Pneumatic separation system for collected seedlings using subdivided air streams
Keywords:
grafting, cuttings, pneumatic separation system, continuous separation, subdivided air stream, separation speedAbstract
To adhere to the needs of automated supply of collected seedlings for mechanized grafting and cutting machines for enhancing their operational efficiency, herein, a separation system that uses subdivided air streams to separate the collected seedlings is developed. The separation system comprises a feeder for supplying collected seedlings, a seedling separator that uses subdivided air streams, a picking belt for the separated seedlings, a delivery unit for the separated seedlings, a pneumatic unit, and a control unit. To investigate the complete performance of separation, picking, and delivery of the separation system, several separation experiments were conducted to separate the collected Anthurium seedlings. The results show that the consistency of the moving direction of seedlings floated by subdivided air streams in the separation container and the moving direction of the picking belt have a significant effect on the picking of the separated seedlings by the picking belt. Moreover, the seedling supply timing of the feeder has a significant effect on the stability of the collected seedling separation rate during continuous separation. When this timing is such that the percentage of separated seedlings is 70%, the separation rate of continuous separation operation is 2.24 plant/s (the separation productivity is 8060 plants/h) with 0.12 CV. The operating conditions are 0.5 MPa separation pressure, 0.5 s nozzle operation time, and 60 mm seedling thickness in the separation container. Moreover, the staying times of the collected seedlings separated in the separation container are less than 2.5 min. Keywords: grafting, cuttings, pneumatic separation system, continuous separation, subdivided air stream, separation speed DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20221502.6835 Citation: Jiang D L, Gu S, Chu Q, Yang Y L, Gu M Z, Yang Y. Pneumatic separation system for collected seedlings using subdivided air streams. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2022; 15(2): 84–92.References
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[3] Xie Z J, Gu S, Chu Q, Li B, Fan K J, Yang Y L, et al. Development of a high-productivity grafting robot for Solanaceae. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2020; 13(1): 82–90.
[4] Li K, Yang Y L, Liu K, Gu S, Zhang Q, Zhao L. Determination and grading of Anthurium based on machine vision. Transactions of the CSAE, 2013; 29(24): 196–203. (in Chinese)
[5] Van Henten E J, Bac C W, Hemming J, Edan Y. Robotics in protected cultivation. IFAC Proceedings Volumes (IFAC-PapersOnline), 46(18 PART 1), 170e177.
[6] Li K, Gu S, Yang Y L, Chu Q, Zhang Q, Peng Y P, et al. Design and experiment on vacuum pickup hand for banding tissue culture seedlings. Transactions of the CSAE, 2015; 31(2): 29–36. (in Chinese)
[7] Tong J H, Shi H, Wu C Y, Jiang H, Yang T. Skewness correction and quality evaluation of plug seedling images based on Canny operator and Hough transform. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2018; 155: 461–472.
[8] Jin X, Yuan Y W, Ji J T, Zhao K X, Li M Y, Chen K K. Design and implementation of anti-leakage planting system for transplanting machine based on fuzzy information. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2020; 169: 105204. doi: 10.1016/j.compag.2019.105204.
[9] Tong J H, Yu Q C, Pan J H, Yang T W, Ding Y H. Design and experiment of automatic carrying and replanting device for both-root-cut grafting machine. Transactions of the CSAM, 2017; 48(10): 59–66.
[10] Tong J H, Ding Y H, Wu C Y, Yu Q C, Pan J H, Sun L. Design and experiment of key mechanism for semi-automatic vegetable grafting machine. Transactions of the CSAM, 2018; 49(10): 65–72.
[11] Madsen A. PKM robot in action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= cWS4B DUcR88M, 2010;
[12] Adegbola Y U, Fisher P R, Hodges A W. Economic evaluation of transplant robots for plant cuttings. Scientia Horticulturae, 2019; 246: 237–243.
[13] ISO Group. ISO group. http://www.iso-group.nl. Accessed on [2019-01-03].
[14] Jiang H, Ying Y, Wang J, Rao X, Xu H, Wang M. Real Time Intelligent Inspecting and Grading Line of Fruits. Transactions of the CSAE, 2002; 18(6): 158–160. (in Chinese)
[15] Moreda G P, Ortiz-Cañavatea A J, García-Ramosb F J, Ruiz-Altisenta M. Non-destructive technologies for fruit and vegetable size determination – A review. Journal of Food Engineering, 2008; 92(2): 119–136.
[16] Serrano M, Martínez-Romero D, Castillo S, Guillén F, Valero D. Role of calcium and heat treatments in alleviating physiological changes induced by mechanical damage in plum. Postharvest Biology and Technology, 2004; 34(2): 155–167.
[17] Mohsenin N N. Physical properties of plant and animal materials. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 1968; 13(4). doi: 10.1002/jbm.b.33459.
[18] Shiraki Ishihashi T A. End velocity of grains. Journal of Agricultural Machinery Society, 1965; 27(3): 185–187.
[19] Garrett R E, Brooker D B. Aerodynamic drag of farm grains. Transactions of the ASAE, 1965; 1(8): 49–52.
[20] Gorial B Y, o’Callaghan J R. Separation of grain from straw in a vertical air stream. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 1991; 48(C): 111–122.
[21] Gao L X, Wen Z, Xin D. Experiment on aerodynamic characteristics of threshed mixtures of peanut shelling machine. Transactions of the CSAE, 2012; 28(2): 289–292. (in Chinese)
[22] Shahbazi F. Aerodynamic properties of wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.) seed for separation from canola. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2013; 93(6): 1466–1470.
[23] Munder S, Argyropoulos D, Müller J. Class-based physical properties of air-classified sunflower seeds and kernels. Biosystems Engineering, 2017; 164: 124–134.
[24] Bilanski W K, Lai R. Behavior of threshed materials in a vertical wind tunnel. Transactions of the ASAE, 1965; 8(3): 411–413.
[25] Lee J M, Kubota C, Tsao S J, Bie Z, Echevarria P H, Morra L, Oda M. Current status of vegetable grafting: Diffusion, grafting techniques, automation. Scientia Horticulturae, 2010; 127(2): 93–105.
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Published
2022-04-23
How to Cite
Jiang, D., Gu, S., Chu, Q., Yang, Y., Gu, M., & Yang, Y. (2022). Pneumatic separation system for collected seedlings using subdivided air streams. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 15(2), 84–92. Retrieved from https://ijabe.migration.pkpps03.publicknowledgeproject.org/index.php/ijabe/article/view/6835
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Power and Machinery Systems
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