IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF GRAIN TRANSPORTATION AND UNLOADING IN A VERTICALLY LOCATED BUCKET CONVEYOR OF ELEVATOR EQUIPMENT

Abstract

The article is devoted to the search for and scientific justification of ways to improve the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of grain transportation of various agricultural crops using vertically mounted bucket elevators with centrifugal unloading of elevator equipment. Such elevators have become widespread in the transport systems of elevator equipment. The advantages of vertically mounted bucket elevators with centrifugal unloading include high grain transportation productivity (up to 1000 t/hour and more) with relatively low material consumption, and a significant vertical grain lift height (up to 30 meters and more). However, there are some disadvantages to using such elevators: the presence of direct and reverse grain spillage in the elevator’s transport channels; mechanical destruction and compression damage to the grain by the working parts of the bucket elevators; a single constant grain transport mode in terms of speed, which does not take into account the physical and biological characteristics of grain and seeds of various agricultural crops; increased energy consumption for grain transport. The laws, patterns and trends of the elements of technology and technological processes of grain transportation, including by means of bucket elevators, are presented in the scientific works of many domestic and foreign scientists: Pogorily L., Adamchuk V., Gukov Ya., Sheychenko V. and others. Further research has shown that premature unloading of grain from bucket elevators under the action of centrifugal force leads to the appearance of direct and reverse grain spillage, an increase in the degree of grain damage, and additional energy costs for grain transportation. The completeness of centrifugal unloading of a vertically positioned bucket elevator is influenced by the degree of bucket filling with grain, the speed of transportation, the geometric parameters of the bucket, and the unloading sector of the upper part (head) of the elevator. Using the proposed mathematical model, it is possible to determine or verify the selected value of the unloading sector for the completeness of centrifugal unloading of grain in bucket elevators when transporting various agricultural crops.