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Development and Evaluation of a Sensor to Continuously Measure Air Permeability of Soil

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Paper number  031072,  2003 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.14926) @2003
Authors:   B. K. Koostra, T. S. Stombaugh
Keywords:   Soil compaction, air permeability, spatial management

A factor that influences the water supplying capacity of soil is compaction. The ability to delineate compacted areas of a field is a factor for effective spatial management of a field for agriculture production. A potential method for determining soil compaction is measurement of the ability of a fluid to pass through the soil. A continuously measuring soil permeability sensor has been developed and constructed to provide relative compaction measurements for use in delineating spatial management zones within a field. The design concept involves "injecting" an air stream into the soil and measuring resistance pressure while maintaining a constant flow. Components of the sensor include an air supply, a mass flow control valve, a pressure transducer, a shank/probe, and data acquisition hardware and software. Initial data obtained with the air permeability sensor and correlations with the traditional soil compaction measurements will be presented.

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