Original scientific paper
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL CUTTING SYSTEM FOR SWEET SORGHUM HARVESTER
OMID GHAHRAE
; Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic Azad University (IAU), Majlesi Branch, Majlesi New Town, Isfahan, Iran
M. H. KHOSHTAGHAZA
; Mechanics of Farm Machinery Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), Tehran, Iran
DESA BIN AHMAD
; Biological and Agricultural Department, Faculty of Engineering, University Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
Sweet Sorghum is similar to racemose maize with about 3m height and 0.5-3cm thickness of stalk. Sweet Sorghum has sweet flavor stalk, which is used for sugar production. Developed cutting mechanism in this research has a rotary disk with 50 cm diameter and four cutting blades that spin clockwise. The stalks are cut with the impact and inertia forces at the linear velocity of 27 m/s, by cutting blades. This system has a simple bar mechanism guiding the whole-stalk to one side. The cutting quality tests were achieved by two series of blades with 30°and 45° blade angles on the stalk.
The results showed that the stalk cutting surface with 30° blade angle was smooth and without fracture on filaments and vasculums, compared to that of 45° blade angle. Blade penetration was accomplished very well with 30° blade angle.
Keywords
Design; Development; Rotating Cutting System; Sweet Sorghum; Harvester
Hrčak ID:
35382
URI
Publication date:
28.11.2008.
Visits: 2.920 *