ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH TRENDS IN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

Nowadays it is necessary to define actual global research trends in disciplines in order to determine the major research topics, discoveries and global scientific networks. The goal of the work was to determine the main topics and research trends in agricultural engineering. For this caser he method of modified bibliometric analysis was applied. Such analysis of the keywords frequency occurrence and the links between the keywords in Biosystems Engineering Journal shows that in the three analysed periods, certain keywords invariably remain dominant. These are “model”, “system” or “systems”, “temperature” and “water”. The highest number of publications was qualified for the CIGR section: Information Technology. It can be, therefore, stated that in the recent period the most intensively developing researches were dedicated to the application of IT tools in creation various types of models, allowing to simulate and optimize agricultural processes. A majority of publications covered decision-making support (Decision Support Systems), image analysis application, and automation of agricultural processes

The concept of algorithm supporting the process of scheduling production tasks

The purpose of the work was to develop a concept of an algorithm which supports the process of scheduling production tasks. The designed algorithm performs a task queue creation process in six steps: selecting a schedule type, declaring a queue length, selecting orders for queue development, loading data, automatic job analysis, and queue and Gantt chart generation, taking a decision on the acceptance of the designed production program. The designed system will use single-attribute priority rules (defined by experts) and multi-attribute rules that can be created by combining single-attribute rules. The concept of an algorithm that supports the process of scheduling production tasks, developed and tested by conducting simulations, can be the basis for developing a computer application supporting decision-making process in a manufacturing or service company

The concept of algorithm supporting the process of scheduling production tasks

The purpose of the work was to develop a concept of an algorithm which supports the process of scheduling production tasks. The designed algorithm performs a task queue creation process in six steps: selecting a schedule type, declaring a queue length, selecting orders for queue development, loading data, automatic job analysis, and queue and Gantt chart generation, taking a decision on the acceptance of the designed production program. The designed system will use single-attribute priority rules (defined by experts) and multi-attribute rules that can be created by combining single-attribute rules. The concept of an algorithm that supports the process of scheduling production tasks, developed and tested by conducting simulations, can be the basis for developing a computer application supporting decision-making process in a manufacturing or service company

Values of selected strength parameters of Miscanthus Giganteus Stalk depending on water content and internode number

So far, there are no results for research on the biomechanical parameters of giant miscanthus stalks taking into account both the influence of moisture content and the internode, from which the samples were taken. Therefore, the aim of the research was to comprehensively investigate the influence of the internode number (NrNod) and water content (MC) on the values of selected biomechanical parameters (modulus of elasticity and maximum stress) determined using various stress tests (three-point bending and compression along the fibers). The research was carried out for dry stalks of different humidities and for different internodes. The results obtained in this study proved that the independent variables of the water content and the internode number cause a statistically significant influence on the values of the examined biomechanical parameters of the miscanthus stem: the modulus of elasticity in compression, the maximum stress in compression, the modulus of elasticity in bending and the maximum stress in bending. The values of the modulus of elasticity (MOE) increase when increasing the NrNod. For individual internodes, MOE values are higher with a higher MC. The values of the maximum stress (σ) also increase when increasing the internode number. For individual internodes, the σ values are lower with a higher MC

The use of artificial neural networks for determining values of selected strength parameters of Miscanthus Giganteus

The aim of this paper is to develop neural models enabling the determination of biomechanical parameters for giant miscanthus stems. The static three-point bending test is used to determine the bending strength parameters of the miscanthus stem. In this study, we assume the modulus of elasticity bending and maximum stress in bending as the dependent variables. As independent variables (inputs of the neural network) we assume water content, internode number, maximum bending force value and dimensions characterizing the cross-section of miscanthus stem: maximum and minimum stem diameter and stem wall thickness. The four developed neural models, enabling the determination of the value of the modulus of elasticity in bending and the maximum stress in bending, demonstrate sufficient and even very high accuracy. The neural networks have an average relative error of 2.18%, 2.21%, 3.24% and 0.18% for all data subsets, respectively. The results of the sensitivity analysis confirmed that all input variables are important for the accuracy of the developed neural models—correct semantic models

Physicochemical Properties of Biochar Produced from Goldenrod Plants

Torrefaction is one of the methods of thermal treatment of biomass, which allows obtaining a product of better quality in the form of biochar. The aim of the paper was to analyze the possibility of using goldenrod (Solidago canadensis, Solidago gigantea) for the production of biochar. The torrefaction process involved the vegetative and generative parts as well as the whole plant at temperatures of 250 °C and 275 °C, for 3 h. Next, the physicochemical properties of the raw material and biochar were determined, namely moisture content, ash content, volatile matter content, calorific value, and heat of combustion. The bulk density of raw biomass and biochar was also determined. It was found that after biomass torrefaction, the ash content, calorific value, and heat of combustion increased, while volatile matter content decreased. It has been observed that in both the case of raw biomass and biochar, the plant species and the sampled parts have a significant impact on the ash content, volatile matter content, calorific value, and heat of combustion

The influence of organic vanadium complexes on an antioxidant profile in adipose tissue in wistar rats

One of the aspects of biological activity of vanadium is its influence on carbohydrate metabolism. For more than 30 years, various vanadium complexes have been tested as antidiabetic agents. This study researched organic vanadium complexes with bipyridinium ligands and their influences on metabolic rate, as well as on the antioxidant activity of adipose tissue. The effects of sodium (2,2′-bipyridine) oxidobisperoxovanadate (V) octahydrate (known as the V complex), bis(2,2′-bipyridine) oxidovanadium (IV) sulfate dehydrate (known as the B complex), and bis(4.4′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine) oxidovanadium (IV) sulfate dihydrate (labelled as the BM complex) were assessed. Solutions of the tested complexes were introduced intraperitoneally with a probe to animals fed with either a control diet or a high-fat diet. The BM complex had a significant influence on the increase in ferric reducing antioxidant power, as well as on the concentration of glutathione in the adipose tissue of rats fed with a high-fat diet. The V complex increased the concentration of glutathione in the adipose tissue of rats fed with control fodder, as well as significantly reduced the relative change in rat weight for the high-fat diet. Furthermore, the presence of each tested vanadium complex had an impact of statistically significant increase in basal metabolic rate, regardless of applied diet. Further research on these organic vanadium complexes is necessary to understand the mechanisms responsible for their ability to affect adipose tissue