Design and Test of Tractor-Attached Laser-Controlled Rotary Scraper Land Leveler for Paddy Fields

Abstract

To realize high-efficiency and precision paddy field leveling, a tractor-attached laser-controlled rotary scraper land leveler for paddy fields was designed. An elevation model for the laser leveler’s scraper was established, and the elevation adjustment error was determined. Computer simulations showed that within the normal operational range of the laser-controlled leveler, the elevation error between the scraper and the laser receiver was 4.37%, and the maximum error was less than 9.5 mm. These results indicate that the laser receiver signal of the laser-controlled rotary scraper land leveler can accurately reflect the scraper’s elevation motion. Tests were carried out to monitor coil current and scraper motion with a data collector. It was found out that the average response time for lifting the rotary scraper decreased by 72 ms and the average response time for lowering it decreased by 10 ms in comparison with a laser-controlled vertical scraper. In addition, the speed of lifting and lowering the rotary scraper was about 5 times that of the vertical scraper. Finally, a leveling verification test was conducted in a 0.36-ha paddy field, and field flatness was measured using a mesh method before and after the operation. It showed that the standard deviation of the relative elevations of the field decreased from 5.97 to 1.59 cm and work efficiency was 8.7 mu/h (1 mu = 0.67 ha.), which that the proposed leveler worked effectively and more efficiently than the rotary leveler.