Experimental Research Regarding the Achievement of an Equipment Designed for Chopping Woody Waste

Abstract

This article presents the results obtained through experimental research carried out with a machine for shredding woody plant residues (twigs, vine ropes), residues obtained from dry or green cuttings, in fruit or wine plantations. The obtained shredding is intended for utilization in the form of compost or biofuel (pellet type). The machine was designed and made by a group of researchers from INMA Bucharest, with the aim of developing the machine system made available to farmers, for mechanized work in small and medium-sized fruit plantations. The sizes of the fractions of the wood fragments resulting from the chopping process, their humidity and volumetric weight were determined. Using as raw material greener or drier branches, with dimensions between 10-45 mm, with an adjustment of the chopping drum at an average speed of 1400 rpm and an average speed of the conveyor chain of 0.425 m/s, wood chips with different sizes between 4 and 16 mm were obtained, the proportions varying from 13% to 16%. The average working capacity of the equipment was approx. 14.2 mc/h. Research will continue to determine the energy indices of the machine designed and made at INMA Bucharest, and the results will be presented in another article.

Influence of forage harvester chopping equipment on characteristics of chips

“…Table 3 presents the average values obtained on these measurements for the theoretical chopping length of 20 mm and 26.8 mm, respectively, for lucerne / vetch crops. Doing a comparative analysis of the dimensions of chopped lucerne and vetch materials with the dimensions of the corn silage presented in paper [5], it is found that for a theoretical adjustment on the drum of 26.8 mm, the particles with the length up to 30 mm represent 60.42 % for lucerne / vetch, with 1.02 % more than in corn silage where 59.4 % was obtained. Also, the percentage of losses for particles exceeding a lenth of 100 mm is in the same range, arround 1.3 %…”

“…According to the authors [5], during the experiments under laboratory conditions, the cascading knife chopping drum achieved higher indices (lower driving power, higher airflow velocity) than those with "V" placed knives with or without blades.…”

“…The tests continued under laboratory-field conditions for harvesting corn silage (results were presented in [5]).…”

“…In the technological process of fodder harvesting, the chopping device is of special importance; it performs the chopping of plants, by cutting them in fragments of dimensions between 8 and 100 mm and throwing them in the harvester discharge system, due to the peripheral speed and air flow created by it. The chopping device has the highest energy consumption, among the fodder harvester working parts [5]. DOI:10.22616/ERDev.2020.19.TF330…”

Research on Kinematics Simulation and Dynamic Analysis of the Collection Mechanism of Orchard Branches

“…Spinelli and Picchi, (2010), confirmed that the potential supply of wood from orchards ranged from 0.6 to 20 million m 3 /year. For many years, most growers have treated the apple branch pruning residues by either stacking them together and burning them, or directly smashing them by a shredder to cover the soil (Popa et al, 2022). Obviously, these methods do not bring economic benefits to growers and may pollute air quality and the environment.…”