Design of a Nozzle-Height Control System Using a Permanent Magnet Tubular Linear Synchronous Motor

In agricultural spraying, keeping the spray at the correct height reduces pesticide drift and provides uniformly distributed pesticide accumulation on the target plant. In this study, an agricultural nozzle-height control test system was developed using a permanent magnet tubular linear synchronous motor (PMTLSM) that can adjust the height between the spraying nozzle and the plant. The developed system was experimentally tested in the laboratory environment and under field conditions. According to the experimental results, the nozzle height coefficient of variation (CV) value decreased from 16.77% to 5.17%, while the uniformity of distribution in the forward direction increased from 56.57% to 86.11% at 12 km h(-1) under field conditions. Under test conditions it was found that the developed system keeps the distance between differently sized plants and the nozzle at the set point with minimum error.