INMATEH - Agricultural Engineering

9-18

Authors: Sibirev, A.V.; Aksenov, A.G.; Dorokhov, A.S.

The increased yield of onion sets through the use of high-yielding hybrids as seed material entails an increase in weight and number of onion bulbs per one running meter. Consequently, the onion set heap supply from the surface of modern harvesters digging over the separating working parts is also increased. However, these harvesters do not ensure complete removal of soil impurities during onion set harvesting in the traditional onion set production conditions. In this regard, it is necessary to carry out investigations to identify areas on the surface of a chain digger with asymmetric vibrator arrangement and minimum value of soil screening, as well as to develop recommendations and proposals for their improvement. The paper describes a procedure and results of laboratory tests of a chain digger with asymmetric vibrator arrangement to determine soil screening ability on its surface. It was found out that the greatest value of the screened soil mass, regardless of the supply of soil impurities, was observed at the wave length attenuation section of the loaded strand in the chain digger due to elliptical vibrator impact relevant to the length of the chain digger L_EL=1020 mm. The paper provides the results of laboratory tests of a chain digger with asymmetric vibrator arrangement and determines the length-width soil screening relationship.

29-36

Authors: Geng, C.X.; Wang, P.; Qin, P.L.; Zhang, W.B.; Wang, P.B.;

Aiming at the spectral image acquisition of cucumber downy mildew, the study proposed the optimal selection method of spectral imaging characteristic wavelengths combining the mean-variance analysis and analysis of variance. In this study, the variation degree and range of reflection spectrum was quantitatively measured for both healthy leaves and disease spots in cucumber plants. The analysis showed that the three sensitive wavebands (493 nm - 533 nm, 561 nm - 653 nm, and 689 nm - 698 nm) could properly reflect the inter class difference in spectral reflectance between the dorsal part of lesion and healthy leaves. When the selected combination of spectrum was used as the reference for disease spectral imaging acquisition, it showed that the choice of sensitive wavebands can better reflect the difference in the characteristics between lesion and healthy leaves. It has laid the foundation for obtaining the effective spectral images of disease and simplifying the algorithm for image identification.

45-54

Authors: Rodimtsev, S.A., Kuznetsov, Y.A., Kolomeichenko, A.V., Goncharenko, V.V., Patrin, E.I., Mikhaylova, Y.L.

Threshing of grain mass in the threshing and separating devices is one of the most «noisy» operations. The main noise sources of a working thresher are the processes of impact interaction of grain with the threshing device cover. Based on the simulation of dynamic and acoustic processes, a formula for calculating the noise level generated by the dynamic contact of free grain with the details of the thresher design, which allows planning of the organizational and technical measures to reduce noise at workplaces, was obtained.

63-70

Authors: Vasylkovskyi, Oleksii; Vasylkovska, Kateryna; Moroz, Serhii; Sviren, Mykola; Storozhyk, Larysa;

The rational succession of technological operations of all-purpose grain cleaning machines was substantiated at the Department of Agricultural Engineering at Central Ukrainian National Technical University. The original design of a separating conveyor used in the first stage of the proposed cleaning scheme was created. The experimental separating conveyor allows extracting large impurities before feeding the grain mass to aspiration, reducing the resistance of the system and creating optimal conditions for air cleaning. The objective of our research was to identify rational parameters and operating modes of the suggested separating conveyor. The objective was achieved by studying the influence of the basic parameters of the conveyor: the inclination angle α, sieve hole diameter d, buckets velocity v, as well as the specific loading of the sieve width unit qB on one of the most important qualitative indicators which is grain separation fineness. The fineness is characterised by the content of full-value grains in fodder waste. The experimental device and methodology for laboratory research were developed to identify the most influential factors on the separation fineness. During the research, the matrix of the full factorial experiment of the 24 type was implemented. The basic level and intervals of factors variation were chosen based on the analysis of theoretical studies results and experimental research preliminary data. The obtained regularities confirmed the efficiency of the suggested design and allowed identifying the rational parameters of the separating conveyor to ensure acceptable separation fineness of grain.

81-90

Authors: Golub, G.A.; Chuba, V.V.; Marus, O.A.;

The obtained results allow calculating the actual rolling radius of the wheel and evaluate the slipping of the drive wheels of self-propelled machines in accordance with the air pressure in the tires and the parameters of interaction with the support surface. On the basis of the developed model for determining the initial radius of the wheel and the length of the contact zone of the wheel with the support surface, the dependence for determining the actual radius of the wheel rolling was obtained. The studies have confirmed an increase in the actual rolling radius and a decrease in wheel slip with an increase in air pressure in the tires. For example, for the rear wheel of a tractor John Deere 7130 with an increase in pressure from 0.6 to 2.6 atm, an increase in the rolling radius by 21 mm and a decrease in the slip coefficient from 1.94 to 0.83% were observed. For the front wheel, when the pressure changed from 1 to 2 atm, the rolling radius increased by 7 mm and the wheel slip coefficient decreased from 1.76 to 1.12 %. The determination index of calculated and experimental values of the real rolling radius is η2 = 0.98 for the front and η2 = 0.99 for the rear wheels, which indicates the adequacy of the calculated dependences.

103-114

Authors: Xiaobin, Du; Junlin, He; Yongqiang, He; Dawei, Fang

In this paper, the mechanical injury evaluation standard of Cerasus humilis was established based on extrusion deformation energy and fruit storage days. The key factors affecting extrusion deformation were determined by analysing the contact force during combing. The single-factor test and three-factor, three-level quadratic regression orthogonal test were carried out by using the fruit removal rate and damage rate as the evaluation indices and the comb distance, combing speed and comb rod radius as the influencing factors. Results showed that the fruit removal rate decreased and the damage rate initially decreased and then increased with the increase in comb distance; with the increase in combing speed, the fruit removal rate remained unchanged and the damage rate increased; with the increase in comb rod radius, the fruit removal rate initially increased and then decreased, while the damage rate initially decreased and then increased. The order of influence on the fruit removal rate was comb rod radius > comb distance > combing speed. The order of influence on the damage rate was combing speed > comb distance > comb rod radius. Response surface methodology obtained the following optimal parameters: comb distance of 9 mm, combing speed of 340 mm/s and comb rod radius of 8 mm. A validation test was carried out on a combing test bench under the optimised parameters. The fruit removal rate was 96.89% and the damage rate was 6.36%. These values were consistent with the results of optimum parameters; thus, the regression model was reliable.

123-134

Authors: Hevko, R.B.; Zalutskyi, S.Z.; Hladyo, Y.B.; Tkachenko, I.G.; Lyashuk, O.L.; Pavlova, O.M.; Pohrishchuk, B.V.; Trokhaniak, O.M.; Dobizha, N.V.;

The article presents a new design of a screw conveyor with sectional elastic surface aimed at reducing the grain material damage degree whilst its transportation. Theoretical calculations of a grain-screw conveyor elastic section interaction were made. A dynamic model was developed for determining both the impact of design, kinematic and technological parameters of the elastic screw conveyor on the time and free path of granular material particles whilst their motion between sections and for preventing grain material-screw nonworking surface interaction to reduce the material damage

141-146

Authors: Rogovskii, I.L.; Titova, L.L.; Trokhaniak, V.I.; Solomka, O.V.; Popyk, P.S.; Shvidia, V.O.; Stepanenko, S.P.

During the experimental studies of drying grain crops with high moisture content in a low-pressure environment, the influence of residual pressure in a peri-seed environment and seed heating temperature on drying exposure and laboratory germination have been investigated. These experimental studies have been carried out by means of the experimental facility and its attachments that make it possible to provide residual pressure within the range of 10 – 80 kPa and seed heating temperature of +20 – +40 оС. Having processed the experimental data, regression equations of drying exposure and laboratory germination of grain crops with high moisture content by the example of corn seeds have been derived. The characteristic curves plotted based on the regression equations show that the minimum drying exposure and, simultaneously, the maximum laboratory germination can be achieved by applying residual pressure of 45 kPа and seed heating temperature of no more than +30 оС.

157-164

Authors: Sheichenko, V.O.; Kuzmych, A.Ya.; Shevchuk, M.V.; Shevchuk, V.V.; Belovod, O.I.

The influence on wheat grain quality indices of the preliminary threshing machine parameters of combine harvester header was investigated. The value of the trauma and the germination energy of the grain collected by the combine with the serial and experimental harvester were determined. It was established that as a result of passing the grain through the entire technological chain of the combine, germination energy decreased by 1.13 - 1.15 times. For the proposed options for preliminary threshing of grain, rational throughput values have been established, which correspond to high levels of germination energy. The highest germination energy level of the grain 99% was noted in the header, the drum of which contained four strips, according to the combine throughput 7.5 kg/s. This level was 7% higher than the serial header.

173-178

Authors: Adamchuk V.; Bulgakov V.; IvanovsS.; Prysyazhnyi V. ; Boris A.

Miscanthus is a promising energy crop. There are no inexpensive and efficient planting machines in practice as yet for planting on small areas up to 10-20 hectares. In order to plant the Miscanthus rhizomes on such areas, it is appropriate to use potato planters equipped with special replaceable spoons. Research has been carried out to optimize the parameters of a planting machine spoons and the length of the planting material (rhizomes), as well as to test mechanised planting under economic conditions by means of a potato planter equipped with an upgraded planting apparatus.

187-198

Authors: Mehdi, Samadi; Vahid, Rostampour; Shamsoallah, Abdollahpour

In the industry, the pneumatic conveying of wheat grains has attracted a lot of attention due to benefits such as enclosed transfer and flexibility in routing. Measuring the mass flow of wheat grains is important to avoid problems such as wear of the transmission pipes, pipeline clog due to dense phase and fracture of the seeds. In this research, the acoustic signal analysis method was used to detect the mass flow rate of wheat grains at three levels of 1.5, 3 and 4.5 kg/min in the pneumatic conveying. The signals decomposition was done in time-frequency domain (wavelet transform) with 9 levels. The properties of Sum, Mean, Variance (VAR), Root Mean Square (RMS), Skewness, Kurtosis, and Moment were compared. The results showed that the first (d1), second (d2), fifth (d5), sixth (d6) and seventh (d7) detail sub-signals have the highest ability and priority to detect mass flow levels, respectively. Also among the studied properties, sum, mean, VAR, RMS, and moment, are prioritized for detecting mass flow levels with probability level of 1%, respectively. The values of all these properties increased with increasing mass flow rate. The acoustic signal analysis technique has a good potential for detecting the different mass flow levels of conveyed wheat grains.

207-214

Authors: Chursina, L.; Tikhosova, H.; Holovenko T.; Shovkomud, O.; Kniaziev, O.; Yanyuk, T.

The article presents scientific and practical achievements in creating innovative mechanical technologies for oilseed flax straw processing. As a result of systematic research by scientists of Kherson National Technical University, the technology and equipment for mechanical processing of oilseed flax retted straw based on modernization of existing equipment is proposed. As a result, at certain stages of mechanical processing of the retted straw, oil flax fiber with different physical and mechanical characteristics was obtained, which is suitable for use in various industries. Due to the absence of standards for products of oilseed flax straw in Ukraine and in the world, the technical specifications TU U 01.1-2303511525 - 001:2016 "Oilseed flax straw. Specifications" and TU U 01.1-05480298 - 001:2017 "Oilseed flax retted straw. Specifications" were developed and registered in the State enterprise "Kherson standard metrology". This will allow analyzing this industrial raw material, determining the feasibility of mechanical processing and the quality level of fiber as finished product.

225-232

Authors: Jianhua, Yang; Xinyu, Zheng; Jianping, Yao; Jiang, Xiao ; Lei, Yan

The surface defects, especially the insects holes and dents, seriously affect the quality and value of lumber and agri-crop straw-based panels. In this study, two kinds of surface defects, insects holes and dents, were selected as the object of system detection. A surface defect recognition system based on Gocator 3D (3 Dimensional) structure laser sensor was built. An image processing method based on deep learning was designed using HALCON. While the shape features (6-dimensional) and gray-scale texture features (7-dimensions) of the image are extracted, the principal components analysis method is used to reduce the dimensions of the eigenvector. The SVM (Support Vector Machine), GMM (Gaussian Mixture Model) and KNN (K-Nearest Neighbor) are used to classify and identify the defects on the surface of the lumber and agri-crop straw-based panels, and the final classification accuracy is up to 94.67%. The experimental results show that the system can quickly and accurately identify the insects holes and dents through intelligent algorithm. The research results show that the quality evaluation of agricultural and forestry products based on image processing technology is feasible. Structure laser sensor scanning technology can be used in 3D surface defects detect and recognition of lumber and straw-based panels.

243-252

Authors: Shengsheng, Wang; Jiangtao, Ji; Xin, Jin; Lingxin, Geng

The new cleaning system, mainly composed of light impurities cleaning device and stems separating device was designed. The former used cross-flow fan to clean light impurities, and the latter used the differences of radial geometry size between peanut pods and stems to separate stems from peanut pods. By means of theoretical calculation and graphic analysis, the structure motion parameters of the main working parts were determined and the performance experiments were carried out. According to the experimental results, the influence law of the structure motion parameters of peanut cleaning system on cleaning performance was analyzed and optimal combination of parameters was obtained. When the rotation speed of cross-flow fan was 920 r/min, the distance between sliding screen and fan impeller was 100 mm, and the width of discharging exit was 50 mm, the clearance of separation rollers was 2 mm, the rotation speed of separation roller was 300 r/min, and the angle between separating device and horizontal plane was 35°, the impurity content was 0.89%, and the cleaning loss rate was 0.62%, which met the requirement of peanut harvester

261-270

Authors: Biriș S.Șt.; Ungureanu N.; Cujbescu D

This paper presents a theoretical model for prediction of the stress state in agricultural soil under the agricultural tires of a heavy-duty tractor, using the Finite Element Method. Using an acquisition data system and pressure sensors, the theoretical model was experimentally verified in the laboratory. This study highlights the major advantage of using FEM models, which consists mainly in the spectacular reduction of costs for experimental testing and a considerable reduction in the time needed to analyse the possibility of the occurrence of artificial compaction phenomenon in the agricultural soil under heavy-duty tractors.

279-286

Authors: Fuchylo, Ya; Makukh, Ya; Remeniuk, S; Moshkivska, S.; Kharytonov, M.

The results of five-year field experiments using various mechanical techniques to protect annual plantings of energy willow from weeds in the central forest-steppe zone of Ukraine were given. The use of inter-row cultivation system (3 treatments every 15 days) reduced the value of forming a weeds mass to 2.9 times; using mounted chain harrow – 3.1 times, and the use of three consequent harrowing between rows – 3.4 times, compared with the case without weed treatment – 3854 g/m2. The lowest yield of dry energy willow biomass (1.15 t/ha) was obtained without weed control, while the highest was obtained after six consequent hand weedings (3.14 t/ha). Successive hoeing of the space between rows ensured, on the average, 2.52 t/ha dry biomass in the first year of rowing, while similar harrowing with chain harrow 2.55 t /ha, and cutting of weeds 2.60 t/ha

9-16

Authors: Ivanovs, S.; Bulgakov, V.; Adamchuk, V.; Kyurchev, V.; Kuvachоv, V.;

The conducted researches on a ploughing aggregate, composed according to the "push-pull" scheme as part of the HTZ-16131 tractor with a frontal two-bottom plough and a rear-mounted four-bottom plough, show that there is a positive correlation between the input impact – the turning angle of the driven wheels of the tractor, and the output parameter – its relative bearing. The maximum value of the mutual correlation function between these parameters is quite high, reaching mark 0.88. The researched ploughing aggregate, operating according to the "push-pull" scheme, has satisfactory path indicators. The path variations of the furrow laid by this aggregate are of a low-frequency nature. Arrangement of the supporting wheel of the frontal plough outside the furrow and its movement across an undeveloped agrophone does not lead to the deterioration in the steering ability of the explored ploughing aggregate.

25-30

Authors: K.V. Vasylkovska, O.M. Vasylkovskyi, M.O. Sviren, G.A. Kulik

The construction of a new pneumatic and mechanical seeding device for precision seeding of tilled crops with peripheral location of cells on a seed disk and a passive device for removing unnecessary seeds in a centrifugal method is suggested. It is assumed that the seeding device works even without the creation of vacuum. The parameters of the seeding device have been determined analytically. It was proved that the proposed design of the pneumatic and mechanical seeding device provides qualitative dosage of seeds without creating vacuum in the system, but with a limited angular velocity of 11.25 rad/s. To remove extra seeds in the pneumatic and mechanical seeding device we used pockets in the casing of the seeding device above the filling section in which, under the influence of inertia forces, excess seeds get in and are directed back to the filling section. In order not to remove the main seed along with the extra seed when the rotation velocity of the seed disc approaches the velocity of the seeding device, additional force should be applied that would keep the main seed in the cell, that is, the force of suction.

39-48

Authors: Paziuk, V.M.; Liubin, M.V. ; Yaropud, V.M.; Tokarchuk, O.A.; Tokarchuk, D.M.

The value of the grain seeds is in the ability to germinate and ensure high yields. The main technological process for preserving the properties of seeds is drying. The proper carrying out and providing of rational modes of drying is a necessary condition to preserve the high ability to germinate. For the object of drying we have taken wheat seeds to determine the rational regimes. The research of the drying process kinetics is carried out on a convective drying stand in the following modes: coolant temperature in the drying chamber t = 50-80˚C, velocity V = 0.5-1.5 m/s. The highest intensity of drying occurs from an increase in the temperature of the coolant from 50 to 80°C in 3 times, but the main indicator is wheat maximum permissible temperature, which, at the coolant temperature of 50°C, is 48.6°С. The biochemical indicators of wheat seeds were determined in the laboratory of the Institute of Technical Thermophysics according to the method on the 7th day of germination. The results of the researches showed that the best results of wheat germination were at 50°C at the level of 96%. Coolant temperature of 80°C has the most negative influence on wheat germination as the seeds lose their properties. The analysis of the three-factors of influence, such as temperature and speed of coolant, as well as wheat initial humidity, on seed drying time and germination is done. The obtained regression equations and obtained response surfaces of seed drying time and germination enable us to evaluate the process in terms of drying parameters’ influence.

59-66

Authors: Akimov, A.P.; Konstantinov, Y.V.; Stepanov, A.V.

The objective of this study was to develop a technique for calculating the resultant force and moment of soil resistance to cutting by the blade of the earlier proposed rotary tillage tool as functions of the rotation angle on the basis of the developed mathematical model of soil-blade interaction. The dependences taking into account the constructive and functional parameters were obtained and analyzed. It was shown that the blade is subjected to repeated loads during the soil cutting, so the equivalent resultant force of soil reactions acting on the blade changes its magnitude, direction and the point of action periodically with changing the rotation angle. The obtained formulas can be used both for carrying out the long-term strength analysis of the rotary tool and for optimizing its constructive and functional parameters. The proposed technique allows to simplify experiments for determining the rotary tool force characteristics and to reduce their number significantly. Thanks to the commonality of the assumptions it can be transferred mainly to other rotary tillage tools.

75-82

Authors: Ciupercă R.; Persu C.; Nedelcu A.; Popa L.; Zaica A.; Eng. Ştefan V.

Traffic parameters of the road transport means are influenced beside the loads to be transported, the travel speeds, the constructive and functional characteristics by the air pressure in the tires which has a direct impact on the tire tread wear, rolling resistance, compaction, soil compaction and rolling track wear, and finally on the transport operation costs. This paper presents the research on a transport articulated vehicle made up of an agricultural tractor and a semi-trailer, aiming at continuous monitoring of the transported load in order to determine the optimal air pressure in the tires. In order to monitor the tire pressure, which is directly influenced by the tire load, an installation was created and placed on the articulated vehicle that continuously measures and monitors, in real time, the transported load, consisting mainly of two force transducers, two force amplifiers, a micro PLC (Programmable logic controller), an operating terminal, and the connection elements between them. The records made during experiments are managed using software specifically created for these researches. The experiments were performed at different loads of the semi-trailer, the results obtained from the tests allowing us to determine the authenticity of the software created, on the one hand and the value evolution of the measured parameters, on the other hand. The determined results allow the operator to make optimal decisions on the air pressure in the tire corresponding to the measured load, also taking into account the nature of the transported load, the type and condition of the rolling track.

91-100

Authors: Heyang, Yao; Qiyue, Sun; Xiuguo, Zou; Siyu, Wang; Shixiu, Zhang; Shikai, Zhang; Shuyue, Zhang

Yellow-feather chicken is a common breeding chicken in China. In view of the uncontrollable factors of pasture-raised chickens, the team proposes a precise breeding method of small chicken chamber. In this way, two problems are solved, including heat stress and the effects of environmental factors, such as bedding, fodder, water, wind speed, ammonia and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on chickens. This experiment studies heat stress and air quality during the 20-day experiment period using the method of a negative pressure fan controlled by an inverter. The experimental results show that under design conditions, all the environments are up to standard, and the weight gain efficiency of chickens is higher than that of free-range chickens and no death is witnessed. This experiment proposes a new breeding model which has been approved by some breeding companies and thus has a broad application prospect.

109-118

Authors: Pourvosoghi, N.; Nikbakht, A.M.; Sharifian, F.; Najafi, R.

Experimental analysis of air velocity and temperature distribution in poultry houses is laborious, especially for large scale houses. Enhanced broiler yield can be obtained when the house is suitably ventilated. Therefore, efficient prediction tools would be vital. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) provides detailed data on indoor flow patterns, air velocity and temperature distribution in poultry houses giving promising outlooks as an efficient and cost-effective tool to establish optimum ventilation systems. This work focused on evaluation and numerical analysis of the influence of differential pressure (20, 30 and 40 Pa) and fan activation scenarios on indoor air velocity and temperature distribution in a poultry house. Results showed that air velocity tends to be maximum toward the centre of the cross-section of the house and minimum near the floor next to the side walls. Furthermore, it is elucidated that considerable thermal discomfort for chickens is likely due to temperature variation at the proximity to the exhaust fans. Based on the evaluations of pressure variation on the air velocity distribution, quick estimation of the air velocity can be obtained in the zones occupied by chickens. Generally speaking, numerical computation of the equations dominating the poultry house leads to desirable control model of the ventilation and aeration. This would be vital in decision making and economical management of the house.

129-136

Authors: Jiaxin, Zheng; Yanyu, Gao; Hongfang, Yuan; Rong, Chen

To improve the seed spacing consistency of vertical-disc seeders and starting from the mechanical compulsory seed metering, we designed a variable-volume hole precision seeder that adopts a cam push-rod structure to realize the compulsory seed metering. We studied the overall design of this new seeder. The optimal hole parameters were determined. Response surface method (RSM) was used in trial design, and this scheme was implemented on the discrete element software EDEM. RSM regression and prediction optimization show the optimal hole parameters are hole diameter 10 mm, depth 6.5 mm, and chamfer 2 mm. Comparative tests on the bench show that the new seeder is over the vertical-disc device showing 14%-21% higher longitudinal consistency and 18%-26% higher transversal consistency. The hole-typed volume-variable precision seeder with a cam push-rod structure would significantly improve the seed spacing consistency.

147-154

Authors: Yongqiang, He; Junlin, He; Xiaobin, Du; Dawei, Fang;

We developed finger-type lifter test bench to address low fruit removal rate and high breakage rate during the lodging of Cerasus humilis branches. The bench is mainly composed of a frame, branches lifter, gripping delivery device, fruit removal device and control system. A single factor experiment was carried out, and fruit removal rate and breakage rate were used as the evaluation indexes. The elevation angle, declination angle, poking finger speed and conveying speed were selected as the experimental factors. Results showed that the influence of the declination angle was small. To determine the optimum parameter combination, we performed the three factors and three levels central composite orthogonal experiment, using the fruit removal rate and breakage rate as the evaluation indexes, while elevation angle, speed of poking fingers and conveying speed as the experimental factors. The results showed that elevation rate had the largest effect on removal rate, followed by poking fingers speed and conveying speed. Meanwhile, conveying speed had the largest effect on breakage rate, followed by poking fingers speed and elevation angle. The optimal parameter combination includes elevation angle of 56°, poking fingers speed of 1.02 m/s and conveying speed of 0.27 m/s and corresponding fruit removal rate of 96.07% and breakage rate of 4.58%. The bench verification experiment was performed according to the combination of the parameters, and the results showed that the removal rate was 97.28% and the breakage rate was 5.01%. The relative errors of the experimental value and the theoretical optimisation value were 1.24% and 8.58%, respectively.

165-174

Authors: Yu, Fan; Ping, Zhao; Lichun, Qiu; Jizhe, Zhao

Based on the viewpoint and theory of the integration between agricultural machinery and agronomy, by taking five early-maturing varieties of potato widely planted in western Liaoning Province as the research object, this paper applies the universal material testing machines and electric drum drying ovens etc. in the experiment and obtains the change law of moisture content of potatoes after harvest within 0-5 months, the compressive mechanical properties of potato with different moisture content were tested. The variation of breaking force, maximum deformation and elastic modulus of potato with different moisture content were obtained. Therefore, the experimental results can provide necessary mechanical parameters and theoretical references for the harvesting, storage, the design research on processing/transportation equipment, and the placement method of early-maturing potato in western Liaoning

185-192

Authors: Gorobets, V.G.; Trokhaniak, V.I.; Rogovskii, I.L.; Titova, L.L.;

In this paper the numerical evaluation for heat and mass transfer during the air ventilation in poultry houses’ premises was provided. The analysis of the proposed conditions for heat and mass transfer in poultry houses depends on the ventilators location in the poultry house’s altitude. The efficiency of this equipment’s location was determined. The observed climate-control supporting system for poultry-houses is based on the external air cooling by water from underground wells. The simulation was made for 2D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses by ANSYS Fluent software. The CFD analysis for the air flow analysis scheme CFD and heat condition inside the poultry house was proposed. The geometrical ventilation equipment and the best ways of its location in the poultry house were found by the results of numerical simulation.

203-210

Authors: Gunasekara, K.G.; Dharmasena, D.A.N.; Silva, F.H.C.A.

Rice is the staple food of Sri Lankans and both parboiled and raw rice forms of medium and slender grain types are popular in Sri Lanka. These two shaped grain varieties were selected and the optimum presoaking duration was calculated using the Peleg’s model. The optimum rice to water ratios were determined for different rice types. A three factor factorial experiment was used to analyse the cooking energy and cooking time, considering the grain shape, rice grain process condition and pre-cooking condition. Soaking durations for 86% rice grain saturation was 10 minutes for both shapes in raw form and the optimum rice: water ratio was 1:2. Parboiled forms, slender grains and un-soaked rice consumed considerably higher amounts of cooking energy and time than raw rice forms, medium type grains and pre-soaked rice. When considering pre-cooking condition and process condition, highest cooking energy and time is consumed by un-soaked parboiled form of rice. Pre-soaked raw rice requires the least and saved about 40% of energy and time compared to the unsoaked parboiled rice. With respect to process condition and grain type, Parboiled slender grains consume the highest cooking energy and cooking time while cooking Raw medium type grains saves about 40% of those requirements.

9-18

Authors: Golub G.A., Kukharets S.M., Tsyvenkova N.M., Golubenko A.A., Kalenichenko P.S.

A method of defining an optimal blowing mode for the boiler when burning agricultural plant residues with varying moisture content, by measuring flue gases temperature was proposed. A multifactor experiment was planned to interconnect the above-mentioned parameters. A tuning chart for the boiler was built based on the results. It was defined that maximum flue gases temperature is an indicator of optimal air supply, i.e. flue gases temperature is an estimate indicator of combustion completeness. As a result of researching regime parameters when burning different plant residue mixtures and analysing received response surfaces, the parameters for maximized heat productivity were obtained.

27-34

Authors: Vlăduţ D.I., Biriş S., Vlăduţ V., Cujbescu D., Ungureanu N., Găgeanu I.

The paper presents the results obtained from experimental researches carried out under exploitation conditions in order to determinate the qualitative working indices of an equipment used for preparing the seedbed for heavy soils: the vegetal debris coverage degree and the soil crushing degree, as well as the energy indices: slipping, traction and fuel consumption, depending on the depth, soil moisture and working speed.

45-52

Authors: Bandura, V.; Bulgakov, V.; Adamchuk, V.; Ivanovs, S.;

Intensification of the technological processes in the production of vegetable oils is a topical scientific and practical task. It is assumed that extracts from the plant raw materials obtained by exposure to the electromagnetic microwave field possess qualitatively new biochemical and biological properties in comparison with similar extracts obtained by means of the conventional extraction methods. The article deals with possibilities to reduce the duration of the extraction process of the soybean and canola seeds, to achieve great output of the target component, to increase the number of valuable components (tocopherols) in the finished product. It has been established that in the microwave intensifier, in contrast to the classic method of extraction, the extraction time of the soybean and canola seeds is reduced to 70%, but the output of the target component increases within the limits of 30%.

63-70

Authors: Aksenov, A.G.; Izmaylov, A.Iu.; Dorokhov, A.S.; Sibirev, A.V.;

The existing seed-onion planting machines provide that the sowing machines select bulbs from the total mass by group rather than by piece. As a result, the bulbs are not planted with their stems down and at a preset spacing. Therefore, new solutions are needed to maintain bulb stems downward position in the furrow. The article discusses various designs of planting devices for planting machines and highlights their main advantages and disadvantages. It also provides an overview of an engineering sample design of the planting machine equipped with vibration-pneumatic planting device for oriented seed-onion planting in the furrow.

77-86

Authors: Boja, N.; Boja, F.; Vidrean, D.; Teusdea, A.; Bungescu, S.; Borz, SA.;

Seedbed preparation for crop establishment (sowing) is one of the most important agricultural works, as it is done with high energy consumption and high costs. The quality of this work influences to a large extent crop germination and the productivity that can be obtained per hectare. Therefore, at present, there is different equipment from the one found in classical cultivation technologies, which by single pass can achieve tillage with minimum energy consumption, thus creating optimal conditions for sowing and for obtaining higher yield without soil degradation. These devices are called combinators. Of all the existing combinators, the most performant are the vibro-combinators. In order to carry out the research, we settled in six parcels in the plains of the West of Romania so that we could have three different types of soils which are representative for that specific area. From each profile soil samples were collected in three steps of 6, 12 and 18 cm. For each sample six repetitions were performed (N = 6). We started by measuring the particle size distribution (granulometric composition) and the main physical properties of the soil (moisture, bulk density, total porosity and soil compression degree).

97-104

Authors: Hevko, R.B.; Liubin, M.V.; Tokarchuk, O.A.; Lyashuk, O.L.; Pohrishchuk, B.V.; Klendii, O.M.;

The results of theoretical and experimental studies of simultaneous transporting and mixing the components of feed mixtures along the curvilinear paths of tubular conveyors are presented in this article. A mathematical model of the dependence of the change of elementary work performed while transporting the bulk material elementary mass along the curvilinear section is developed. Based on experimental researches, the technique of determining the technological parameters, which ensure the reduction of energy consumption while mixing bulk materials with the given quality of feed mixtures, is proposed. When considering the range of changes in the inner holes of the washers dh = 14…25 mm and the angles of their position to the horizon  = 30°…75°, the intensity of the material components passing-through and their consequent mixing increases with the increase of the value of the parameter dh and the reduction of the angle .

113-120

Authors: Kupchuk, I.M.; Solona, O.V.; Derevenko, I.A.; Tverdokhlib, I.V.;

One of the most energy-intensive operations used in feed technology for livestock is grinding. Therefore, scientific research aimed at minimizing the consumption of energy resources by technological machines – crushers and increasing the energy efficiency of the process in general is an important task. When grinding grain with a moisture content index above the basic condition, there is a low efficiency of the method of crushing by impact due to the increased plasticity of the material and an increase in the value of the marginal deformation that the grain can perceive before fracture. Partial solution of this problem is possible by combining the method of cutting and impact, which formed the basis of a technical solution implemented in the scientific laboratory of the Vinnytsia National Agrarian University. In previous scientific research, the authors developed and analyzed a mathematical model of energy consumption by a crusher drive. As a result of theoretical studies, the analytical and graphical dependence of the energy consumption by the drive from the angular velocity of the crusher rotor shaft was obtained. The aim of this article is to verify the reliability of a mathematical model by conducting experimental tests and comparing the results of experimental researches with theoretical researches. The experimental part of the work was performed in the laboratories of the department of processes and processing equipment and food industries of the Vinnytsia National Agrarian University and the specialized laboratory of «Ovchatsky» MPD, SE «Ukrspirt», using the experimental-industrial model of the vibration disc-type crusher. The EMF-1:1 electronic wattmeter recorded energy consumption, as well as wireless tachometer UNI-T UT372 the rotation frequency of the drive shaft (rotor). Verification of the mathematical model has shown a high level of its adequacy, and it can be used in the designing of a vibrating disc crusher of this type.

131-140

Authors: Darwin, Muhammad Ilham, Afrizal Fazil

Biogas is a clean and cheap renewable energy that can be used for generating electricity. One of the current methods applied to enhance biogas production was through anaerobic co-digestion. The current study revealed that anaerobic digestion of cow manure co-digested with cocoa husk produced higher biogas production (348.3 mL/day) than anaerobic digestion of cow manure alone (26.5 mL/day). Even if a high organic loading rate (OLR) (4.173 kg VS/m3.day) was applied to the reactor of anaerobic co-digestion, no inhibition was found at which pH was stable at 7.08. The results suggested that high OLR and short HRT (10 days) did not inhibit biogas production.

151-160

Authors: Kai, Zhao; Jingwei, Chang; Xinming, Ma; Feng, Zhao;

As a progressively accumulating and dynamically changing process, agricultural drought stress is influenced by various factors, such as atmospheric environment, hydrogeology and vegetation. To master the change laws of soil drought, we proposed a novel soil drought monitoring forecasting method based on Google cloud computing service platform. The Google cloud computing platform Google App Engine was analysed. This computing platform was utilized for drought monitoring. A three-layer back-propagation neural network was used for the forecasting analysis of corresponding soil drought. The accuracy of the method was verified through an experiment. Results demonstrate that all the relative errors of the method were lower than 10% and thus it has a high monitoring precision. These findings can be used as a theoretical basis for formulating strategies for drought resistance. The proposed method provides a good prospect to drought monitoring and forecasting strategies using other cloud computing platforms.

171-180

Authors: Nalobina, О.O.; Gerasymchuk, O.P.; Puts, V.S.; Martyniuk, V.L.; Shovkomyd, O.V.; Vasylchuk, N.V.; Bundza, О.Z.; Holotiuk, M.V.; Serilko, D.L.;

The design of a reaper that provides grinding of stems, which eliminates the need for mulcher application, offers the conditions for introducing a new technology of growing No-Till crops in agrarian enterprises. The substantiation method of the analytical model is proposed, which allows to determine the nature of the stem movement on the side surface of the sunflower header elevator in the process of their interaction.

6

Authors: Kabas O., Kabaş A., Ünal İ.

Effect of maturity time as colour on mechanical properties is important for long way transportation. In this research, some physical and mechanical properties of beef tomato (Tybeef) grown in the Antalya region were determined based on the puncture tests. The tests were carried out at four maturity stages namely green, light pink, pink and red colour. Size and sphericity were measured using the standard methods. Surface colour of tomatoes were determined using a colorimeter and the mechanical properties such as puncture force and stress, puncture energy, deformation, strength and elastic modulus by texture analyser. The puncture force and energy values were found different at 5% probability level for all the maturity stages. Deformation, failure stress and toughness values were found different at 1% probability level for all the maturity stages. Statistically, there is no difference in the modulus of elasticity values for all the maturity stages. In conclusion, it was found that L*/a*/b* and C*/h colour parameter can be a good index for evaluating mechanical properties of beef tomato.

8

Authors: Voicu Gh., Toma M.L., Tudor P., Ipate G., Ştefan V.

Choosing the physical characteristics of geosynthetics used in the construction of municipal waste landfills must be carried out according to the functions they must fulfil - sealing, filtration, protection. Since the geomembranes are subjected to significant compressive stress, and tearing by sticking against hard objects, experimental determinations are necessary to be made both in laboratory and in-situ for the determination of its resistance over time. The protection of the geomembranes shall be carried out, usually with geotextile, and its characteristics must also be established by experimental determinations. The results of measurements of the laboratory tests carried out both on a membrane of HDPE and a nonwoven PP geotextile, and the values of their deformation according to the pressing force led to the identification of the best correlate experimental data by regression curve analysis are presented in this paper.

8

Authors: Vlăduţ V., Maican E., Apostol L., Ungureanu N., Dumitru I., Oprescu R.

The coupling devices must be checked for the resistance they provide during the movement of a mobile aggregate (tractor + trailer or agricultural machine), which can be done by a finite element analysis (SOLIDWORKS Simulation, CATIA, ANSYS, etc.) or by testing in service or, the fastest, in simulated and accelerated mode on special installations. The paper presents the results obtained by finite element analysis of a 55 HP tractor draught bar (after meshing the model), determining the most stressed points and the maximum risk areas where breaks will occur, respectively after performing the tests in static and dynamic mode (in case of fatigue) on the simulated and accelerated test installation to determine if deformations or breaking result from stresses.

8

Authors: Chao Wang, GuoLiang Zhang, Liu Yang , ChuanYang Zhang

In order to solve the problems of natural drying peanut with long drying cycle, huge resource and vulnerable to pollution, a solar drying peanut device taking solar energy as the main energy source and electric energy as the auxiliary energy source is designed. The working principle, device structure, drying chamber and heat collector are also studied. The heat collector performance of solar collector system is simulated by utilizing TRNSYS. The simulation results show that the total solar heat collector inclined surface radiation, temperature of solar collector, and electric auxiliary heating rate and water layer changes with time.

8

Authors: Kotov B.I., Spirin А.В., Tverdokhlib I.V. , Polyevoda Y.A., Hryshchenko V.O., Kalinichenko R.A.

The mathematical description of the cooling process dynamics of seed material in a layer, as a method of temporary preservation of grain with cold, before further processing is given.

8

Authors: Hu Z.C., LV X.L., Peng B.L., Wu F., Yu Z.Y.

The paper researches the effect of structure and operation parameters of the self-developed half-feeding peanut picking device on the picking performance by response surface methodology. Through the response surface optimization test and design principle of Box-Behnken, the cylinder length, roller diameter, the overlap distance of outlet end, the roller speed and the clamping conveying speed are taken as factors; the synthetic weighted mark method is used to obtain the response value that taking the comprehensive index determined by the picking rate of the peanut pods as the test. The paper also makes response surface analysis to the effect of different factor level on the comprehensive index. The quadratic polynomial regression model of each factor to the effect of the comprehensive index is established. The factors are optimized and the optimization results are tested through the picking experiment. The experiment results show that when the picking roller length is 875mm, the roller diameter is 158mm, the overlap distance of roller outlet is 5.6mm, the rotational speed of picking is 302rpm and the clamping conveying speed is 1.1m/s, which is the optimal parameter combination. The quadratic polynomial regression model established can reflect the effect of each index on the working performance optimally. The optimization results based on the quadratic polynomial regression model are consistent with the actual operation. The research provides a technical basis for the improvement of peanut harvesting machinery

8

Authors: Hevko R.B., Strishenets O.M., Lyashuk O.L., Tkachenko I.G., Klendii O.M., Dzyura V.O.

The paper presents the developed design of a research prototype of a pneumatic screw conveyor and the research methodology aimed at determining power characteristics for moving various types of loose materials depending on the influence of pressure and air volume. The dependences of pneumatic screw conveyor efficiency on the change in the area of a hopper hole, the rotation frequency of a screw feeder and the value of an operating air pressure in a technological line have been determined. The influence of the form and the geometrical parameters of a central replaceable nozzle on the distance of loose materials transportation has been determined.

10

Authors: Baranovsky V.M., Hevko R.B., Dzyura V.O. , Klendii O.M., Klendii M.B. , Romanovsky R.M.

The article presents the justification of rational parameters of the operating parts of a pneumoconveyor screw. The dependences of pressure screw efficiency on the change in design and kinematic parameters and process variables of a screw and on loose material characteristics have been considered. In addition, general analysis of the choice substantiation of a feeder pressure screw diameter and the cross-sectional area of a hopper loading opening, which provides the required efficiency of a pneumoconveyor screw, has been conducted.

10

Authors: Kuznetsov Y.A., Volzhentsev А.V., Kolomeichenko А.V., Kalashnikova L.V.

We suggest the construction of pseudofluidized layer grain dryer, which allows carrying out grain recirculation inside the dryer with interchange of heating-cooling cycles and providing the possibility to supply drying agent with high temperature into the drying chamber without risking degradation of grain material quality. The dependence of grain heating temperature on drying duration, drying agent temperature and airflow rate are determined. Experimental investigations allowed establishing the rational values of the factors restricting grain overheating beyond maximum permissible temperature.

10

Authors: Shevchenko I.A, Aliev E.B.

The results of numerical simulation and experimental research on the seed transfer process under the influence of the working part of the photoelectronic separator seed supply unit are presented. There has been developed physics and mathematical model, which links the productivity of the seed supply unit of the photoelectronic separator, its power consumption and the average time interval between falling seeds from the seeds supply, the frequency of vibroplate oscillations and the rotational speed of the barrel. During research, there has been solved a compromise problem of maximization of the average time interval between falling seeds and the minimization of the power consumed by the seed supply unit, with the maximum value of its productivity, which is comparable to the value of the seed supply.

6

Authors: Nalobina О.O., Gerasymchuk O.P., Puts V.S., Marchuk M.M.

The article deals with the dynamics of mechanism for arranging the flax stems line on the conveyor belt. There were developed the equations of the kinematic pair which is included as a compound of mechanism. The equation for calculating the conveyor belt length was developed.

6

Authors: Derevjnko D., Sukmaniuk E, Derevjnko O.

The article deals with the technological process of seed drying beginning with the bottom layer, where the heated air enters, which is quickly saturated with moisture from the grains. The higher the seed layers are placed, the less they are drying, which is the main cause of uneven quality for a certain time and can cause cracks, injury and deterioration of quality. In the work, the diagrams of forces’ influence on grains are shown while moving along with the auger screw turns. The speed of the screw, the pressure of the seed to the body and the angle of the screw spiral, which influence the seeds injury, were studied. Optimal and proper drying conditions for seeds of different crops are established, which are the main factors in obtaining high quality seeds, especially of high energy and similarity.

8

Authors: Dudarev I., Kirchuk R.

The design of spiral separator in question is based on the analysis of bulk materials separators. It has advantages over the known devices. Spiral separator is maintenance-friendly compact mechanism with a simple drive. As a tool, the spiral separating screen is used. This allows intensifying the separation process and separate bulk materials into several fractions. The empirical and theoretical dependence for describing the process of bulk materials separation by spiral separator is obtained. The methodology of definition coefficients of mathematical equations is developed. They depend on the material fractional composition and its initial settings. The experimental research for defining the separation coefficients is conducted. The processed pellets and flax fibre shives are used. The mathematical model of bulk materials separation by spiral separator is obtained and the method of determining bulk materials separation coefficients by designing a type of spiral separator is developed. The concept of spiral separator efficiency coefficient characterizing the separation degree of the bulk material fine fraction is introduced. The dependence to justify the length of the spiral separator cage is obtained.

8

Authors: Hazervazifeh A., Nikbakht A.M., Moghaddam P.A., Sharifian F.

Finite element numerical solution was employed to solve coupled model of electromagnetic, heat and mass transfer phenomena in microwave dehydration of sugar cube. For microwave power 880 W, pulsing ratios 1.5, 2.5, 4.5 and 10 were applied to prevent thermal runaway. Colour quality of dried sugar cubes was assessed by calculating whiteness, yellowness and total colour difference. Results revealed that uniform heating as a major issue of drying was improved with pulsing ratio. Moreover, low pulsing ratios yielded to lower colour quality. Thus, preferable pulsing ratio based on heating uniformity and colour quality of dried sugar cube is 10.

8

Authors: Roşca R., Cârlescu P., Ţenu I.

In the present paper the deformation of the tire section is under load is taken into account. The tire section is considered to be elliptical; under load the minor axis decreases, while the major axis increases. The equations of the traction model were incorporated in a computer program; the length, width and area of the contact patch, the traction force and traction efficiency are calculated for each value of the wheel slip. Field tests were performed in order to validate the model; the experimental data were collected during plowing tests. In order to evaluate the precision of the model the predicted data were compared with the test data by the means of a goodness-of-fit analysis.

10

Authors: Baranovsky V.M., P.G. Skalsky O.Ju., Pankiv M.R., Pastushenko A.S.

The stages of improvement, structure and modes of digging tools of root harvesters’ transport-technology systems have been described in this paper. The main ways of improvement, development principles and construction algorithm of combined digging machine for chicory root crops harvesting have been considered on the basis of research objects identification (conventional types of diggers). It was found that the construction algorithm of chicory roots combined harvester functional design must be based on mono block technological-transport systems development where digging tools are supposed to perform related technological operations simultaneously, namely: preliminary and final root crops digging, their topping. The results of experimental researches, the regression equation describing the change in loss and damage chicory root crops depending on the parameters of the combined digger are presented. It is established that the condition providing generalized criteria (root crop loss less than 2.5%, root crop damage less than 15%) performed digger combined velocity of 1.5 m/s, rotational speed of the drive shaft 500 Rpm and depth of the ripper 16 cm.

10

Authors: Feizolahzadeh M., Modarres Motlagh A., Banakar A.

This paper proposes the design, construction and testing of a solar dish collector with changeable structure and evaluates its overall thermal conversion performance. The changeable parameters of the parabolic dish collector are as follows: focal length of the dish (f), aperture diameter of dish (D), dish rim angle (φ), area of the receiver (A) and concentration ratio (CR). Results show that the solar dish collector system could reach a power output of 1973 W in a typical setup. Using the mentioned setup, 1 kg of water will be boiled in 2.5 minutes, which is enough to produce 192 kg boiling water per day that will be used at night for greenhouse heating.

10

Authors: Chao Xiaofei, Cai Cheng, Zhang Zhiyong, Nie Liangbing, Li Shuqin

This paper compares the discriminative ability of six LBP-like texture descriptors for tropical wood classification, LBP, uniform LBP, rotation invariant LBP, rotation invariant uniform LBP, covariance of LBP and covariance of LBP difference were considered. Experiments on wood image dataset with 54 wood species was carried out, experimental results show that these six descriptors combined with nearest neighbour classifier achieve recognition rate of 97.50%, 96.64%, 92.84%, 88.55%, 54.40% and 56.53% respectively. LBP is the best and one of the efficient wood texture descriptors among these six LBP-like descriptors. LBP8,8 is the best and most stable wood texture feature, the recognition rate of and are 97.84% and 97.41% respectively, the time to classify one image by them is 0.28 second and 0.08 second. Compared with existing wood image classification methods, the combination of LBP descriptor with nearest neighbour classifier is very simple, it does not need the feature selection and training process, and it achieves much better time efficiency and a slightly lower recognition rate than the existing algorithms.