Experimental research to determine the optimal working regime of a twin-drum mower for the dragon fruit orchards in Vietnam

Abstract

The article presents an experimental research to determine the optimal working regime of a twin-drum mower for the dragon fruit orchards in Vietnam using the Taguchi method. Firstly, a twin-drum mower was designed and fabricated. Through the preliminary tests, three important operating parameters including working speed, drum speed, and mowing blade type were selected for optimization. Simultaneously, three value levels for each parameter were decided. Accordingly, the L9 orthogonal array was suitable for this optimization process. Based on this orthogonal array, nine experiments were performed. The S/N ratio and the ANOVA were then utilized to find the optimum levels of the parameters and their impact on machine productivity. The results showed that the working speed has the most influence, 73%, on the investigated output. And the working speed, as well as the drum speed, should be as large as possible while blade (c) was the most appropriate one. From that, a conclusion could be drawn out that the Taguchi method, using ANOVA, was a simple but effective tool for process optimization for engineers on-site.