DESIGN FEATURES OF VIBRATION EQUIPMENT FOR DRYING HIGH-MOISTURE SEEDS

Abstract

Significant difficulties arise in the process of post-harvest processing of high-moisture seed raw materials, in particular, in the process of drying seed lots of vegetable and melon crops such as squash, zucchini, pumpkin. Natural properties and preparatory technological operations cause the initial moisture content of seeds in the range from 55% to 75%, which is mainly due to unbound free moisture. For storage of sowing batches of seeds humidity should make 10% thus duration of postharvest processing and bringing of seeds to conditional properties should be carried out within days after the beginning of harvesting. Of all the branches of the agro-industrial complex, melon seed production remains the least mechanized, and its level of mechanization does not meet the requirements of modern production. Due to the lack of special equipment in the laborious processes of growing seeds and its refinement, machines are used that are not designed for this, which leads to large losses of seed material and its quality. The main reason for this situation is the lack of complete information, scientific research and substantiation of techniques, design and operating parameters of machines and their working bodies. Information that generates contradictions is often encountered. This is due to the lack of generalized theoretical and experimental studies of the drying process of high-moisture seed raw materials in the post-harvest period, which negatively affected the development of equipment and technological lines. In view of the above, the need for technical means for post-harvest treatment should be determined in terms of the need to process the entire crop on farms. All seeds of the harvested crop, which require a long stay in the dryer during the technological process, are subject to drying. The article presents a new design of a vibrating dryer and describes the features of its operation when removing moisture from seed materials from 55% to 10%.