ANALYTICAL SOLUTION FOR SPEED TO ACHIEVE A DESIRED OPERATING POINT FOR A GIVEN FAN OR PUMP

The Affinity Laws for fans (and pumps) provide a way of determining new fan or pump speed given fan or pump performance curve data and a desired operating point (combination of flow rate and pressure) that does not fall on the curve. However, the affinity law calculations require using a point on the curve (hereafter referred to as the “basic point”) to determine the new speed. Most references regarding the Affinity Laws do not give a clear description of the method for determining the “basic point”, and improper selection of this point can affect the results considerably. This article describes the requirements for the “basic point,” and presents an analytical solution to determine the “basic point” and the desired operating speed for the fan or pump to operate at the desired operating point conditions

ANALYTICAL SOLUTION FOR SPEED TO ACHIEVE A DESIRED OPERATING POINT FOR A GIVEN FAN OR PUMP

The Affinity Laws for fans (and pumps) provide a way of determining new fan or pump speed given fan or pump performance curve data and a desired operating point (combination of flow rate and pressure) that does not fall on the curve. However, the affinity law calculations require using a point on the curve (hereafter referred to as the “basic point”) to determine the new speed. Most references regarding the Affinity Laws do not give a clear description of the method for determining the “basic point”, and improper selection of this point can affect the results considerably. This article describes the requirements for the “basic point,” and presents an analytical solution to determine the “basic point” and the desired operating speed for the fan or pump to operate at the desired operating point conditions

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OBJECTIVE EVALUATION OF PATENT AMBULATION, BALANCE AND WEIGHT BEARNG STATUS

A walker is provided which is equipped with detectors for measuring various loads and torques placed thereon by a user including right side and left side loads as well as torque loads on the handles of the walker and having time and distance detectors to allow the ambulation status of a user to be progressively monitored by medical personnel

Metering Characteristics Accompanying Rate Changes Necessary for Precision Farming

Agricultural machines used in precision fanning must adjust application rates according to the needs of each cell within a field. Changing from an initial application rate to a new rate while the machine travels from one cell to another in the field is accompanied with some misapplication. The severity of this misapplication depends on the down-the-row delivery characteristics of the metering system and the magnitude of the rate change from cell to cell. On-the-go rate change tests evaluated the down-the-row performance of an operator controlled metering system when increasing and decreasing wheat seeding rates by 10 and 20 kg/ha steps. The transition time from one cell to another ranged from 3 to 9 s depending upon the magnitude of the application rate change. The difference between the initial and final seeding rate was based on a simple index. This separation index was based upon the initial and final down-the-row seeding rate distributions. When the separation index was greater than or equal to zero, the difference between the initial and final application rate was considered to be suitable for precision fanning. The separation criterion was always satisfied with 20 kg/ha rate changes. For 10 kg/ha rate changes, the separation index was negative in most cases. This indicated that rate changes of 10 kg/ha or less were unlikely to provide detectable rate differences as the metering rate variability exceeded the magnitude of the 10 kg/ha rate change

Using a vision sensor system for performance testing of satellite-based tractor auto-guidance

A vision sensing system for the measurement of auto-guidance pass-to-pass and long-term errors was implemented to test the steering performance of tractors equipped with auto-guidance systems. The developed test system consisted of an optical machine vision sensor rigidly mounted on the rear of the tested tractor. The center of the drawbar hitch pin point was used as the reference from which to measure the deviation of the tractor’s actual travel path from its desired path. The system was built and calibrated to a measurement accuracy of better than 2 mm. To evaluate the sensor, two auto-guidance systems equipped with RTK-level GNSS receivers were tested and the results for different travel speeds compared. Pass-to-pass and long-term errors were calculated using the relative positions of a reference at a collocated point when the tractor was operated in opposite directions within 15 min and more than 1 h apart, respectively. In addition to variations in speed, two different auto-guidance steering stabilization distances allowed for comparison of two different definitions of steady-state operation of the system. For the analysis, non-parametric cumulative distributions were generated to determine error values that corresponded to 95% of the cumulative distribution. Both auto-guidance systems provided 95% cumulative error estimates comparable to 51 mm (2 in.) claims and even smaller during Test A. Higher travel speeds (especially 5.0 m/s) significantly increased measured auto-guidance error, but no significant difference was observed between pass-to-pass and long-term error estimates. The vision sensor testing system could be used as a means to implement the auto-guidance test standard under development by the International Standard Organization (ISO). Third-party evaluation of auto-guidance performance will increase consumer awareness of the potential performance of products provided by a variety of vendors

Metering Characteristics Accompanying Rate Changes Necessary for Precision Farming

Agricultural machines used in precision fanning must adjust application rates according to the needs of each cell within a field. Changing from an initial application rate to a new rate while the machine travels from one cell to another in the field is accompanied with some misapplication. The severity of this misapplication depends on the down-the-row delivery characteristics of the metering system and the magnitude of the rate change from cell to cell. On-the-go rate change tests evaluated the down-the-row performance of an operator controlled metering system when increasing and decreasing wheat seeding rates by 10 and 20 kg/ha steps. The transition time from one cell to another ranged from 3 to 9 s depending upon the magnitude of the application rate change. The difference between the initial and final seeding rate was based on a simple index. This separation index was based upon the initial and final down-the-row seeding rate distributions. When the separation index was greater than or equal to zero, the difference between the initial and final application rate was considered to be suitable for precision fanning. The separation criterion was always satisfied with 20 kg/ha rate changes. For 10 kg/ha rate changes, the separation index was negative in most cases. This indicated that rate changes of 10 kg/ha or less were unlikely to provide detectable rate differences as the metering rate variability exceeded the magnitude of the 10 kg/ha rate change

Hop Cone Drying for the Small Grower: Temperature and Airflow Considerations

Small hop growers without nearby processors for cone stripping and drying must attempt to do so on their own farm. Challenges exist for self-built drying systems, including drying capacity, processing speed, airflow direction, and maintaining quality during drying. Research-based recommendations are given for optimal temperature, sizing of drying vessel, maximum cone depth, and influences associated with airflow on processing uniformity and cone quality are presented

DYNAMIC ROPS TEST FOR TRACTORS OVER 6,000 KILOGRAMS

OECD static tests (Codes 4, 6, 7, and 8) for agricultural rollover protective structures (ROPS) have become accepted standards for evaluating the ability of these structures to protect the operator during tractor rollover events. The strength properties of some materials typically used in ROPS change because of cold weather embrittlement at low temperatures. The static ROPS tests lack the ability to evaluate the strength of these structures during cold weather. The use of the dynamic ROPS test is well noted as a means for proving cold weather embrittlement resistance properties. Unfortunately, application of the OECD dynamic ROPS test (Code 3) is restricted to tractors with unballasted mass greater than 600 kg and generally less than 6,000 kg. The analyses presented in this technical note were undertaken to evaluate the extension of the OECD Code 3 dynamic ROPS test to tractors with unballasted mass of 6,000 kg or more. Tractor unballasted mass and wheelbase data from 47 wheeled tractors tested at the Nebraska Tractor Test Lab from 2014 to 2016 were used to explore the possibility of using a dynamic test method for evaluating the ability of ROPS on tractors with unballasted mass greater than 6,000 kg to meet the safety requirements of agricultural tractor ROPS. The data were graphed and analyzed to determine the required pendulum drop height and energy values to be applied to the ROPS by extending the existing equations to tractors over 6,000 kg. For tractors over 6,000 kg mass, it was determined that pendulum drop heights were too great for practical use. Three pendulum masses were proposed for the dynamic ROPS test: a 2,000 kg pendulum for tractors with mass less than 7,000 kg, a 4,000 kg pendulum for tractors with mass of 7,000 kg or more and less than 14,000 kg, and a 6,000 kg pendulum for tractors with mass of 14,000 kg or more and less than 23,000 kg. Alternate equations were developed for the drop height of each pendulum to meet the energy requirements that are expected to provide similar permanent deflections as those obtained when using the static ROPS test when considering the effect of strain rates on material properties. Tests should be conducted to determine how the results (permanent deflections) from the proposed dynamic ROPS test compare with results from the accepted static ROPS tests. It is further proposed that dynamic testing be conducted with the tractor rigidly restrained in a manner similar to the static test to better account for the wide variety of available tires and mountings for each tractor model

Using a vision sensor system for performance testing of satellite-based tractor auto-guidance

A vision sensing system for the measurement of auto-guidance pass-to-pass and long-term errors was implemented to test the steering performance of tractors equipped with auto-guidance systems. The developed test system consisted of an optical machine vision sensor rigidly mounted on the rear of the tested tractor. The center of the drawbar hitch pin point was used as the reference from which to measure the deviation of the tractor’s actual travel path from its desired path. The system was built and calibrated to a measurement accuracy of better than 2 mm. To evaluate the sensor, two auto-guidance systems equipped with RTK-level GNSS receivers were tested and the results for different travel speeds compared. Pass-to-pass and long-term errors were calculated using the relative positions of a reference at a collocated point when the tractor was operated in opposite directions within 15 min and more than 1 h apart, respectively. In addition to variations in speed, two different auto-guidance steering stabilization distances allowed for comparison of two different definitions of steady-state operation of the system. For the analysis, non-parametric cumulative distributions were generated to determine error values that corresponded to 95% of the cumulative distribution. Both auto-guidance systems provided 95% cumulative error estimates comparable to 51 mm (2 in.) claims and even smaller during Test A. Higher travel speeds (especially 5.0 m/s) significantly increased measured auto-guidance error, but no significant difference was observed between pass-to-pass and long-term error estimates. The vision sensor testing system could be used as a means to implement the auto-guidance test standard under development by the International Standard Organization (ISO). Third-party evaluation of auto-guidance performance will increase consumer awareness of the potential performance of products provided by a variety of vendors

Variability in Volume Metering Devices

The inherent variability of seed and fertilizer application from volumetric metering devices is not readily recognized. The Canadian Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (P AMI) suggests a maximum coefficient of variation (CV) of 15% among outlets for seeding grain or applying fertilizer. P AMI does not report down-the-row variability of individual outlets. Parameters that influence variability of volumetric measuring external fluted wheels such as rotational speed of the metering wheel, product delivery rate, seed size, and cell collection lengths were examined. In the first study, external fluted wheel meters on four grain drills were tested for seed delivery variability for wheat and soybeans, both among the metering outlets and down-the-row for individual meters. Tests on two additional drills, one an air drill and the other with external fluted metering, used two sizes of soybean seeds and two travel speeds. For wheat, down-the-row CV ranged from 12.5 to 22.5% and the CV among metering units ranged from 12.5 to 21 %. For soybeans, the CV ranged from 15.5 to 41.5% with the air drill having the lower CV. A faster travel speed gave a lower CV for both drills metering soybeans. In a second study, when metering wheat, the seeding rate variability due to cell size and seeding rate were evaluated. Each meter was evaluated with cells 0.48 or 0.96 m in length and seeding rates of 60, 80,90, and 100 kg/ha. The down-the-row CV ranged from 10 to 28% with 0.48 m length cells, and from 4 to 22% with 0.96 m length cells. Some of these CVs may be too high for a metering mechanism such as the fluted wheel to be used in SSCM