Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

Lowe, John W.

Committee Member

Chesser, Gary D.

Committee Member

Delhom, Christopher

Committee Member

Gholson, Drew M.

Date of Degree

12-12-2025

Original embargo terms

Immediate Worldwide Access

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Biosystems Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Abstract

Increasing pressure on water resources in agricultural regions, particularly the Mississippi Delta, demands innovative irrigation technologies to optimize water usage while maintaining crop productivity. This research presents the design, development, and validation of an automated hole-punching system for lay-flat poly pipe tubing used in precision irrigation applications. The system ensures accurate and consistent hole placement through an integrated rotary cutting die, a PLC-based control architecture, stepper motor actuation, and distance-sensing and position-synchronization. The software logic maintains precise hole spacing despite variations in tubing speed. System performance was evaluated through extensive testing and statistical analysis of hole-spacing accuracy, repeatability, and sagitta-based indexing. Results show high consistency, with a maximum hole-spacing standard deviation of 0.520 mm (CV 0.1342) and sagitta indexing standard deviation of 0.285 mm (CV 0.034). This automated system demonstrates high accuracy and repeatability, effectively addressing the variability issues associated with manual hole-punching processes.

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