DEVELOPMENT OF A MOWER FOR GRASS HARVESTING

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Researcher, Ag. Eng. Res. Inst., Ag. Res. Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to development, construct and test a mower for small-scale in grass harvesting. The mower consisted of the main components including the frame, cutting mechanism, drive drum, gauge rollers, electrical motor, power transmission and handle. The results can be summarized as follows: the maximum machine productivity of 599.4 m2/h (0.143 fed./h) was obtained with forward speed of 2.16 km/h, cutting height of 2 cm and cutting speed of 6 m/s. Meanwhile, the minimum machine-productivity of 216.9 m2/h (0.052 fed/h) was obtained with forward speed of 0.84 km/h, cutting height of 5 cm and cutting speed of 4.1 m/s. The maximum cutting-efficiency of 98.8 % was obtained with forward speed of 0.84 km/h, cutting height of 2 cm and cutting speed of 6 m/s. The maximum power requirements of 0.70 kW was obtained with forward speed of 2.16 km/h, cutting height of 5 cm and cutting speed of 6 m/s. Meanwhile, the maximum specific energy of 11.27 kW.h/fed. was obtained with forward speed of 0.84 km/h, cutting height of 5 cm and cutting speed of 6 m/s. The experimental results revealed that the use of the developed grass-mower maximized cutting efficiency and minimized energy. The operational cost and cost of production were 11.5 L.E./h and 193.3 L.E./fed. respectively, was obtained with forward speed of 0.84 km/h.

Main Subjects


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