Design of electric powered hand tractor as a cheaper and cleaner alternative to diesel-powered tractor and of using carabao

With the increasing fuel prices across the globe, Filipino farmers, who are depending on diesel-powered tractors for land plowing, suffer. Moreover, diesel-powered tractors contribute to global warming. On the other hand, carabaos, which are considered farmers’ companions in the Philippines, have some disadvantages including the high initial cost of owning as well as the struggles the farmers experience when their carabaos are not in good condition, especially in harsh environments caused by global warming. This study aimed to design a small-scale hand-tractor that can serve as a cheaper and cleaner alternative to diesel-powered tractors and of using carabaos. A 1.2kW Brushless DC motor was utilized in the tractor design which can be charged by residential electricity as well as a renewable system through solar power energy. The design was modeled and simulated through SolidWorks. Stress simulation results showed that the major mechanical components of the design, with its corresponding materials, withstand the external loads that it encounters. The results showed that the design slightly outperformed a carabao in terms of both the time required to plow one hectare of land which is 14.7% faster and overall cost after 10-hectare plowing operations which is 17.8% cheaper. Results also showed that a 20hp diesel-powered commercial tractor is 3.31 times faster than the electric tractor in terms of plowing rate but 121.4% more expensive in terms of operation cost per hectare. Moreover, the optional solar panel in the design extends the operation time by a maximum of 8.75% or 2.94 minutes per battery cycle. Fabrication and actual performance tests of the design were recommended by the authors to further supplement the results of this study.