Comparative Performance of Various Disc-Type Furrow Openers in No-Till Paddy Field Conditions

Abstract

Different furrow openers are required to be evaluated for their suitability to manage rice straw for direct planting of wheat in paddy fields. This study was carried out to assess the straw-cutting ability and draft requirements of four different disc-type furrow openers (notched, toothed, smooth-edge single disc, and double disc) in no-till paddy fields. The openers were attached to an in-field traction rig equipped with S-type load cells, and tested using three operating depths of 30, 60, and 90 mm, and three traveling speeds of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 m s −1. Vertical and horizontal forces acting on the openers were observed using LabVIEW software based data acquisition system. The results of this study indicated that the furrow opener type, operating depth, and speed significantly influenced the horizontal and vertical forces, as well as straw-cutting ability of the furrow openers. The highest draft and vertical force were noted for double disc-type furrow openers. The mean straw-cutting efficiency of notched, toothed, and smooth-edge single disc and double disc furrow openers were 12.4, 46.2, 11.4, and 78.5%, respectively. The double disc furrow opener (DD) produced the lowest level of hair-pinned straw and had the highest straw-cutting efficiency with a value of 88.6% at 90 mm operating depth, and therefore had the best performance in comparison with other furrow openers.

Design and experimental validation of sliding knife notch-type disc opener for a no-till combine harvester cum seed drill

“…The investigation of the stubble cutting efficiency conducted in this study has indicated that, for small-sized disc furrow openers, a larger opener diameter is more conducive for stubble cutting. A similar study conducted in a no-tillage paddy soil environment has also been reported previously [30] . That investigation confirmed that a larger double-disc opener diameter yields better stubble cutting efficiency.…”

Studies of a Rotary–Centrifugal Grain Grinder Using a Multifactorial Experimental Design Method

“…On the work surface of the lower disk (5) there are annular protrusions (6), and on the work surface of the upper disk (4) there are installed knives (7), which are diamondshaped with small cutting angles with respect to the large diagonals. The outer row of knives (8) forms a separating surface; thus, changing the angle of the knives makes it possible to continuously adjust the degree of grinding for the material. The lower disk (5) has grooves (9) in the radial direction which are made opposite in terms of angle to the direction of rotation of this disk.…”

“…The incoming grain is subjected to the mechanical action of the first cutting pair; then, under the action of centrifugal forces, the pre-ground material moves along the grooves to the next pair. Then, the ground grains (groats or stock feed), having reached the outer row of the knives (8) which form the separating surface, pass into the gap between the knives (8) and, under the influence of the air flow created by the rotating lower disk (5), leave the housing (1) through the outlet nozzle (3).…”

“…Thus, recently, the design of grinders has become of great practical interest in the field of grinding grain. It is possible to significantly reduce the specific energy consumption for the production of concentrated feed and obtain a product with a high uniformity of particle size by combining the grinding process with shearing and chipping [5,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

An approximating mathematical model of interaction between a freely rotating disk and soil

“…Experimental methods are widely used in the studies of FRDK interaction with soil. Various designs of singledisk furrow-openers were studied in field conditions: with a smooth cutting edge, with cut-outs, toothed and a furrow-opener with two disks [26]. An increase in traction resistance and deepening force was found for all types of furrow-openers with an increase in depth of cutting and translational velocity of the disks.…”