Enhancing cotton harvesting efficiency through elliptical drum design: a comparative analysis of spindle performance in the working area

Abstract This article describes improving the working conditions of the vertical spindle cotton harvester in the cotton collection zone (working area). A comparative analysis of the performance of spindles in standard and elliptical drums in the working area was conducted. A significant increase in the gripping capacity of the spindles was observed due to their elliptical trajectory, resulting in an increase in the contact surface of the spindles with the cotton plants and the number of spindles participating in the collection process. The main criteria for evaluating the gripping capacity of spindles were the simultaneous activity of the spindles and the compressive forces exerted by the drums on the cotton bolls during their presence in the working area. The boundary positions of the spindles, within which they have gripping capacity, were determined, allowing the development of a methodology for determining the time of spindle presence in the working area for both elliptical and standard drums in an actively oriented state. The results of a numerical experiment comparing the time of spindle presence in the collection zone on elliptical and standard drums showed the ability to control the contact time of the spindles with the cotton bolls by varying the geometric parameters of the elliptical drum.

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