https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2023.1404

Design and operational parameters optimisation of a citrus substrate filling and transporting machine

Vol. 54 No. 3 (2023)
Published: 10 October 2023
Agricultural machinery, test, seedling pot, mechanism, nursery plant
Abstract Views: 651
PDF: 312
HTML: 12
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Qinchao Xu
hlxqc@mail.hzau.edu.cn
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3380-5887
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment in Mid-lower Yangtze River, College of Engineering, Huazhong Agriculture University, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, China.
Shanjun Li
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment in Mid-lower Yangtze River, College of Engineering, Huazhong Agriculture University, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, China.
Haibing Pan
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment in Mid-lower Yangtze River, College of Engineering, Huazhong Agriculture University, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, China.
Qian Yang
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment in Mid-lower Yangtze River, College of Engineering, Huazhong Agriculture University, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, China.
Jian Zhang
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment in Mid-lower Yangtze River, College of Engineering, Huazhong Agriculture University, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, China.
Xuedong Lu
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment in Mid-lower Yangtze River, College of Engineering, Huazhong Agriculture University, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, China.
Cheng Shan
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment in Mid-lower Yangtze River, College of Engineering, Huazhong Agriculture University, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, China.

Aiming to address the problem of low mechanisation of filling and transporting citrus seedling pots in China, a new type of pot filling and transporting machine with 120 pots at a time was designed. Based on the study of flow characteristics of the seedling substrate, key components of the filling and transporting machines, such as the hopper component, transmission mechanism, flip mechanism, and steering mechanism, were designed. The effects of the opening width of the hopper, the rotating speed of the stirring shaft, the moisture content of the seedling substrate, and the forward speed of the transporting device on the filling effect of the seedling pot were studied by the experimental method, and the optimal operation parameters were determined. The prototype tests were repeated 3 times with the best combination of parameters. The test results indicate that the machine was in good condition for loading and unloading. The number of filling pots was 120 once, and the average filling time was 40 s. The average filling mass was 1.881 kg, 0.006 kg different from the predicted value of 1.887 kg, and the relative error was 0.32%. The coefficient of variation of the mass was 2.97%, which was 0.12% different from the predicted value of 2.85%, and the relative error was 4.0%. This designed machine can provide a reference for developing and optimising the citrus substrate filling and transporting machine.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
Cai J.J. 2017. Design of automatic loading machine for nutrition soft bowl in nursery. Degree Diss., South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
Dian Y., Soranat R. 2018. Design of semi-automatic plant media bagging machine for container plant nursery, JOAAT. 5:36-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18178/joaat.5.1.36-40
Du H.B., Du J. 2014. Development status and trend of container seedling. Shandong Forestry Sci. Technol. 44:116-9.
Gao G.H., Feng T.X., Li F. 2015. Working parameters optimization and experimental verification of inclined-inserting transplanting manipulator for plug seedling. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Eng. 31:16-22. [Article in Chinese].
Gu S., Yang Y.L., Zhang Y.F. 2012. Development status of automated equipment systems for greenhouse potted flowers production in Netherlands. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Eng. 28:1-8. [Article in Chinese].
Gu S., Yang Y.L., Zhang Y.F., Qiao X.J. 2013. Development status of automated equipment systems for greenhouse vegetable seedlings production in Netherlands and its inspiration for China. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Eng. 29:185-94. [Article in Chinese].
Han L.H., Mao H.P., Zhao H.M. 2019. Design of root lump loosening mechanism using air jets to eject vegetable plug seedlings. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Eng. 35:37-45. [Article in Chinese].
Jia F.G., Han Y.L., Liu Y. 2014. Simulation prediction method of repose angle for rice particle materials. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Eng. 30:254-60. [Article in Chinese].
Jiacong L., Shuai L., Qiaoxia Y., Hongliang C. 2019. Flow properties of vermicompost particle with different moisture contents. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Eng. 35:221-7. [Article in Chinese].
Lantin R.M. 2016. Agricultural mechanization in the Philippines, part i: brief history. AMA. 47:80-6.
Li S.H., Liu H.B., Gao J.M., Cui Y.J. 2016. Design of seedling tray automatic handling device. Agric. Mech. Res. 38:72-6.
Liu H.B., Gu X.Y., Xu C., Can Y.J. 2014. Design and test of automatic machine for placing seed trays. J. Agric. Mech. Res. 40:88-91.
Liu J.H., Liu J.F., Li J.P., Wang P.F. 2015. Design of adhesive adding device for seedling bowl forming. China Agric. Mach. Chem. J. 36:82-3.
Liu J.Z., Peng H.J., Li N., Jiang S.J., Ju J. 2018. Automatic control of supporting substrates for elevated cultivation design and test of mobile paver. J. Agric. Mach. 49:58-67.
Liu N.H., Jiang X.P. Cheng J.F., Li H. 2018. Current situation of foreign organic greenhouse horticulture and its inspiration for sustainable development of Chinese protected agriculture. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Eng. 34:1-9. [Article in Chinese].
Liu Z.Z., Hou L.J., Xin J., Shao Y.Y., Shao J.H., Wang Y. 2016. Design and experiment of intelligent facility seedling machine. J. Agric Mach. 47:136-42.
Qi F., Wei X., Zhang Y. 2017. Development status and future research emphase on greenhouse horticultural equipment and its relative technology in China. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Eng. 33:1-9. [Article in Chinese].
Shan Y. 2008. Present situation, development trend and countermeasures of citrus industry in China. J. Chin. Inst. Food Sci. Technol. 8:1-8.
Wang D., Dang C., Huang H., Liu C. 2020. Mechanism analysis and parameter optimization of paddle type ration mixer. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Eng. 51:123-31. [Article in Chinese].
Wei Y., Lu J., Sheng K. 2013. Design and performance investigation for substrate filler in protected horticulture. J. Zhejiang Univ. - Agric. Life Sci. 39:318-24. [Article in Chinese].
Wu H.Z. 1998. Graphic design method of steering trapezoidal mechanism. J. Changzhou Ind. Technol. College 11:72-4.
Xu Q., Li S., Zhang Y., Meng L., Lu H., Xie L. 2020. Design and test of seedling pot filling and transporting machine for citrus. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Eng. 36:66-72. [Article in Chinese].
Yang Y.T., Chen Y.S., Hu H., Guan C.S. 2013. Experience of development of pot filling machine at home and abroad. J. Chin. Agric. Mech. 34:47-50.
Yuan Z.F., Yun H.Y. 2007. Experimental design and analysis. China Agricultural Press, Beijing, China, pp. 342-50.
Zhang Y., Fan K.J., Chu Q., Su Y.X., Liu X.G., Gu S., Xia H.M. 2020. Experimental study on automatic tray loading device of seedling paper bowl. Agric. Mech. Res. 42:180-3.
Zhang Y.F., Yang Y.L., Chu Q., Gu S. 2018. Facility horticultural seedling production equipment system. Agric. Mech. Res. 40:257-61.

How to Cite

Xu, Q. . (2023) “Design and operational parameters optimisation of a citrus substrate filling and transporting machine”, Journal of Agricultural Engineering, 54(3). doi: 10.4081/jae.2023.1404.
Copyright (c) 2023 the Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.