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

In the paper, the current situation in the production of crop growing by-products in Ukraine is examined. The potential output of crop growing by-products in various regions of Ukraine, part of which could be allocated for energy production, is determined. The fuel properties of the main types of biomass are presented. The state-of-the-art approaches to the use of straw and plant residues in agriculture are analysed. The possible ways of utilising straw and plant residues in crop growing for maintaining and regenerating the fertility of soils, in livestock husbandry as bedding and a supplement to coarse fodders and in heat power industry as an energy source for the production of thermal power are established. The state-of-the-art technologies and machinery for the rational use of straw and plant residues are described. The need for additional research into what plant residues and what quantities of them can be reasonably used for the fertilisation of soils, taking into account the saturation of the crop rotation systems with cereal crops, the limitation of the phytopathogenic load on grain varieties, the development of weeds, the management of the soil’s nitrogen status under different soil and climate conditions.

There are considered contemporary trends in the improvement of the technological process for the preparation of sugar beet roots for digging out and directions of the development of the designs of the working tools for the removal of the tops. Analysis of contemporary machines has been carried out according to the indicators of their quality, energy consumption and efficiency of the technological process. Tasks have been determined for creating new working tools. It is noted that at the current stage of development of the beet top removing machines the efficiency and quality problems of the top separation process are solved by increasing the number of operations, which is an energy-consuming, material-intensive and costly way to improve the technological process and the working tools. And, as a consequence, it is necessary to look for technical solutions, technologically allowing operations required only for the preparation of the root crops to be harvested. Therefore, further research should be conducted in the direction of creating a working tool that combines good tracing of the heads by cleaners with low-energy intensity of the cutting tools.

One of the most acute problems in the effective use of small-sized agricultural machinery, in particular, motor blocks, is the stabilization of their rectilinear motion on the slopes work. The purpose of this study is to increase the stabilizing moment of the motor block, by theoretically justifying its movement across the slope with a stabilizing device. The research uses modeling methods, theoretical mechanics and higher mathematics. As a result of the theoretical study, the conditions for the balance of the running wheels of the aggregate in the structure of the motor block and the agricultural implement when moving along the slope surface, as well as the traction of the wheels with the soil, are determined, taking into account the lateral force leading this unit down the slope. At the same time, as a stabilizing device, a micro-tiller is used, which makes it possible to pre-make a stabilizing groove for the wheels of the motor block. Further, using the developed power circuit, analytical expressions are compiled that allow us to numerically determine the structural and power parameters of a given aggregate, allowing it to stabilize its steady motion when working on a slope.

An analytical study is related to giving proof and selection of the optimal parameters for the units, consisting of a tractor and a tractor-driven sugar beet harvesting machine. A mathematical model is built on the basis of this study and describes the conditions for effective attachment and give opportunity for determination of the working speed and productivity. The calculations allow finding the optimal parameters of the mentioned above aggregates in relation to productivity and energy consumption.