On the determination of design parameters of a machine for cleaning of tuberous roots from impurities

Abstract

In the processes of production and preparation of feeds, the use of feed mixture with tuberous roots holds a prominent place. One of the principal operations during the preparation of tuberous roots is their cleaning from impurities. According to the zootechnical requirements, the residual contamination of tuberous roots after cleaning should not exceed 3% by weight, whereas in practice their contamination after combine harvesting is always higher than 8-9% and could reach 20% or more. The removal of contaminants is one of the most labor-intensive operations. With the view of improving the quality of cleaning and minimizing damage and losses, it is necessary to develop a machine for cleaning of tuberous roots from impurities and to determine its design parameters. The patent search showed that the known devices deliver poor quality of tuberous roots cleaning, because the active purification occurs only in the working zone of cleaning elements. The paper proposes original devices for tuberous roots cleaning from impurities. Arrangement of cleaning elements throughout the zone of interaction between the screw and conveyed tuberous roots allows to increase the performance of a device. The spikes on flights of screw and cleaning elements improve the quality of cleaning. Possibility of changing the device inclination to the horizon allows to adjust the performance and quality of cleaning. The paper presents a method of determining the design parameters of machine for tuberous roots cleaning, namely screw diameter and power supplied on the processes of cleaning and transportation of tuberous roots. The developed original devices for tuberous roots cleaning from impurities allow to improve the quality of cleaning with minimal damage and losses.