Economic Analysis and Evaluation of Grain Losses of Two Common Straw Collecting Combine Harvester: A Case Study, Azna County, Lorestan, Iran

IntroductionWheat, is the most important crop in the world. In Iran, wheat is the most important and strategic agricultural crop, due to its vital role in providing food and feeding livestock. Because wheat harvesting operation has a significant share of total grain losses, it is considered as the most important and sensitive stage of production. Recently, in Iran, the need for straw to feed livestock has increased sharply, and since wheat is the main source of straw production, changes have been made in the configuration of the grain combine harvester so that in addition to collecting grain, it can crush and collect straw. These combine harvesters are known as straw collecting combine harvesters. The growing need for straw, along with the high cost and difficulty of straw collecting, has made straw collecting combine harvesters more popular, especially in areas where animal husbandry is common alongside agriculture. Despite facilitating and increasing the possibility of straw collection by this type of combine harvesters, in many cases grain losses have increased. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the amount of grain losses in this type of combine harvester and determine the factors affecting its losses.Materials and MethodsThis study was conducted to investigate the effect of ground speed and wheat yield on grain loss in a straw collecting combine harvester. The use of this type of harvester was also analyzed economically. Two models of JD-1055 and JD-1165 combine harvesters were considered for evaluation. The experiments were performed in a split factorial design in the form of a randomized complete block design. Grain yield (at three yield levels: less than 2 Ton ha-1, 2 to 5 Ton ha-1, and more than 5 Ton ha-1) was the main factor and the other two treatments, the model of combine harvester and the ground speed (with three levels: 1, 1.5 and 3 km h-1) were factorially placed in subplots. Loss components including head loss, combine harvester body loss, end loss, threshing unit loss, cleaning unit loss, and quality losses were measured and compared with that of a conventional grain combine harvester. Field capacity and harvesting cost were also measured for both types of combine harvesters. Finally, based on cost-benefit analysis, the straw collecting combine harvester was compared with the conventional combine harvester economically.Results and DiscussionThe results showed that in addition to the main effects, the two-way and three-way interactions were also significant for the studied factors on head loss, body loss, end loss, threshing unit loss, cleaning unit loss, and quality losses of straw collecting combine harvester. The losses of the straw collecting combine harvester are strongly affected by the ground speed and the grain yield. The percentage of grain loss in low yields (less than 2 Ton ha-1) was significantly higher than that of medium (2 to 5 Ton ha-1) and high yields (more than 5 Ton ha-1). The average loss of JD-1055 was less than JD-1165, mainly because of more loss in threshing and cleaning units. The highest total losses, with a rate of 10.54%, were related to JD-1165 in low yields, while the lowest percentage of total losses, at a rate of 2.54%, was related to JD-1055 in medium grain yield and low speed (1 km h-1). The total grain losses of conventional combine harvesters obtained about 3.22% while the total grain losses of straw collecting combine harvesters were approximately 5.44%. In general, the losses of straw collecting combine harvester were about 2.22% more than that of the conventional combine harvester. The economic evaluation showed that in the region where animal farming is common along with agriculture, the use of straw collecting combine harvester is more economical than a conventional combine harvester.ConclusionCombine harvester model, grain yield, as well as ground speed of the combine harvester affects the grain losses in different units of a straw collecting combine harvester as well as total losses. As the grain yield and the feed rate increase, the total losses of this combine decrease at first but increase again in high yields. Adjusting the feed rate helps reduce the end losses and total losses of straw collecting combine harvester. In the study area, using a straw collecting combine harvester is more economical than a conventional combine harvest

Spatial Zoning of Iran\'s Annual Rainfall using ANFIS-FCM Artificial-Fuzzy Neural Model

Precipitation is one of the most significant climatic parameters; its distribution and values in different areas is the result of complex linear and nonlinear relationships between atmospheric elements-climatic processes and the spatial structure of the earth's surface environment. Classification of data and placing them in small and homogeneous zones can be effective in improving the understanding of these complex relationships and their results. In the present study, zoning and analyzing the distribution of rainfall in Iran concerning environmental factors was performed using the annual precipitation data of 3423 synoptic, climatological, and gauge stations in the country during the period from 1961 to 2015 and the altitude, slope, aspect, and station density data. After standardization and preparation of the data matrix, the optimal number of clusters was determined and the data set was entered into the neural-fuzzy network model (ANFIS-FCM). The results showed that the values of R2  and MAE  indices were 0.76 and 0.23, respectively which indicate the appropriate accuracy of the model. It was also found that in the four output zones of the model, environmental factors have a high impact on the spatial distribution of precipitation. In the first and third zones, the combination of high altitude and slope factors along with geographical proximity to precipitation systems has caused the average annual rainfall in these zones to be 318 and 181 mm, respectively. The mean annual rainfall has decreased to about 100 mm by the weakening of the role of environmental factors in the second and fourth clusters

The Influence of Seismic Parameters on Site Response

Geotechnical earthquake engineers have been trying to determine the most appropriate solution techniques for ground response analysis under earthquake loadings. This paper presents the importance of the adequate soil behavior model to simulate earthquake site response analysis. The influence of nonlinearity and linearity of soils on the site response is also investigated. Many methods have been proposed for the analysis of one-dimensional ground response such as nonlinear methods and equivalent linear with reduced modulus. Using 13 well known earthquake records and geotechnical information of sand in the Qeshm Island (Iran) and classification of earthquakes based on seismic parameters, the influence of each parameter on the Response spectra and Fourier Spectrum of surface of ground becomes evident. Analysis was done using two softwares; EERA (equivalent linear analysis) and NERA (nonlinear analysis) and compared. Finally, output of the software is compared with the reference result on site

Post-long-term cyclic behaviour of Coode Island Silt (CIS) containing different sand content

It is widely accepted that the post-cyclic stiffness and shear strength of marine clays may alter as a consequence of experiencing a large number of deviatoric load cycles. Most marine clays in bay areas are already undergoing long-term one-way and low amplitude ocean and wind waves either because of the seabed topography or existing infrastructures. For the engineering of such clays, particular attention should be given to the post-cyclic behaviour of the material when investigating the effect of alteration in loading regimes exerted by human-made or natural phenomena such installation of new infrastructure, earthquake, tsunami and port upgrade construction, in which the magnitude of the applied load changes. As one of the most sensitive soft soils in Melbourne, Coode Island Silt (CIS) at the northern shoreline of Port Phillip Bay comprises a considerable and variable amount of sand. This paper explores the post-cyclic constitutive behaviour of CIS containing variable sand content. To investigate the stiffness and shear strength of CIS subsequent to experiencing a large number of low amplitude cycles, a series of post-cyclic triaxial tests are performed on CIS specimens with varying sand content ratio up to 30%, immediately after applying 30,000 semi-sinusoidal load cycles. Based on the test results, it is found that the undrained shear strength of CIS, does not alter considerably as the results of long-term cyclic loading. However, a significant increase in the secant stiffness of CIS followed by very brittle yielding is observed. In the end, it is intended that results be summarised in a form applicable by industry. Hence, the possible effects of such alterations in the constitutive behaviour of CIS on the design of monopile foundations are discussed

Evaluation of influencing factors (age, sex, number of teeth, type and quality of teeth) on the development of dry socket (alveolar osteitis) after tooth pull (clinical study)

A dry socket (alveolar osteitis) is a painful dental condition that sometimes happens after you have a permanent adult tooth pulled. Dry socket is the most common complication following tooth pull, such as the removal of third molars (wisdom teeth). Over-the-counter medications alone won't be enough to treat dry socket pain. Your dentist or oral surgeon can offer treatments to relieve your pain. In this study, we investigated the influential factors (age, sex, number of teeth, type, and quality of teeth) on the formation of the dry socket after tooth pull (as a clinical study) and analyzed each of the factors. This research was conducted in the Russian federation in 2018-2020 as a case study