit Box

Shaft Encoder

Fuel Sensor

Temperature Sensors Front axle oil

Fig. 1. Block diagram of the data acquisition system