DESIGN AND MODIFICATION OF ENGINE OVERHEAT DETECTION SYSTEM ON BULLDOZER HEAVY EQUIPMENT USING IOT INTEGRATION

Abstract

The use of heavy equipment such as bulldozers in intensive operational activities is highly susceptible to increased internal component temperatures, particularly in the engine cooling system. Undetected overheating can lead to serious damage and costly downtime. To address this issue, this study designed and implemented a LilyGo-T Beam temperature monitoring system based on an ESP32 microcontroller and LoRa communication, equipped with real-time notification via the Blynk IoT platform. This system consists of two main devices: a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter unit reads the temperature using a calibrated NTC thermistor sensor and then transmits the data to the receiver via a LoRa communication module at 923 MHz. The received data is displayed locally via a serial monitor and sent to the Blynk application for remote monitoring and notification when the temperature exceeds a certain threshold. Testing was carried out in stages, starting with sensor validation against a reference thermometer, testing the system's response to temperature increases (indicator lights, buzzer, and water sprayer), testing the LoRa range up to a radius of 950 meters, and testing the effectiveness of the additional cooling system (water sprayer) under various bulldozer operating conditions. Test results demonstrated that the system was able to accurately read and transmit temperature data and automatically respond to critical temperatures. Activating the water sprayer was proven to reduce the engine temperature from 80°C to 78.99°C, with an average temperature recovery time of 12 minutes and 28 seconds. The effectiveness of the cooling system with the water sprayer increased from 16.49% to 22.18%, demonstrating improved heat transfer efficiency and reducing the risk of engine overheating. Furthermore, the system is capable of transmitting real-time temperature data using LoRa communication and displaying the temperature information on the Blynk IoT platform. Overall, this system offers a low-cost, reliable, preventative solution that can be integrated with existing monitoring systems in the heavy equipment industry, benefiting in optimizing heavy equipment performance and reducing downtime caused by overheating damage.