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

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.

There are in the article systematically finding out scientific-methodological and organizational-economical foundations of the development of biofuel market, forming of energy crops market, which used as plant origin bioraw material and economical estimation of their usage in the area of agro-industrial complex. World trends of development of biofuel from plant origin bioraw material were generalized, theoretical- methodological bases of forming biofuel market and its social-economic meaning in development of agro-industrial complex and economy integrally, other problems of organization of producing of bioenergy crops and competitiveness of biofuel market were examined. Prospects of development of biofuel were economically substantiated. The main problems, which restricting biofuel market are the absence of the accurate strategy of development.

Technology incompatibility in the sugar beet harvesting process is established. Beet tops removing by follower cutoff with the subsequent root crop heads cleaning is possible at speed no more than 1.5 m·s^-1 whereas beet pullers operate at speeds of 1.2… 1.5 times are higher. At a cutting without copier of sugar beet tops a working speed makes more than 1.5 m·s^-1, however losses of sugar-bearing plant material exceed agrotechnical requirements twice because of unreasonable height of a cut relative to soil surface. The differential equation of bow-shaped copier movement on a root crop head of sugar beet which is the main equation of functioning root crops heads cleaner is worked out. Components of the differential equation are defined and dependence of normal reaction on design parameters of root crop head cleaner is received. Conditions not of knocking-out of root crops are received and rational values of design parameters and operating modes of root crop head cleaner are proved.