Modeling and Optimization of Energy Consumption When Using Farm Cultivators by Response Surface Methodology (A Case Study)

Tillage as a preliminary step for agricultural production consumes large amounts of energy. Regarding the energy crisis and the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the indiscriminate use of fossil fuels, many efforts have been done to reduce energy consumption as much as possible. The aim of this case study is to evaluate the effect of design and operational parameters of cultivators on the required tensile force and fuel consumption during tillage operation with a farm cultivator which had 8 shanks with specific blade geometry on a clay loam soil with specific moisture content. Experiments were carried out using response surface method and central composite design (CCD) by taking three levels of tractor forward speed (3, 5 and 7 km/h), three widths of the blade (5, 10 and 15 cm) and three tillage depth (6, 12 and 18 cm). Design Expert 8.0.6 software was used for experimental data analysis. The results showed that the blade width, forward speed and tillage depth had a significant effect on fuel consumption and tensile strength at %1 probability level. The relationship between the dependent and independent variables was presented as a second-order regression model and optimal values of independent variables were determined. The maximum desirability was determined at tillage depth of 18 cm, the forward speed of 7 km/h and a blade width of 5 cm.