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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #226666
Title: DEVELOPMENT OF A WALKING-TYPE DIGITAL CONE PENETROMETER

Author
item CHUNG, S - CHUNGNAM NATL UNIV, KOREA
item JUNG, I - NATL INST OF AG. ENG KOR
item HONG, Y - NATL INST OF AG. ENG KOR
item JUNG, K - YEONGNAM AG. RES. INST. K
item Sudduth, Kenneth - Ken

Submitted to: International Symposium on Machinery and Mechatronics for Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ISMAB)
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/5/2008
Publication Date: 5/27/2008
Citation: Chung, S.O., Jung, I.K., Hong, Y.K., Jung, K.Y., Sudduth, K.A. 2008. Development of a walking-type digital cone penetrometer. In. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Machinery and Mechatronics for Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ISMAB), May 27-29, 2008, Taichung, Taiwan. 2008 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Quantification and management of variability in soil strength, or soil compaction, is an important issue in Korea, but tractor mounted on-the-go sensors that have been developed in the USA and European countries are not practical, due to the small size of typical Korean fields. Therefore, hand-operated digital penetrometers have been widely used in Korea, but maintaining a standard penetration rate and a vertical insertion angle is difficult. In this study, a motorized digital cone penetrometer that could penetrate up to 50 cm was developed. The penetrometer was small and light enough to be transported manually to allow movement on wet-paddy fields and narrow greenhouse inter-rows. The penetrometer included 3 cone tips to reduce data collection time, an electrical motor to push the cone tips into the soil, an encoder to measure penetration depth, a frame and rubber wheels, and a central processing unit to control the motor and to log sensor data and DGPS position. The prototype sensor detected vertical CI variations and peaks similar to a hand-operated commercial unit. Data from the prototype contained fewer errors, represented actual soil strength levels better, and reduced nugget variances significantly, due to its ability to maintain a stable penetration rate and angle.