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Cutting wood chips is one of the common work procedures in the course of processing wood with a saw chain. This paper presents the conceptual design of the device and the design of the device for determining the energy demand of such a process. The preparation is designed with the given parameters to achieve the most realistic conditions for sawing wood. It must contain the original cutting device from the STIHL MS 261 chainsaw. It consists of several calculations to determine the cutting moment and the loaded points of the preparation, which define the possible place of damage. In the conceptual design, calculations for cutting force Fr = 924 N and tensile force Fn = 290 N are processed in the work. From the calculated forces, it is possible to determine the resulting stress at the attachment or critical points. For comparison, a finite element method analysis was created in Creo Parametric. The results of the analysis confirm the appropriate selection of material and parameters for the application of the preparation to the test device. The resulting voltages, corresponding to a maximum value of 132 MPa, are negligible for this type of preparation in terms of safety and durability.

Cutting wood chips is one of the common work procedures in the course of processing wood with a saw chain. This paper presents the conceptual design of the device and the design of the device for determining the energy demand of such a process. The preparation is designed with the given parameters to achieve the most realistic conditions for sawing wood. It must contain the original cutting device from the STIHL MS 261 chainsaw. It consists of several calculations to determine the cutting moment and the loaded points of the preparation, which define the possible place of damage. In the conceptual design, calculations for cutting force Fr = 924 N and tensile force Fn = 290 N are processed in the work. From the calculated forces, it is possible to determine the resulting stress at the attachment or critical points. For comparison, a finite element method analysis was created in Creo Parametric. The results of the analysis confirm the appropriate selection of material and parameters for the application of the preparation to the test device. The resulting voltages, corresponding to a maximum value of 132 MPa, are negligible for this type of preparation in terms of safety and durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lemon cutting by human labour in small and medium food producers such as restaurants and juice producers is a very time-consuming process that may result in high operating costs. In order to reduce the operating time, a machine for cutting lemons is an important tool to use instead of manual cutting by labour. The aim of this research is to design, develop and test a lemon cutting machine for processing lemon fruits. A prototype is designed and developed to consist of four main parts. Firstly, a power transmission system is designed as a source of power for driving a mechanism to rotate a rotor and blades. Secondly, a suspension system is fabricated with a lockable wheel that is able to fix the machine during the operation process without moving. Thirdly, a feeder system is constructed to include a hole with an incline tray that assists the feeding of lemons into the machine. Finally, a cutting system is manufactured for slicing a lemon into two pieces based on shear force. The experimental investigation is performed by a comparative study between the developed machine and the cutting of lemons by manual labour. The results show that the lemon cutting machine can demonstrate the higher performance than that of manual cutting by 3.31 times. In addition, for the lemon cutting process, the machine can produce the high-quality product of 88.79%. Moreover, the prediction of lemon shear stress provides the accuracy of 96.50%. It can be concluded that the developed lemon cutting machine can be used as a tool to reduce the operating time in the food producing sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the harvesting of cut-stem vegetables, the structural parameters of cutters have an important influence on the harvesting effect. Structural parameters of stalks directly affect the cutting effect of the cutter. The thickness of the stalk xylem has a strong influence on the cutting stability and cutting surface effect of the cutter. In this paper, the effect of the broccoli stalk xylem on conventional toothless cutters was investigated using broccoli stalks as the cutting object. It was found that a thicker xylem leads to shear force fluctuations, which in turn affects the smooth operation of the cutting device. Taking locust mouthparts as the research object, a bionic multi-tooth cutting method is proposed in this paper to obtain the contour curve based on the locust upper jaw cutting tooth lobe. By establishing the regression equation, the contour curve of the cutting teeth is fitted accurately. The cutter edge is designed with the locust's maxillary incisive lobe as the bionic object. ANSYS software was used to simulate the cutting of a double disc cutter and broccoli stalk. The effect of each factor was analyzed by response-surface regression to determine the optimal cutter speed, machine forward speed, cutting inclination, blade overlap, and optimal cutting position. The cutting test is verified via broccoli stalks and a cutting test bench to further determine the cutting device operating parameters. The optimal operating parameters of the cutting device were 0.239 m/s forward speed, 30.974-degree cutting edge angle, 10.066 mm blade overlap, and 467.511 rpm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the complex agronomic technology of highland barley production and the lack of special machinery for harvesting and bundling highland barley, the harvesting of highland barley is basically done manually. There is a seriously reduced degree of mechanization of highland barley harvesting. Therefore, this paper designs a self-propelled highland barley harvesting and bundling machine, which realizes a single operation process to complete mechanized complex operations such as harvesting, bundling and laying highland barley. By designing the highland barley harvesting method and cutting platform, the height of the cutting platform can be adjusted stepless, and the highland barley bundle knotter is designed to realize the regulation and control of the baling diameter of the highland barley. According to the design of the rope feeding mechanism, the gathering mechanism and the baling mechanism, the main parameters of the baling device are determined. The stubble cutting height of the machine is 325 mm, the average diameter of the highland barley bundles is 195 mm, the average weight per bundle is 5.08 kg, bale formation rate is 97.8%, the qualification rate of the straw bundle reaches 95.6%, drop resistance rate is 92.6%, operating efficiency is 0.82 ha/h. The harvest baler runs in low speed 1 gear, the machine has high operation efficiency, high bundling rate of highland barley, good paving effect, reduced labor intensity, provides the mechanized efficiency of highland barley harvesting. Fuel consumption per hectare is 8.05 kg.hm-2, and the three shifts are without fault, to sum up, it can meet the requirements of highland barley harvesting and baling. The above research can provide a reference basis for the design of the highland barley harvesting baler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the existing residual film crushing device in Xinjiang cannot directly crush membrane-impurity mixed material, by analyzing the compressive and cutting force characteristics of residual film material layer and cotton stalk, the cutting conditions of mixed materials were obtained, and the method of cutting was determined. A multi-edge toothed cutters was created, and a cutting device was built. It was preliminarily determined that the number of teeth in the cutters was 8, the clearance between the teeth and between the tooth and fixed blade was 3 mm, the speed of the high-speed cutter was 800 r/min, and the speed difference between the high- and low-speed cutters was –300 r/min. Test results show that the ratio of residual film to total residual film sampling mass was (2.22±0.3)%, (19.19±2.02)%, (58.94±3.19)% and (20.65±2.05)%, respectively, when the maximum outer profile size in the range of [0,20) mm, [20,100) mm, [100,500) mm and [500,~) mm. The mass of cotton stalks with lengths of [0,50) mm, [50,100) mm and [100,~) mm accounted for (32.57±1.5)%, (27.77±1.3)% and (39.66±1.75)%, respectively, and the cutting power consumption was (85.41±15.63) kJ. The test results can provide a basis for the subsequent membrane-impurity mixed material cutting technology, as well as some guidance for the separation of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main problem with the utilization of untended stands for energy use is that small-diameter trees are expensive to harvest, and the value of the harvest fails to exceed the harvesting cost. Until now, the equation has appeared difficult to solve, but a wood harvesting innovation – the Risupeto II accumulating felling head – which works on a continuous basis, could provide a solution to the harvesting cost problem of young stands with a dense undergrowth. The novel accumulating felling head is attached to the boom of the crawler excavator, and trees are harvested at full-tree length. The crosscutting is done later during loading by a forwarder equipped with a grapple saw. The objectives of the present study were: 1) to define the productivity; 2) produce time consumption models for the Risupeto II harvesting unit in selective thinnings and 3) to determine the harvesting cost of whole trees from the early thinnings based on the above described two-machine configuration. Time study data from the 16 study plots consisted of 3,099 whole trees where the average tree volume varied between 14.2 and 52.0 dm3 resulting in 73 m3 of whole trees. The productivity varied between 11.2 and 26.6 m3/PMh on the time study plots indicating that felling-bunching productivity was relatively high compared to the latest studies with the Nordic harvesting technology in early thinning. According to the profitability analysis, the harvesting costs could be covered by the revenue from energy wood sales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the harvesting of cut-stem vegetables, the structural parameters of cutters have an important influence on the harvesting effect. Structural parameters of stalks directly affect the cutting effect of the cutter. The thickness of the stalk xylem has a strong influence on the cutting stability and cutting surface effect of the cutter. In this paper, the effect of the broccoli stalk xylem on conventional toothless cutters was investigated using broccoli stalks as the cutting object. It was found that a thicker xylem leads to shear force fluctuations, which in turn affects the smooth operation of the cutting device. Taking locust mouthparts as the research object, a bionic multi-tooth cutting method is proposed in this paper to obtain the contour curve based on the locust upper jaw cutting tooth lobe. By establishing the regression equation, the contour curve of the cutting teeth is fitted accurately. The cutter edge is designed with the locust’s maxillary incisive lobe as the bionic object. ANSYS software was used to simulate the cutting of a double disc cutter and broccoli stalk. The effect of each factor was analyzed by response-surface regression to determine the optimal cutter speed, machine forward speed, cutting inclination, blade overlap, and optimal cutting position. The cutting test is verified via broccoli stalks and a cutting test bench to further determine the cutting device operating parameters. The optimal operating parameters of the cutting device were 0.239 m/s forward speed, 30.974-degree cutting edge angle, 10.066 mm blade overlap, and 467.511 rpm.

A novel cutting device is proposed for underwater propeller entanglements, which has different cutting strategies for various types of entanglements. The rotating cutter is embedded in the propeller and follows the rotation without additional actuation. Computational fluid dynamics is used to investigate the impact of the cutter on the propeller's propulsion performance. The open water and self-propulsion simulations are performed using the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes method with a multiple reference frames model. Hydrodynamic performance at different rotational speeds is predicted using the response surface methodology, and the propulsive characteristics are contrasted with and without a cutter. For the open water simulations, the difference in efficiency is more significant at medium and high advance velocities. The rotating cutter and entanglement change the pressure distribution around the propeller. However, the self-propulsion simulations show that the cutter has a negligible effect on propulsion performance. Tank experiments demonstrate that the cutting device can effectively resolve various entanglements, enabling the propeller to recover normal rotation. The success rates for cutting tests are over 80%. Nevertheless, there is a significant increase in propeller torque when performing cutting tasks, which requires effective cutting operations to be conducted to guarantee the motor's safety. • A novel cutting device is proposed to solve underwater propeller entanglements. • The cutting device consists of six fixed cutters, a rotating cutter and a bearing cap. • The effect of the cutter device on the hydrodynamic performance is investigated by computational fluid dynamics. • When navigating underwater, the cutter device has almost no effect on the self-propulsion performance. • The effectiveness of the cutting device is validated by tank experiments with a success rate of more than 80%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In oroer to find the optimal cutting parameters and explore the shearing mechanical properties of grape branches, based on the self-developed oscillating arm branch cutting test-rig, effects of wedge angle, sliding cutting angle, cutting speed and cutting gap of blades on the peak cutting force were explored and analyzed. The single factor test and Box-Behnken response surface experimental design method were adopted to explore the effects of various factors and their interactive factors on the peak cutting force and establish the optimization model. The results showed that the smaller the wedge angle of blade was, the smaller the peak. cutting force was. The peak cutting foree decreased with the increase of sliding cutting angle, cutting speed and cutting gap. The sequence of the factors affecting the peak. cutting force in a decreasing onler follows : cutting speed, sliding cutting angle, cutting gap and wedge angle. The optimal cutting parameter combination was with the cutting speed of 3. 6 mis, sliding cutting angle of, cutting gap of 1. 5 mm and wedge angle of And the error of the verification test under this condition was within 5%, which showed that the model established in this paper was reasonable. It can provide reference for further study of blade optimization of grape pruning equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, rubble-cleaning machines with a bar working body for cutting ballast from under the rail-sleeper grid are most widely used on Russian railways. This state of affairs is due to the fact that only machines of this type have the ability to carry out deep cutting of ballast (up to 1 m depth or more), in contrast to previously used machines. The bar working body is the main consumer of power when the machine is operating on a stretch. Structurally, the bar working body of crushed stone cleaning machines is a chain with scrapers with teeth placed on it. The main drive power of the bar chain in this case is naturally spent on cutting the ballast, and, in turn, is determined mainly by the power consumption to overcome the forces arising in the process of interaction of the working body with crushed stone ballast (cutting forces). When determining the cutting force, the formula N.G. Dombrowski, which, however, does not give a completely correct result (as shown by studies conducted at the Russian University of Transport). From the theory of soil cutting it is also known that for cutting perimeters with teeth a more correct result is given by A.N. Zelenin in determining the cutting forces. This can be explained by the fact that the formula A.N. Zelenin takes into account the design features of the cutting organ, in particular the influence of the teeth. The performed calculations showed that the use of the formulas of A.N. Zelenin instead of the formula N.G. Dombrowski in assessing the cutting force of crushed stone ballast is more acceptable when performing design calculations of the power of the cutting device.

This paper presents the results of experimental research on the development and substantiation of parameters and operating modes of the drive mechanism of the cutting apparatus in a mower with a double knife stroke. A structural and technological scheme of the drive mechanism of the cutting device of the segment-finger type mower has been developed, in which a double stroke of the cutting device knife is provided. Analytical relationships were obtained to determine the knife stroke, speed and acceleration. Based on the results of theoretical and experimental studies, the main parameters of the mower drive mechanism were substantiated. Based on the condition of a high-quality cut of plants, at a minimum grass cutting speed, the minimum crank shaft speed was determined. By calculation, the feed area and the load area of the cutter for normal cutting with a double cut of the knife are determined. Analytical relationships were obtained to determine the power required to drive the cutter bar of a mower with a double knife stroke. Based on the research results, the main parameters of the mower with an improved drive are substantiated. An experimental sample was made and preliminary tests of the drive mechanism were carried out, agrotechnical and energy indicators of the mower operation were determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest fuel production from overgrowth brushwood is an option when regular clearing of forest roadsides or edges of arable land has been neglected for some reason. The basic economic advantages of recovery are that the cost of harvesting can be offset by the existing clearing costs and income from the harvested biomass. The objectives of this study were to: 1) produce a productivity model for a machine unit that can continuously cut and accumulate brushwood trees during linear crane movement; 2) determine the kind of cases when brushwood biomass should be recovered, when the harvesting is based on a one- or two-machine configuration. The cost analyses were performed as a spreadsheet-based simulated treatment, using existing or the productivity models produced herein, and cost parameters for brushwood clearing and harvesting. The Risupeto feller-buncher unit studied in this study was capable of cutting and accumulating trees with a continuous movement that enabled the efficient harvesting of roadside and field-edge brushwood for fuel. The economic result in the brushwood harvesting with the harwarder and Risupeto forwarder configuration was strongly affected by the average volume of the brushwood trees, as well as harvesting removal on the site. Correspondingly, the roadside price of whole trees had a great impact on the potential revenue of brushwood harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the cutting mechanical characteristics of Caragana korshinskii (C.k.) branches and explore the optimal combination of cutting parameters to support the subsequent equipment development, this paper explores the relationship between branch diameter D, average cutting speed v, wedge angle β, slip cutting angle α, cutting height h, cutting gap t, moisture content M and peak cutting force by using a homemade swing-cut branch cutting test bench with peak cutting force of branches as the target value under unsupported and supported cutting methods, respectively, through single-factor tests. Based on the single-factor test, v, β, α and t were selected as the test factors, and a multi-factor test was conducted with the peak cutting force as the target. Test result: The best combination of unsupported cutting in the range of multi-factor test is v for 3.315 m·s−1, β for 20°, α for 20°, when the peak cutting force is 95.690 N. Supported cutting multi-factor test range to get the best combination of v for 3.36 m·s−1, β for 20°, α for 20°, t for 1.38 mm, when the peak cutting force is 53.082 N. The errors of the predicted peak cutting force and the measured peak cutting force of the obtained model were 1.3% and 3.9%, respectively, which prove that the cutting parameters were optimized reliably. This research can provide a theoretical basis for subsequent development the C.k. harvesting equipment.

Given the technical problems of low maize stubble breaking efficiency, large cutting torque and high power consumption faced during springtime no-till planting in Northeast China, we designed a high-performance coupling bionic stubble cutting device capable by integrating the structure (multi-segment and serrate) and cutting mode (isokinetic and symmetrical) of locust mouthparts. Methods of bionic construction, mechanism design, theoretical analysis, parameter optimization, Arduino systems and intelligent control were combined to design a planetary gear mechanism and an intelligent speed control system. In particular, the bionic cutting blade could reconstruct the multi-segment and serrate structure of locust mouthparts, while the planetary gear mechanism and the intelligent speed control system jointly comprised the bionic drive system, which could simulate the isokinetic and symmetrical cutting mode, thereby bionically coupling morphological structures and movement patterns. Analysis of comparative tests showed the coupling bionic cutting device could reduce the cutting torque by 26.6%-31.6% and the power consumption by 21.9%-26.1%. This work confirmed that coupling bionic method can significantly improve the stubble cutting efficiency, which was a valuable contribution to the design of stubble cutting device for no-till planter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To present our stepwise approach to the management of penile strangulation and penile preservation with 15 years' experience in a tertiary care hospital, as penile strangulation is a rare urological emergency that requires immediate attention. Patients and methods: A prospective observational study was performed from March 2003 to December 2018 of patients presenting with penile strangulation to our hospital. Results: Nine patients with penile strangulation presented to us between March 2003 and December 2018. The most common motive for the application of a foreign body was sexual gratification (four patients). Three of the nine patients had a mental disorder. Objects used for strangulation included: metallic nut (three), metallic ring (two), plastic bottle (two), wooden hole (one), hammer head (one), and horse hair to control bleeding during circumcision (one). Most of the foreign bodies were located in the proximal penile region. The mean operative time was 38 min and three of the nine patients had complications. Conclusions: Penile strangulation is one of the rare urological emergencies experienced by a urologist. Removal of the foreign body can be difficult and there is no universal method of removal, as each case differs. So, following our stepwise approach can aid in removal of foreign body quickly and preserve the penis from fatal outcomes. Urologist should be aware of all the available armamentarium used for the removal of such foreign bodies. Abbreviation: SPC: suprapubic cystostomy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, vegetable grafting techniques are extensively studied in the world, including Japan, South Korea, China and North America, and various types of grafting machines have been successfully developed. In China, Zhang Tiezhong, Gu Song and other researchers carried out the research work on cut-pasted grafting method in vegetable grafting machines. However, due to the complexity of grafting technology and the poor applicability of grafting machine, these machines are not widely used in China. Therefore, it is significant to develop the automatic grafting machine that can be suitable for agricultural production in Northeast China. In order to realize the automation of vegetable grafting machine, and solve the problem of low survival rate after cutting, the cutting device for muskmelon automatic grafting machine was designed and the working parameters of the device were optimized by using experimental methods in this study. A set of economical and suitable grafting machine was designed, which not only reduced the cost of design, but also ensured the efficiency and quality of the work. By rotating the cylinder to cut grafted seedling, the action was accurate and rapid, and at the same time effectively avoided the problem of the damage to the seedling during the cutting process. In the whole process, the device was stable, and the blade could be replaced only on a regular basis. The cutting efficiency was obviously improved. For the rotary cylinder cutting parts, the volume was very small, and the price was also relatively low. The whole set of equipment could be assembled and debugged under the existing conditions of the laboratory, and the design of the structure was simple and compact, which was easy to operate. In the case of ensuring the efficiency and quality of the work, the production cost of the equipment was successfully reduced. It is suitable to be popularized widely in China. The grafting seedlings for the typical muskmelon were selected as the research objects. Three variables were selected as the experimental factors, i.e. cutting angle, cutting radius and cutting height. Grafting fitting percentage of rootstock and scion was determined as the experimental index. Moreover, the single factor experiment and the quadratic regressive orthogonal experiment were conducted in order to determine the optimal technological parameters of cutting device. The single factor experiments studied the influence of cutting angle, cutting radius and cutting height on variation coefficient of cutting, respectively. According to the results of single factor experiments, the quadratic regressive orthogonal experiment was conducted, which selected 2 reasonable values within effective range as 2 levels. The optimal operating parameters of cutting device for muskmelon automatic grafting were determined by the experiment. For the cutting device, the optimized cutting angle was -9°, the optimized cutting radius was 39 mm and the optimized cutting height was 30 mm, and the grafting fitting percentage of rootstock and scion was 98%. The optimized parameters were proved to bring about the best cutting performance and meet the requirement of grafting survival rate. Under the conditions of the optimal operating parameters, the cutting device of muskmelon automatic grafting machine can meet the requirements of the design. Therefore, the cutting device can achieve automatic cutting, and the experimental results provide the important reference for developing vegetable automatic grafting machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of the study: The objective of this study was to evaluate recent technological improvements to forest bundlers: a new cutting device with shears and a mechanism which allows the bundling pressure to be changed by the driver. Area of study: eucalyptus plantations in Northern Spain. Material and Methods: Several time studies were performed in order to compare and calculate productivity depending on the machine: John Deere bundler working with the traditional chainsaw and Monra bundler equipped with the technological improvements of shears and adjustable bundling pressure. Research highlights: Significant differences were found between cutting devices (shears and chainsaw) and between the Monra working at maximum pressure and at lower pressure. Shears were shown to be a more robust and reliable cutting device, with 1.02 cutting attempts per bundle compared to 1.55 with chain saw. The use of shears made the loading more efficient as it eliminates the need to shake the residues before feeding the bundler. A great advantage of this technological improvement is that it can be incorporated into other machines and thus improve bundling efficiency. In spite of this, working at standard bundling pressure, the productivity of the Monra bundler is only 3.2 per cent higher than that of the John Deere due to the fact that in the latter bundling is faster and it produces bundles with significantly more dry mass. For the Monra bundler, the option of producing lighter bundles further reduced productivity compared to when standard weight bundles are produced. However, it would be of interest to study the effect of the machine working at various pressures in order to optimize the work system. It is possible that working at higher pressures would have advantages in terms of increasing transport efficiency.

There are 3 main forms of cutter commonly assembled into agricultural harvesters, which are reciprocating cutter, cutter disks and saw blade. Given the fact that the litchi fruits grow in bunches and hang from the bearing shoots, as well as the bionic principle that the cutting-section of the litchi stem must be smooth and unsplit when litchi is picked, it is more suitable to choose the saw blade when the litchi harvester is designed. However, directly using standardized industrial saw blade could not be best in agronomy. Meanwhile, it is indispensable to focus on the studies on the relationship between structure parameters and power consumption of main motor as well as the relationship between motion parameters and power consumption of main motor. After all, the harvester works in outdoor environment. Applying the principles of wood processing and cutting tool technology, the structure and motion parameters were experimentally studied. The experiment was carried out using an universal testing machine, with a 3-jaw chuck mounted on the upper pressure head and the saw blade - motor system installed at the bottom platform. The motor speed, whose current value was real-time measured during the sawing process by a communication multimeter, was controlled by a speed governor. The samples were taken from the Germplasm Collections of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Species, South China Agricultural University. It was assured that these samples had a length of about 10 mm and a diameter between 5-6 mm, and the branches were straight, with no divergence and free of diseases. Each group of test was conducted on the same stem so as to lower the impact of the diameter and moisture content between different samples. Experiments were designed by using the single-factor method in the study, and 9 kinds of circular saw blades were trial-manufactured, with the combination of 3 kinds of teeth numbers and 3 kinds of face bevel angles. Besides, 3 rotation speed levels were set respectively. There existed a critical rotation speed in the process of stem sawing. If operating speed was lower than the critical speed, stem fibers would not be cut off thoroughly and even cause stem splitting. Therefore, the critical speed of each saw blade was measured by preliminary tests. Finally, a 250 r/min rotation speed was set as the lowest level over the whole experimental process. After all, the results showed that: 1) The instantaneous power consumption of the sawing motor was significantly affected by the face bevel angle (P<0.05), and the rotation speed (P<0.01), but was not affected by the number of teeth; 2) The instantaneous power consumption of the sawing motor increased with the rise of the feeding speed, while decreased with the rise of the face bevel angle and rotation speed. Based on the single-factor experiment, the L9 (34) orthogonal experiment was carried out. The results showed that: 1) The order from high to low for the effect of each factor on instantaneous power consumption peak was rotation speed, feeding speed, face bevel angle and number of teeth; 2) At given levels, the lowest instantaneous power consumption of the cutting motor was 0.488 J, which was detected under the optimal combination of parameters, i.e. the face bevel angle was 25°, the feeding speed was 60 mm/min, and the rotation speed was 550 r/min. The study may provide theoretical basis for the design of cutting device of litchi harvester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The paper presents the theoretical and practical researches on the achievement and testing of a trailed windrover for fodder harvesting which carries out the operations of mowing, crushing and placing in continous and uniform swath of grassy fodder plants on the ground for natural drying, by a single passing. On the windrover were tested two types of conditioning devices for forages aiming the reduction of harvesting losses for different types of crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the cutting mechanical characteristics of Caragana korshinskii (C.k.) branches and explore the optimal combination of cutting parameters to support the subsequent equipment development, this paper explores the relationship between branch diameter D, average cutting speed v, wedge angle β, slip cutting angle α, cutting height h, cutting gap t, moisture content M and peak cutting force by using a homemade swing-cut branch cutting test bench with peak cutting force of branches as the target value under unsupported and supported cutting methods, respectively, through single-factor tests. Based on the single-factor test, v, β, α and t were selected as the test factors, and a multi-factor test was conducted with the peak cutting force as the target. Test result: The best combination of unsupported cutting in the range of multi-factor test is v for 3.315 m·s−1, β for 20°, α for 20°, when the peak cutting force is 95.690 N. Supported cutting multi-factor test range to get the best combination of v for 3.36 m·s−1, β for 20°, α for 20°, t for 1.38 mm, when the peak cutting force is 53.082 N. The errors of the predicted peak cutting force and the measured peak cutting force of the obtained model were 1.3% and 3.9%, respectively, which prove that the cutting parameters were optimized reliably. This research can provide a theoretical basis for subsequent development the C.k. harvesting equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The experimental facilities at J-PARC (Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex) include the Materials and Life science Facility (MLF) with a JSNS (Japan Spallation Neutron Source). The main components of the JSNS need to be exchanged because of material damage due to proton and neutron irradiation. The irradiated components must be remotely maintained. Several kinds of areas, such as a hot-cell, are provided for remote handling operations. Several remote handling devices, such as a power manipulator (PM), master–slave manipulators (MSMs), a target exchange truck, a cutting device, a moderator exchange device, etc. have been installed. The commissioning tests for the remote handling devices are almost complete. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]