Лесной журнал (Jun 2024)
The Influence of the Stand Composition on the Cycle Time of the Harvester
Abstract
A brief analysis of studies on logging equipment has allowed us to conclude that it is necessary to further study the degree of influence of silvicultural and taxation indicators of the stand, containing quantitative data on the trees harvested and remaining for rearing, on the productivity of the harverster. The degree of influence of quantitative indicators of the stand on the work of the harvester is random, which is due to the infinitely wide variety of options for the spatial arrangement of trees in forest swathes. The article presents the results of a production experiment to assess the impact of the quantitative characteristics of the forest stand on the duration of individual elements of the cycle time of the harvester. The analyzed factors included the total number of trees per 1 hectare and the proportion of the felled component of the stand. These factors play a significant role in assessing the shift and hourly productivity of machines, however, when analyzing the duration of a number of elements of cycle time of manipulator machines, the importance of these indicators is underestimated by many researchers and, in order to increase the convenience and simplicity of calculations, these indicators are not used in justifying labour costs. Both factors have been considered at three levels of variation. As a result, the significant influence of the analyzed factors on the duration of 3 independent elements of cycle time of the machine (pointing the manipulator at the tree, hauling the trunk to the processing zone and moving the harvester between operating positions) has been proven. The experiment has been carried out using the Silvatec 8266TH harvester under conditions of its operation in the swathes characterized by various silvicultural and taxation indicators. The sequence of conducting the production experiment and statistical processing of the obtained data has been shown. The analysis of variance has allowed us to conclude that it is necessary to comprehensively take into account the analyzed factors when assessing each technological operation. The results can be used to improve mathematical relationships in calculating productivity and labour costs when designing logging operations.
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