BACKGROUND: A feature of the climate of the steppe zones of Western Siberia is the frequent recurrence of droughts. Accumulation and preservation of solid precipitation in the form of snow on field in winter is a relevant task, since this directly affects the accumulation of productive moisture in soil by the time of sowing and, as a result, the formation of the future harvest.
AIMS: To determine the influence of the snow cover level, moisture reserves and productive moisture in the soil on a stubble background, harvested with a thresher for direct combining and a rippler on the yield capacity of spring wheat.
METHODS: The field experiment was carried out in 2021-2022 in the steppe zone of the Omsk region at the Novouralskoye Scientific and Production Enterprise of the Omsk Agrarian Scientific Center. In the autumn of 2021, sections of the field were marked out for measurements: wheat stubble field after the thresher for direct combining, wheat stubble field after the rippler. In March 2022, indicators of the height of the snow cover and moisture reserves in the snow were determined on the marked areas using the VS-43 balance snow gauge. In the spring, wheat was sown with the machine-tractor unit, consisting of the RSM 2400 tractor and the Amazone Condor 15001-C sowing facility. In autumn, the chosen field sections were harvested with the Sampo-250 seed-production harvester.
RESULTS: It was found that after harvesting with the thresher for direct combining with a stubble background of about 15 cm, there is a decrease in the moisture reserve in the one-meter-depth layer by almost 2 times, down to 48.6 mm, by the spring period. The moisture reserve on a high stubble background, after the operation of the rippler, on the contrary, was able to persist, as there were 96.6 mm of productive moisture in the one-meter-depth layer by the time of sowing. The average grain yield on the field section sown after the rippler was 1.16 t/ha. The average grain yield on the field section sown after harvesting with the thresher for direct combining was 1.06 t/ha. Thus, the grain increase was 0.1 t/ha or 9.4%.
CONCLUSIONS: The carried out field experiment indicates that, when harvesting with a rippler, there is a twofold increase in productive moisture by the time of sowing, while the increase in the yield of spring soft wheat grain was 9.4%.
BACKGROUND: The present state of the global agricultural industry caused by growing consumption of crop and livestock products demands its practical solution that can be achieved, first of all, using high-quality equipment for production and its constant improvement and renovation. Regarding this, using high-quality tillage units which partially or completely improve productiveness and reduce energy consumption during their operation becomes necessary.
AIMS: Process mechanization and improvement of quality of soil cultivating with the developed refined tillage tool.
METHODS: Accomplishment of the given research tasks and ensuring the demaned quality of soil cultivating are done with making changes in working bodies of a disk-chisel harrow at its operation at various velocities on the experimental field by means of adjustment of disk attack angle and measurement of corresponding performance indicators of the unit. Processing of the theoretical data was performed with the Microsoft Excel 2007 software of the Microsoft Office software package.
RESULTS: With the comparison of the data obtained at observing the soil external state before and after disk attack angle adjustment, it may be concluded that the proposed technical equipment gives better soil cultivating with the disk attack angles of 15° and 30°. At this adjustment level it can be observed that soil is cultivated properly with a pretty good overturning.
CONCLUSIONS: With the analysis of the given data, it is found that the tendency of values of productiveness and specific resistance indicators begin to change. The larges fuel consumption is observed at disk module adjustment to 45°.
BACKGROUND: The study results of influence of the Mg/MoO3 composite nanoadditive on the combustion process in the 4Ch10.5/12 diesel engine are given. It is shown that the heat output process in diesel engines divides into two phases: kinetic and diffusive combustion. The review of simulation methods for the heat output process in a diesel engine considering kinetic and diffusive combustion based on the I.I. Vibe’s method is presented. The review of methods of indicator diagram processing helping to obtain parameters of the Vibe’s heat output law for the two-phase combustion for the sake of following simulation and working process analysis is made. The heat output analysis of the 4Ch10.5/12 diesel engine indicator diagram processing using the Mg/MoO3 composite nanoadditive is made.
AIMS: Research of the influence of the Mg/MoO3 composite nanoadditive to fuel on the heat output process in a diesel engine.
METHODS: The 4Ch10.5/12 air-cooled diesel engine with factory-built fuel supply system was tested at the engine test rig. During the research, influence of the Mg/MoO3 composite nanoadditive to fuel on the heat output process was studied.
RESULTS: It is found that using the nanoadditive leads to decreasing hardness of combustion process, reduction of self-ignition time delay, increasing the maximal temperature of working body in a combustion chamber, reduction of amount of heat output at the kinetic combustion. Working body temperature increase and simultaneous maximal cycle pressure decrease testify the growth of pre-expansion degree. Parameters of diffusive combustion remain almost stable no matter of mass fraction of the nanoadditive in diesel fuel.
CONCLUSIONS: It was revealed that nanoparticles of the Mg/MoO3 additive serve as a homogenizer helping to destroy drops of the sprayed fuel and to intensify the evaporation process. Moreover, the nanoparticles serve as self-ignition centers at early stages of the combustion process.
BACKGROUND: In settlements located in areas that do not have centralized electric and gas supply, the problems of energy supply are solved using low-power power plants based on heat engines. One of the main drawbacks of such units is the issue of fuel economy, given the cost of its delivery. In this paper, one of the ways to increase the efficiency of energy supply during the heating season in a cold climate is considered.
AIMS: Increasing the economical efficiency of a diesel-powered electric plant with an air heat pump in conditions of low ambient teperature.
METHODS: Simulation of operation conditions was performed in the MathCad software using the experimental data obtained at the department.
RESULTS: Heating of outside air before entering the evaporator of the heat pump makes it possible to significantly increase the conversion coefficient and thus expand the boundaries of application of air-source heat pumps in cold climates.
CONCLUSIONS:
BACKGROUND: The results of R&D for the laboratory prototype of the unit for grass seeds oversowing on mountain slopes, which can increase labor efficiency and mountain forage lands yield by 20-25%, are presented.
AIMS: The developed laboratory prototype of a block module based on the Feng Shou 180 mini-tractor for surface oversowing of grass seeds, providing with an accelerated increase in the yield of perennial grasses and soil resistance to water and wind erosion.
METHODS: Technical expertise and testing of the unit and technology were carried out in the mountainous zone of the Republic of North Ossetia– Alania (Dargava basin, the base station of the Institute) at an altitude of 1540 meters above sea level. The indicators of the test conditions and functional performance of the unit were determined according to the OST 10.5.1-2000 industry standard. Technical examination of the unit was carried out according to the OST 10.2.1-97. Surface sowing of grass seeds was carried out according to GOST 31345-2017. The subject of research included the technology of grass seeds oversowing, the design of the unit and working bodies: pendular sowing machines, seeding rates and method of sowing.
METHODS: The laboratory prototype of the small-sized unit based on the Feng Shou 180 mini-tractor for surface oversowing of grass seeds has been developed and manufactured. The block module is a hinged structure with a two-row arrangement of containers for grass seeds and with pendular sowing machines. In the design of the small-sized mountain unit, motion across the slope from top to bottom is performed with a shuttle method with rolling of the sown seeds by press wheels. The grass was oversown on a rarefied section of the northern slope with a slope angle of 13–16° on the “Sugsadtanrag” terrain.
CONCLUSIONS: The practical application of the small-sized unit based on the Feng Shou 180 mini-tractor for surface oversowing of grass seeds with their subsequent pressing in areas in highland and piedmont areas ensures detaining of degradation processes of slope areas, accelerated increase in yield, quality and quantity of perennial grasses, improves soil resistance to water and wind erosion.
BACKGROUND: The issue of ensuring the reliability of internal combustion engines is a relevant composite task, solved in various directions. The important ones among them are the operation conditions, the type of fuel used, control of the motor oils condition, as well as justification of the service life of the latter. When ensuring the operational properties of engine oils of the diesel–based gas engines, the control of the main indicators of the operating oil is relevant.
AIMS: Assessment of changes in the pollution load and alkalinity of the M10G2 oils of the diesel–based gas engines. Application of equations for the theoretical analysis of changes in the pollution concentration and decrease of alkalinity, as well as for building dependencies of oil indicators.
METHODS: During the operation of internal combustion engines, thermochemical processes are actively developing in oils, leading to decrease in their quality due to the activation of additives and the accumulation of transformation products in oils. Mechanical impurities accumulate in the engine oil as a result of dust ingress with the sucked air or through leaks in the crankcase space, as well as due to the formation of insoluble oxidation products and wear of parts of the cylinder-piston group. The base number is a conditional measure of the oil’s ability to neutralize acids formed from the products of fuel combustion and oxidation of the oil base. The alkalinity specified by the presence of alkaline additives is consumed for the neutralization of acids at different rates.
RESULTS: The process of oil aging in internal combustion engines and factors affecting the aging of engine oil are considered. Analytical equations are used to calculate changes in the pollution concentration and changes in the alkalinity of the diesel-based gas engine oil, graphical dependences of oil indicators on the service duration are given.
CONCLUSIONS: The practical value of the study lies in the fact that, using the analytical equations, the value of changes in individual properties of diesel-based gas engine oils is analyzed. Operation of the engine with the oil which base number is below the limit leads to a decrease in engine reliability, accelerated wear of individual parts, lacquer formation and sludging on piston rings and cylinders. It is not allowed to use oils with the base number below 2 mg of KOH/g.
BACKGROUND: Vibrations occurring during operation of land transport-technological machines deteriorate the quality of control, reduce the productivity of the work performed, adversely affect the health of machine operators. In order to reduce the impact of vibrations on the operators, vibration protection systems of the cab and seat are used.
AIMS: For practical application of the developed design of the passive vibration protection system of the motor grader operator’s seat on the basis of a parallelogram mechanism, tensile spring, cable and rollers, it is necessary to develop an algorithm for optimizing the values of design parameters.
METHODS: The mean square value of seat acceleration in a stationary reference frame, determined as a result of simulation of the motor grader motion over a set of stochastic microprofiles of the support surface with various characteristics and velocities, was used as an optimization criterion. Comprehensive simulation mathematical model of a motor grader with cabin vibration protection supports and vibration protection system of a seat was used. All parameters of the optimization algorithm and model were divided into fixed, random and varying ones. The latter include a number of dimensions of the parallelogram mechanism of the seat vibration protection system, the coefficient of viscous friction of the mechanism’s shock absorber, the height of the quasi-zero stiffness zone. The dependence of the criterion on the design parameters of the seat vibration protection mechanism, which has an implicit pattern and is determined by means of a simulation mathematical model, served as the target function. Boundary conditions were imposed on a number of parameters to ensure the operability of the mechanism, manufacturability of its parts as well as ergonomic considerations. Optimization of the values of the varying parameters was performed with the simplex method. At the same time, a part of the parameters unambiguously influencing the value of the target function was preliminarily maximized or minimized within the boundary ranges.
RESULTS: An algorithm for assignment and optimization of design parameters of the vibration protection system of a motor grader seat with quasi-zero stiffness is developed, one of the key features of which is the possibility to adjust the vibration protection system of the seat to the weight of the current operator. Examples of algorithm application are given.
CONCLUSIONS: The algorithm makes it possible to determine the optimal values of design parameters of the seat vibration protection system based on a parallelogram mechanism such as: the dimensions of the parallelogram mechanism, including the attachment points of rollers and cable, the coefficient of tensile spring stiffness, the coefficient of viscous friction of a shock absorber, the parameter of adjusting the mechanism to the weight of the current operator. The key feature of the developed vibration protection system and the optimization algorithm of its design parameters is the possibility of adjustment to the weight of the current operator.
On July 12, 2023, a festal occasion happened, as our journal, “Tractors and Agricultural Machinery”, has been accepted for listing in the Scopus international scientometric database.
Being included in the Scopus is a result of multiyear work of the journal’s staff on increasing the quality of published materials, attracting authors with high citation index, broadening the journal audience. We highly appreciate the trust of authors and readers who mainly define the journal’s success. Including in Scopus gives new opportunities for development of the “Tractors and Agricultural Machinery” as leading peer-reviewed journal of tractor and agricultural machinery industry and R&D.
“Tractors and Agricultural Machinery” is the oldest scientific and technical journal in its field. It was founded in 1930 as print media of Ministry of Tractor and Agricultural Engineering of the USSR. Today it continues to cover relevant issues of development, manufacturing and operation of tractors, combine harvesters and other agricultural machinery – in its 90th volume.