Purpose:The purpose of this study was to investigate the key factors in designing a three-wheeled two-row soybean reaper (riding type) that is suitable for soybean production, and ensure worker safety by proposing optimal work conditions for the prototype of the designed machine in relation to the slope of the road. Methods: A three-wheeled two-row soybean reaper (riding type) was designed and its prototype was fabricated based on the local soybean-production approach. This approach was considered to be closely related to the prototype-designing of the cutter and the wheel driving system of the reaper. Load distribution on the wheels of the prototype, its minimum turning radius, static lateral overturning angle, tilt angle during driving, and The working and rear overturning (back flip) angle were measured. Based on the gathered information, investigations were conducted regarding optimal work conditions for the prototype. The investigations took into account driving stability and worker safety. Results: The minimum ground clearance of the prototype was 0.5 m. The blade height of the prototype was adjusted such that the cutter was operated in line with the height of the ridges. The load distribution on the prototype's wheels was found to be 1 (front wheel: F): 1.35 (rear-left wheel: RL): 1.43 (rear-right wheel: RR). With the ratio of load distribution between the RL and RR wheels being 1: 1.05, the left-to-right lateral loads were found to be well-balanced. The minimum turning radius of the prototype was 2.0 m. Such a small turning radius was considered to be beneficial for cutting work on small-scale fields. The sliding of the prototype started at 25°, and its lateral overturning started at 39.3°. Further, the critical slope angle for the worker to drive the prototype in the direction of the contour line on an incline was found to be 12.8°, and the safe angle of slope for the cutting was measured to be less than 6°. The critical angle of slope that allowed for work was found to be 10°, at which point the prototype would overturn backward when given impact forces of 1,060 N on its front wheel. Conclusions: It was determined that farmers using the prototype would be able to work safely in most soybean production areas, provided that they complied with safe working conditions during driving and cutting.
Purpose: This study investigated the harvesting properties of the giant miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus) to measure the required mowing power for different stem conditioning methods in order to shorten the drying time after mowing and the bale density so that the crop can be used as biomass in the winter season. Methods: The required mowing power and bale density were measured using a power measurement device, three different mower-conditioners, and a mid-sized round baler under different working speeds and conditioning methods. Results: For the various mower-conditioners, the average stem length from mowing was 0.86-0.91 m, and the available working speed was 1.6 m/s. The steel roller-type mowerconditioner showed better stem conditioning but could not mow over a working speed of 1.6 m/s. The required average power of the mower-conditioners varied from 23.8 kW for the steel roller-type rotary disk mower-conditioner with a working width of 2.4 m to 37.2 kW for the flail-type rotary disk mower-conditioner with a working width of 3.2 m at a working speed of 1.6 m/s. The bale densities were 155.8-172.2 kg/m 3 . The highest bale density was measured for stems with no conditioning and a moisture content of 11.3% (d.b.) mowed by the rotary disk mower. The bale density was affected by the mowing method because of the low moisture content of the miscanthus stems. Conclusions: In terms of the working performance and conditioning statue, the steel roller-type mower-conditioner is a better choice at a working width of 2.4 m, while the flail finger-type mower-conditioner is better at a working width of 3.2 m. The type of mower-conditioner used for giant miscanthus harvesting should be determined by considering the harvest area, workable period, and working performance of a mower-conditioner and baler during the winter. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Keywords IntroductionMiscanthus (Figure 1) is an ideal bio-energy crop (Kim, 2013) with high potential because it is a perennial grass that can grow for many years after a single planting (Bullard and Metcalfe, 2001). There are many varieties of miscanthus throughout the world.Miscanthus is a hardy crop that can live under poor environmental conditions such as drought, brine, and low temperature (Qingguo, 2003). A bio-fuel is a renewable energy source that is produced from natural (bio-based) materials and can be used as a substitute for petroleum fuels. The most common bio-fuels, such as ethanol from corn, wheat, or sugar beets and biodiesel from oil seeds, are produced from classic food crops that require highquality agricultural land for growth (Ayhan, 2009). Bio-fuels can supply 30% of the global demand in an environmentally responsible manner without affecting food production. To realize this goal, adva...
Purpose:The purpose of this study is to develop a walking-type two-row sesame reaper, which can simultaneously perform the cutting and collecting of sesame plants and other crops like perilla and soybean. Methods: The factors involved in reaping sesame were determined experimentally in order to design a prototype of the sesame reaper. The prototype is made up of four parts for cutting, conveying, collecting, and running. The height of two disc-plate saw blades on the cutting part is adjusted by an adjusting wheel, and peripheral speed is adjusted in accordance with the running speed. The conveying belt of the conveying part can be tilted from 0° to 90°. The collecting part extracts a predetermined amount of transferred sesame plants. The prototype was used to evaluate the performance at different working speeds, so that the work efficiency can be calculated. Results: The center of gravity of the sesame plants was 900 mm, measured from the end of the cut stem. The diameter of the disc-plate saw blade was determined to be 355 mm, peripheral speed was 20.4-32.7 m/s, and the picking height of the conveying belt for sesame was 130 mm. The performance of transfer and collection of the sesame, when the insertion angles were 60° and 90°, proved to be excellent. However, when the angle was over 120°, the performance was only 75-80%. The performance was at 100% efficiency when the ratio between running speed and conveying belt speed of the prototype was 1:2, which seems to be the ideal ratio for the sesame reaper. Conclusions: A sesame reaper was developed, which can integrate the processes of cutting, conveying, and collecting, by investigating and considering various factors involved in the reaping process. The sesame reaper can reduce the costs for yielding and producing sesame due to its highly efficient performance.
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