Senior Vanderbilt Engineering Student from Malaysia Adds Vital Dimension to Project

Sharifah Musliha Almatar  (right), Senior Vanderbilt Engineering student from Malaysia, explains the concept of the Traction Tillage System to two students during Design Day 2014 on April 21, 2014. 

(Photo by Joe Howell, Vanderbilt School of Engineering)

Sharifah Musliha Almatar is a senior Vanderbilt Engineering student who participated as part of a team that focused on the NuAg Agricultural Systems' Traction Tillage System during the 2013/14 academic year. The new agricultural system that does not necessarily involve a tractor was designed by Tommy Thompson to reduce soil compaction. In the process of reducing compaction, fuel consumption will be reduced because only the farm implements are moving and they create their own traction as they work against each other. This environmentally friendly system can be applied in plowing, planting, fertilizing, cultivation, and spraying operations. A 7-minute YouTube video showing a computer model of the system can be viewed at www.nuag.biz. 

The Vanderbilt Engineering team, which also included Peter Ingram, Ethan Gische A. Schurkman, and Zahar Din, performed an in-depth design of the truss structure of the Traction Tillage System. The team further designed the carriages that run along the trusses and hold each farm implement, the track system that supports the carriages, and the cable system that provides for movement of the carriages. 

The team also designed a large-force sensor that will be used to determine if there is an obstacle in the path of the implements so that appropriate action can be taken.

Vanderbilt University Senior Design Engineers Present Results of Their NuAg Agricultural Systems Project

Members of the Vanderbilt University Senior Engineering, NuAg--Agricultural Systems Team.
From left, Ethan Schurkman, Peter Ingram, Mohd Izzuddin Mohd Zahar, and Sharifah Musliha Almatar (Photo by Tommy Thompson)


Vanderbilt University's Senior Engineering Design Day on April 21, 2014, was a highlight in the academic careers of the NuAg--Agricultural Systems Team. Their presentation revealed that they devoted much time, effort, skill and talent to complete their project, the Structural and Mechanical Design for Traction Tillage System. It was evident that the team worked together effectively to study the Traction Tillage System, an invention of Tommy Thompson, NuAg Founder and Owner. The team recommended enhancements, provided design specifications and parts for most of the system, and created the design of an accurate CAD model. 

The  NuAg exhibit of the senior mechanical engineers attracted much attention from the visitors to Vanderbilt Engineering Design Day, 2014.

The engineers studied the problem created by soil compaction resulting from modern tractor-based agricultural systems. Heavy tractors compact the soil, thereby decreasing crop yields by as much as 20 percent, and require huge expenditures of fuel. NuAg Agricultural Systems' Traction Tillage System is designed to help solve these problems through the creation of traction produced when the system's implements work against themselves.

Ethan Schurkman, a member of the NuAg Agricultural Systems Design Team, explains the project's concept to visitors to the team's display.

The team performed an in-depth design of the truss structure, including an analysis of possible materials and a force analysis of the proposed structure. The team further worked on the design of the carriages which run along the trusses and hold each farm implement, the track system which supports the carriages, and the cable system which provides for locomotion of the carriages. Finally, the team designed a large-force sensor that can be used to determine whether there is an obstacle in the path of the implements so that appropriate action can be taken. 

Peter Ingram, a member of the NuAg Agricultural Systems Team, discusses the value of the Traction Tillage System in increasing crop yields and reducing fuel consumption.  
 

To learn more about the Traction Tillage System, its background and evolution, technical approach and vision, and to read an article on the concept in Successful Farming, please check out NuAg.biz.

A 7-minute You-Tube video showing a computer model of the system in operation can be viewed at this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGm6WZMlCCo

For more information about this project, contact Tommy Thompson, tommy@nuag.biz or tommy@tommythompsonart.com.

The Evolution of the Traction Tillage System

The Evolution of the Traction Tillage System and NuAg.biz

I grew up on a farm in Mississippi and for several years drove across the delta of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana while working on another job for VillagePrints.com, a graphic arts company that I developed and own. As I started each trip, I decided which problem I was going to work on to make sure that I stayed mentally alert and awake for safe driving.  I observed farmers driving large tractors back and forth across their fields. I understood what this was doing to the soil since I had served for several years as head of the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES)'s Art and Photography Department. In that job, I produced many technical bulletins, the MAFES newspaper, slide presentations, and annual reports. I heard soil compaction discussed many times in meetings and in conversations with professors. Since I am naturally a "problem solver," I tend to think "outside the box," and developed my idea of a solution to this problem. Iowa State has looked at my idea and is impressed. Vanderbilt University's Engineering School is using my system, Traction Tillage System, as a project for their senior engineering students. During the fall semester 2013 a Vanderbilt team of engineering students completed a technology marketing strategy on the Traction Tillage System. During the spring semester 2014 a team of senior mechanical engineering students are using the system for their design project requirements for graduation from Vanderbilt. To view a 7-minute video showing a computer model of the Traction Tillage System, please go to http://www.nuag.biz or go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGm6WZMlCCo

I have applied for a non-provisional patent. The journal, Successful Farming, published an article in November 2013 on my invention, and it is featured on their web site:  http://www.agriculture.com/machinery/soil-compaction-solution_197-ar35025. Auburn University has agreed to conduct field studies when we have a prototype and when we have funding for the graduate students.

A New Agricultural System

Soil compaction is a problem for the world's farmers due to the weight of the equipment used in agricultural operations on crop fields.  Ten to twenty percent of every crop's yield is lost due to soil compaction because plant roots cannot penetrate compacted soil. A new agricultural system that does not necessarily involve a tractor has been designed to reduce compaction by approximately 60 percent. In the process of reducing compaction, fuel consumption will be reduced by at least 50 percent, and dust will be reduced by more than 50 percent. This environmentally friendly system can be applied in plowing, planting, fertilizing, cultivation, and spraying operations. By reducing fuel costs and increasing yields, this system can result in a savings of billions of dollars for the agriculture industry.

Benefits of the Traction Tillage System

• Reduces Soil Compaction and Increases Crop Production
• Reduces Fuel Consumption
• Reduces Dust Pollution

This Environmentally Friendly System can be applied in:

• Tilling
• Planting
• Fertilizing
• Cultivation
• Spraying operations

By reducing fuel costs and increasing yields, this system can result in a saving of billions of dollars for the agriculture industry.

Tommy's Vanderbilt Senior Engineering Project on the Traction Tillage System is moving along well; in fact, the professor in charge of the project, has decided to advance the project to the Capstone Project level next semester. It will be published in a slick Vanderbilt publication and featured in an exposition at the end of the year. Tommy has applied for a non-provisional patent. The journal, Successful Farming," has published an article this month on Tommy's invention, and it is featured on their web site:  http://www.agriculture.com/machinery/soil-compaction-solution_197-ar35025  In case you have not viewed the computer model of the Traction Tillage System, you can do so in the YouTube video at this link:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGm6WZMlCCo

The Road that Led Tommy Thompson To Create the Traction Plowing System

I grew up on a farm in Mississippi and for several years drove across the delta of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana while working on another job for VillagePrints.com, a graphic arts company that I developed and own. I observed farmers driving large tractors back and forth across their fields. I understood what this was doing to the soil since I had served for several years as head of the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station's Art and Photography Department. In that job, I produced many technical bulletins, the MAFES newspaper, slide presentations, and annual reports. I heard soil compaction discussed many times in meetings and in conversations with professors. Since I am naturally a "problem solver," I tend to think "outside the box," and developed my idea of a solution to this problem. Iowa State has looked at my idea and is impressed. Mississippi State is also looking at my idea. Vanderbilt University's Engineering School is considering using my system as a project for their senior engineering students.

You can check out my idea at this link on YouTube:
Soil Compaction Possible Solution

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Possible Solution to Soil Compaction

Soil compaction is a problem for the world's farmers due to the weight of the equipment used in agricultural operations on crop fields.  Ten to twenty percent of every crop's yield is lost due to soil compaction because plant roots cannot penetrate compacted soil. A new agricultural system that does not involve a tractor has been designed to reduce compaction by as much as 90 percent. In the process of reducing compaction, fuel consumption will be reduced by at least 50 percent, and dust will be reduced by more than 50 percent. This environmentally friendly system can be applied in plowing, planting, fertilizing, cultivation, and spraying operations. By reducing fuel costs and increasing yields, this system can result in a savings of billions of dollars for the agriculture industry.

This system or another similar system will never become reality unless the public demands it to save on fuel costs, increase yields, and decrease dust pollution.  

To view a 6-minute video of the new plowing system, please click on the link below.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGm6WZMlCCo