Experimental research of energy-power parameters of vane cleaner of beet root heads with horizontal drive shafts

Removing the root crop tops is a highly time-consuming process and it affects the quality and safety of the resulting product. In order to study the technological and energy parameters of the sugar beet heads, i.e. to remove the top residues after the main, complete separation of the haulm, we have developed a new experimental setup that allows simulation of the operation of individual samples of various types of cleaners and conduct experimental research under the field conditions. The structural diagram of this setup is universal, and it consists of the main frame, which is hung on the rear side of the wheeled aggregating tractor by means of a suspension linkage. Inside the main frame there is a rotary frame mounted, operated by means of a rotary beam that is necessary for hanging horizontal cleaning working tools on it, and they can be installed due to the rotary beam at various angles to the field surface and to the direction of the forward movement. The installation height of the cleaning working tools is regulated with the help of the feeler wheels, and the position of the wheels relative to the frame can be changed due to the design of their attachment to the frame. As a result of statistical processing of the results of strain gauging on the PC, it was found that the maximum value of the required power on the drive of the working bodies of the cleaner can reach 2.5 kW, and a similar value of traction power does not exceed 0.24 kW. On the whole, the total maximum power of this sugar beet cleaner from the tops (remaining leaves) without extracting the sugar beet heads from the ground with horizontal drive shafts is 2.74 kW, which is 1.3 times less than commercially available cleaners spend on it.