Wear behavior and CO2 emissions analysis of drum mower blades during Alfalfa harvest

Abstract

The productivity and efficiency of harvesting forage crops depend on the sharpness and quality of the mower blades. Therefore, studying blades wear during the harvesting process is crucial to sharpening and maintaining blades. The research aims to create mathematical models to predict the wear of mower blades and assess the wear rate of mower blades, fuel consumption, and CO2 emissions during harvesting operations. The wear of blades was measured and characterized by the weight loss method and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before and after the field experiment. The results showed that the weight of the mower blade decreased from 103.82 to 98.39 g after 37.5 working hours. In addition, the wear of blades increased fuel consumption and operation cost with time. Also, CO2 emissions were 17.672 kg/h at the beginning of the experiment and increased to 29.516 kg/h after 37.5 working hours. From the obtained mathematical equations, the wear of the blade sharp part occurs after 34±3 work hours have passed, so the blades must be resharpened after this period.