Development of a Procedure for Determination of Damage to Seeds and Cotton Fibers in Cotton Cleaning Machines

Studies on the dynamic state of cotton raw materials when introducing working bodies of processing machines into it allow to draw the following proposition. Depending on the rate of penetration of the working body into the cotton medium and the density of the medium, in the formulas used to describe the state of the medium, the exponent у ρ can vary from 1.5 to 3. The exponent for density ρ is a measure of the compression and compaction of raw materials on the surface of the working body. The exponent of ρ is also related to the amount of damage to cotton fibers and seeds. For the first time, a cotton mass is considered as a compressible porous two-component medium consisting of a mixture of cotton fibers and air included in the composition of a porous medium, which is essential in dynamic processing processes, and it must be taken into account when planning technological modes. From experiments on the penetration of a splitter with a peripheral speed u=3.5 m/s into a cotton medium with a density of ρ=150–350 kg/m3, it can be seen that a locally located “air cushion” appears in the close vicinity of the split end. The pressure in it increases by 1.5–2 times in comparison with the pressure of statistical compression of cotton fibers alone, without taking into account the influence of the air located in the pores of the system. The forces of compression of cotton fibers from the action of the splitter and the force of volumetric action on the fibers are comparable in the area of the "air cushion". Using the general equations of the mechanics of the compressed medium, as well as experimental data, the fundamental equation of the dynamic state of the mass of raw cotton when the working body of the processing machine is introduced into it, such as the density of the medium, the speed of the working body, its external shape and the degree of surface treatment, is derived. The resulting equation can be used to describe the power stresses in a cotton environment in the technological processes of roller and saw ginning, and during cotton cleaning