Results of production tests and economic evaluation of a rotary beater-combing device on a flax harvester

Abstract

The results of production tests of a rotary beater-combing device developed at the EE BSAA for separating seeds from flax stalks in the implementation of combine harvesting technology are presented in the paper. As a result of the research, regularities were determined for changes in the purity of threshing, the degree of damage to seeds and stems depending on the thickness of the strip of flax stems threshed by the developed device installed in the “Dvina-4M” flax harvester. Regularities of changes in the purity of threshing and the degree of damage to flax stalks from the gap between the rotor and deck in the phase of yellow and brown ripeness of flax at different rotor speeds have been determined. The results of comparative tests of a flax harvester equipped with a rotary beater-combing device in comparison with a flax harvester equipped with a single-drum combing device are presented. Use of a rotary beater-combing device on a flax harvester allows to increase the performance of the combine by 8.7 %, reduce the total loss of seeds by 32.35 % and 4.2–7.32 % as a result of undercombing, reduce damage to flax stalks affecting the output of long flax fiber by 38.01 %. Also, a decrease in the volume of the resulting flax heap was noted when using a rotary beater-combing device, depending on the quality of the stem and the phase of flax ripeness, by 28.5–56.3 % in comparison with the comb apparatus. The annual economic effect of the rotary beatercombing device will make 7831 rubles, the economic effect per 1 ha – 156.6 rubles in prices of the I quarter of 2023.