Test and Comprehensive Evaluation for the Performance of UAV-Based Fertilizer Spreaders
The feasibility of aerial fertilization by UAV-based granular fertilizer spreaders (GFSs) has been widely accepted. Although commercial UAV-based spreaders have emerged, their performance in granular fertilizer spreading application has rarely been studied. This paper tested the performances of four...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2020-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Access |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9252988/ |
| _version_ | 1818732034768502784 |
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| author | Cancan Song Ying Zang Zhiyan Zhou Xiwen Luo Lingli Zhao Rui Ming Le Zi Yu Zang |
| author_facet | Cancan Song Ying Zang Zhiyan Zhou Xiwen Luo Lingli Zhao Rui Ming Le Zi Yu Zang |
| author_sort | Cancan Song |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The feasibility of aerial fertilization by UAV-based granular fertilizer spreaders (GFSs) has been widely accepted. Although commercial UAV-based spreaders have emerged, their performance in granular fertilizer spreading application has rarely been studied. This paper tested the performances of four existing UAV-based GFSs in the automatic controllability, range of the discharge rate and the swath width and uniformity of the distribution. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-based method was proposed to evaluate their comprehensive performance in spreading application. The main results are as follows: (a) GFS-A showed the maximum controllable discharge rate of 27 kg/min, and GFS-B showed the minimum (proximately 3 kg/min). The discharge rate could be changed in a stepless way by GFS-B, C and D. The relationship between the discharge rate and the rotational speed of the fluted roller of GFS-D showed a significant linear relationship (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.9991 ) for the operational range. (b) The distribution patterns of GFS-A and D were trapezoidal, which was the better deposition pattern for generating uniform spreading; those of the other two UAV-based GFSs were a wide triangle with obviously asymmetrical sides (GFS-B) and a typical M-shape with two peaks (GFS-C). (c) the simulation of CV-swath width illustrated that the available effective swath width (CV ≤ 20%) for these UAV-GFSs were 5.1m (CV = 14.73%), 4.8m(CV = 17.55%), 3.9m(CV = 13.02%) and 5.7m(CV = 18.36%) respectively under the given conditions. Furthermore, according to the AHP-based evaluation model, it was proved that GFS-D was able to provide superior performance in precise fertilization for a large application range, which is important for its practical application. This comparative study makes useful contribution for farmers and researchers in this field in understanding the application performance of various UAV-based GFSs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T23:27:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-24cf74f707844acc91df6dd1c8e6ccc8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T23:27:09Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj.art-24cf74f707844acc91df6dd1c8e6ccc82022-12-21T21:28:44ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362020-01-01820215320216310.1109/ACCESS.2020.30345939252988Test and Comprehensive Evaluation for the Performance of UAV-Based Fertilizer SpreadersCancan Song0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6468-8148Ying Zang1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7818-7184Zhiyan Zhou2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6273-9615Xiwen Luo3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4675-5834Lingli Zhao4Rui Ming5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7442-7988Le Zi6Yu Zang7College of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, ChinaThe feasibility of aerial fertilization by UAV-based granular fertilizer spreaders (GFSs) has been widely accepted. Although commercial UAV-based spreaders have emerged, their performance in granular fertilizer spreading application has rarely been studied. This paper tested the performances of four existing UAV-based GFSs in the automatic controllability, range of the discharge rate and the swath width and uniformity of the distribution. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-based method was proposed to evaluate their comprehensive performance in spreading application. The main results are as follows: (a) GFS-A showed the maximum controllable discharge rate of 27 kg/min, and GFS-B showed the minimum (proximately 3 kg/min). The discharge rate could be changed in a stepless way by GFS-B, C and D. The relationship between the discharge rate and the rotational speed of the fluted roller of GFS-D showed a significant linear relationship (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.9991 ) for the operational range. (b) The distribution patterns of GFS-A and D were trapezoidal, which was the better deposition pattern for generating uniform spreading; those of the other two UAV-based GFSs were a wide triangle with obviously asymmetrical sides (GFS-B) and a typical M-shape with two peaks (GFS-C). (c) the simulation of CV-swath width illustrated that the available effective swath width (CV ≤ 20%) for these UAV-GFSs were 5.1m (CV = 14.73%), 4.8m(CV = 17.55%), 3.9m(CV = 13.02%) and 5.7m(CV = 18.36%) respectively under the given conditions. Furthermore, according to the AHP-based evaluation model, it was proved that GFS-D was able to provide superior performance in precise fertilization for a large application range, which is important for its practical application. This comparative study makes useful contribution for farmers and researchers in this field in understanding the application performance of various UAV-based GFSs.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9252988/Precision agricultureunmanned aerial spreadervariable-rate fertilizer applicationAHPdistribution pattern |
| spellingShingle | Cancan Song Ying Zang Zhiyan Zhou Xiwen Luo Lingli Zhao Rui Ming Le Zi Yu Zang Test and Comprehensive Evaluation for the Performance of UAV-Based Fertilizer Spreaders IEEE Access Precision agriculture unmanned aerial spreader variable-rate fertilizer application AHP distribution pattern |
| title | Test and Comprehensive Evaluation for the Performance of UAV-Based Fertilizer Spreaders |
| title_full | Test and Comprehensive Evaluation for the Performance of UAV-Based Fertilizer Spreaders |
| title_fullStr | Test and Comprehensive Evaluation for the Performance of UAV-Based Fertilizer Spreaders |
| title_full_unstemmed | Test and Comprehensive Evaluation for the Performance of UAV-Based Fertilizer Spreaders |
| title_short | Test and Comprehensive Evaluation for the Performance of UAV-Based Fertilizer Spreaders |
| title_sort | test and comprehensive evaluation for the performance of uav based fertilizer spreaders |
| topic | Precision agriculture unmanned aerial spreader variable-rate fertilizer application AHP distribution pattern |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9252988/ |
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