Investigations about the impact of the sowing time and rate of the biomass yield and quality of industrial hemp

ArticleThe aim of this study was to find the optimum sowing rate of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) and to clarify the impact of the sowing rate on the production of biofuel from hemp biomass in Latvia. Field trials were carried out at the Research and Study Farm ‘Pēterlauki’ of the Latvia University of Agriculture in 2012–2014. The industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) ‘Futura 75’ was sown in a Luvic Endogleyic Stagnosol soil: pHKCl 6.7; P – 52 mg kg-1 ; K – 128 mg kg-1 ; the organic matter content – 21–25 g kg-1 . Hemp was sown in 10-m2 plots, triplicate, on May 8 and 17. The total sowing rate was 20 (100), 30 (150), 40 (200), 50 (250), 60 (300), 70 (350), 80 (400), 90 (450), and 100 (500) kg ha-1 (germinating seeds per 1 m2 ). The plots were fertilised as follows: N – 120 kg ha-1 ; P2O5 – 80 kg ha-1 ; and K2O – 112 kg ha-1 . Hemp was harvested when the first matured seeds appeared. The biometrical indices (height and stem diameter), harvesting time, the amount of fresh and dry biomass, and the fibre content were evaluated. Depending on the sowing rate, the yield of dry matter was on average 9.2–12.1 t ha-1 when hemp was sown at the beginning of May, and 7.9–10.0 t ha-1 when hemp was sown in the middle of May

Silica Sol Binder for Building Materials

The use of sodium silicates as gluing binders is limited by the fact that the tensile strength of these bindings is below 50 kg/cm2, and the fact that the bindings remain water-soluble till the annealing temperature of +250°C. Besides, when heated to +160°C , these gluing binders distend. Gluing binders based on SiO2 sold or gels exhibit tensile strength above 500 kg/cm2, are insoluble in water at the annealing temperature of +150°C and do not distend during heating

Experimental study of an improved root crop cleaner from admixtures

ArticleOne of the ways to raise the quality of sugar beet harvesting is the use of improved digging tools that are able to dig out root crops from the soil without any loss and considerable damage, as well as cleaners of the heap from admixtures. Perspective are the root crop harvesting machines, built according to the modular principle, where, depending on the state of the beet plantation, the composition of the cleaning tools, and the kinematic and technological modes of their operat ion are determined. To carry out experimental studies, experimental equipment was made which, under laboratory and field conditions, made it possible to obtain qualitative separation indicators of the heaps of sugar beet roots with wide variation in the ra nge of kinematic and design parameters of the improved cleaner. As the results of the laboratory and field experimental studies showed, in each of the two stages of cleaning the beet heap, a sufficiently high degree of removal of the soil admixtures and pl ant residues is ensured. Thus, at the first, preliminary stage of cleaning, the removal of admixtures amounted to 65.5 – 75.8%. After the second, basic stage of cleaning, the transported heap contained no more than 1.9% of admixtures. The results of the laboratory and field tests indicate that the proposed design of an improved sugar beet root cleaner from admixtures is prospective

Experimental study of the distribution of the heights of sugar beet root crowns above the soil surface

ArticleThe results of experimental studies and operational tests of the sugar beet harvesting process carried out recently reveal that the latest models of beet harvesters produced in Europe and America cause considerable loss of the sugar-bearing mass. The source of this loss is mainly the poor topping of the crowns of standing sugar beet roots, more specifically the excessively low point at which the tops are cut off, which results in the straight out loss of sugar-bearing mass. Thus, there is need to search for such engineering solutions that would avoid both the loss of sugar-bearing mass and the presence of residual haulm on the roots. The aim of this study was to reduce the loss of sugar-bearing mass in the process of topping sugar beet root crowns. The results of this research into the distribution of the heights that root crowns protrude above the soil surface have confirmed the hypothesis that it follows the normal distribution. Based on the results, it has been established that this distribution has the following statistical parameters: mean deviation a = 20–30 mm, mathematical expectation m = 40...60 mm. The laboratory unit developed for this work and the field studies performed with it have provided sufficient evidence to develop a new system to automatically adjust the topping height on state-of-the-art root crop harvesters

Deformations of the Retaining Structures Upon Deep Excavations in Moscow

Foundation trenches for the buildings having underground floors and vehicular traffic tunnels are excavated in Moscow in congested urban housing environment. A retaining structure is a “slurry wall” made of cast-in-place reinforced concrete), and “soil-mixed-wall”. Retaining structures of trenches are fastened with the help of anchors, metal tie-beams, struts or floor structures. During the monitoring performed at major Moscow construction sites with deep trenches the (NIIOSP) named after Gersevanov created a database on retaining structures deformations

Approximate approach of research and assessment of crack resistance of cylindrical housings

In this work, we propose a procedure that allows us to quickly, without involving finite-element packages at the execution stage, evaluate the state of postulated cracks in cylindrical structural elements with internal anticorrosion cladding under pressure and unsteady temperature loading. The procedure contains three components. The first component of the procedure is based on the analytical solution of the unsteady thermal conductivity problem. The second component of the procedure is also analytical relations specifying circumferential and longitudinal stresses in a two-layer cylinder as a function of internal pressure and temperature distribution along the depth of the wall. In the third stage of the procedure, the coefficients of stress intensity along the crack front are determined by the method of influence functions using the known distribution of stresses. To implement this part of the procedure, the influence functions must first be calculated by the finite element method. In this work the example of calculating the functions of influence for longitudinal semi-elliptical cracks of 1/8 wall thickness depth and with the ratio of the principal half-diameters 0.3 and 0.7 is presented. As an example of the implementation of the procedure, comparative calculations were carried out and the elastic-plastic calculation of a cylindrical shell containing longitudinal cracks was given. Stress intensity coefficients along the part of the front located in the base metal were calculated. The results of analytical calculations were conservative until plastic deformations developed in the cladding. At significant plastic strains, the values of the stress intensity coefficients calculated by the proposed procedure, on the contrary, are significantly inferior. This demonstrates once again the fact that calculations in the framework of linear fracture mechanics are not always conservative in relation to calculations in the elastic-plastic formulation. The paper gives an explanation of the reason for the obtained effect

Theoretical research into directional stability of trailed tandem- type disk harrow

Received: August 27th, 2021 ; Accepted: October 6th, 2021 ; Published: October 7th, 2021 ; Correspondence: [email protected] is one of the methods of soil cultivation, provides its effective crumbling, loosening, partial mixing and soil inversion. This ensures that crop residues on the soil surface are shredded and intermixing with loosened soil particles. Since, in addition to crop stubble, weeds are also counted as crop residues, soil disking, along with the use of herbicides, is often regarded as the most effective method of controlling the weediness of the agricultural background. Despite the fact that numerous studies on the disk harrow working process are available, insufficient attention has been paid to the study of the stability of harrow machine-tractor units, especially trailed ones. The purpose of this study is to establish the theoretical patterns that would provide for selecting the trailed disk harrow parameters that ensure the desired directional stability of the implement, which, in its turn, helps to achieve the desired qualitative performance of the disk harrowing machine-tractor unit. The principles of the theory agricultural machine, analytical mechanics, higher mathematics, as well as methods of PC-assisted numerical calculations have been used. According to the results of the study, it has been established that sufficient directional stability of the trailed disk harrow can be ensured if its working width B, the distance from the hitch point to the centre of resistance (parameter d) and the operating speed are properly selected. Determining the above-mentioned parameters of the disk harrow with the use of the obtained new analytical relations ensures achieving just their optimal combination, which provides for the maximum field productivity of the harrow machine-tractor unit with the satisfactory stability of disk harrow movement in the horizontal plane

Lexical combinability of adjectives and nouns expressing elements of appraisal

The present article aims to examine and analyze the nature of lexical combinability in the English language, namely collocates expressing elements of appraisal found in authentic online news article