International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

The key problem in the technological process of harvesting any root crops is the removal and harvesting of tops from their heads on the root. Root crop tops are a valuable product, such as a source of animal feed, green fertiliser, and a suitable raw material for biogas production, and therefore a prerequisite for harvesting them is to completely cut off all the green mass from the heads, collect it in a vehicle and transport it to the place of use. The main thing is to ensure that root crops do not have green plant residues on their heads, that the heads themselves are not damaged and that they are not knocked out of the soil. The purpose of this study is to develop and test in production conditions a new combined unit for harvesting root crop tops using an integrated arable wheeled tractor. This study used the methods of machine use in crop production, methods of experimental research and field testing of agricultural machines and evaluation of their performance indicators. As a result of the study, a new design and technological scheme for harvesting root crop tops using an integrated arable wheeled tractor of traction class 3 was developed and substantiated. The developed and tested unit performs the technological process steadily and has sufficiently high quality indicators of the tops harvesting. Thus, when using a three-row version of the tops harvesting unit, the amount of cut tops is about 95…98%. The degree of damage to the heads of root crops does not exceed the norms established by agricultural requirements (no more than 5%). However, during the operation of this tops harvester, there is too high a percentage (60…65%) of grinding of tops leaves during its continuous cutting and loading without spear.

Mechanized carrot growing technologies involve the use of various operations, in particular, digging by pulling the root and removing it inside the combine, as well as by pre-cutting the green mass of the root and subsequent cleaning of the heads from the remains of the root before digging. Due to the fact that there are high requirements for cleaning carrot root heads from residues, the development of new, more improved cleaners is an important and urgent task. The solution to this problem was implemented by developing a new design of the purifier, which is able to perform the specified cleaning process with high quality. The cleaner consists of two shafts that cover each row of carrots on both sides and rotate in opposite directions. Cleaning shafts are located in a horizontal plane at an angle to each other. As cleaning elements, pairs of rubber blades are used, which are installed on hubs on each shaft, which are fixed on the shafts with the appropriate step. The rubber blades are mounted on hubs hinged and the ends of the blades of one shaft are located between the pairs of blades of the second shaft. By simultaneously hitting the heads of the carrot root crops with flexible blades from both sides, the process of cleaning them from residues is carried out. In order to study the process of cleaning carrot heads from the remains of ghee on the root, an experimental installation was made and a program of experimental studies of this technological process was developed.

Harvesting root crops still poses a challenging problem for the agricultural mechanization industry. Even though the technology of separate harvesting of tops and roots has undoubted advantages, the quality of the final product, i.e. roots, depends significantly on the accuracy of cutting tops from their heads to the roots and the thoroughness of their final cleaning from residues. One of the ways to solve this problem is to create improved constructions of peelers and their further testing, experimental and theoretical studies to determine their optimal structural and kinematic parameters. To implement the above, a new mathematical model was constructed, the study of which made it possible to assess the influence of the construction parameters of the root crop head cleaner from the residues of tops on the root on the indicators of its oscillatory process in the longitudinal-vertical plane when moving along uneven soil surfaces. Numerical calculations of the obtained mathematical model were carried out on a PC using the PTC Mathcad 15 software environment and the previously determined input numerical parameters. The amplitude-frequency and phase-frequency characteristics were constructed, which made it possible to determine the optimal parameters of this oscillatory system. Based on the mathematical modelling performed, the influence of irregularities in the longitudinal profile of the soil surface on the angular oscillations of the cleaner, as well as the influence of different values of the stiffness coefficient c and the damping coefficient μ of its two copy wheels, as well as the length l, or the longitudinal coordinate of their placement on the cleaner frame, was first of all determined. The mathematical modelling of the oscillatory movements of the cleaner made it possible to establish that the value of the stiffness coefficient c of the pneumatic tires of its trailing wheels should be not less than 315 kNm–1, which is ensured by the air pressure in its tires, which should be equal to 135 kPa. In addition, it has been established that the change in the value of the coefficient μ of damping of the tires of the cleaner’s tracking wheels should be in the following range 350…1350 Nsm–1 and this parameter does not affect the amplitude and phase frequency characteristics of oscillations under the influence of oscillations of the ordinates of the longitudinal profile of field surface irregularities in the frequency range 0…24 s–1. Also, the influence of oscillations of the longitudinal profile ordinates of the field in the specified frequency range of 0…24 s–1 depends little on the change in the value of the longitudinal coordinate l of the location of its tracing wheels. Therefore, the placement of the tracing wheels on the frame should be determined based on the constructional features of the cleaner.

Cleaning of root and tuber crops, in particular potato tubers, from soil impurities and plant residues when they are excavated from the soil is an important and urgent problem in the agricultural industry. This article discusses a new construction of a vibrating spiral root and tuber cleaner and a new experimental setup that makes it possible to study the influence of the main structural and kinematic factors on the operation of a spiral type cleaner, as well as to substantiate its rational structural and kinematic parameters. The main constructional difference of the developed cleaner is that the technological process of cleaning root and tuber crops from soil and plant impurities is carried out by moving the heap with coils of cantilevered spiral springs rotating at a certain angular speed and forced oscillatory movements of the ends of the spiral springs themselves in the longitudinal-vertical plane. In this case, soil and plant impurities are effectively sifted not only through the separating gaps and coils of the spirals, but are also significantly destroyed due to oscillatory movements. At the same time, the root and tuber bodies are guaranteed to be transported by the spiral coils themselves towards the unloading conveyor. In the case of covering the spiral coils with a rubber coating, there is no damage to the bodies of root and tuberous crops. The article also presents the developed methodology for conducting a multifactorial experiment on cleaning root and tuber crops from soil impurities and plant residues.

Modern technologies for harvesting sugar beet tops provide for the so-called two-stage cut, when the main continuous cutting is first carried out from the heads of root crops, as a rule, by rotary top-cutting mechanisms and subsequent cleaning or trimming of the heads of root crops from the remains of tops on the vine. It is this haulm harvesting technology that provides the highest quality continuous cutting and collection of green mass, which can be used as feed for livestock or as a raw material for biogas production and cleaning of root crop heads from haulm residues, eliminating the loss of sugar-bearing mass. We have developed a new design of the head cleaner from the remnants of the tops, the production tests of which showed good results. Such a cleaner of heads of root crops consists of two drive horizontal shafts, on which cleaning elastic blades are hinged in the radial direction. At the same time, the shafts, as it were, wrap around each row of root crops and the blades, applying elastic blows to the heads from two opposite sides, effectively clean the spherical surfaces of the heads of sugar beet root crops from the remains of tops. A new experimental setup was also created, which makes it possible to simulate the operation of this cleaner in the field and conduct its experimental studies. We have developed a program and methodology for conducting a field multifactorial experiment for this cleaner of heads of sugar beet root crops from the remains of tops on the vine, to determine the quality indicators of its work. The obtained results of the research, processed using a PC, showed that improving the quality of the technological process of cleaning the heads of sugar beet roots from the remains of tops by a cleaner with two drive horizontal shafts can be achieved by increasing the angular velocity of the drive shafts of the cleaner and reducing the installation height of the blades above the soil surface by small its forward speed. Based on the analysis of the obtained functional and graphical dependencies, it has been established that the rational values of the operating modes of the studied sugar beet root heads cleaner from haulm residues, in which the most high-quality work will be carried out to remove haulm residues from the spherical surfaces of root crop heads, are: 1) the speed of the progressive movement of the cleaner – 1.5…2.5 m∙s^–1; 2) angular speed of rotation of drive shafts – 55…80 rad∙s^–1; 3) installation height of the blades of the cleaner above the level of the soil surface – 0…2.5 cm