• MECHANIZATION IN AGRICULTURE

    Structural design of the manipulator of the rotary valve for bulk materials – calculation of loads acting on individual wheels and analysis of resistances against motion

    Mechanization in agriculture & Conserving of the resources, Vol. 67 (2023), Issue 2, pg(s) 44-50

    The paper is a continuation of research dealing with the structural design of the manipulator of the bulk material rotary valve based on the specifications of a food company. This issue is currently immensely topical for reasons such as increasing safety, speed, or efficiency of work. In the previous publication, the authors focused on determining the position of the center of gravity of the rotary valve due to the fact that this essential data is not provided by its manufacturer. Accordingly, the present work attends to the design of the steel structure of the trolley and the path along which the trolley in conjunction with rotary valve will move. The structural design is analyzed in the paper by means of analytical functional and dimensional calculations. On the basis of the parameters of the calculated centers of gravity of the individual components of the structure, the reactions from the track on which trolley travels to the weight transmitted by the prismatic wheels of the trolley were determined. The loads were calculated in transverse and longitudinal directions. In addition, reactions from the individual wheels were determined for the case, when the rotor valve is in a position with the rotor retracted (operating position). The achieved results demonstrate that the least favorable case for the stresses on the track travel of trolley occurs in the case with the rotor retracted. Furthermore, the calculation of the loads acting on the track beam in the most unfavorable position of the trolley was performed. Moreover, the resistive forces acting on the trolley were analyzed. The results indicate that the use of this mechanism will be feasible in operation.