Design and Production of Improved Battery-Powered Lawnmower

Maintaining clean and well-kept gardens and yards often requires regular lawn maintenance, which can be challenging without the right equipment. Lawn mowers are essential tools for trimming grass to uniform lengths, typically using one or more cutting blades. However, traditional lawn mowers, often powered by gasoline engines, contribute significantly to environmental pollution, including global warming and ozone depletion, due to their greenhouse gas emissions. In an era where technology increasingly intersects with environmental awareness, there is a growing demand for sustainable alternatives that reduce carbon footprints. The solar-powered lawn mower offers a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative, emitting zero greenhouse gases and minimizing environmental impact. Additionally, it is cost-effective, as the solar panel requires minimal maintenance compared to traditional gasoline-powered lawn mowers, supporting environmental sustainability and practical lawn care. This project focuses on the design and fabrication of an improved battery-powered lawn mower. The mower's blade and frame were constructed using mild steel for its strength, while aluminium was selected for the casing due to its lighrweight properties. Based on the design calculations, the torque (T) of the lawn mower machine was taken to be 0.4361Nm to ensure efficiency in performance, the power developed by the cutting blade was 0.1347hp and was powered with an 18Ah lead-acid battery. However, the force exerted on the blade was taken to be 66.36N, all this were considered in order to gain optimized performance. From observation, the machine was tested on four different grasses available in the region namely: carpet, stubborn, elephant and spear grasses. The initial height of the grasses before mowing was given as: carpet grass (61mm), stubborn grass (202mm), elephant grass (211mm) and spear grass (101mm) which was drastically reduced after mowing to an average height given as follows: carpet grass (42mm), stubborn grass (80mm), elephant grass (76.7mm) and spear grass (62mm) respectively. Performance evaluation was carried out on the machine, which indicates that the machine absolutely works with a performance efficiency of 80.4%. Notable enhancement in this design is the integration of a solar control system, consisting of a battery, solar panel, and charge controller, to boost the machine's efficiency. All these factors were put into consideration to ensure that the lawn mower operates across different lawn sizes and conditions.