Abstract:

“Energy - demand” is one the major thread for our country. Finding
solutions, to meet the “Energy -demand” is the great challenge for Social
Scientist, Engineers, Entrepreneurs and Industrialist of our Country.

According to them, Applications of Non conventional energy is the

only alternate solution for conventional energy demand. Now-a-days the
Concept and Technology employing this Non-conventional energy
becomes very popular for all kinds of development activities. One of the
major area, which finds number applications are in Agriculture Sectors.

Solar energy plays an important role in drying agriculture

products and for irrigation purpose for pumping the well water in remote
villages without electricity. This Technology on solar energy can be
extended for cutter for cutting grass and also weeds, lawn grass etc.,
using solar agro cutter. This project deals how a ‘brush Cutter’ which is
already in use and works with fossil fuel can be converted into solar
cutter works without any fossil fuel.

Multipurpose brush cutter which can be used for finishing work as

well as for cutting long, thick grass, weeds. Its ergonomics have been
carefully designed for user comfort. Particular attention has been given
to the carrying harness and the anti-vibration frame.

Introduction
Harvesting of field crop is considered a labor intensive operation and
takes about 185-340 man-h/ha to cut and bundle paddy or wheat crops
and 170-200 man-h/ha for cutting paddy crop. Results of investigation in
harvesting of rice crop in Iran showed that reapers have maximum
effective field capacity and effective field capacity by hand harvesting
tools is minimum .studied the principle of cutting plant material and
stated that the mechanized separation occurred at a predetermined and
well-defined location in the material in contrast to crushing where
several failure planes usually developed randomly .The cutting process
in all cases was initiated when the edge of the knife first made contact
with the material. During the continued motion of the knife, the contact
forces and stresses increased and a stress pattern was built up inside
the stalk until failure conditions were reached. Chancellor stated that the
biological materials commonly subjected to cutting can be classified into
two general categories 1. Non-fibrous materials having uniform
properties in alldirections at the time of cutting, the cells of these
materials being usually turgid with liquid cell materials.

2. Fibrous materials with high tensile strength fibers oriented in a

common direction and with a comparatively low strength materials
bonding the fibers together. For cutting biological materials, operation of
a sharp or serrated-edged knife is employed. Shear failure is achieved
either by using a single cutting element such as a sickle, rotary cutters
or flail type cutter or by employing double cutting element as in
reciprocating-type cutters.

In all cutting process, failure in shear or impact or both is possible when

a system of forces act on the material. Before shear failure, the material
is invariably first compressed then bend which increases the work
required in a cutting operation . Yore et al in order to aid the
development of novel header systems for combine measured the cutting
force and average cutting energy of rice straw. Treatments involved
single and multiple stems. Result showed that cutting location
(node/internode) and number of stems (crop density) are significant
factors in cutting force and energy while rice variety is not. Shearing
energy was highest directly at the node and decreased by a factor 2
moving into the adjacent internodes. The shearing energy directly was
proportional to the number of stems. Tavakoli et al between two variety
of rice straw in three internodes position down from ear. The shear
strength of Hashemi variety decreased towards the third internode while
there was no distinct trend for that of Alikazemi variety. The shearing
energy of both varieties increased significantly towards the third
internode. The young’s modulus in bending for both varieties decreased
towards the third internodes. studied the impact cutting behavior of
grass and straw stems with sharp and blunt blades. At low cutting
speeds of grass stem, about 65% of the energy was utilized in
overcoming friction. For straw the frictional component was relatively low
(5-10) %and stem kinetic energy was equal about 20% of the total
energy input. Tuck et al (1991) studied the performance characteristics
of rotary cutting mechanisms when cutting single and groups of grass
stems. Results showed that when cutting groups of stems most uncut
stems occurred at speeds of 20 m/s and less for blunt blades.

Persson designed, built and tested a rotary counter shear mower. It

consisted of two concentric counter-rotating discs. Results of tests
showed that increase of forward speed will improve the cutting
performance. Cutting speed with this type of rotors is less than other
type of rotary disc cutters. Field experiments on alfalfa showed that the
power consumption was less than 1.6 kW/m of cutting width. The rotary
counter shear mower worked satisfactory in fine crops, tangled crops
and crops mixed with residue. Ghahraeiet al (2008) designed and
developed a special cutting system for sweet sorghum harvester.
Developed cutting mechanism in this research had a rotary disk with 50
cm diameter and four cutting blade. The stalks cut with the impact inertia
forces at the linear velocity of 27 m/s by cutting blade. Harvesting tests
in sweet sorghum farm with forward speed of 5km/h and tow series of
blade with angles 30° and 45° on stalk were accomplished. Blade with
45° angle accomplished a fine cutting on stalks. Field test of harvester
for harvesting of 1 ha had total harvesting time of 45 minute including
gathering of harvested stalk without any crushes or uncut stalks.
Bautista et al (2005) designed a rotary cutting reaper for rice. Their
purpose was replacing the reciprocating cutter bar assembly with a
rotary cutting system borrowed from grass cutters. These rotary cutters
require fewer blades and less manufacturing tolerance. From the
laboratory studies, the number of blades per disc was set a three; blade
tip speed was set as 23- 30 m/s and forward speed ranged from 2.8 t0
3.3 km/h. In recent years several reapers and Chinese brush cutters
were entered in Iran. Imported brush cutters don’t have satisfactory
function and needed some modification to improvement of theirs ability
for rice harvesting. An existent rice brush cutter was evaluated but it
didn’t work well for Iranian rice so a cutting head was designed,
constructed and evaluated for Iranian rice plant. Therefore the objectives
of this study were design and constructing of a rice reaper suitable for
many rice varieties.

Explanation of Components used in solar multi agro cutter:-

DC BATTERY

DC batteries are charged during the day time and store the energy
which is utilized during the hours where there are no sun rays and
conventional electricity is not utilized. DC batteries are available in
different ratings. The battery we utilized in our case is 12v, 10AH
capacity.

In the applications where appliances are operating on AC supply, the

battery supply is converted into AC. For this purpose inverters are
required. But in our case the motor used is operated on DC supply. So,
there is no need of DC to AC converter. Also, if the polarity is reversed
the motor direction is changed.

DC Motor:-

It is permanent magnet type of DC motor. So, no armature and field

winding is there as in conventional DC motor. Only single supply is
required. The motor speed can be changed if the voltage is changed.
But, in our application the motor has to operate at high torque because,
it has lifted the power jack. So, gear box is incorporated with the
existing DC motor. This gear box reduces the speed and increases the
torque of the motor.

Mechanical Assembly:-

The mechanical assembly of the project solar multi agro cutter consists
of a DC motor ,at shaft of motor cutter is attach to cut the grass or
farming purpose.

It consists of cutter which is angled adjust adjustment is present .

A solar multi agro cutter, also known as a "weed whip “or "weed cutter",
works on the principle that a line that is turned fast enough is held out
from its housing (the rotating reel) very stiffly by centrifugal force. The
faster it turns the stiffer the line. Even round-section nylon line is able to
cut grass and slight, woody plants quite well. Some monofilament lines
designed for more powerful cutters have an extruded shape, like a star,
that helps the line slash the material being cut; the line is thus able to cut
quite large woody plants (small shrubs) or at least ring-bark them very
effectively. These lines make disks less necessary for tough jobs.

The line is hand-wound onto a reel before the job is started, leaving both
ends extending from the reel housing. The motor turns the reel and the
line extends horizontally while the operator swings the cutterr about
where the plants are to be trimmed. The operator controls the height at
which cutting takes place and can trim down to ground level quite easily.
As the line is worn, or breaks off, the operator knocks the reel on the
ground so that a release mechanism allows some of the line in the reel
to extend and replace the spent portion. The newer models have an
'auto-feed' operation where a small cutter on the line-guard ensures that
the line length exposed for cutting does not exceed the length that can
be swung efficiently by the motor. Newly extended line operates more
efficiently because of its heavier weight and surface effects. The speed
of the spinning hub is usually controlled by a trigger on the handle.

For vertical cutting the whole machine can be tilted or some cutters
allow the head to be adjusted at different angles. Vertical cutting is not
recommended near sidewalks or other concrete and pavement edges,
because it leaves open grooves that allow water to collect and cause
damage.

solar multi agro cutter powered by an 12 V battery have the motor on in

the cutting head while engine string trimmers typically have an the
engine on the opposite end of the shaft from the cutting head electric,
but some other arrangements exist too. One of such is an arrangement
where the trimmer is connected to heavy machinery and is powered
using a hydraulic motor

Technical Specifications:-

1) Energy source = non conventional from solar panel.

 2) DC battery = 12v, 10AH for out applications. It can be
increased for increased capacity.

3) DC motor = 12v, geared.

4) ON-OFF switch = 16 Ampere toggle.

What is Solar Energy?

Every day, the sun radiates (sends out) an enormous amount of

energy—called solar energy. It radiates more energy in one second
than the world has used since time began. This energy comes from
within the sun itself.

Like most stars, the sun is a big gas ball made up mostly of hydrogen
and helium gas. The sun makes energy in its inner core in a process
called nuclear fusion.

It takes the sun’s energy just a little over eight minutes to travel the 93
million miles to Earth. Solar energy travels at a speed of 186,000 miles
per second, the speed of light.

Only a small part of the radiant energy that the sun emits into space
ever reaches the Earth, but that is more than enough to supply all our
energy needs. Every day enough solar energy reaches the Earth to
supply our nation’s energy needs for a year! Solar energy is considered
a renewable energy source.

Today, people use solar energy to heat buildings and water and to
generate electricity.

Solar radiation is format among the promising new source of energy.

India receives annually over 60 x 1000 MWH of solar insulation with a
span of 3000 – 3200 hrs in Rajasthan, Gujarat, West of Madhya
Pradesh and North of Maharashtra; and 2600 – 2800 hours in the rest of
the country excepting Kerala, Assam and Kashmir.

Energy from the sun can be utilized in multi various ways. It can be
tapped directly from solar radiation in the form of thermal,
thermodynamic and photovoltaic energy and indirectly through the
production of phytoman and other related energy sources such as wind,
hydropower and ocean energy all of which are the result of solar
addition on the planet Earth. The contribution of these sources in the
total consumption of energy in the world is about 15%.

Traditionally, the utilization of solar energy has been confined to drying

of agricultural products such as grain, maize, paddy, grinder, cashew,
pepper, tobacco curing, fish and food drying. Its commercial application
has been limited to production of common salt and other marine
chemicals like potash, cromide and magnesium salts.

The scope for the application of solar energy now stands greatly
enhanced through intensive research and development carried out all
over world. The major areas that manifest great potential out all over
world.

The major areas that manifest great potential for immediate applications
are:

a) Solar radiation can directly be utilized for purpose of heating and

drying. By the same taken, it can also be used for cooling and
refrigeration.

b) Solar energy can be converted into electricity by exploiting the

thermodynamic nature of direct radiation for fuelling convention
electricity generation plants.

c) Energy from the sun can also be captured by increasing the

production of phytomass through extensive energy plantations.

d) Architecture can build in both passive and active systems of solar

energy utilization. In the passive and active systems of solar energy
utilization. In the passive system design of buildings – domestic and
industrial is optimized to make the best use of solar radiation to protect
the interior from extremes of weather that necessitate cooling and
heating. Architectural design can also incorporate the use of sunlight to
avoid artificial lighting. An active system of design can be developed by
incorporating solar devices for cropping solar radiation for heating,
cooling, generating power for lighting and other uses.

THE CONCEPT

In 1968 Dr. Peter Glaser in the U.S. published an idea that

centered on the fact that in orbit close to earth, 1.43kw of solar energy
illuminates any one square meter which is considerably greater and one
more continuous than on anyone square meter on the Earth which, even
when perpendicular to the Sun can receive only a maximum of 1 kw.
His idea was, converting Sunlight to electricity to convert to a radio
frequency signal and beamed down to the Earth carrying significant
levels of energy.

This electricity is by establishing a very large array of solar cells in geo

stationery orbit. A receiving antenna station on the Earth would convert
this radio frequency back into an alternate current which would be fed
into a local grid.

NEED FOR NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY:

Fuel deposit in the will soon deplete by the end of 2020. Fuel
scarcity will be maximum. Country like India may not have the chance
to use petroleum products. Keeping this dangerous situation in mind we
tried to make use of non-pollutant natural resource of petrol energy.

The creation of new source of perennial environmentally acceptable, low

cost electrical energy as a replacement for energy from rapidly depleting
resources of fossil fuels is the fundamental need for the survival of
mankind. We have only about 25 years of oil reserves and 75 – 100
years of coal reserves.

Resort to measure beginning of coal in thermal electric stations to serve

the population would result in global elemental change in leading to
worldwide drought and decertification. The buzzards of nuclear electric-
stations are only too will. Now electric power beamed directly by micro-
wave for orbiting satellite. Solar power stations (s.p.s) provide a cost-
effective solution even though work on solar photo voltaic and solar
thermo electric energy sources has been extensively pursued by many
countries. Earth based solar stations suffer certain basic limitations. It
is not possible to consider such systems and meeting continuous
uninterrupted concentrated base load electric power requirements. The
non- conventional resources are

1) Wind energy. 4) Ocean thermal energy.

2) Tidal energy . 5) Geo thermal energy.

3) Wave energy. 6) Solar energy.

1. WIND ENERGY:
 Wind power is renewable and produces no greenhouse gases
during operation, such as carbon dioxide and methane. Airflow can be
used to run wind turbines. Modern wind turbines range from around
600KW to up to 5MWof rated power, although turbines, with rated output
of 1.5-3MW, have become the most common for commercial use; the
power output of a turbine is a function of the cube of the wind speed, so
as wind speed increases power output increases dramatically. Areas
where winds are stronger and more constant, such as offshore and high
altitude sites are preferred location for wind farms.

Wind power is the fastest growing of the renewable energy

technologies, though it currently provides less than 0.5 percent of global
energy. Over the past decade, global installed maximum capacity
increased from 2,500 MW in 1992 to just over 40,000 MW at the end of
2003, at an annual growth rate of near 30 percent. The difficulties
associate with the wind energy are its availability is dilute and fluctuating
in nature, requires storage devices because of its irregularities and
requires large areas for installation. The speeds of the seasonal wind
imply high cost of exploitation of wind energy.

1.2TIDAL ENERGY:

Tidal power captures energy from the tides in a vertical direction.

Tides come in, raise water levels in a basin, and tides rollout. Around
low tide, the water in the basin is discharged through a turbine. The
power can be obtained by turbines from both in-out flows of water. The
amount of energy is very large but only in a few parts of world. The total
power of tides is estimated at (2 to 5) x10 MW, but difficulties associated
with finding suitable locations, high construction costs and non-uniform
availability of power have hindered the progress of harnessing the tidal
energy. Development work is going on in different countries like U.S.A,
U.K, CANADA to harness this energy.
1.3 WAVE ENERGY:

Ocean waves are caused by the wind, which in turn is caused by

uneven solar heating and subsequent cooling of earth’s crust and the
rotation of the earth. The main advantage of power from waves, like
most alternative energy sources, is free and renewable. The harnessing
of wave energy requires development of special power conversion
devices. Like other alternative sources, waves lack dependability, and
there is relative scarcity of accessible sites of large wave activity.
Economic factors like capital investment, costs of maintenance, repair
and replacement are hindering the development.

1.4 OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY:

This also an indirect method of utilizing solar energy. A large

amount of solar energy is collected and stored in tropical oceans. The
surface of water acts as the collector for solar heat, while the upper layer
of the sea constitute infinite heat storage reservoir. Thus the heat
contained in the oceans, could be converted into electricity by utilizing
the fact that the temperature difference between the warm surface
waters of the tropical oceans and the colder water in the depth is about
22 to 25 K. The temperature difference is small, even in the tropics,
OTEC systems have very low efficiency and consequently have very
high capital cost.

1.5 GEO THERMAL ENERGY:

 Geothermal energy is energy obtained by tapping the heat of the
earth itself, usually from kilometers deep into the Earth’s crust. It is
expensive to build a power station but operating costs are low resulting
in low energy costs for suitable sites. Ultimately, this energy drives from
heat in the Earth’s core. This geothermal power is renewable. These
types of power plants are used to generate power from geothermal
energy. Dry steam, flash, and binary. Dry steam plants take steam out of
fractures in the ground and use it to directly drive a turbine that spins a
generator. Flash plants hot water, usually at temperature over 200 C,
out of the ground, and allows it to boil as it rises to the surface then
separates the steam phase in steam/water separators and then runs the
steam through a turbine. In binary plants, the hot water flows through
heat exchangers, boiling an organic fluid that spins the turbine. The
condensed steam and remaining geo thermal fluid from all three types of
plants are injected back into the hot rock to pick up more heat. It is seen
that while geothermal energy is not sought after sole and long range
solution to our energy problems, it never the less represents a hot
insignificant factor, if its resources are developed in a careful and an
efficient manner.

1.6 SOLAR ENERGY:

Solar energy is very large, inexhaustible source of energy.

The power from the sun interrupted by earth is approximately 1.8/10MW,
which are many thousands of times larger than the present consumption
rate on the earth of all energy sources. The quantum of energy India’s
land area receive from sun is equivalent to 15,000 time sits consumption
requirement (500 billion kWh) as projected for 2004. In addition to its
size, solar energy has two other factors in its favour. Firstly, unlike fossil
fuels and nuclear power, it is an environmentally clean source of energy.
Secondly, it is free and available in adequate quantities in almost all
parts of the world people live. But there are some problems associated
with its. The real challenge in utilizing solar energy is of and economic
concern. One has to strive for the development of cheaper methods of
collection and storage so that large initial investments required at preset
in most applications are reduced.

Solar energy can be used directly or indirectly. The direct

means include thermal and photovoltaic conversions while the indirect
means include the water power, the winds biomass and the temperature
differences in the ocean.

SOLAR ENERGY OPTION:

Solar energy is very large, inexhaustible sources of energy. The

power from the sun intercepted by the Earth approximately 1.8 X 10 mw,
which is many thousands of times larger than the present consumption
rate on the Earth of all commercial energy sources. Though in principle,
solar energy could supply all the present and future energy needs of the
world on a connecting basis. This makes it one of the most promising of
the unconventional energy sources.

The problem associated with the use of solar energy is that its
availability varies widely with time. The variations in availability occur
daily, because of the day-night cycle and also seasonally because of
Earth’s orbit around the sun. In addition variations occur at a specific
location because of local weather conditions. Consequently the energy
collected with the sun is shining must be stored for use during periods
when it is not available.

SOLAR PANEL:

Photovoltaic principles:

The photo- voltaic effect can be observed in nature in a variety of

materials that have shown that the best performance in sunlight is the
semiconductors as stated above. When photons from the sun are
absorbed in a semiconductor, that create free electrons with higher
energies than the created there must be an electric field to induce these
higher energy electrons to flow out of the semi-conductor to do useful
work. A junction of materials, which have different electrical properties,
provides the electric field in most solar cells for the photon interaction in
a semiconductor. A solar cell consists of

(a) Semi-conductor in which electron hole pairs are created by the

absorption of incident solar radiation.

(b) Region contacting a drift field for charge separation

(c) Charge collecting fronts and back electrodes.

Fig.: 2.1.1 photovoltaic effect

The photo-voltaic effect can be described easily for p-n junction in a

semi-conductor. In an intrinsic semi-conductor such as silicon, each one
of the four valence electrons of the material atom is tied in a chemical
bond, and there are no free electrons at absolute zero. If a piece of such
a material is doped on one side by a five valance electron material, such
as arsenic or phosphorus, there will be an excess of electrons in that
side, becoming an n-type semi-conductor.

The excess electrons will be practically free to move in the

semi-conductor lattice. When a three valance electron material, such as
boron dopes the other side of the same piece, there will be deficiency of
electrons leading to a p-type semi-conductor. This deficiency is
expressed in terms of excess of holes free to move in the lattice. Such a
piece of semi-conductor with one side of the p-type and the other, of the
n-type is called p-n junction. In this junction after the protons are
absorbed, the free electrons of the n-side will tends to flow to the p-side,
and the holes of the p-side will tend to flow to the n-region to
compensate for their respective deficiencies. This diffusion will create an
electric field from the n-region to the p-region. This field will increase
until it reaches equilibrium for voltage, the sum of the diffusion potentials
for holes and electrons. If electrical contacts the connected through an
external electrical conductor, the free electrons will flow from the n-type
material through the conductor to the p-type material as shown in the
figure. Here the free electrons will enter the holes and become bound
electrons thus both free electrons and holes will be removed. The flow of
electrons through the external conductor constitutes an electric current,
which will continue as long as move free electrons and holes are being
formed by the solar radiation. This is the basis of photo-voltaic
conversion that is the conversion of solar energy into electrical energy.
The combination of n-type and p-type semiconductors thus constitutes a
photo-voltaic cell or solar cell. All such cells some rate direct current that
can be converted into alternating current it desired.
 The photo-voltaic effect can be observed in almost any junction of
material that have different electrical characteristics, but the best
performance to date has been from cells using semiconductor material
especially all of the solar cells used for both space and terrestrial
applications have been made of the semiconductor silicon. Future cells
may use such materials as the semiconductors like Gallium arsenate,
copper sulphate cad sulphide etc. The device used to utilize the
PHOTOVOLTAIC EFFECT is SOLAR CELL.
SPECFICATIONS:

Array size : 12×6

Size of panel : 16*14’’

No of modules : 1

Output voltage: 12v (Normal Condition)

Output voltage: 22v (peak hours)

Type : D.C Voltage

Material : silicon

Watts : 10w

Per Hour : 500 ma

8 hour Ampere: 4 Amps

 Solar panel

CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING OF PHOTO-VOLTAIC CELL:

Electromagnetic energy can be converted directly to electrical

energy in the photo voltaic cell, commonly called the solar cell. Like the
fuel cell the maximum conversion efficiency of the system is not limited.
By the efficiency of an externally reversible heat engine cycle. Despite
this, however the conversion of solar energy into electrical energy is
limited to relatively low conversion efficiencies.

The principle of operation of the photo voltaic cell was discovered by

Adams and day in 1876, using selenium in 1919, Cob Lenz discovered
that a voltage is induced between the illuminated and dark regions of
semi conductivity crystals. However, photo electric conversion was
essentially a laboratory phenomenon until 1941. The owl discovered the
photo voltaic effect at the P-N junction of 2 semi-conductors.
Primary interest in these systems concerns the possible conversion of
the electromagnetic energy from the sun directly into electricity. Using
the solar constant of 1395 w/sq. m it can be shown that the effective
radiating temperature at the surface of the sun is around 6000 k (10800
R), according to the wines displacement law for thermal radiation, the
most probable energy of the solar radiation is about 2.8 EV, while this
value is very small compared to the energies encounters is nuclear
reactions, it is more than sufficient to strip the valence electrons from
many materials.

The successful operation of a solar cell release on the action of the P-N
junction. When a P-N junction is first formed, there is a transient
charging process that establishes an electric field in the vicinity of
junction. Although both the N type and P type semiconductors are
naturally charged by themselves. The electron concentration in the N
type material is so high that when it is combined with P type
semiconductor some of electrons from the N material “spill over” into the
holes of p material. This essentially makes the N material positively
charged and the P material negatively charged in the vicinity of the
junction. This charging process is continuous until the electric field or
junction potential inhibits further net flow and the electron and hole flow
is the same in both directions as indicated.

The photons react with the valence electrons near p-n junctions to
produce an effect similar to that produced by the forward bias voltage.
In this case V1 is the external voltage that is generated by the photons.
 Table1: COMPARISION

Sl. No SOLAR SYSTEM FUEL SYSTEM

01 Totally free from pollution Pollution is a great factor

02 No fuel consumption Fuel is the important

need

03 No. of reciprocating parts are No. of reciprocating

less parts are more

04 Friction is greatly reduced Frictions between the

parts are high.

05 Low cost and maintenance Maintenance is difficult &

costly

06 Load carrying capacity is low Load carrying capacity is

high

07 Continuous ride for hours Continuous ride is

together is not possible possible

08 Ratio of speed reduction Speed reduction ratio is

more when weight increases less and it does not vary
much

DC MOTOR:
 An electric motor is a machine which converts electrical
energy to mechanical energy. Its action is based on the principal that
when a current- carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, it
experiences a magnetic force whose direction is given by Fleming’s left
hand rule (Keep the fore finger, middle finger and thumb of the left hand
mutually perpendicular to one another. If the fore finger indicates the
direction of magnetic field and middle finger indicates direction of current
in the conductor, then the thumb indicates the direction of the motion of
conductor). When a motor is in operation, it develops torque. This torque
can produce mechanical rotation. The operation DC motor is as shown
in the figure. The speed of a DC motor may be changed by using
resistors to vary the field current and, therefore, the field strength. A
simple motor has 6 parts, as shown in the diagram below.

1. An armature or rotor

2. A commutator

3. Brushes

4. An axel

5. Afield magnet
BATTERY:

INTRODUCTION:

In isolated systems away from the grid, batteries are used for storage of
excess solar energy converted into electrical energy. The only
exceptions are isolated sunshine load such as irrigation pumps or
drinking water supplies for storage. In fact for small units with output
less than one kilowatt. Batteries seem to be the only technically and
economically available storage means. Since both the photo-voltaic
system and batteries are high in capital costs. It is necessary that the
overall system be optimized with respect to available energy and local
demand pattern. To be economically attractive the storage of solar
electricity requires a battery with a particular combination of properties:

(1) Low cost

(2) Long life

(3) High reliability

(4) High overall efficiency

 (5) Low discharge

(6) Minimum maintenance

(A) Ampere hour efficiency

(B) Watt hour efficiency

We use lead acid battery for storing the electrical energy from the solar
panel for lighting the street and so about the lead acid cells are
explained below.

LEAD-ACID WET CELL:

Where high values of load current are necessary, the lead-acid cell is
the type most commonly used. The electrolyte is a dilute solution of
sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄). In the application of battery power to start the
engine in an auto mobile, for example, the load current to the starter
motor is typically 200 to 400A. One cell has a nominal output of 2.1V,
but lead-acid cells are often used in a series combination of three for a
6-V battery and six for a 12-V battery.

The lead acid cell type is a secondary cell or storage cell, which can be
recharged. The charge and discharge cycle can be repeated many
times to restore the output voltage, as long as the cell is in good physical
condition. However, heat with excessive charge and discharge currents
short ends the useful life to about 3 to 5 years for an automobile battery.
Of the different types of secondary cells, the lead-acid type has the
highest output voltage, which allows fewer cells for a specified battery
voltage.
CONSTRUCTION:

Inside a lead-acid battery, the positive and negative electrodes consist

of a group of plates welded to a connecting strap. The plates are
immersed in the electrolyte, consisting of 8 parts of water to 3 parts of
concentrated sulfuric acid. Each plate is a grid or framework, made of a
lead-antimony alloy. This construction enables the active material,
which is lead oxide, to be pasted into the grid. In manufacture of the
cell, a forming charge produces the positive and negative electrodes. In
the forming process, the active material in the positive plate is changed
to lead peroxide (pbo₂). The negative electrode is spongy lead (pb).

Automobile batteries are usually shipped dry from the manufacturer.

The electrolyte is put in at the time of installation, and then the battery is
charged to from the plates. With maintenance-free batteries, little or no
water need be added in normal service. Some types are sealed, except
for a pressure vent, without provision for adding water.
CHEMICAL ACTION:

Sulfuric acid is a combination of hydrogen and sulfate ions. When the

cell discharges, lead peroxide from the positive electrode combines with
hydrogen ions to form water and with sulfate ions to form lead sulfate.
Combining lead on the negative plate with sulfate ions also produces he
sulfate. There fore, the net result of discharge is to produce more water,
which dilutes the electrolyte, and to form lead sulfate on the plates.

As the discharge continues, the sulfate fills the pores of the grids,
retarding circulation of acid in the active material. Lead sulfate is the
powder often seen on the outside terminals of old batteries. When the
combination of weak electrolyte and sulfating on the plate lowers the
output of the battery, charging is necessary.

On charge, the external D.C. source reverses the current in the battery.
The reversed direction of ions flows in the electrolyte result in a reversal
of the chemical reactions. Now the lead sulfates on the positive plate
reactive with the water and sulfate ions to produce lead peroxide and
sulfuric acid. This action re-forms the positive plates and makes the
electrolyte stronger by adding sulfuric acid.
At the same time, charging enables the lead sulfate on the negative plate to
react with hydrogen ions; this also forms sulfuric acid while reforming lead
on the negative plate to react with hydrogen ions; this also forms currents
can restore the cell to full output, with lead peroxide on the positive plates,
spongy lead on the negative plate, and the required concentration of sulfuric
acid in the electrolyte.

The chemical equation for the lead-acid cell is

Charge

Pb + pbO₂ + 2H₂SO₄ 2pbSO₄

+ 2H₂O

Discharge

On discharge, the pb and pbo₂ combine with the SO₄ ions at the left side of
the equation to form lead sulfate (pbSO₄) and water (H₂O) at the right side
of the equation.

One battery consists of 6 cell, each have an output voltage of 2.1V, which
are connected in series to get an voltage of 12V and the same 12V battery
is connected in series, to get an 24 V battery. They are placed in the water
proof iron casing box.

CARING FOR LEAD-ACID BATTERIES:

Always use extreme caution when handling batteries and electrolyte. Wear
gloves, goggles and old clothes. “Battery acid” will burn skin and eyes and
destroy cotton and wool clothing.

The quickest way of ruin lead-acid batteries is to discharge them deeply and
leave them stand “dead” for an extended period of time. When they
discharge, there is a chemical change in the positive plates of the battery.
They change from lead oxide when charge out lead sulfate when
discharged. If they remain in the lead Sulfate State for a few days, some
part of the plate dose not returns to lead oxide when the battery is
recharged. If the battery remains discharge longer, a greater amount of the
positive plate will remain lead sulfate. The parts of the plates that become
“sulfate” no longer store energy. Batteries that are deeply discharged, and
then charged partially on a regular basis can fail in less then one year.
Check your batteries on a regular basis to be sure they are getting charged.
Use a hydrometer to check the specific gravity of your lead acid batteries. If
batteries are cycled very deeply and then recharged quickly, the specific
gravity reading will be lower than it should because the electrolyte at the top
of the battery may not have mixed with the “charged” electrolyte.

Check the electrolyte level in the wet-cell batteries at the least four times a
year and top each cell of with distilled water. Do not add water to
discharged batteries. Electrolyte is absorbed when batteries are very
discharged. If you add water at this time, and then recharge the battery,
electrolyte will overflow and make a mess.

Keep the top of your batteries clean and check that cables are tight. Do not
tighten or remove cables while charging or discharging. Any spark around
batteries can cause a hydrogen explosion inside, and ruin one of the cells,
and you.

On charge, with reverse current through the electrolyte, the chemical action
is reversed. Then the pb ions from the lead sulfate on the right side of the
equation re-form the lead and lead peroxide electrodes. Also the SO₄ ions
combine with H₂ ions from the water to produce more sulfuric acid at the left
side of the equation.

CURRENT RATINGS:

Lead-acid batteries are generally rated in terms of how much discharge

currents they can supply for a specified period of time; the output voltage
must be maintained above a minimum level, which is 1.5 to 1.8V per cell. A
common rating is ampere-hours (A.h.) based on a specific discharge time,
which is often 8h. Typical values for automobile batteries are 100 to 300
Ah.

As an example, a 200 Ah battery can supply a load current of 200/8 or 25A,

used on 8h discharge. The battery can supply less current for a longer time
or more current for a shorter time. Automobile batteries may be rated for
“cold cranking power”, which is related to the job of starting the engine. A
typical rating is 450A for 30s at a temperature of 0oF.

Note that the ampere-hour unit specifies coulombs of charge. For instance,
200 Ah. corresponds to 200A*3600s (1h=3600s). the equals 720,000 A.S,
or coulombs. One ampere-second is equal to one coulomb. Then the
charge equals 720,000 or 7.2*10^5ºC. To put this much charge back into
the battery would require 20 hours with a charging current of 10A.
The ratings for lead-acid batteries are given for a temperature range of 77 to
80ºF. Higher temperature increase the chemical reaction, but operation
above 110ºF shortens the battery life.

Low temperatures reduce the current capacity and voltage output. The
ampere-hour capacity is reduced approximately 0.75% for each decreases
of 1º F below normal temperature rating. At 0ºF the available output is only
60 % of the ampere-hour battery rating.

In cold weather, therefore, it is very important to have an automobile battery

unto full charge. In addition, the electrolyte freezes more easily when
diluted by water in the discharged condition.

SPECIFIC GRAVITY:

Measuring the specific gravity of the electrolyte generally checks the state of
discharge for a lead-acid cell. Specific gravity is a ratio comparing the
weight of a substance with the weight of a substance with the weight of
water. For instance, concentrated sulfuric acid is 1.835 times as heavy as
water for the same volume. Therefore, its specific gravity equals 1.835.
The specific gravity of water is 1, since it is the reference.

In a fully charged automotive cell, mixture of sulfuric acid and water results
in a specific gravity of 1.280 at room temperatures of 70 to 80ºF. as the cell
discharges, more water is formed, lowering the specific gravity. When it is
down to about 1.150, the cell is completely discharged.

Specific-gravity readings are taken with a battery hydrometer, such as one

in figure Note that the calibrated float with the specific gravity marks will rest
higher in an electrolyte of higher specific gravity.

The decimal point is often omitted for convenience. For example, the value
of 1.220 in figure is simply read “twelve twenty”. A hydrometer reading of
1260 to 1280 indicates full charge, approximately 12.50 are half charge, and
1150 to 1200 indicates complete discharge.

The importance of the specific gravity can be seen from the fact that the
open-circuit voltage of the lead-acid cell is approximately equal to

V=Specific gravity + 0.84

For the specific gravity of 1.280, the voltage is 1.280 = 0.84 = 2.12V, as an
example. These values are for a fully charged battery.

CHARGING THE LEAD-ACID BATERY:

The requirements are illustrated in figure. An external D.C. voltage source

is necessary to produce current in one direction. Also, the charging voltage
must be more than the battery e.m.f. Approximately 2.5 per cell are enough
to over the cell e.m.f. so that the charging voltage can produce current
opposite to the direction of discharge current.

Note that the reversal of current is obtained just by connecting the battery
VB and charging source VG with + to + and –to-, as shown in figure. The
charging current is reversed because the battery effectively becomes a load
resistance for VG when it higher than VB. In this example, the net voltage
available to produce charging currents is 15-12=3V.

A commercial charger for automobile batteries is essentially a D.C. power

supply, rectifying input from the AC power line to provide D.C. output for
charging batteries.

Float charging refers to a method in which the charger and the battery are
always connected to each other for supplying current to the load. In figure
the charger provides current for the load and the current necessary to keep
the battery fully charged. The battery here is an auxiliary source for D.C.
power.

It may be of interest to note that an automobile battery is in a floating-charge

circuit. The battery charger is an AC generator or alternator with rectifier
diodes, driver by a belt from the engine. When you start the car, the battery
supplies the cranking power. Once the engine is running, the alternator
charges he battery. It is not necessary for the car to be moving. A voltage
regulator is used in this system to maintain the output at approximately 13 to
15 V.

The constant voltage of 24V comes from the solar panel controlled by the
charge controller so for storing this energy we need a 24V battery so two
12V battery are connected in series.

It is a good idea to do an equalizing charge when some cells show a

variation of 0.05 specific gravity from each other. This is a long steady
overcharge, bringing the battery to a gassing or bubbling state. Do not
equalize sealed or gel type batteries.
With proper care, lead-acid batteries will have a long service life and work
very well in almost any power system. Unfortunately, with poor treatment
lead-acid battery life will be very short.

Machine required for completion of above project:-

ARC Welding Machine, Drilling Machine, Grinder, leath machine for turning
purpose. Electro plating setup

3.2 Cutting Forces

The length of cut and shearing resistance of plant material influences the
power required to cut. The cutting energy required is difficult to estimate and
is dependent on blade sharpness, blade bevel angle, aggregate thickness
and blade velocity (Richey, 1958). However, if the knives are correctly
bevelled and sharpened, the energy requirements depend mostly on the
plant aggregate thickness (Chancellor, 1958). The greater the aggregate
thickness, the greater the energy required and the higher the forces
required for cutting. It is believed that, with increased thickness, a greater
force is required to compress the material to a firmness that will permit
cutting and failure

(Persson, 1987). Kroes and Harris (1996) did a comprehensive study on the
cutting force (Fc) required. The study used a rotary shaft encoder to
measure the speed of the blades and a piezo-electric force transducer to
measure the force. A typical cutting force versus time curve can be seen in
Figure 3.2 for a pure impact cut. Fc is the force in Newtons with a peak of
430N. The smaller peaks are presumed to be the friction between the fibres
and the blade. This was done on a variety of cane called Q124 with an
average diameter of 27.8mm.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

For design of a special cutting system for numbered plant with due attention
to physical properties of rice stalk computing the cutting speed, impact
cutting force, impact cutting energy and power required for cutting of stalk
with blade is necessary. This energy and power depend on variety, diameter
of stalk, maturity stage, moisture content and bevel angel .For defining the
critical cutting speed or minimum speed required for effective cutting stalks
in impact cutting, equation (1) was used that obtained from dimensional
analyze .

Where d is stalkdiameter’s (m), Smax is maximum cutting force (daN), Δm

is equivalent mass (kg) and c is the constant between 3.13 and 4.43. In
impact cutting consumed energy for overcoming shearing resistance of the
stem is equal to the energy required for quasi-static cutting plus energy
expended Where Fmax is maximum cutting force (N) and d is stalk diameter
(m). Specific cutting energy obtained by dividing cutting energy by width
cross sectional area of stem. Saw idling power consumption can be
expressed as:
Where J is mass moment of inertia for circular blade (Kgm2) and ω
is its angular velocity (rads-1). Mass moment of inertia for a rigid
disc with radius of r, mass of m about axis of rotation z (figure4) can
be estimate from equation 6.

Where m is mass of disc and r is radius. Carbon steel selected for

construction of disc that has density about 7.85 gcm-3.
Fig. 4. Rotating disc about axis rotation of z

Design of blade tooth

For plants having a larger diameter than the pitch of the teeth,
cutting resistance is considered to be much less than plant having
pitch larger than the plant diameter. So, proper amount of tooth for
the blade obtained.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Cutting speed

By equation 2 and Table 1 value for stem moment of inertia was

calculated. For obtaining velocity, Young’s modulus was multiplied
in moment of inertia. By using ultimate tensile strength from Fig.2
and cross sectional area from Table 1, maximum cutting force
computed and acceleration of stalk from Fig.1was obtained. Then
the critical speed for four varieties computed and showed in Table
2. With reference to computations, suitable range of speed for
cutting one stem of high yielding varieties is 22-32 m/s and that of
local varieties was considered to be16-25 m/s. the amount of cutting
energy in nodes is higher than internodes (Yore, 2002) so, for
restitution effect of misaligning stems position (node or internode)
during cutting, speeds between 25-35 m/s was chosen.

Cutting energy and power consumption

Angular velocity of discs with spot the maximum computed speed

equal to 269.23 rad/s obtained. Cutting width assumed to be 2/3 of
disc diameter and was equal to 16 cm. by using of data
corresponding to maximum cutting strength and cross sectional
area needed cutting energy for cutting one stalk computed and
showed.

Mass of disc with 24 cm diameter and 2 mm thickness is equal to

710.25 gr. So its mass moment of inertia obtained and is equal to
5.1133 × 10-3 Kgm2. By using of equation 5 idling power obtained
and is equal to 0.217 kW and by dividing it by cutting width of
reaper, idling power obtained equal to 1.34 Kw/m. Consumption
power of reaper from equation 3 computed and showed in table 4.
Forward speed of portable reaper commonly is in the range of 0.7-
1.1 m/s. In this research maximum forward velocity of reaper was
used that is equal to hand speed of operator from right to left in
course of cutting.

Design of blade teeth

The details of blade teeth of the header are shown in Fig.5.
According to studies of Tuck et al (1991) the critical speed of a
triangular toothed disc with 0° rake angle, 30° clearance angle and
6 mm pitch was lowest (Fig. 5). Thus the value of teeth
corresponded to Khazar variety (136 teeth) was selected for this
purpose. The final shape of circular saw blade is showed in Fig.

Fig. 5. Schematic of blade tooth of the header (up), schematic

representation of blade with radius of R and pitch of x (left), final
shape of circular saw blade (right)
Fig. 6. Schematic and dimensions of cutting head (left), schematic
of windrowing system (right)

Design of windrowing system

In order to windrowing the harvested plant an aluminum sheet with
cylindrical shape was used that installed at the upper portion of the
cutting blade. By using of this system, cut straws gathered and
transported with width movement of operator hand until the ending
of distinct cutting width, then voided and rowed. Height and panicle
length of the tested varieties are showed in Table 6. radius of sheet
choose equal the blade radius and its distance from blade surface
computed 13 cm. schematic and dimensions of cutting head
showed in Fig. 6. With considering 10 cm cutting height, 5 cm shaft
length, 2mm blade thickness and 13 cm distance of rower from
blade surface, heights of rower was 40 cm. it’s made from aluminum
sheet and its schematic showed in Fig.6. Designed blade was made
from carbon steel and installed on an existent machine (brush cutter
model BG 430) with designed aluminum windrower.
Field evaluation
In this study, the machine was evaluated for harvesting two rice
varieties namely Hybrid and Hashemi in the experimental farms of
the Rice Research Institute of Iran (RRII), Rasht, Guilan, Iran. Used
machine with designed cutting head is shown in Fig.7 and the final f
Fig. 8. Harvested crop with designed cutting head system.

form of harvested crop is shown in Fig. 8. Results indicated that the

forward speed of the operator was measured to be 1 kmh-1 and
cutting width in each blade movement was 1.5 m. The total
harvesting time in each plot of 50 m2 was measured to be8 min.
The labor requirements for harvesting was obtained about 26.7
man-hha-1and that of manual harvesting considering 14 labor in 8
working time was about 112 man-hha-1. Thus, field capacity of
machine is about 4.20 times greater than manual harvesting.
Results of investigation in other countries showed that field
capacity of machine is seven times greater than field capacity of
manual harvesting depending on operator’s skill, variety and harvest
conditions. Experiments were conducted on 4 repetition and values
of filed losses before harvesting and as well as after harvesting was
measured. The total weight of machine was about 9.5 kg and is
suitable for field condition of paddy crops in Iran because of marshy
conditions of paddy. In this condition use of self-propelled reapers is
impossible and manual harvesting takes more time and labors thus
increase time harvesting and costs.

Mechanical Design- Auto-cad

Process Sheet and Machining Details:

The material is purchased as per requirements.

It is cut into pieces of adequate dimensions.

Then all these cut pieces which were cut with the help of abrasive
cutting wheel. These are connected with arc welding. See
procedure below.

welding joint

Two square pipes welded together.

Another Two square pipes welded

together.

Welding joint

Thus base frame is ready.

Two stands are fixed for holding funnels.

Four angles are connected one by one as shown.

Thus the basic structure is ready as shown.

Procurement of DC geared motor.

Drilling for fixing DC geared motor on base stand.

Drilling is done 10mm drill hole.

Fixing of motor on frame with the help of nuts & bolts.

6 No. of funnels are placed at appropriate distance.

Another 6 No. of funnels are placed at appropriate distance on the
top side for dropping seeds.

A long hollow cylindrical hollow pipe is taken. The distance between

two pedestals is horizontally taken. Suppose it to be x mm. Then
one of the shaft is required, the extra length for the purpose of fixing
the dc geared motor.

Hole for fixing DC motor

Procurement of DC motors.
Shaft
DC
Motor

Fix the motor on the shaft as shown.

As the motor assembly is done, the shaft can rotate in either
direction as per the motor direction.

4 No. of wheels are fitted on all the four corners of the base frame.
Seeds dropped on the funnels of the top frame are picked one by
one by seed dropper & dropped in the respective funnels at their
end.
Thus the project is completed.
Time Study
The project Seed Plantation is developed and completed in a simple
manner. Various operations are involved. The completion of project
does not mean only to complete the physical work, but it also
involves technical survey, market survey and to verify the necessity
of our project. Project completion also involves search the title, plan
for modeling, and check the feasibility, procurement of various
spares and raw material. Various operations are required to
assemble the accessories as per our requirement. Trials are
conducted for verification of required results. After completion of the
project and satisfactory results, we have to prepare the
documentation for the reports.
Various activities are involved in our project and the time study
required to complete specific operations is as given below.
Time Study
Sr. Nature of activity done Time
No. required
1 Project Selection 15 days
2 Block diagram planning 20 days
 3 Auto cad drawing 20 days
4 Material Procurement 1 month
5 Machining of accessories 08 days
6 Fabrication of assembly 15 days
7 Trials & Troubleshooting 15 days
8 Testing 10 days
9 Electronic Circuit development& 20 days
Troubleshooting
10 Painting 01 day
11 Documentation 10 days
12 Conclusion 01 hour

Advantages-

1. Power equivalent to a 30 cc brush cutter

2. Designed for both brush cutting and finishing work
3. Good for ½ a day to a full day’s work
4. Quiet working environment
5. Zero emissions and zero waste
6. Angled handle
7. Adjustable for user comfort: telescopic pole, rotating head,
adjustable handle
8. At least Rs-650 rupees of petrol saved per day
9. Low maintenance
 10. No use of blended fuel
11. Multipurpose
12. solar energy use as alternative energy source
13. Electrical charging also present.

CHAPTER 14
COST ESTIMATION
COST OF MATERIAL

Part Name Material Wt Rate / kg Total

Rate
SHAFT1 Ms 2 60 120
shaft 2 Ms 6 360
BEARING - 4 60 240
MOUNTER
BUSH - 2 60 120

COST OF MACHINE

Machine Name Using Rate /hr Total

Time Rate
Gas cutting ml 30 200
Lath m/c 45 250
Power 15 175
Hacksaw
Welding 60 250

COST OF STD PART

Part Name qty Rate /qty Total

Rate
Dc Motor 1 2100
Battery 1 1150
Blade 1 1500
Switch 1 150
Wire 3mtrs 50
Pipe 10 ft 400 400
Solar panel 1nos 2000 2000

Cost of Machine

Cost of project =Cost of material + Cost of machine +

Cast of std part
CHAPTER 15
REFERENCES

[1] Bainer R, Kepner RA, Berger EL (1978) Principles of farm

machinery, 3 rd edn. Willey, New York.
[2] Bautista E, Regalado JS, Juliano A, Ishihara S, Monobe H,
Ramos J, Molinawe L (2005) The PhilRice-JICA rotary rice reaper:
redesigning a technology for Filipino farmers and manufacturers.
Rice is life: scientific perspectives for the 21st century 7: 229-232.
[3] Chakraverty A, Mujumdar AS, VijayaRaghavan GS,Ramaswamy
HS (2003) Handbook of post-harvest technology cereals, Fruits,
Vegetables, Tea and Spices. Marcel Dekker Inc, p 883.
[4] Chancellor WJ (1988) Cutting of biological materials. Handbook
of Engineering in Agriculture, Vol 1. CRC prero INC, p 35.
[5] Ganesh CB, Gunner KH (2007) Low cost mechanical aid for rice
harvesting. J Appl Sci. 7(23):315-318.
[6] Hasanjani H, Hoseyni M, Khademolhoseyni N, Alizade M (2007)
Evaluation of different harvesting method in Guilan. J Agric Sci 9(1):
23-38.
[7] Kawasthima M (1951) Survey of shape and cutting force of a
serrated sickle on the market. Memoir, Coll Agric Utsunomiya
University, Japan, 1951.
[8] Koniger R (1953) Tentative theory for the cutting of plant stems.
Grundlagen der Landtechnik 5: 96-97
[9] Michael AM, Ojha TP (1987) Principles of agricultural
engineering, Vol 1. New Dehli, ML Jain for Jain Brothers.
[10] O,Dogherty MJ, Gale GE (1991) Laboratory studies of the
dynamic behavior of grass, straw and polystyrene tube during high-
speed cutting. J Agric Eng Res. 49: 33-57.
[11] Pandey MM, Devnani RS (1981) Development of improved
CIAE sickle for harvesting cereals. Agric Mech in Asia, Africa and
Latin America. 12: 54-58.
[12] Persson S (1987) Mechanics of cutting plant material. ASAE
monograph No 7, American Society of Agriculture, p 288.