Engineering design of a grain silo and a bucket elevator for a combined unit for hopper preparation and seeding of grain crops

Abstract

In this paper, we present the results of engineering design of components of a grain hopper and a bucket elevator for a combined unit for soil preparation and sowing of grain crops. The grain hopper has compartments for seeds and fertilizers. A coil-type metering device is also separated for seeds and fertilizers. The drive of the metering device for seeds and fertilizers is done by the rear wheels of the rolling device through a variator, which also serves to adjust seeds supply. On the same shaft with the metering device there is a sprocket, which transmits rotation moment to the bucket elevator through a chain of PR type. Due to special design characteristics of the grain hopper shape, seeds enter the coil type metering device by gravity. A similar operation is done for fertilizers. Portions of fertilizers and seeds fall into a small tank, joint for grain and fertilizers, from where the elevator's buckets deliver them to the distribution device. Seeds and fertilizer fall on the distributing device along the tray and then on rotating cone with blades, which uniformly distribute grain and fertilizers to all drill tubes. The developed units were organically included in the design of the entire combined unit. The obtained results allowed us to distinguish the following advantages of the developed designs of the hopper and the bucket elevator: a single metering unit for all sowing machines; easy access to the main units and mechanisms and their maintainability; ease of off-season maintenance; use of a large number of typical domestically produced units and mechanisms.