Research in Agricultural Engineering, 2018 (vol. 64), issue 4
Viscosity and biodiesel characteristics of wild Canarium schweinfurthii Engl. fruit oilOriginal Paper
Ehiem James Chinaka
Res. Agr. Eng., 2018, 64(4):169-175 | DOI: 10.17221/99/2017-RAE 
The viscosity of two varieties of Canarium schweinfurthiiEngl. fruits oil (large and long) were studied at four different temperatures (30, 40, 50 and 60oC) and three shear rates (7.91, 15.82 and 39.54 s-1). SurgiFriend Medical (model NDJ-5S) viscometer was used to carry out the study. Biodiesel characteristics of the oil were also investigated. The results showed that variety had no effect (P < 0.05) on the viscosity of Canarium schweinfurthii Engl. fruit while temperature had especially at 50
Impact of forced air flow upon introducing pesticides under conditions of lateral windOriginal Paper
Semjons Ivanovs, Volodymyr Panasyuk, Volodymyr Bulgakov, Ilmars Dukulis
Res. Agr. Eng., 2018, 64(4):176-180 | DOI: 10.17221/100/2017-RAE
Pesticide application is accompanied by its losses due to the drift of the droplets of the working liquid caused by the wind outside the treatment area, which reduces the efficiency of chemical protection and increases impact on the ecological state of the environment. Influence of the precipitating (i.e. top-down) air flow has been determined upon the reduction of the drift of sprayed liquid droplets under the impact of a lateral wind, as well as distribution of the sprayed liquid studied by weight and length depending on the pressure of the working fluid in systems of various sprayers. At speed side wind 5.0 m.s-1...
Magnetic-pulse processing of seeds of berry cropsOriginal Paper
Andrey Yurievich Izmailov, Igor Gennadievich Smirnov, Dmitry Olegovich Khort, Rostislav Alexandrovich Filippov, Alexey Igorevich Kutyrev
Res. Agr. Eng., 2018, 64(4):181-186 | DOI: 10.17221/9/2018-RAE
The effect of a pulsed low-frequency magnetic field on the seed germination and the growth of seedlings of strawberry garden under different conditions of processing and functioning of the apparatus magnetic-pulse processing of plants (MPP) developed by us has been established experimentally. The research has shown that the value of the germination energy of seeds treated with a pulsed magnetic field varied from 29 to 47 percent, of germination from 34 to 48 percent. The highest value of their germination corresponds to an irradiation frequency of 16 Hz and an exposure time of 360 seconds with an induction value in the treatment zone of 5 mT. The maximum...
Optimization of tillage and sowing operations using discrete event simulationOriginal Paper
Armaghan Kosari Moghaddam, Hassan Sadrnia, Hassan Aghel, Mohammad Bannayan
Res. Agr. Eng., 2018, 64(4):187-194 | DOI: 10.17221/49/2017-RAE
A simulation model was developed for secondary tillage and sowing operations in autumn, using discrete event simulation technique in Arena® simulation software (Version 14). Eight machinery sets were evaluated on a 50-hectare farm. Total costs including fixed-costs, variable costs and timeliness costs were calculated for each machinery set. Timeliness costs were estimated for 21-years period on daily basis (Daily Work method) and compared with another method (Average Work method) based on the equation proposed by ASAE Standards, EP 496.3FEB2006. The Inputs of the model were machinery sets, field size, machines performances and daily...
Substantiation of the parameters of the disk-knife working body and the study of its workOriginal Paper
Savelii Kukharets, Gennadii Golub, Viktor Biletskii, Oleksandr Medvedskyi
Res. Agr. Eng., 2018, 64(4):195-201 | DOI: 10.17221/87/2017-RAE
The work is devoted to the issue of improving the quality of cultivating of root-bearing soil layer and optimizing its agrotechnological properties. Improving the quality of cultivation is due to the application of soil cultivating tools equipped with disk-knife working bodies. They are provided theoretical and experimental study of the work of the disk-knife working body, and it is substantiated its rational parameters. The basis of the substantiation of the parameters of the cultivating tool is the original analytical model, which reflects the process of interaction of the working body with the soil. To study the performance of the process, on the...
Mechanical properties of blueberry stemsOriginal Paper
Margus Arak, Kaarel Soots, Marge Starast, Jüri Olt
Res. Agr. Eng., 2018, 64(4):202-208 | DOI: 10.17221/90/2017-RAE
In order to model and optimise the structural parameters of the working parts of agricultural machines, including harvesting machines, the mechanical properties of the culture harvested must be known. The purpose of this article is to determine the mechanical properties of the blueberry plant's stem; more precisely the tensile strength and consequent elastic modulus E. In order to achieve this goal, the measuring instrument Instron 5969L2610 was used and accompanying software BlueHill 3 was used for analysing the test results. The tested blueberry plant's stems were collected from the blueberry plantation of the Farm Marjasoo. The diameters...
Harvesting Lupinus albus axial rotary combine harvestersOriginal Paper
Nikolay Aldoshin, Otari Didmanidze
Res. Agr. Eng., 2018, 64(4):209-214 | DOI: 10.17221/107/2017-RAE
To ensure the agricultural production of the plant protein, it is advisable to cultivate leguminous crops, such as white lupine (Lupinus albus), which are rich in plant protein. White lupine is an easily threshed crop. Its seeds are large enough, so the main problem is to avoid seed damage during harvesting. To improve the harvesting technology of white lupine, the authors suggest using grain combine harvesters with axial flow threshing and separating mechanism (TSM). They consider it necessary to modify the design of such combine harvesters to eliminate repeated threshing of a grain (seed) mass and decrease threshing intensity in a threshing...