Abstract
Studies on load characteristics were made of two headfeeding combines for the harvesting of paddy land rice. Both combines were epuipped with socalled head feeding threshing unit and of 50#cm cutterbar length. Power consumption of the combines was measured using the strain gauge and tachogenerator method, as written in our previous report “Load characteristics of a two-cylindered rice combine”.
Power requirements of the main units of the combines, that is, cutting and transporting unit, threshing and cleaning unit, and travelling unit, was measured at various rates of crop throughput and travelling speed.
The measurements have given the following results:
1) In the case of head-feeding combines, grain throughput is not appropriate as the index of the load on the threshing unit, not to say of straw throughput. The sum of grain and chaff throughput is better as the index of the load, giving better linearity between the load and power consumption.
2) The total average power requirements of a combine should be described as a sum of average power requirements of travelling unit and that of harvesting unit, which are governed by travelling speed of machine and the sum of the throughput above mentioned. This is the same result as obtained in the case of a two-cylindered rice combine.
3) Torque fluctuaticn of the head-feeding combines is far less than that of ordinary combines.
