DEVELOPMENT OF A FODDER BALES CHOPPER

AL-Gezawe, A. A.; Abd El-hamid, S. G.; Ghandour, A.

doi:10.21608/mjae.2016.97596

DEVELOPMENT OF A FODDER BALES CHOPPER

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Agricultural Mechanization Operations Systems Department, AEnRI, Egypt.

² Irrigation Engineering Research Department, AEnRI, Egypt.

10.21608/mjae.2016.97596

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to develop, construction and to evaluate the performance a fodder-bales chopper. The developed fodder-bales chopper consists of frame, chopper drum (cutting knives - hammers mills - cutting knives and hammers mills), feeding platform and feeding housing. Theoretical analysis was conducted to estimate the chopper shaft diameters so as to save it from over loads and high stresses. The studied performance factors are chopping-knives drum speeds 560, 750, 850 and 1040 rpm, number of knives is 84 for cutting knives and 77 for hammers and bale types (wheat and rice). The performance of the developed fodder bales chopper was evaluated in terms of average and percentage of cutting length, chopping efficiency, required power, energy requirements and operational cost. The main results can be summarized in the following points. The maximum machine productivity values were (785.5 and 830.7 kg/h), the maximum required power values were (20.86 and 22.64 kW), the maximum chopping efficiency values were (96.8 and 97.4%), the minimum average length of cut values were (2.6 and 1.54 cm). Mminimum operating cost values were 19.1 and 21.5 L.E/ton at wheat straw bale and rice straw bale, respectively by using combined knives with hammers at drum speed of 1040rpm.

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