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

An experimental setup was developed and manufactured to study a conveyor with a blade working body, which will improve the functional and operational characteristics of conveyors. When conducting a multifactorial experiment to determine the damage to grain material by the blade working body of the conveyor, the variable factors were: the diameter of the casing D, the conveyor loading coefficient ψ, and the rotation frequency of the blade working body n. Based on the results of experimental studies, corresponding regression equations and response surfaces were constructed to establish the influence of controlled factors on the damage to grain materials.

The article presents the construction of a flexible sectional screw working body, the use of which allows to improve the performance of flexible screw conveyors with low material consumption of the working body, which reduces energy costs for the transportation process. Based on the results of static experimental studies, the nature of the change in the dependence of torque on the angle of twist of individual sections has been established.

An experimental model of a safety clutch has been developed and manufactured, which will improve the efficiency of screw conveyors by increasing the axial displacement of the driven half-clutch with a jammed working body, while reducing dynamic loads during overload. When conducting a multifactorial experiment to determine the moment of operation T of the safety clutch of a screw conveyor, the variable factors were the angle of inclination of the working body to the horizon α, the rotation frequency of the screw working body n, and the time of increase in the resistance moment То. Based on the results of experimental studies, corresponding regression equations, response surfaces, and their two-dimensional cross-sections were constructed to establish the influence of controlled factors on the moment of operation of the safety clutch under extreme operating conditions. The obtained regression equation can be used to determine the moment of clutch engagement during the transportation of bulk and lump agricultural materials by a screw conveyor.

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.

The article presents the design of a finger safety clutch with axial withdrawal of a jammed screw to remove it from the overload zone. The theoretical dependences of determining the change in torque during the operation of the finger safety clutch on the angle of relative rotation of the half couplings and the design and technological parameters of the engagement elements are presented. On the basis of force and kinetostatic analysis of the coupling, the nature and magnitude of the change in their torque at all stages of relative rotation of the coupling halves were determined. The developed and manufactured prototypes of the finger safety coupling made it possible to conduct a set of experimental studies. For the safety clutch of a screw conveyor, based on the analysis of theoretical and experimental test data, the adequacy of theoretical calculations and actual values of torques during the mechanism operation was compared.

The article presents a scheme of a new combined screw conveyor, which makes it possible to improve the performance of conveyors. To eliminate the identified disadvantages in the operation of flexible screw conveyors, new types of sectional working bodies hinged to each other have been developed, which will increase the reliability and durability of conveyors.

The article analyzes the dynamics of moisture content of the chernozem soil and the accumulation of productive moisture reserves in its thickness based on the data set from 1947 to 2022. Changes in the moisture regime within the periodically flushing water regime of the central part of the Left-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine are analyzed. The central Forest-Steppe zone is characterized by a periodically flushing water regime, when an average of 165 mm of moisture accumulates in the meter thick chernozem, and therefore tends to the values of the moisture reserve under the non-flushing water regime, which exceeds its value by 25 mm, which is a stable trend of aridization of soil conditions in the spring. In the current climatic conditions of the central part of the Left-Bank Forest-Steppe, a regime of black soil moisture has been formed in the long-term time interval, which, under the influence of agrotechnical influences, cannot be shifted beyond the parameters of the non-flushing or periodically flushing water regime in the agrocenosis. The process of self-regulation of the Forest-Steppe zone’s resistance to active aridization and the Steppe’s “advance” on the Forest-Steppe is manifested.

The aim of the work is to study and substantiate the design of the installation for realization of the technology of cassette-free breeding of the grain moth (Sitotroga cerealella). This installation assumes the realization of the cycle of technological operations (infestation, maintenance, output and collection of adults) in one apparatus. This allows to reduce the number of technological operations, labor costs, metal intensity and production area. Cultivation of grain moths in a large volume makes it possible to abandon the traditional cassette-box technology and move to the construction of new generation entomological production facilities. The developed unit for the production of grain moths is recommended for use in the implementation of biotechnological processes in accordance with the created technological scheme of industrial production of trichogramma. The proposed installation allows to create industrial production equipment. Technical characteristics of the developed installation are formed. Its practical value consists in the fact that in comparison with the traditional cassette-box method of breeding the improvement of grain population by 4%, number of females by 5%, fertility of eggs by 2% was achieved.

The paper presents the constructions of finger safety clutch of screw conveyor, as well as the developed laboratory installation for conducting experimental studies in determining the optimal parameters and modes of operation of screw conveyor at overloaded working body. The results of experimental studies of the finger safety clutch are given, which allow to estimate the intensity of influence of this or that parameter on the torque value at different stages of its operation.

Drying of materials is a complex technological process used in various industries and is often one of the main stages of production. This process, in particular for bulk materials, depends on humidity, particle size, hydrodynamic conditions of the particles flowing through the drying agent and environmental parameters. Grain dryers expose grain to harsher conditions than natural drying, which can potentially lead to a deterioration in grain quality. The combination of these factors determines the nature of the entire process. In agricultural production, the drying stage is one of the most important for grain preservation. Currently, the convective drying method is widely used for this process. However, along with its advantages, this method also has a number of significant disadvantages, one of the most important of which is its high energy consumption. In this regard, scientific research is being intensively conducted to develop ways and methods to reduce the energy intensity of the convective drying method. The effects of vibration on raw materials are being rapidly introduced in various industries. The use of vibration technologies during drying intensifies the process of processing grain raw materials due to the rapid renewal of its surface in contact with the drying agent. Fast and efficient drying with vibration technology reduces moisture content and the risk of fungi and mold in the grain. The construction of the dryer using vibration technology helps to avoid overheating of the grain, providing optimal temperature conditions, which contributes to the preservation of nutrients and other useful properties of bulk agricultural materials.

When developing new types of heat exchanger constructions, such factors as their mass-size characteristics, efficiency of heat transfer through the separating heat-carrier surface, pressure losses in the paths for each of the heat-carriers and other parameters characterizing the heat-exchange apparatus play an important role. CFD modeling of heat and mass transfer processes in a tube bundle at different Re numbers with compact placement of tubes, using ANSYS Fluent software package, has been conducted. The mathematical model is based on Navier-Stokes equation, energy conservation equation for convective flows and continuity equation. The standard k-ε model of turbulence is used in the calculations. The fields of velocities, temperatures, pressures in the studied channels have been obtained. The hydrodynamic flow conditions in the channels are analyzed and the intensity of heat transfer between the hot and cold coolant through the wall separating them is estimated. Based on the results of CFD modeling, the criterial equation of Nu, number is derived, which can be used in engineering calculations of heat exchange apparatuses with compact tube bundles.

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.