Sprayer boom motion, part 1: Derivation of the mathematical model using experimental system identification theory

Unwanted vertical and rolling rigid-body motions and excessive horizontal v ibrations of the spray boom are one of the major causes of irregular spray deposit in the field. To investigate the effects of boom vibrations on spra y liquid distribution, mathematical models of the sprayer dynamics have bee n derived. This paper describes the general concepts of black-box system id entification and discusses its application for the identification of the dy namics of a tractor-sprayer combination. These general concepts are based o n model parameter estimation from noisy measurement data. The stochastic mo del used throughout this paper is an errors-in-variables model in the frequ ency domain. The parameter estimation algorithm is based on the maximum lik elihood principle. (C) 2000 Silsoe Research Institute.