• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 2006

Threshing loss was increased due to dropping of the threshing efficiency when the 4 row head-feed combine harvested 5 row rice to improve harvesting performance of a combine. Reasonable design criteria were examined to determine the ranges of both of feed rate and the length of threshing drum for the 4 row head-feed combine being used as a 5-row combine. Harvesting performance increased as working width or working speed increased, it resulted in 15% increase when the working width increased from 4 row to 5 row. Harvesting operations of the 4 row combine performed normally in the 4 row rice in threshing loss less than 1%, however, threshing loss increased to 2.25% in the 5 row due to poor threshing efficiency. The length of threshing drum was increased from 710 mm to 810 mm as well as the speed of crop feed chain was increased from 0.61 m/s to 0.75 m/s so as to improve the poor threshing efficiency resulted from the enlarged working width from the 4 row to the 5 row, which would decrease threshing loss less than 1%.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.45-56
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• 1983

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of the drum structures and crop moisture contents on the performance of newly developed throw-in type axial thersher. Sachun No.2 malting barley with four different crop moisture levels was used as the testing material. Four different types of threshing drum; the cylindrical drum-equipped with teeth or rubber bars and the conical drum-equipped with teeth or rubber bars were tested. The results are summarized as follows; 1. The threshing efficiency of cylindrical drum was higher than that of the conical one, and the drum with teeth was more effective in threshing than the one with bars. However, the higher the threshing efficiency over the whole range of moisture levels and drum speeds given, the more the rapid and unexpectable variations in threshing efficiencies 2. The separation efficiency of the conical drum was decreased as drum speed was increased and was not so much influenced as crop moisture content. But in case of the cylindrical drum, the result was shown in opposite way to that of the conical one. The separation efficiency of the drum with teeth was higher than that of the drum with bars and no significant decrease in separating efficiency was found at wet crop condition. 3. Foreign matters other than grain passing through the concave sieve was decreased as crop moisture content was increased, and the purity was increased at middle range of drum speed regardless of drum types. 4. Minimum grain loss was found at 700 rpm to 800 rpm of drum speed for all types of drums. The effect of crop moisture content on total grain loss was varied with drum types. As far as the grain loss is concerned, the conical drum having teeth was not so greatly influenced by various crop moisture contents and drum speeds as compared with the other types of drum. 5. Generally, the crop moisture content has more relevant effect on the germination than the drum speed regardless of drum types. The germination percentage of grain threshed by the conical drum and the bar attached drum were higher than those of cylindrical one and teeth attached one, respectively.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.371-381
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• 1993

Threshing operation is performed by impact, compression and friction forces inside the thresher. These values should be appropriate to the crop condition to enhance the threshing and separating efficiency and to decrease the grain damage. To analyze the threshing process inside the rasp-bar type thresher, impact, friction and compression forces were measured using transducers with strain gage circuits. To measure the impact forces and friction forces between the rasp-bar and crop, full bridge strain gage circuit was built on the rasp-bar holder. To measure the compression forces and circumferential friction forces between the concave and crop, two sets of full bridge strain gage circuits were built on the T-type concave transducer. Threshing work of wheat crop with 12% of moisture content was performed at 3 levels of compression ratio and with 3 replications. Each transducer could not measure the exact forces continuously because the transducer oscillates with the forces. However they could measure maximum forces and force distribution according to the time. Average friction coefficients between crop and concave was 0.61 not showing any significant difference according to the compression ratio. Average acceleration of the crop in the cylinder appeared from $70.6m/s^2$ to $140.8m/s^2$ according to the compression ratio. The velocity of the crop at the exit of the cylinder appeared from 10.7m/s to 15.0m/s according to the compression ratio.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 1980

Threshing operation may be one of the most important processes in the paddy post-production system as far as the grain loss and labor requirement are concerned . head-feeding type threshers commercially available now in Korea originally were developed for threshing dry paddy in the range of 15 to 17 % in wet basis. However, threshing wet-paddy with the grain moisture content above 20 % has been strongly recommended, especially for new high-yielding Indica -type varieties ; (1) to reduce high grain loss incurred due to the handling operations, and (2) to prevent the quantitative and qualitative loss of milled -rice when unthreshed grains are rewetted due to the rainfall. The objective of this study were to investigate the adaptability of both a head-feeding type thresher and a throw-in type thresher to wet-paddy , and to find out the possiblilities of improving the components of these threshers threshing. Four varieties, Suweon 264 and Milyang 24 as Tongil sister line varieties, minehikari and Jinhueng as Japonica-type varieties, were used at the different levels of the moisture content of grains. Both the feed rate and the cylinder speed were varied for each material and each machine. The thresher output quality , composition of tailing return, and separating loss were analyzed from the sampels taken at each treatment. A separate experiment for measurement opf the power requirement of the head-feeding type thresher was also performed. The results are summarized as follows : 1. There was a difference in the thresher output quality between rice varieties. In case of wet-paddy threshing at 550 rpm , grains with branchlet and torn heads for the Suweon 264 were 12 % and 7 % of the total output in weight, respectively, and for the Minehikari 4.5 % and 2 % respectively. In case of dry paddy threshing , those for the Suweon 264 were 8 % and 5% , and for the Minehikari 4% and 1% respectively. However, those for the Milyang 23 , which is highly susceptable to shattering, were much lower with 1 % and 0.5% respectively, regardless of the moisture content of the paddy. Therefore, it is desirable to breed rice varieties of the same physical properties as well as to improve a thresher adaptable to all the varieties. Torn heads, which increased with the moisture content of rall the varieties except the Milyang 23 , decreased as the cylinder speed increased, but grains with branchlet didnt decrease. The damaged kernels increased with the cylinder speed. 3. The thresher output quality was not affected much by the feed rate. But grains with branchlet and torn heads increased slightly with the feed rate for the head-feeding type thresher since higher resistance lowered at the cylinder speed. 4. In order to reduce grains with branchlet and torn heads in wet-paddy threshing , it is desirable to improve the head-feeding type thresher by developing a new type of cylinder which to not give excess impact on kernels or a concave which has differenct sizes of holes at different locations along the cylinder. 5. For the head-feeding type thresher, there was a difference in separating loss between the varieties. At the cylinder speed of 600 rpm the separating losses for the Minehikari and the Suweon 264 were 1.2% and 0.6% respectively. The separating loss of the head-feeding type thresher was not affected by the moisture content of paddy while that of the Mini-aged thresher increased with the moisture content. 6. From the analysis of the tailings return , to appeared that the tailings return mechanism didn't function properly because lots of single grains and rubbishes were unnecessarily returned. 7. Adding a vibrating sieve to the head-feeding type thresher could increase the efficiency of separation. Consequently , the tailing return mechanism would function properly since unnecessary return could be educed greatly. 8. The power required for the head-feeding type thresher was not affected by the moisture content of paddy, but the average power increased linearly with the feed rate. The power also increased with the cylinder speed.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.33-46
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• 2019

In present study, Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) was employed to carry out the dynamic and vibration analysis of the threshing unit of the combine harvester thresher as a mechanical component. The main study is to find the causes of vibration and to decrease it to enhance the lifetime and efficiency of the threshing unit. By utilizing OMA, structural modal parameters such as mode shapes, natural frequencies, and damping ratio was calculated. The combine harvester was excited by engine to vibrate different parts and accelerometer sensor collected acceleration signals at different speeds, and OMA was utilized by nonparametric and frequency analysis methods to obtain modal parameters while vibrating in real working conditions. Afterwards, finite element model was designed from the thresher and updated using the data obtained from the modal analysis. Using the conducted analyses, it was specified that proximity of the thresher pass frequency to one of the natural frequencies (16.64 Hz) was the most important effect of vibration in the thresher. Modification process of the structure was carried out by increasing mass required for changing the natural frequency location of the first mode to 12.4 Hz in order to reduce resonance and vibration of the thresher.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.60-72
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• 1981

This study was carried out to find out the effects of the sheaf size of paddy harvested by the binders on the threshing performance, load characteristics and power requirement of an auto-feed thresher. The results of the study are summarized as follows: 1. The seperating performance of the thresher appeared to be satisfactory for all the sheaf sizes although the amount of rubbishes and empty grains slightly increased with the sheaf size of paddy. 2. There was no significant difference in grain output quality of the thresher among the three sheaf sizes. However, the amount of grains left unthreshed increased with the sheaf size. In the case of the largest sheaf size with the feed rate of 780kg/h, it exceeded the limit set by the national inspection regulations. 3. The position of the feed-chain rail gave a significant effect on the power requirement of the thresher. At the feed rate of 780kg/h, the net power required to convey sheafs through the feed chain was in the range of 0.37 to 0.50 PS for the middle and lowest position of feed-chain rail, and there was no significant difference among the sheaf sizes. At the highest position, however, it appeared that the smallest sheaf required more power than the others. The net power requirements at this position were 1.03, 0.59. 0.65 PS for the smallest, medium and largest sheafs respectively. 4. The torques of both the thresher and the engine shaft increased with the feed rate and were not affected by the sheaf size for the lower two feed rates of 520 and 780kg/h. At the highest feed rate of 1,040 kg/h, however, they were affected by the sheaf size. In this case, the medium sheaf size gave lower values than the others. 5. The variations in the thresher and the engine torque increased with the feed rate and were not affected by the sheaf size for the feed rate of 520kg/h. At the feed rate of 780kg/h, however, they increased with sheaf size. And at the feed rate of 1,040 kg/h, the torque variations increased greatly for all the sheaf sizes due to an over-load operating condition. 6. It appeared that the average and maximum power requirements of the thresher increased with the feed rate. But, there was no significant difference in power requirement among the sheaf sizes for the lower two feed rates. 7. The threshing efficiency of the thresher was in the range of 214-249 kg/ps.h with the feed rates of 520 and 780 kg/h, and it was not affected by both the sheaf size and the feed rate. At the feed rate of 1,040 kg/h, however, it decreased to as low as 171-174 kg/ps.h because of a sudden increase in power requirement. 8. The average power requirements of the engine were slightly higher than those of the thresher due to the slippage of flat belt between the thresher and engine. It appeared that power transmission from the engine to the thresher was maintained properly since slippages were moderately low with the range of 2.78 to 6.51% throughout the tests. 9. The specific fuel consumption of the engine (diesel 8PS) decreased as the feed rate increased. However, there was no significant reduction in specific fuel consumption as the feed rate increased above 780 kg/h.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2009

A rapeseed reaping equipment attachable to a conventional combine was developed in order to harvest rapeseed for bio-diesel materials. This study was carried out to measure the harvest feasibility of a prototype combine in rapeseed fields. Grain, stem and pod flow rate, grain qualities (whole kernel, damaged kernel, unhulled kernel, material-other-than-grain) and grain loss rates (header, threshing, separation) were investigated in each field test. As the result of the fold test, the average grain flow rates of SUNMANG and MS varieties showed 1,430 kg/h and 2,038 kg/h, respectively. The average stem and pod flow rates showed 3,443 kg/h and 6,596 kg/h, respectively. In each working speed, the average whole kernel rate and the material-other-than-grain showed 99.9% and below 0.08%, respectively. In the average grain loss, the rates showed 5.66% in case of SUNMANG and 5.94% in MS. Header loss was higher than other parts for SUNMANG. However, threshing loss was relatively higher than other parts for MS. Header loss rate due to side cutter knifes, however, was not so high when compared with a grain loss due to the cutter bar. Effective field capacity and field efficiency of the prototype combine showed 0.389 ha/h and 44%, respectively. Comparison of customary combine with the prototype combine through field test demonstrated that the header loss was reduced by 69.3% when the prototype combine was used.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.150-155
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• 1986

An experimental study was undertaken to obtain the basic information on the effect of seed moisture content and cylinder speed of thresher on the mechanical damage and seed germination in soybeans. The moisture content at maturity was the highest in stern and followed by seed and pod-shell for Hwang-keurnkong and also the highest in stern and followed by pod-shell and seed for Danyeobkong in that order. The variation in the moisture contents of stern, seed, and pod-shell in a day on the 7th day after maturity showed gradually decreasing trends from 7 :00 in the morning to 17 :00 in the afternoon. On the 14th day after maturity, the moisture content of pod-shell was higher than that of seeds up until 11 :00 in the morning but it was higher in the seeds after that. The greater the cylinder speed and the higher the moisture content of seeds, the higher the percentage of seeds damaged was resulted. At the same time, the percentage of seeds damaged was higher in Hwangkeumkong large seed sized than in Danyeobkong small seed sized at the same cylinder speed. Considering the seed yield, percentage of seeds damaged, percentage of seeds germinated, threshing efficiency and drying, etc., the appropriate cylinder speed was believed to be about II m per second and the most appropriate moisture contents of seeds for threshing were believed to be about 15-20%.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.95-104
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• 1976

This study was conducted to test the harvesting operation of two kinds of rice varieties such as Milyang #15 and Tong-il with a imported two furrow Japanese combine and was performed to find out the operational accuracy of it, the adaptability of this machine, and the feasibility of supplying this machine to rural area in Korea. The results obtained in this study are summarized as follows; 1. The harvesting test of the Milyang #15 was carried out 5 times from the optimum harvesting operation was good regardless of its maturity. The field grain loss ratio and the rate of unthreshed paddy were all about 1 percent. 2. The field grain loss of Tong-il harvested was increased from 5.13% to 10.34% along its maturity as shown in Fig 1. In considering this, it was needed that the combine mechanism should be improved mechanically for harvesting of Tong-il rice variety. 3. The rate of unthreshed paddy of Tong-il rice variety of which stem was short was average 1.6 percent, because the sample combine used in this study was developed on basisof the long stem variety in Japan, therefore some ears owing to the uneven stem of Tong-il rice could nat reach the teeth of the threshing drum. 4. The cracking rates of brown rice depending mostly upon the revolution speed of the threshing drum(240-350 rpm) in harvesting of Tong-il and Milyang #15 were all below 1 percent, and there was no significance between two varieties. 5. Since the ears of Tong-il rice variety covered with its leaves, a lots of trashes was produced, especially when threshed in raw materials, and the cleaning and the trashout mechanisms were clogged with those trashes very often, and so these two mechanisms were needed for being improved. 6. The sample combine of which track pressure was $0.19kg/cm^2$ could drive on the soft ground of which sinking was even 25cm as shown in Fig 3. But in considering the reaping height adjustment, 5cm sinking may be afford to drive the combine on the irregular sinking level ground without any readjustment of the resaping height. 7. The harvesting expenses per ha. by the sample combine of which annual coverage area is 4.7 ha. under conditions that the yearly workable days is 40, percentage of days being good for harvesting operation is 60%, field efficiency is 56%, working speed is 0.273m/sec, and daily workable hours is 8 hrs is reasonable to spread this combine to rural area in Korea, comparing to the expenses by the conventional harvesting expenses, if mechanical improvement is supplemented so as to harvest Tong-il rice. 8. In order to harvest Tong-il rice, the two furrow combine should be needed some mechanical improvements that divider can control not to touch ears of paddy, the space between the feeding chain and the thrshing drum is reduced, trash treatment apparatus must be improved, fore and rear adjust-interval is enlarged, and width of track must be enlarged so as to drive on the soft ground.