Maejo International Journal of Science and Technology (Nov 2008)
The performance of rotary power tiller using prototype rotary blades in dry-land field
Abstract
The effect of shape of prototype rotary blades on the performance of rotary power tiller was investigated in this study. Three sets of rotors, i.e. 14-blade rotor of the Japanese C-shape blade (4.5 cm tilling width of one blade; T1), 14-blade rotor of the prototype rotary blade no. 1 (4.5 cm tilling width of one blade; T2), and 10-blade rotor of the prototype rotary blade no. 2 (6.5 cm tilling width of one blade; T3) were used. The tests were conducted in a dry-land field of clay loam with soil moisture content of 16.04 % (d.b.) and dry bulk density of 1.51 g/cm3 at different rotational speeds of 300, 350 and 400 rpm at one and two tilling passes. For all rotors, experimental results showed that the mean soil clod diameter decreased and soil inversion increased with increasing rotational speed of the rotor. The mean soil clod diameter decreased at pass 2. Soil inversion during pass 2 was higher than pass 1. However, the three sets of rotors showed no significant difference on mean soil clod diameter and soil inversion. The shape of blade prototype rotary blade no. 1 and the decreasing number of prototype rotary blade no. 2 did not affect the tillage performance as compared with the Japanese C-shaped blade.
