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Scraper conveyor is a commonly used equipment for production and transportation. In response to the problem of low accuracy in transporting wood powder using a scraper conveyor, a programmable logic controller (PLC)-controlled wood powder feeding metering device was designed, which can achieve kilogram-level wood powder feeding. By modifying the device, it was divided into two parts: the coarse feeding process was carried out using a conveyor belt, and the fine feeding process was completed by a quantitative feeding mechanism. Data interaction and human-machine interaction in the control process were realized through OPC unified architecture (OPC UA). Feasibility was confirmed through simulation, and the error obtained from the experiment was less than 2%, achieving automatic and accurate metering of wood powder during loading. The metering device generates small errors and can also achieve real-time display of data, which is of great significance for achieving quantitative transportation of wood powder and strengthening the management of material quantitative transportation operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purposes Manual inspection’s lengthy time commitment, poor efficiency, and inaccurate verification make it challenging to meet practical application requirements in the daily operation of electric energy metering devices. Methods According to the collected data of electricity information, an evaluation model of metering device operation status based on deep learning is established, and the characteristics of historical data of electricity through the deep learning model are captured. By using the transfer learning optimization model training process, the prediction of the users’ future electricity usage is completed, and the threshold value is set for the difference between the expected value and the measured value of electricity to judge the running state of the energy meter. Findings The study’s findings will be a solid foundation for assessing the regional electric energy metering system’s state of operation, as well as for accurately replacing and maintaining meter. In addition, it will increase the precision of power grid fault diagnosis and location while significantly lowering the cost of on-site maintenance. Conclusions By contrasting the simulated value with the actual platform value, the correctness of the method is demonstrated. The experimental results show that the proposed evaluation model is effective.

The current study aimed to design and test the accuracy of a variable-rate control metering mechanism (VRCMM) and a remote smart monitoring system (RSMS) for a precision sugarcane transplanter based on IoT technology. The VRCMM is used to operate the seedling metering device at different speeds using a stepper motor based on the travel speed, and the RSMS was employed to evaluate of the three basic parameters of seedling amount, optimum rate, and missed rate. Two types of sensors were used for detecting the sugarcane seedling (SS) and travel speed, including one ultrasonic sensor and one infrared RPM sensor. The study was performed at five travel speeds and four transplant spacings. The findings of laboratory tests showed that the mean record of the relative error between the desired stepper motor speed of the VRCMM and the real value was 3.39%, and it increased with increasing the travel speed. as Additionally, the speed regulation performance was in agreement with the transplanting index. The change in RSMS accuracy is obvious when the travel speed is high and the transplant spacing is small. The RSMS accuracy drops sharply, revealing a leaping change. In conclusion, the smart and intelligent designed sugarcane transplanter would be very useful in sugarcane production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the discrete element method was used to optimize the bucket size for the metering device in a garlic planter for enhancing the productivity of garlic farming according to the garlic size. Statistical information concerning the actual shape of garlic cloves was incorporated, and the mechanical properties of garlic were determined using the bulk density, sliding test, and repose angle test for enhancing the fidelity of the simulation model. The optimal bucket size achieving the target plant rate of 97.5% was determined using the developed discrete element model for the three garlic size groups. The linear search method was used for optimization, and batch simulation was performed to validate the optimized results and confirm the performance index of the metering device. A Gaussian distribution based on statistical information accounted for the various garlic sizes in each group. Finally, a metering test verified the reliability of the optimization technique. The differences between the simulation and test results were within 10% for all performance indices, including missing plant rate, multi-plant rate, and planting rate, indicating the high reliability of the analysis model. Subsequently, the larger garlic groups (Groups 2 and 3) exhibited metering performance close to the target plant rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metering device is the central part of the seeder discharging granular fertilizers or seeds from the hopper to the colter passing through the tube. Depending on the metering device design, the batches of particles are discharged or discharged evenly. This research analyzes existing metering devices, and a new pin-roller metering device is recommended to discharge evenly high doses of granular fertilizers and wheat seeds at low rotation speeds. The objective was to adapt the metering device to precision agriculture so that a little electric motor containing gearbox drives every metering device. Therefore, the pin-roller metering device parameters were investigated to apply high doses of granular fertilizers and wheat seeds evenly. The optimal pin positions were determined according to response surface methods (RSM) by simulating the granular fertilizers and wheat seeds' behavior on DEM. The coefficient of variation (CV) and the slip rate (SR) of the particles between the pins were chosen as indicators for evaluating the pin-roller. The shape of the pin was specified, and then the number of lines, the number of pins in a line, and the pin height were chosen to optimize. The analysis of the simulation results shows the optimal parameters: the number of pins in a line is four, and the number of lines is sixteen. The SR of granular fertilizers and wheat seeds were 8% and 2%, respectively. The pin-roller metering device is compared with the six-grooved and twelve-grooved metering devices. The comparison results show that the pin-roller metering device distributes twice more uniformly than other metering devices. The CV of the granular fertilizer distribution for six-grooved, twelve-grooved, and pin-roller metering devices was 111.13%, 80.74%, and 37%, respectively. The CV of the wheat seed distribution for twelve-grooved and pin-roller metering devices was 96%, and 37%, respectively. As long as the particles interact with the tube, leaving the metering device, the effect of tube type and position is investigated. As a result, it was determined that the tube has minimal effect on the pin-roller metering device while positively impacting the six-grooved and twelve-grooved metering devices, improving the CV of the particle distribution into the soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Houttuynia coriacea is a perennial herb with a fishy smell. It can be used for both medicinal and edible purposes and has high use value. Because of its cumbersome planting process, most places are still mainly cultivated artificially. In order to address the issue of high input costs and low yields associated with the current predominantly manual planting methods for Houttuynia cordata, a fertilizer seeder for Houttuynia Cordata (FSHC) was developed by this study. A seeding device capable of multi-level scattering had been specially designed to greatly improve planting efficiency compared to manual planting, which not only increased the yield of Houttuynia cordata and farmers' income, but also improved land utilization. From the perspective of sowing agronomy, the positions of the functional blocks of the sowing machine and the relevant design parameters were reasonably arranged. Through innovative design of the seeding device, the scattering of Houttuynia cordata could be achieved, meeting the requirements of sowing. Compared with the current planting methods, the resulted fertilizer seeder from this study could not only improve efficiency and reduce the costs, but also promote the development of agricultural mechanization to a certain extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to design and test the accuracy of a variable-rate control metering mechanism (VRCMM) and a remote smart monitoring system (RSMS) for a precision sugarcane transplanter based on IoT technology. The VRCMM is used to operate the seedling metering device at different speeds using a stepper motor based on the travel speed, and the RSMS was employed to evaluate of the three basic parameters of seedling amount, optimum rate, and missed rate. Two types of sensors were used for detecting the sugarcane seedling (SS) and travel speed, including one ultrasonic sensor and one infrared RPM sensor. The study was performed at five travel speeds and four transplant spacings. The findings of laboratory tests showed that the mean record of the relative error between the desired stepper motor speed of the VRCMM and the real value was 3.39%, and it increased with increasing the travel speed. as Additionally, the speed regulation performance was in agreement with the transplanting index. The change in RSMS accuracy is obvious when the travel speed is high and the transplant spacing is small. The RSMS accuracy drops sharply, revealing a leaping change. In conclusion, the smart and intelligent designed sugarcane transplanter would be very useful in sugarcane production.

Vertical cup feed metering device was designed and evaluated at Division of Agricultural Engineering, ICARIARI, New Delhi during 2013-14 for singulation and uniform placement of urea briquettes in two forms, viz. UB1 (3 g) and UB2 (2 g). Performance parameters like average spacing, multiple index, missing index, quality feed index and precision were measured. The metering device was tested for different cup size depth of 6.5mm (CS1), 3.5mm (CS2) and 2.5 mm (CS3) with hemi-spherical shape. The average spacing was significantly (P

In the present study, the application feasibility of an air-assisted centralized metering device equipped with a fluted feed roller was investigated. The performance of the proposed metering device for rapeseed planting was evaluated in the laboratory. For this purpose, effects of rotational speed (n) of the metering device shaft (at levels of 46.5, 48, 79, and 96 rpm), active roller length, L, (at levels of 1/6, 1/4, and 1/3 of the total length of the fluted roller), and number (N) of seed delivery tubes (at levels of 16, 24, and 32 outlets) on the seed weight delivery coefficient of variation (CV) and seeding rate (SR, kg ha-1) were investigated. A factorial experiment arranged as a completely randomized design with three replications was used to perform the laboratory experiments. Results showed that the effects of all treatments (n, L, and N) on both SR and CV were significant. The interactions of N×L and L×n were also significant on both SR and CV. The interaction of N×n was significant only on the SR. The interaction of N×L×n was also significant on the SR. Results of mean comparisons revealed that the CV decreased as n and L increased; whereas, it increased as N increased. However, the opposite pattern was observed for the SR with changing the mentioned factors. Minimum SR value (6.1 kg ha-1 - in the recommended SR range for rapeseed planting) was obtained at 46.5 rpm and L1 (1/6 of the total length of the fluted roller) with 32-outlet seed delivery tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problems of high labor intensity and low production efficiency in the cultivation of hemp in hilly areas, the seed arrangement performance of self-propelled hemp seeders was studied. According to the cultivation mode of hemp for the fiber industry in Yunnan, Sichuan, and other hilly areas, the seed metering device for the hemp industry was designed, the seed metering mechanism of hemp was analyzed, and the theoretical value range of design parameters of its key components was determined. The row of kind of wheel speed is obtained by single factor experiment, hole diameter and hole depth and uniformity of the seed, the seed of change rule, on the basis of the quadratic regression orthogonal rotation combination test, two indexes of the regression model, using the regression model of the design parameter optimization, and seeder row of kind of verification test, the results show that: when the rotation speed of the metering wheel was 90.0 r/min, the diameter of the hole was 10.4 mm, and the depth of the hole was 6.4 mm, the coefficient of variation of seeding uniformity of seeding machine was less than 45%, and the coefficient of variation for consistency of seed quantity in each row was less than 8%. The operation of the self-walking industrial hemp seeder met the requirements of fiber industrial hemp planting in hilly areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For organization of power supply of devices for monitoring and accounting of electric energy for railway traction networks of direct current, the topology of the power source based on a serial chain of voltage converters can be used. The paper considers the development of a methodology for the electrical calculation of such sources. For this purpose, lists of initial data and calculation results are formed. A substitution scheme of ideal elements is proposed. The operation of the substitution scheme is analyzed using the «equivalent source» method. It also provides formulas and recommendations for selecting and determining the required parameters. The adequacy of the proposed method is confirmed by a full-scale experiment.

In this study, the discrete element method was used to optimize the bucket size for the metering device in a garlic planter for enhancing the productivity of garlic farming according to the garlic size. Statistical information concerning the actual shape of garlic cloves was incorporated, and the mechanical properties of garlic were determined using the bulk density, sliding test, and repose angle test for enhancing the fidelity of the simulation model. The optimal bucket size achieving the target plant rate of 97.5% was determined using the developed discrete element model for the three garlic size groups. The linear search method was used for optimization, and batch simulation was performed to validate the optimized results and confirm the performance index of the metering device. A Gaussian distribution based on statistical information accounted for the various garlic sizes in each group. Finally, a metering test verified the reliability of the optimization technique. The differences between the simulation and test results were within 10% for all performance indices, including missing plant rate, multi-plant rate, and planting rate, indicating the high reliability of the analysis model. Subsequently, the larger garlic groups (Groups 2 and 3) exhibited metering performance close to the target plant rate.

A rapeseed centrifugal metering device has been widely used in field, due to its compact structure, high efficiency, low cost, and low seed crushing rate. The centrifugal force and seed gravity can also be utilized to realize the simultaneous seeding of multiple rows through the seed outlets of the upper edge of the outer cone canister. However, the seeding amount relies mainly on the forward speed of the planter, the filling quality of the inner cone canister, the size of seed particles, and seeding plant space. In this study, a seeding amount control system was designed to improve the performance of the rapeseed centrifugal metering devices. The system consisted of a microcomputer, a seeding detection, a speed measuring, a seed metering drive, and a human interaction module. Specifically, the microcomputer used a singlechip with the type of STM32F103C8T6 as a processor to coordinate the orderly operation of each functional unit. The seeding detection module was developed to real-time monitor the seeding amount of the seed metering device using a photoelectric sensor with the type of PG-602 and a signal amplifier with the type of PG-610. The speed measuring module was to monitor the sowing speed using a hall sensor with a magnetic steel disk. More importantly, the seed metering drive module was composed of a stepper motor with a model of 57HSE and a supporting driver with the type of HB808C. As such, the rapeseed centrifugal metering device was driven to rotate for the centrifugal force of seeding. Furthermore, a seeding control strategy was formulated to realize the uniform seed metering of sowing quantity. A seeding control model was selected to dynamically change the centrifugal speed of the centrifugal metering device via the seed metering drive module, in terms of the error between the actual and the theoretical seed metering amount. The actual seed metering number of the seed metering device was achieved within the seeding qualified range. A Bench test was carried out to determine the optimal seeding control model and operation parameters of the system. The results showed that the seeding control model was a linear model. The accuracy of the system for the seed amount detection was over 96.17%, and the optimal feedback time was 4 s. A performance test was also conducted to verify the response of the seeding amount control system to the changes in planter forward speed, the inner cone canister filling quality, the seed particle size, and the seeding plant space. The test results show that the qualified rate of seed metering regulation of the system was 92.11%, when the forward speed of the planter changes in a sinusoidal curve, indicating a better performance than that without a seeding amount control system. When the seed filling mass of the inner cone canister changed from 60 to 480 g, the seed metering errors of the control system were 9.55%, 6.91%, 6.53%, 3.89%, 4.73%, 4.2%, 2.33% and 4.98%, respectively, which were 47.68, 33.12, 3.05, 3.42, 6.06, 9.33, 11.42 and 8.55 percentage points lower than before. The metering errors of the control system for the large, medium, and small seeds were 4.70%, 3.98%, and 7.74% respectively, which were 10.79, 9.80, and 18.63 percentage points lower than before. The metering errors of the control system were 5.26%, 2.24%, and 6.53%, respectively, when the values of sowing plant spacing were 70, 100, and 130 mm, respectively. A field seeding experiment was performed on the improved system and the optimal feedback time. The results showed that the seeding error of the system was less than 10.00%, the average seeding error was 5.77%, and the qualified rate of seeding amount control was 90.68%, indicating a better seeding performance, and a much more uniform seedling emergence than before. Consequently, the new control system of seeding amount can be expected to effectively reduce the changes impact of planter forward speed, inner cone canister seed filling mass, seed particle size, and seeding plant space on the operating performance of rapeseed centrifugal metering device for the better function of uniform seeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When designing devices for monitoring and accounting of electric energy for railway traction networks of direct current, one of the main tasks is to create a source for their power supply. The paper considers the problems that arise when using power sources from the network of own needs of a traction substation, reviews the main technical solutions of sources powered from the traction network, and also offers an original solution that has a high efficiency compared to its prototype.

For the purpose of reducing the number of conventional seed-metering devices and high demand for vacuums, this study designed a vacuum central drum seed-metering device, that is intended to replace multiple seed-metering devices with one, which is comprised of the inner and outer drum. This can be replaced with different diameters of suction holes, ventilation housing, seeding tube, agitating devices, seed box, and seed-cleaning devices, etc. A hybrid rice seed Jingliangyou 1212 was applied as an experimental material, and a JPS-12 computer vision metering device test bench was used to test singular-factor and multi-factor seeding performance of the seed-metering device. The singular-factor performance test of the metering device was conducted under negative pressure of seed suction in the range of 1∼1.5 kPa, at the metering device rotation speed of 10∼60 rpm, with diameters of inlet holes being 2 mm (chamfer: 45°), 2, and 1.5 mm, respectively. The number of seeds was counted by a sucking hole under different factor combinations. The multi-factor test was carried out by rotation rate, negative pressure, and types of sucking holes. A rate of 2 ± 1 rice seed per sucking hole is regarded as the qualified standard. It shows that the qualification rate (2 ± 1 rice seed per sucking hole) of seed suction can reach 97.4% under a combination of metering device rotation speed of 30 r/min, negative pressure of 1.0 kPa, and suction hole diameters of 1.5 mm. High-speed photography was used to study the trajectory of seed-metering at different rotation rates, a locomotive axis was applied to fit the motion curve, and 3D-printing was used to make the seed-metering tube so that the seed collisions could be reduced. This study provides evidence for further optimizing the performance of the vacuum central drum direct-seeding machine for hybrid rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the problems of high damage rate, low seeding accuracy, and poor seeding generally in the seeding process, a general-purpose seeding device was designed in this study based on the principle of mechanical pneumatic combined seeding. The air-blowing-type cleaning and seed unloading of the device laid the conditions for precise seeding and flexible seeding. In addition, single-factor experiments were performed on seeds (e.g., soybeans, corn, and rape-seeds) with different particle sizes and shapes to verify the general properties of the seed metering device. A multi-factor response surface optimization experiment was performed by applying soybean seeds as the test object to achieve the optimal performance parameters of the seed metering device. At a seed-clearing air velocity of 16.7 m/s, a seed feeding drum speed of 13.7 r/min, and a hole cone angle of 35.6°, corresponding to the optimal performance index, the qualified index, the replay index, and the missed index reached 97.94%, 0.03%, and 2.03%, respectively. The verification test results are consistent with the optimized ones. As indicated from the results, the seed metering device exhibits good general properties, low damage rate, great precision, and high efficiency; it is capable of meeting general seeding operations of different crop seeds and technically supporting for the reliability and versatility of the seeder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Soil Sciences & Agricultural Engineering is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Soil Sciences & Agricultural Engineering is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In order to solve the problems of high labor intensity and low production efficiency in the cultivation of hemp in hilly areas, the seed arrangement performance of self-propelled hemp seeders was studied. According to the cultivation mode of hemp for the fiber industry in Yunnan, Sichuan, and other hilly areas, the seed metering device for the hemp industry was designed, the seed metering mechanism of hemp was analyzed, and the theoretical value range of design parameters of its key components was determined. The row of kind of wheel speed is obtained by single factor experiment, hole diameter and hole depth and uniformity of the seed, the seed of change rule, on the basis of the quadratic regression orthogonal rotation combination test, two indexes of the regression model, using the regression model of the design parameter optimization, and seeder row of kind of verification test, the results show that: when the rotation speed of the metering wheel was 90.0 r/min, the diameter of the hole was 10.4 mm, and the depth of the hole was 6.4 mm, the coefficient of variation of seeding uniformity of seeding machine was less than 45%, and the coefficient of variation for consistency of seed quantity in each row was less than 8%. The operation of the self-walking industrial hemp seeder met the requirements of fiber industrial hemp planting in hilly areas.

A negative pressure chamber rotary precision seed metering device was designed to achieve the buckwheat precision sowing goal, solving the problems of traditional negative pressure chamber poor sealing and air suction seed metering device high power consumption. The planting plate of the device was fixedly connected with the shell of the air chamber forming a negative pressure chamber, which rotates around an axis. A planting plate suitable for buckwheat seed metering was designed. Single factor test and response surface test were carried out on the seed metering device. Results showed that the buckwheat precision seed metering achieved best performance when the negative pressure, suction hole diameter and rotation speed was 2.4 kPa, 2.0 mm and 25 r/min respectively. The qualified index, multiples index and miss-seeding index were respectively 88.32%, 7.35%, and 4.33%, which met the technical requirements of buckwheat precision sowing. The results of the study provided references for the design and application of buckwheat precision seed metering device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the purpose of reducing the number of conventional seed-metering devices and high demand for vacuums, this study designed a vacuum central drum seed-metering device, that is intended to replace multiple seed-metering devices with one, which is comprised of the inner and outer drum. This can be replaced with different diameters of suction holes, ventilation housing, seeding tube, agitating devices, seed box, and seed-cleaning devices, etc. A hybrid rice seed Jingliangyou 1212 was applied as an experimental material, and a JPS-12 computer vision metering device test bench was used to test singular-factor and multi-factor seeding performance of the seed-metering device. The singular-factor performance test of the metering device was conducted under negative pressure of seed suction in the range of 1∼1.5 kPa, at the metering device rotation speed of 10∼60 rpm, with diameters of inlet holes being 2 mm (chamfer: 45°), 2, and 1.5 mm, respectively. The number of seeds was counted by a sucking hole under different factor combinations. The multi-factor test was carried out by rotation rate, negative pressure, and types of sucking holes. A rate of 2 ± 1 rice seed per sucking hole is regarded as the qualified standard. It shows that the qualification rate (2 ± 1 rice seed per sucking hole) of seed suction can reach 97.4% under a combination of metering device rotation speed of 30 r/min, negative pressure of 1.0 kPa, and suction hole diameters of 1.5 mm. High-speed photography was used to study the trajectory of seed-metering at different rotation rates, a locomotive axis was applied to fit the motion curve, and 3D-printing was used to make the seed-metering tube so that the seed collisions could be reduced. This study provides evidence for further optimizing the performance of the vacuum central drum direct-seeding machine for hybrid rice.

Considering the rapeseed planting area is large in hilly and montanic area and the planting period for rice and rapeseed is partly overlapped in flat area in China, a rapeseed aerial seeding device used for UAV was designed in this paper. The rapeseed aerial seeding device included two parts: seeding device and control system. The working power come from UAV. Structure parameters of seed box volume, seed-filling funnel and geneva wheel of aerial seeding device were confirmed. The volume of seed box was 5.2 L so that it provided enough rapeseed for UAV to seeding 0.67 hm2 area at one operation. The upper inlet shape of seed-filling funnel was a rectangle with length 30 mm and width 18 mm. The down outlet shape of seed-filling funnel was a circle with diameter 15 mm. The length of seed-filling funnel was 49-65 mm. The diameter of geneva wheel seed metering device was 80 mm with 30 type holes per circle in circumferential direction. Aerial seeding control system contained hand tele-control system and airborne tele-control system. The airborne tele-control system contained main controller (STM32 single chip), BeiDou Navigation chip, piezoelectric sensor, stepping motor with driver, flying information detection module, wireless transmission module and power module. The hand tele-control system contained controller, display screen, wireless transmission module, power module and keys. When the UAV was in the working field, the location information of UVA was detected by flying information detection module and the aerial seeding device started to seeding. The aerial seeding device stopped to seed when the flying information detection module detected that the UAV was out the working field. Hand tele-control system communicated with the airborne tele-control system acquired the flying information and then controlled the seeding rate of metering device when the UAV was flying. In order to analyze the factors affecting the working performance of aerial seeding device, the simulation model of airflow field of UAV rotor wing was established and the effects of rotor wing to airflow field was analyzed. The simulation results showed that the airflow field conducted by rotor wing affected the rapeseed falling track obviously. With the flight height of UVA increased, the range of space airflow field affected by UVA wings increased, and the distribution area of rapeseed landing on the ground increased. The relationship model between the UAV flight speed and geneva wheel rotary speed was established by selecting the length of seed-filling funnel and geneva wheel rotary speed as the factors based on the bench est. The results showed that when the distance between outlets of seed guiding tube and rotor wing was 300 mm, the length of seed-filling funnel was 53 mm, geneva wheel rotary speed was 10-50 r/min, the geneva wheel seeding rate met the requirements at the UAV flight speed of 2-4 m/s. The pavement test was conducted and the results showed that the effective working width was 2.15-2.45 m, coefficient of variation of seed distribution uniform was 32.05%-34.78% at the cross distance of seed tube outlets of 1.1 m, UAV flight height of 2-2.5 m. The average seedling density of field experiment was 64.5 plants/m², the coefficient of variation of seed distribution uniformity was 38.23%, which meet the requirements of rape cultivation This study can provide a reference for the design of UAV aerial seeding device. In order to further optimize the working performance of UAV aerial seeding, it is necessary to conduct comprehensive tests under natural wind and different field conditions in the future research work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Shenyang Agricultural University is the property of Journal of Shenyang Agricultural University Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The roller for seeds of different sizes, a variable-size pneumatic cylinder precision seed metering device was designed, which could realize the precision seeding of different diameter seeds without changing the roller. The structure and working principle of seed metering device were explained, and the structural parameters of the main components of the seed meter were determined. The ANSYS was used to analyse the influence of the size of the negative pressure inlet pipe and the shape of the eyelet on the airflow velocity in a negative pressure chamber. Based on the above optimal structure, the orthogonal experiment of seed metering device was carried out. Testing results showed: under the negative pressure of 4 kPa, roller speed of 16.93r/min and the wind speed of 11.48m/s, the seed metering device had the best seeding effect. The qualification rate of the seed metering device was 92.37%, the miss-seeding rate was 3.74% and the over-seeding rate was 3.88%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the problems of high damage rate, low seeding accuracy, and poor seeding generally in the seeding process, a general-purpose seeding device was designed in this study based on the principle of mechanical pneumatic combined seeding. The air-blowing-type cleaning and seed unloading of the device laid the conditions for precise seeding and flexible seeding. In addition, single-factor experiments were performed on seeds (e.g., soybeans, corn, and rape-seeds) with different particle sizes and shapes to verify the general properties of the seed metering device. A multi-factor response surface optimization experiment was performed by applying soybean seeds as the test object to achieve the optimal performance parameters of the seed metering device. At a seed-clearing air velocity of 16.7 m/s, a seed feeding drum speed of 13.7 r/min, and a hole cone angle of 35.6°, corresponding to the optimal performance index, the qualified index, the replay index, and the missed index reached 97.94%, 0.03%, and 2.03%, respectively. The verification test results are consistent with the optimized ones. As indicated from the results, the seed metering device exhibits good general properties, low damage rate, great precision, and high efficiency; it is capable of meeting general seeding operations of different crop seeds and technically supporting for the reliability and versatility of the seeder.

Copyright of Journal of Soil Sciences & Agricultural Engineering is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction In recent years due to lack of water resources in our country, planting of bare root seedlings of onion has been welcomed by farmers. Considering the desired high dense planting of Iranian farmers, lack of proper transplanting machine has appeared as the main problem. To overcome this problem, some researchers tested a few methods, but none of them reached to complete successfully. As the one of last efforts, Taki and Asadi (2012) developed a semi-automatic transplanting machine with 9 planting units. This machine requires to 9 men to separate and single out a bunch of seedlings. Usage of this machine is very time-consuming and labor intensive. In Iran, transplanting of bare root seedlings is practically performed by hand with a density of 700-800 thousand plants at hectare. The main purpose of this study was designed, manufacture, and evaluation of an automatic metering device that with the separation and singulars of bare root seedlings of onion could get a high density planting. Materials and Methods Fig. 1 shows the main employed idea of this research for separation and single out a bunch of seedlings. As shown in Fig. 1, the metering device consisted of two carrying and separating belts with different teeth forms. Placing seedling bunches between the two belts, the belts move at different speeds in opposite directions and separate seedlings from their bunch. For proper design of metering device system, measurement of some physical properties were necessary. The obtained information was used to select two belts form. A belt with flexible plastic teethes with a height of 6 mm and the distance of 4mm was selected as separator while for carrier, two types of belts were selected: the first was the same as a separator and the second was made of metal teethes. Based on the average thickness of seedling bunch and some pre-tests, the horizontal angle of separator belt determined as α=20 degrees. Theoretical calculations were done to computatingof the needed force of the system. In this section, seedlings were modeled as some solid cylinders with a length of 200 and a diameter of 10 mm. In the mentioned system, it was necessary that the speed of separator belt is more than the speed of carrier belt. Thus, ratio of two linear velocities ( ) of 1.67 and 2.32 were considered for evaluation of the system. For evaluation of manufactured metering device, the effects of three factors, i.e., carrier belt type, ratio of linear velocities of the belts, and number of seedlings in a bunch (n = 30 and n =60), on qualitative planting parameters were studied in a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications. The studied qualitative planting parameters were miss index, consumed seedlings, miss length, quality of feed index, multiple index, mean, and damaged seedlings. Results and Discussion The results of analysis of variance showed that, except of belt type, effects of the two studied factors and all interactions are statistically non-significant on consumed seedlings and miss length indexes. The results indicated significant differences between miss index (P

One of the keys of enhancing the quality of electric power supply resides in the accuracy of the consumption metering. Nowadays development of the sensors, devices and systems for electricity metering offers the basis for this service. Nevertheless, this achievement in many situations is altered such that appropriate measures must be adopted even if already significant costs have been registered. In this paper is proposed and discussed an optimal solution based on the identification and minimizing the measurement errors for increasing the electricity readings accuracy and lowering the electricity losses and related costs. In this regard, a mathematical model was developed and a particular algorithm for the mentioned problem is proposed and tested in the case of a power distribution company where an enhancement on average of the own technological consumption with 4% was recorded.

The main objective of this study was to design a pneumatic disk with four-rows for planting rapeseed and to investigate its performance under several rotating speeds and vacuum pressure values. The effects of rotating speeds, vacuum pressure and rows on seed sucking and retaining were inspected. Six rotating speeds (5 r/min, 10 r/min, 15 r/min, 20 r/min, 25 r/min and 30 r/min) incorporated with the application of vacuum pressure were employed for detecting the optimum vacuum amount that was sufficient for seed sucking under each speed. These values of vacuum were found to be 1.1 kPa, 1.25 kPa, 1.35 kPa, 1.65 kPa, 1.8 kPa and 2.0 kPa, respectively. Moreover, a regression model was developed for predicting of vacuum pressure that corresponds with each rotating speed. Based on seed mass analysis, statistical differences were found at 5% significance under the influence of speeds and negative pressure and existed also between and within rows according to Duncan's Test. The highest seed mass means of 3.17 g and 3.96 g were obtained by row 1 under the effects of speed and vacuum pressure, respectively, while the lowest means of 2.79 g and 3.05 g were attained by row 4. Due to the influence of rows, important differences were occurred between row 1 (closer to the center of rotation) and row 4 (farther one), particularly under high speeds (25 r/min and 30 r/min). Results concluded that, pneumatic disk with multiple-rows could be satisfactorily used for seed sowing with a little variation in seed amount between rows without any seed damage. The rows of hole farther from plate center of rotation were obviously influenced by angular velocity and vacuum amount rather than the closer ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe and America, Australia and other developed countries, rice planting is mainly based on mechanical direct sowing, and these countries have realized the whole process agricultural mechanization. In recent years, with the development of rice variety selection, supporting agronomy and mechanization technology, the direct sowing technology of rice mechanization has developed rapidly in China. At present, the common rice precision seeding problems are rice adaptability and operation efficiency. The difference of sowing amount between the conventional and hybrid rice varieties is great, and the size of the seeds of long grain and short grain rice has great difference. According to the physical and planting characteristics of different rice varieties, the seed metering device is difficult to meet the demand for sowing and regulation and the sowing quantity is difficult to be controlled accurately. The rice metering device with precise stepless adjusting consists of filling chamber, type-hole roller, protecting device, cleaning device and electronic system. The suitable seeding rate is the key point for the application of hill-drop drilling technology. Different seeding rates are required for different varieties and planting conditions. Based on the adaptation for different rice varieties and rapid adjustment for seeding rate, optimization design and experimental research for combined type-hole metering device of rice hill-drop drilling machine have been implemented. The seed metering device adopts the bowl-shaped type-hole and double filling chambers. Bowl-shaped type-hole with variable volume was designed for seed metering. The shape, number, long axis, depth and volume of type-hole were designed by mathematical model calculation, the long axis sizes of minimum, median and maximum type-hole site were 9.2, 12.4 and 15.6 mm respectively, and the range of sectional area is 71.31-154.58 mm2. The volume range of type-hole is 271.91-485.79 mm3. Aimed to meet the seeding rate requirements of different regions and different rice varieties, the device with internal micro-stepping motor and controlled circuit is designed for wireless control on stepless adjustment of 3-10 seeds each hole, overcoming the shortage of cable transmission. The electronic system was based on stm32f103 and Bluetooth module transferring data. Through the motor rotation of inner wheel, the center angle of inner and outer wheel changed, and the seeding rate would be adjustable. During the conversion process from the small cell to large one, the motor gear turned 114° and output 3800 pulses. The whole adjustment time is about 4.85 s. Four conventional rice varieties, including conventional japonica rice Xiushui 134 and conventional indica rice Huanghuazhan, and hybrid japonica rice Huayou14 and hybrid indica rice Jingliangyou were selected as the experimental materials. The experiment is carried out with the computer vision seed metering device, which can adjust the speed of rotating axis and convetor belt. From the orthogonal test results of rice number per hill, the sowing quantity range of japonica rice is 5.1-7.5 and hybrid rice is 3.67-9.70. The extreme analysis test of 3 factors (type-hole size, rotating rate, variety) and 4 levels was carried out for stepless adjustment of type-hole. The result showed that the ranges of seeding rates for japonica rice and indica type rice were 5-10 and 3-8 grains per hill, respectively, which could meet the demanding of seeding rate of 3-10 for the design of type-hole. The result of extreme analysis showed that the factors of variety, type-hole volume and rotating speed have significant influence on seeding rate, and the order of influence factors is type-hole volume, variety and rotating speed. It is obvious that the design of seeding rate stepless adjustment for precise seeding devices can meet the demanding of stepless adjustment of different rice varieties. The advantages of wide adjustment range, good adaptation, simple and quick stepless adjustment show that this device is practical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultivator mounted seed metering mechanism consists of cultivator frame, tines, seed box, seed tubes, metering mechanism, power transmission unit, furrow opener and hitching attachments. The drawings of the developed machine were generated using CAD software and the machine was fabricated in the workshop of Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, IGAU, Raipur. Power was transmitted from ground wheel through sprocket-chain drive to the main shaft. At the average working speed of 3.8 km/h of tractor drawn cultivator, depth of operation was found 129 mm, average weed efficiency was found 76.42 %,effective field capacity was found 0.826 ha/h with field efficiency of 87.40 %. The cost of operation and energy requirement of cultivator was found to be Rs 387 per ha and 241 MJ/ha. The Energy requirement for cultivator-cum-seed drill was found to be 454.18 MJ/ha. BIBECHANA 15 (2018) 79-84

In sugarcane production, the mean condition for high productivity depends on billets located in the furrow with uniform distribution. The focus of this paper was on development and evaluation three types of a new prototype of sugarcane metering device to plant the sugarcane billets with desired spacing. Accordingly, a prototype of the precision metering device for sugarcane was developed. The model of the metering device was designed with CATIA R21. The performance indices of the device, including quality of feed index (QFI), multiple index, miss index and precision have been taken as a set of criteria for seed spacing accuracy and were investigated under laboratory conditions using a test stand with camera system. There was significant difference of miss index, multiple index and quality of feed index among different tooth length while precision affected by speed. Four row cylindrical metering device showed a better performance compare to other types of metering device. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used and 1.5 cm teeth length with forward speed of 15 m/min was best found for selected sugarcane billet metering device with 91.67% for quality of feed index with 5.03% precision.

Introduction. Renovation of housing stock supposes construction of new buildings, where the main utilities consuming heat energy will be heating and hot water supply (HWS) systems. Under such conditions the task of heat consumption reduction by transfer to low-temperature and use of the associated procedures is relevant. Materials and Methods. Research was performed on the basis of residential and administration buildings designed within the whole Russia, the facilities were selected based on the year of putting into operation and their purpose. The source of data concerning buildings became documents included into the scope of the design and detailed documentation: plans, drawings and explanatory notes. As meeting the demands of hot water supply makes the main contribution to daily nonuniformities of heat energy consumption, the attention was paid to equipment of hot water supply systems. For calculations, the commercial product of Microsoft Office Excel 2010 was used. Results. During selection of roof boiler house as a source of heat supply increase in consumption of equivalent fuel in relation to the variant of connection to heat power plant operating on solid fuel by 187,314 tons of fuel oil equivalent is possible. General refusal from power-and-heat generation complicates operation of large district heat supply systems. The design parameters of coolant in building heating system differ from project to project: from 95/70 °С, used everywhere till the beginning of the XXI century, up to 90/65 °С corresponding to existing practice of designing or 80/60 °С as at the facility in Sevastopol. Reduction of design temperatures by 5 % is insufficient to decrease general heat consumption of the building. Reduction of heat consumption is explained by selection of advanced materials for pipeline heat insulation. Use of automation diagrams for heat points on the basis of regulator ECL Comfort 310 contributes to improvement of hydraulic control for heating systems, however, concealed automation results in violation of high-quality mode for heat network control and decrease of coolant parameters on adjacent (often non-automated) consumers. Conclusions. Supplement of central high-quality control by local constant temperature/variable flow control at individual heat unit and installation of temperature controllers on heating radiators with mechanical thermostatic head have potential for reduction of the heat energy volume used ineffectively. Increase in level of controllability for heating system together with cheaper and responsive automation systems are basic conditions for increase in quality of heat supply in future.

An electronic experimental set-up was developed to evaluate three seed-metering mechanisms, viz. slanting, semi- circular and rectangular shape for three paddy varieties and to investigate the influence of the selected levels of variables, viz. forward speed, cell shape and inclination of seed-metering plate on performance parameters of seed- metering. Mean seed spacing, miss index and seed damage were found to increase with increase in forward speed and angle of inclination while multiple index decreased with increase in forward speed and angle of inclination for all metering plates tested. Precision decreased with increase in forward speed and with increase in angle of inclination, it increased initially up to optimum value and then decreased. The mean seed spacing of 14.8 cm close to theoretical seed spacing of 15 cm, highest quality feed index of 88.1%, lowest miss index of 6.1% and minimum seed damage of 0.38% were observed in slanting type metering plate at an angle of 35º with the horizontal and at a forward speed (belt speed) of 2 km/h. Hence, for design of precision paddy planter, the optimum parameters, like slanting type metering plate with angle of inclination 35º and forward speed of 2 km/h can be used to achieve best results.

Wheat and rapeseed are the major grain and oil crop in China and their sowing dates are closer. Seed feeding device is the core component of air-assisted centralized metering device which is capable of handling a wide range of seeds with different sizes and shapes. In order to improve the versatility and use efficiency of air-assisted centralized metering device and adjust the feeding rate accurately, the seed feeding device for rapeseed and wheat with staggered arrangement shape hole and combined conical-hole unit was designed. The problems of pulsing phenomenon due to outer grooved wheel metering device of the centralized pneumatic planter and high damage rate of mechanical metering device for rapeseed needed to be solved, and the structure of staggered arrangement shape hole could keep seeding consciously and uniformly. The seed feeding operation included seed filling, carrying and feeding process. The main structural parameters of shape hole and conical-hole unit were determined in this research. These included length, width, depth and cone angle of shape hole which were 8.0 mm, 5.0 mm, 4.0 mm and 14°, respectively. The diameter and number of shape holes in each conical-hole unit were 80 mm and 60, respectively. Mechanical models were established to estimate the seed filling and feeding process. It demonstrated that seed filling and throwing performance were better under the inclined angle of 13.75°-21.20°. Bench experiments were carried out in the seed metering laboratory of Huazhong Agricultural University in 2015 by using Huayouza 62 and Zhengmai 9023 as materials. The experimental factors were inclined angle (0°-30°) with 4 levels and rotational speed (10-60 r/min) with 6 levels in single-factor test. Two-factor full factorial test was designed with number of conical-hole unit (1-6) and rotational speed. The objective values were seed feeding rate, coefficient variation of seed feeding rate and damage rate. The results showed that: 1) The conical shape hole with inclined angle resulted in a better seed feeding performance. When the rotational speed of seed feeding device was 10-30 r/min, the seed feeding performance of conical shape hole with 20° inclined angle was better than that of others. The coefficients of variation of seed feeding rate for rapeseed and wheat were not more than 1.0% and 1.1%, respectively, and their damage rates were both less than 0.1%. 2) With the increase of rotational speed in the range of 10-60 r/min, the seed feeding rate increased gradually, while the coefficient of variation of seed feeding rate decreased first and then rose up. The lowest coefficients of variation of seed feeding rate for rapeseed and wheat were recorded at 20 and 30 r/min, respectively. Thus, the optimum rotational speeds which resulted in the coefficient of variation less than 1.0% for rapeseed and wheat were 10-40 and 20-50 r/min, respectively. 3) The ranges of seed feeding rate for rapeseed and wheat were 28-450 and 95-770 g/min, respectively when number of conical-hole unit and rotational speed changed. The wide range of seed feeding rate could be adjusted to meet the requirements of different sowing width and high operating speed. The quadratic regression prediction models were established to describe different seed feeding rate for rapeseed and wheat. The models were verified with different forward velocity of Dongfanghong-LX854 tractor. The relative errors between experimental and simulated results in seed feeding rate were smaller than 5%. It indicates that the models can predict seed feeding rate and calculate the number of conical-hole unit and rotational speed accurately. The staggered arrangement shape hole and combined conical-hole unit can realize the adjustment of seed feeding rate in wide range for rapeseed and wheat and the damage rate is reduced significantly. The results provide technical support for the adjustment of different sowing width of air-assisted centralized metering device for rapeseed and wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapeseed precision seeding has the advantages of saving labor, time and cost, and high productivity and so on, and the rapes under the precision seeding have relatively consistent maturity, which are suitable for mechanized harvest. The rapeseed direct seeding is an important technical way to realize the sustainable development of rapeseed industry. In order to improve the seeding performance of the rapeseed pneumatic-typed precision centralized metering device, the main influence factors and their ranges were determined by analyzing the filling seed and clearing seed process. “Huayouza 62” was taken as experimental subject, while the cleaning angle was 53°, the protecting area angle was 90°, the throwing area angle was 110°, the protecting pressure difference was 150 Pa, and the section shape of air tap for clearing seed was circular and rectangular with the section area of 50.26 and 50 mm2, respectively. Three levels (8, 9, 10 m/s) were selected for the air velocity of clearing seed, 3 levels (19, 23, 27 mm) were selected for the filling height, and three levels (20, 30, 40 r/min) for the rotational speed of seeding cylinder. The speed of oil belt was 2.1-4.0 km/h. The L27313 orthogonal experiment was conducted to study the influence of cleaning seed and filling seed link on the performance of the centralized metering device on test bench. The influence factors were section shape of air tap for clearing seed, filling height, air velocity of cleaning seed and rotational speed of seeding cylinder, and the evaluation indices were coefficient of variation for seeding uniformity and variability coefficient of each row seeding quantity consistency. Results showed the order of the coefficient of variation for seeding uniformity was filling height > rotational speed of seeding cylinder > air velocity of cleaning seed > section shape of air tap for clearing seed; the order of the variability coefficient of each row seeding quantity consistency was filling height > section shape of air tap for clearing seed > rotational speed of seeding cylinder > air velocity of cleaning seed. Filling height, air velocity of cleaning seed and rotational speed of seeding cylinder obviously affected the seeding uniformity; section shape of air tap for clearing seed, filling height and rotational speed of seeding cylinder obviously affected the variability coefficient of each row seeding quantity consistency. Under the best working conditions that are section shape of air tap for clearing seed being rectangular, filling height of 27 mm; air velocity of cleaning seed of 10 m/s, rotational speed of seeding cylinder of 20 r/min, the coefficient of variation for seeding uniformity was 8.07%, and the variability coefficient of each row seeding quantity consistency was 1.95%, the damage rate was less than 0.1%. Thus improving the seeding performance of the rapeseed pneumatic-typed precision centralized metering device can be realized by expanding filling height, reducing rotational speed of seeding cylinder and auxiliary air for clearing seed. Also the hole, cone angle, seed-cleaning angle, relative situation between cleaning mouth and holes, and vibration are all main influence factors to the seeding performance. Based on the above results, further research is in urgent need for this rapeseed seeding metering device. The results provide the basis for the structure optimization of the pneumatic-typed precision centralized metering device and the improvement of its seeding performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of machines to agricultural production has been one of the most significant developments in the agricultural world. Among the machines contributing to higher yield in current farming are planting machines. Sugarcane planting needs precision metering device operated under best combination of performance parameters. Though sugarcane planting is a labour intensive operation and is done manually in many countries. A new mechanism of sugarcane metering device, designed and modeled with Catia software, was fabricated. Main components of this machine were inclined surface, fixed tooth, metering device and its tooth. Effect of metering device tooth length and speed of sugarcane billet metering device were studied in order to find the best combination for improving distance uniformity and filling of metering device cells by reduction in the amount of billets used for planting. Analytical hierarchy process used to select the best combination for desired distance uniformity between planted billets and filling of metering device cells. The 2 cm tooth length and 0.75 m/s forward speed for metering device was the best suited combination for sugarcane billet metering device and consistency ratio computed lower than 0.1 that indicated acceptable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precision planting is an advanced planting approach and a necessary way to achieve agricultural modernization and also an important step to increase crop yield. Precision metering device is a key component to realize precision planting, which is divided into two types according to its working principle. One type is mechanical metering device and the other type is pneumatic metering device. Compared with mechanical metering device, pneumatic metering device has the advantage of extensive use-area, strong currency, no damage to seed and lower requirement of seed geometry, so pneumatic metering device has been widely applied both at home and abroad. Centralized pneumatic metering device for corn is one type of pneumatic metering device which is applied in large scale planter. It can realize the "one seed metering device to many rows" precise seeding and improve efficiency of seeding. However, there exists a problem that reseeding rate is too high when seeding speed range between 4 km/h and 8 km/h. To solve the problem, a new seed eliminator in radial direction was developed for matching the rotary drum metering device. Analysis was made on radial eliminating process and seed motion process in positive rotary drum and kinematic equations were established of seeds uniform circular motion when seed-filling process finished. According to the analysis, a conclusion was made that the main influencing factors of cleaning effect were speed of the rotary drum ω and diameter of seed-filling hole dh based on area occupied ratio conception. In addition, the result showed that the diameter of seed-filling hole dh was the most important influencing factor of occupied area. To meet the demand that seeds should not be blocked when their smallest parts went through the eliminating driving finger, length of eliminating finger lb was determined to 20 mm. Besides, angle of the end eliminating driving finger was determined to 20°based on the maximum static force of friction. In order to determine the proper distance between eliminating driving finger and seed-filling hole, experiments on eliminating distance optimization were done in seed-meter performances test platform of typed JPS-12, and the experimental material was maize zhengdan No.958.Vortex fan was used to supply airflow for the device, and the pressure in working chamber was measured by airflow pressure meter of typed KA33. Results indicated that the eliminating distance in the range from 0.25 to 2.75 mm had no significant influence on the miss-seeding rate, but had highly significant influence on the re-seeding rate and the qualified seeding rate. The re-seeding rate decreased significantly as the eliminating distance range from 2.75 mm to 0.25 mm, with the eliminating distance for negative 0.25 mm. The miss-seeding rate sharply rose up to 5.83%, but the re-seeding rate significantly decreased. The optimized eliminating distance was determined as 0.25 mm, so the eliminating distance was determined as 0.25 mm. Comparative experiment showed that the rate of single seed always kept at above 96% under the optimized eliminating distance as the forward velocity range from 4 to 12 km/h. In detail, the miss-seeding rate generally kept consistent, but the re-seeding rate obviously decreased. The seed eliminator can effectively reduce the multiple rate of the centralized pneumatic metering device. The research can provide a reference for structure design and optimization of working parameters in same type device. The designed device has advantages of seed- and labor-saving as well as the good social and economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to obtain the relationship model between required negative and positive pressures values and the structural and operating parameters in the main metering processes at the absorbing, retaining and dropping stages , the seeding process of pneumatic cylinder-type centralized rapeseed precision metering device were analyzed. Through analyzing the influence of operational and structural parameters on the performance of pneumatic cylinder-type centralized rapeseed precision metering device, the working principle of the pneumatic cylinder-type centralized precision metering device was summarized, and its basic configuration was designed. Dynamic and kinematics models were established in the main metering processes at the absorbing, retaining and dropping stages, and Extended Discrete Element Method software was used for the simulation and calculation of absorbing process, based on which the relationship model between required negative and positive pressures values and the structural and operating parameters were established in seeding process. The results of extended discrete element method simulation analysis indicated that in order to ensure the reliable work of the metering device, the height of seeds should be limited within the 0.65Dg, which was verified by the results obtained from our preliminary tests. Then the JPS-12 test-rig for the performance of the rapeseed metering device was adopted to conduct the single factor experiments, which showed that the quality index reached above 89.1% and the coefficient variation was 3.76% when the rotational speed was 20 r/min and the positive pressure value was 2 200 Pa and the vacuum was -2 200 Pa. The experimental results were in accordance with the analytical result of dynamic model. The analysis provided theoretical foundation for optimizing the operational and structural parameters of the centralized metering device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In sugarcane production, the mean condition for high productivity depends on billets located in the furrow with uniform distribution. The focus of this paper was on development and evaluation three types of a new prototype of sugarcane metering device to plant the sugarcane billets with desired spacing. Accordingly, a prototype of the precision metering device for sugarcane was developed. The model of the metering device was designed with CATIA R21. The performance indices of the device, including quality of feed index (QFI), multiple index, miss index and precision have been taken as a set of criteria for billet spacing accuracy and were investigated under laboratory conditions using a test stand with camera system. There was significant difference of miss index, multiple index and quality of feed index among different tooth length while precision affected by speed. Four row cylindrical metering device showed a better performance compare to other types of metering device. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used and 1.5 cm teeth length with forward speed of 15 m min-1 was best found for selected sugarcane billet metering device with 91.67% for quality of feed index with 5.03% precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]