Development of stripper harvester for paddy

Konkan is the coastal part of Maharashtra between Western Ghat and Arabian seacoast. Rice is a major crop grown over 3.86 lakh hectares. Stripper harvesting technology, which strips only seeds and keeps straw erect-ed in the field present bright prospect for the development of small, light, efficient mechanism by reducing number of operation with increased capacity and lesser power compared to conventional cutter bar combine harvester. The big machines like combine harvester and high capacity threshers for harvesting and threshing have limitations. A proto-type of paddy stripper harvester was developed considering the limitation of Konkan like small, fragmented land, hilly, terrace farming and high rainfall. It consisted of stripping mechanism, grain tank, hydraulic system, steering system, gear box, engine, cage wheel and chassis. The arrangement of V-belt and set of pulleys were made to transmit power from gear box to stripper rotor. The effect of forward speed and peripheral speed on shattered and un-stripped grain loss was studied. The shattered grain loss was decreased with increase in forward speed whereas decreased initially and then increased with increase in peripheral speed. The un-stripped grain loss was decreased with increase in forward and peripheral speed. The performance of the developed prototype was found better at forward speed of 2.25 km/h and peripheral speed of 19.78 m/s. During final testing of prototype, shattered and un-stripped grain loss was found 5.95 and 1.89 %, respectively. The average field capacity and field efficiency of paddy stripper harvester machine was found 0.14 ha/h and 69.38 per cent respectively

Simulation of wind power with front-end converter into interconnected grid system

In the growing electricity supply industry and open access market for electricity worldwide, renewable sources are getting added into the grid system. This affects the grid power quality. To assess the impact on grid due to wind energy integration, the knowledge of electrical characteristic of wind turbine and associated control equipments are required. The paper presents a simulation set-up for wind turbine in MATLAB / SIMULINK, with front end converter and interconnected system. The presented control scheme provides the wind power flow to the grid through a converter. The injected power in the system at the point of common coupling is ensured within the power quality normsPeer Reviewe

Cp2ZrCl2: AN EFFICIENT CATALYST FOR MULTICOMPONENT SYNTHESIS OF CAROTENOID DEHYDROSQUALENE SYNTHASE INHIBITING PYRANO[2,3-d]PYRIMIDINEDIONES

Objectives: The present protocol deals with zirconocene dichloride (Cp2ZrCl2) catalyzed synthesis of pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidinediones through one-pot multicomponent reactions of aromatic aldehydes with malononitrile and barbituric acid at ambient temperature. All the synthesized compounds were characterized and evaluated for antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant activities. Furthermore, a molecular docking was carried out to reveal the atomic insights between synthesized compounds and carotenoid dehydrosqualene synthase (PDB ID: 3ACX). Methods: All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activity by diffusion method. Antioxidant activities such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and radical scavenging activity. A mixture of barbituric acid 1 (1 mmol), malononitrile 2 (1 mmol), benzaldehyde 3a (1 mmol), ethanol (5 mL), and Cp2ZrCl2 (5 mol %) was stirred at ambient temperature for specified time. After completion of reaction as indicated by thin-layer chromatography, the obtained crude product was filtered and purified by column chromatography on silica gel (Merck, 60–120 mesh) using ethyl acetate:pet. ether to afford pure product which was then characterized by spectroscopic methods such by FTIR, nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), 13C NMR, and mass spectroscopy. Results: All the synthesized pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidinediones were characterized by spectroscopic analysis. The results revealed that pyrano[2,3-d] pyrimidinediones (4 a-k) displayed the zone of inhibition in the range of 3–13 mm. The most active compound 4b displayed largest zone of inhibition of 13 mm for Escherichia coli (NCIM-2832) and 9 mm for Bacillus subtilis (NCIM-2635). The antifungal and antioxidant activity of all synthesized pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidinediones (4a-k) showed moderate to good activity. Molecular docking studies suggest that pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidinediones might inhibit the carotenoid dehydrosqualene synthase activity. Conclusion: All the synthesized pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidinediones display moderate to good antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant activity. This molecular docking studies supported that pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidinediones might inhibit the carotenoid dehydrosqualene synthase (PDB ID: 3ACX)

Optimisation of Pedal Power Output and Pedalling Rate Based on the Physiological Response of Male Agricultural Worker

Human power can be better utilised in rotary mode either by cranking or by pedalling. In occupational workload, pedalling is preferred over cranking as the former results less physiological cost. The present study aimed to determine the most economical pedalling rates at various power outputs as well as to arrive at the optimum power output and pedalling rate combination. Ten male subjects participated as replications with two independent parameters viz. power output (4 levels) and pedalling rate (5 levels). Three physiological parameters viz HR, OCR and ∆HR were studied. It was observed that all physiological parameters initially decreased, and then increased following a curvilinear relationship with respect to pedalling rate for all power outputs. The limiting power output for male agricultural workers was about 60 W in pedalling mode with pedalling rate 60 rpm. The HR, ∆HR and OCR at this power–pedalling rate combination were 116 beats.min-1, 33 beat.min-1 and 0.8 l.min-1, respectively

Voltage Flicker Mitigation Using STATCOM and ESS

The Voltage flicker, a phenomenon of annoying light intensity fluctuation, caused by rapid change in industrial and domestic load such as Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF), rolling mills, welding equipments and pumps operating periodically has been a major concern for supply utilities, electricity regulatory agencies and customers. Static Voltage Compensators (SVC's) and Static Synchronous Compensators (STATCOM) have been able to solve the voltage flicker problem by rapidly controlling the reactive power. But, the control of active power along with reactive power control helps to mitigate the voltage flicker problem more effectively. In this paper, voltage flicker mitigation of EAF with STATCOM along with Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is presented and performance results of the system using PSCAD/EMTDC software are analyzed

Folia linguistica Rossica

This paper describes a novel controller for a High Temperature Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (HTSSMES) that can ensure (a) fast return of energy to the superconducting coil under constant current mode and (b) a constant and sinusoidal input supply current irrespective of the varying load demand with and without harmonics. A special feature of this controller is its ability to smoothly charge the superconducting coil using constant current charging so that it can be ready for the next discharging operation as soon as possible. Analysis of the circuit operation under hysteresis control is presented in details. Simulation and experimental results are presented demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed power conditioning system

Simulation of wind power with front-end converter into interconnected grid system

In the growing electricity supply industry and open access market for electricity worldwide, renewable sources are getting added into the grid system. This affects the grid power quality. To assess the impact on grid due to wind energy integration, the knowledge of electrical characteristic of wind turbine and associated control equipments are required. The paper presents a simulation set-up for wind turbine in MATLAB / SIMULINK, with front end converter and interconnected system. The presented control scheme provides the wind power flow to the grid through a converter. The injected power in the system at the point of common coupling is ensured within the power quality norm

Development of Hand-cranking Type Manual Paddy Transplanter for Farm Women of Konkan Region

A hand-cranking type manual paddy transplanter was refined and developed for women workers of the Konkan region of Maharashtra. The transplanter dimensions were optimised ergonomically and mechanically by considering the anthropometric data of women workers of Konkan region. The height and length of handle were kept as 926 and 1100 mm, respectively. The shape of the handle grip was cylindrical with handle grip of 31 mm. The developed paddy transplanter was ergonomically evaluated to assess its adoptability. The mean working heart rate, work pulse, and energy expenditure rate were 118.06 (±2.18) beat. min-1, 35.8 (±3.96) beat. min-1, and 10.03(±0.36) kJ.min-1, respectively. The average field capacity and field efficiency were 0.03 ha.h-1 and 60.4%, respectively. The operating cost of the manual paddy transplanter was 69.7₹ h-