MOSCOW, September 12– . The technology for recognizing foreign metal objects by agricultural machinery during harvesting was developed by scientists from DSTU. According to them, the uniqueness of the system lies in the use of new signal processing methods and mathematical models that increase the reliability and stability of combine harvester safety systems. The results were presented at the 2023 International Conference on Industrial Engineering, Applications and Manufacturing (ICIEAM).
In the process of harvesting forage crops, not only plant matter, but also foreign metal objects of various shapes and sizes enter the chopping mechanism of the combine. As a result of metal entering the combine, the chopping drum is destroyed, which leads to a stop in the harvesting process.
Experts said that it is very difficult to visually determine the presence of foreign objects during crop harvesting, so scientists are developing systems for automatic recognition of metal objects for combine harvesters. They use the ability of metals to be attracted to a magnet. Not only pure iron has such properties, but also steels based on it, as well as alloys of cobalt, nickel and manganese.
Scientists from the Don State Technical University (DSTU) have developed a modern system for detecting metal objects for domestic combine harvesters. According to experts, this will improve the efficiency of the safety system of silage harvesting equipment and reduce the likelihood of false alarms, which is a key characteristic of the device.
“
"If a piece of iron gets inside the combine, the machine will break. The difficulty is that there are so many spinning and moving iron parts in the machine, and the flow of hay moves so quickly that detecting and reacting to danger is not an easy task. The study is dedicated to its solution,” explained Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Automation of Production Processes at DSTU Alexander Lukyanov.
He added that the basic technology is digital processing of signals from magnetically sensitive sensors using modern high-performance microcontrollers.
< /span>
Experts said that similar systems exist in other countries, but they are all structurally dependent on the specific model of the combine. Therefore, on the one hand, scaling the development to foreign combines is difficult, and on the other hand, it is impossible to use imported models on domestic combines.
According to the researchers, their primary task is to bring the invention to such an extent level that will allow the development to be transferred to production. Scientists plan to adapt the technology to the needs of domestic customers and prepare the necessary design documentation.
DSTU is a participant in the state support program for universities of the Russian Federation «Priority-2030».