OPTIMIZATION OF A WHOLE-STALK OPERATING SYSTEM AFTER SUGARCANE BASE CUTTING

Leaf stripping and top breaking are the key procedures in whole-stalk sugarcane harvesting. In this study, a whole-stalk operating system after sugarcane base cutting was developed and tested to improve the leafy trash cleaning performance and adaptability of a whole-stalk harvester. A leaf shredding procedure was proposed before leaf stripping, and an anti-float top breaking device was developed for breaking cane tops. The rotational speeds of the leaf shredding (RL), leaf stripping (RS), and top breaking (RT) rollers were regarded as experimental factors, and the leafy trash content (including leaves, leaf sheaths, and tops in this study), top breaking rate, abrasion rate, and non-fracture rate of the middle or bottom parts were selected as indices. Central composite design combined with response surface methodology and comprehensive evaluation method were employed to conduct experiments and explore the interaction effects of factors on indices. The optimal operating parameters were nonlinearly optimized and determined to be RL of 512.9 rpm, RS of 418.8 rpm, and RT of 307.0 rpm. Under these conditions, the predicted values of leafy trash content, top breaking rate, abrasion rate, and non-fracture rate were 4.98%, 88.39%, 5.19%, and 96.21%, respectively. Verification experiments indicated that the observed values were in agreement with the predicted values. Results suggested that the leaf shredding device and anti-float top breaking device developed in this study were effective for improving the leafy trash cleaning performance and adaptability of the whole-stalk operating system, and there was a good potential for performance improvement of whole-stalk sugarcane harvesters.