Development of an electronic manual penetrometer

Development of an electronic manual penetrometer. Excess machine traffic can cause compaction that is harmful for crop growth. One way to obtain evidence of soil compaction is to check the mechanical resistance of soil. Thus, an electronic penetrometer was developed according to ASAE (1998) Standard S313.2, featuring a 9.53 mm wide diving shaft and a 30 degrees circular stainless steel cone with a 12.83 mm base diameter. The penetrometer was outfitted with a data acquisition system, distance and force sensors, and stainless steel circular bars to construct the diving shaft and cone. The device stores field data collected at a frequency of 4 Hz, which are later transferred onto a microcomputer via a RS232 interface. The collected data can be processed using an electronic spreadsheet according to user needs. The sensors proved reliable during use, and the data files produced by the device provided comfort and confidence during data processing, so that the data could be reorganized according to user needs, thus avoid reading mistakes through the visual process.