Desempenho de sulcadores no desenvolvimento e produtividade da soja em solo submetido a diferentes níveis de compactação

On the national scene, soybean crop occupies a prominent position in cultivated area and volume production, being cultivated largely in the no tillage system. This system, due to the intense traffic of machines and implements on its surface has caused soil compaction problems, which has caused the yield loss of crops. In order to minimize this effect the seeder-drill uses the systems to opening the furrow by shank or the double disc type. The use of the shank has become commonplace for allowing the disruption of the compacted surface layer, however requires greater energy demand and may cause excessive tillage in areas where there is not observed high levels of compaction. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of furrowers mechanisms and levels of soil compacting on traction requirement by a seeder-drill and on the growing and productivity of soybean in an Oxisol texture clay, in a two growing seasons. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks with split plots with the main plots composed of four levels of soil compaction (N0 – no tillage without additional compaction, N1, N2 and N3 – no tillage subjected to compaction through two, four and six passes with tractor, respectively) corresponding to densities of soil 1.16, 1.20, 1.22 and 1.26 g cm-3, and subplots by two furrowers mechanisms (shank and double disc) with four replicates. To evaluate the average, maximum and specific traction force requested by the seeder-drill, was used a load cell, with capacity of 50 kN and sensitivity of 2 mV V-1, coupled between the tractor and seeder-drill, whose data are stored in a datalogger system model CR800 of Campbell Scientific. In addition, were evaluated the bulk density, soil mechanical resistance to penetration, sowing depth, depth and groove width, soil area mobilized, emergence speed index, emergence operation, final plant stand, stem diameter, plant height, average number of seeds per pod, weight of 1,000 seeds, number of pods per plant and crop productivity. Data were subjected to analysis of variance, the mean of furrowers were compared by Tukey test (p≤0.05), while for the factor soil compaction, polynomial regression analysis was adopted, selected models by the criterion of greater R2 and significance (p≤0.05) of equation parameters. Regardless of the crop season, penetration resistance increase as soil compaction levels up to around 0.20 m deep, and bulk density influenced the sowing quality parameters, however, did not affect the crop yield. In the first season, there was a higher productivity with the use of the shank type. In the second crop season, the shank demanded greater energetic requirement with the increase of bulk density and opposite situation with the double disc. The locking of sowing lines allow better performance of the shank to break the compacted layer.

Sensoriamento óptico quase-distribuído aplicado ao monitoramento de trocadores de calor de usinas hidrelétricas

This work aims to develop optical sensors for temperature monitoring in hydroelectric power plant heat exchangers. The proposed sensors are based on the Fiber Bragg Gratings technology. First of all, a prototype with three sensors inscribed in a same fiber was developed. This fiber was then fixed to a conventional Pt100 sensor rod and inserted in a thermowell. The ensemble was then calibrated in a workbench, presenting a maximum combined uncertainty of 2,06 °C. The sensor was installed in one of the heat exchangers of the Salto Osório’s hydroelectric power plant. This power plant is situated in the Iguaçu river, at the Paraná state. Despite the satisfactory results, the sensor was improved to a second version. In this, fifteen optical Bragg sensors were inscribed in a same fiber. The fixation with a conventional sensor was no longer necessary, because the first version results comproved the efficiency and response time in comparison to a conventional sensor. For this reason, it was decided to position the fiber inside a stainless steel rod, due to his low thermal expansion coefficient and high corrosion immunity. The utilization of fifteen fiber Bragg gratings aims to improve the sensor spatial resolution. Therefore, measurements every ten centimeters with respect to the heat exchanger’s height are possible. This provides the generation of a thermal map of the heat exchanger’s surface, which can be used for determination of possible points of obstruction in the hydraulic circuit of the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger’s obstruction in hydroelectric power plants usually occur by bio-fouling, and has direct influence in the generator’s cooling system efficiency. The obtained results have demonstrated the feasibility in application of the optical sensors technology in hydroelectric power plants.