Development and testing of two methods for the measurement of the mowing machine feed rate

Abstract

Two methods were developed and tested for the measurement of the mowing machine material feed rate (based on the conditioner power input measured by a torque-meter, and/or on the material change in momentum measured by a curved impact plate). The measurements carried out in the year 2001 proved that a very good linear relationship existed between the conditioner power input, output frequency of the apparatus measuring the impact force by means of the impact plate, and the material feed rate through the mowing machine. The calculated R-Squared values were about 0.95. In the year 2002, the impacts of material and condition (parameters) changes on the mowing machine material feed rate measurement accuracy were measured under laboratory conditions. It was evident from the statistical evaluation that changing crop variety, crop maturity, and intensity of conditioning can have a statistically significant influence on the measurement based on the torque-meter. As concerns the impact plate measurement, it was found that it is not possible on the basis of our measurements to determine statistically the influence of the factors tested.Keywords: mowing machines; feed rate measurement; conditioner; impact plateThe sensor of the forage crop feed rate can be useful in several applications of precision farming. The information on the variable feed rate of forage can be used for the calculation of the site-specific forage crop yield for a yield map.Flowrate measurement techniques for forage harvesters were published previously. Vansichen and De Baerdemaeker (1993) calculated the yield from the torque of the harvester blower. Another possibility is to measure the distance between the feeder rolls of the harvester (Ehlert and Schmidt 1995). Recently (1996), Auernhammer and Demmel measured the yield using a nuclear gauge sensor placed in the spout of a forage harvester. A mass flow sensor for a pull type (trailed) forage harvester based on a reaction of a curved plate in the spout was constructed and tested by Missotten et al. (1997).A site-specific measurement of biomass in growing crops was proposed using a pivoted cylindrical body moving horizontally through a plant population (moving pendulum). The angle of deviation of this pendulum varies with the plant properties (e.g. stand density, stem thickness, crop maturity, material moisture). These measurements were performed on cereals (Ehlert and Schmidt 1996).Martel and Savoie (1999) installed four sensors in a forage harvester to measure the feedroll displacement, the crop impact force against a hinged plate above the blower, the frequency of a capacitance controlled oscillator near the end of the spout, and the number of light beam interruptions by forage particles in the spout. Significant results were obtained from the feedroll displacement and the crop impact force. The linear relationship between the material feed rate and the measured signals was observed with R-Squared coefficient R 2 = 0.95 for the feedroll displacement, and R 2 = 0.94 for the crop impact force, ...

User-Technological Index of Precision Agriculture

“…A key factor in deciding whether a particular technology should be incorporated to practice is the understanding of agricultural production processes. Workers in agriculture management must choose among various options for applied research and technology and in this decision-making process it is the necessary to merge the previous experience of the staff and the introduction of new technologies and procedures (Kumhála et al, 2003). It is vital to establish effective decision models and support resources for that particular phase of the production process.…”

Development of a Mower for Grass Harvesting

“…Performance tests of the mower resulted in an average 0.11 ha/h effective field capacity, 10.00 L/h fuel consumption, 0.875 field efficiency, 2.24 t/h effective wet grass harvesting capacity, 4.43 L/t wet grass specific fuel consumption, and 64 mm cutting height. Kumhala et al (2003) developed and tested two methods for the measurement of the mowing machine material feed rate (based on the conditioner power input measured by a torquemeter, and/or on the material change in momentum measured by a curved impact plate).The mowing machine (ZTR 216 H) used in the study was from the Czech Republic. A mixture of lucerne and grass was used in the measurements.…”