Design and Response Characteristics of Electronic Control System on Hydraulic-Driven Mole Plough

Design and response characteristic of electronic control system on mole plough is the part of dissertation. Mole plough is used to construct the subsurface drainage channels on farms, to improve the absorption of water logging which caused plant deterioration. In the design, mole plough was directly mounted to hydraulic cylinder. The pressure to drive hydraulic cylinder piston was taken from tractor with capacity 55 kW using hydraulic hose. The problem that needs solving was how to observe the response characteristics of electronic control system on mole plough. This paper presented an alternative system came from the combination of mechanics, hydraulics, and electronics systemto lift and lower the mole plough based on received input sensor. The main parts of the system are hydraulic proportional controller, which is the first order control system, and convert the rotational angle of stepper motor to valve control openings in order to operate the velocity of hydraulic oil, and Electronic Control Unit (ECU) whichproduces the valve opening angle in the form of stepper motor rotation. Through the design analysis, response time in generating the valve opening system to drive the hydraulic cylinder piston was 3, 75 seconds at 89, 2 valve opening angle from the desired set point 15 valve opening, the maximum error in steady state condition was 2, 1 %.