Pneumatic Separation on Separating Unit of a Combine Harvester

콤바인 선별실(選別室)의 기류선별(氣流選別)에 관한 연구(硏究)

This study was attempted to investigate the pneumatic separation on separating unit of a combine harvester. The aerodynamic characteristics of threshed materials were analyzed by experiments. The air velocity distribution within the separation chamber was measured for various speeds of the winnower and suction fans to find out the operational and design conditions of the separating unit which would serve for reducing the grain loss from chaff outlet. The results of study arc summarized as follows: 1. Based on the separation curve of threshed materials analyzed, it was shown that three different kind. of materials-kernels, straw chaff, and leaf chaff were as a whole able to be separated pneumatically, regardless of varieties. However, a small amount of the separation grain loss may be expected to occur if the complete separation between kernels and straw chaff would be undertaken because some portion of their separation curve were overlapping. 2. The analysis of air velocity distribution showed that the separation chamber may be divided into two regions, the discharging and separating. The air velocity of the discharging region was 5-15 m/s and that of the separating region 2-5 m/s. 3. The air movement of the separation chamber may be a turbulence flow, being its speed became greater as it moves from the left to the right section of the separation chamber. The equi-speed line. of air flow had a steep gradient in between the discharging and the separation regions. The air velocity in the discharging region was much higher than the terminal velocity of kernels, because of which those kernels appearing in the region could be possibly exhausted as the grain loss from the chaff outlet. 4. The motion trajectory of threshed material in the separating region was dominantly affected by the winnower fan, on the other hand, its motion in the discharging region was affected by suction fan. 5. The grain loss from the chaff outlet was affected greatly by the winnower fan and the trace of kernel movement. It was observed that the optimum working speed to give minimum grain loss from chaff outlet for the combine tested should be maintained at 950~1,150 rpm for the winnower fan and 1,850 rpm for the suction fan. 6. It was shown that a large portion of grain loss from chaff outlet may occur when the kernels may bump against a portion of separation chamber wall and those kernels thus scattered into the discharging region were sucked by the suction fan. It was accordingly recommended that a new design of the wall of separation chamber so as to bump down kernels may be necessary to reduce grain loss from the chaff outlet.