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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Modeling and energy optimization of the operative parts of an air assisted drill

subject

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In the context of sustainable farming, the optimization of the energy costs of agricultural operations allows shorter working times and high quality of the agricultural operations. This question relates particularly to the seeding. This operation one is decisive for the quality of the future harvest. The modern high capacity seed drills must be compatible with all the constraints. The main goal of this PhD thesis is thus to develop an innovative methodology, integrating the modeling tools, in order to reduce the energy consumption of the heavy seeding equipment. Thus, we explored four key aspects concerning air seed drill design: maneuverability of poly-articulated seed drills; establishment of the pneumatic conveying conditions of seeds and fertilizers; seed distribution accuracy optimization, and finally the energy aspects of the air stream loading systems. Each modeling was preceded by a preliminary experimental phase, defying the majority phenomena influencing the studied process. The modeling of the studied process and the conclusions (supported by experimental trials) have been proposed for the design of air seed drills. The study of maneuverability of poly-articulated agricultural machines showed that it was possible to get and test an explanatory model of trajectory prediction adapted for agricultural machines. This approach opens the way for optimization and automation of complex operations, including U-turns on headlands. We showed that a towed behind storage hopper (air-cart) allows faster realignment of the coulter bar after maneuvers. The study of pneumatic conveying conditions showed that the establishment of the correct conveying conditions in the outlets after the dispensing head defines the entire design of the distribution system. The study of seed distribution systems explains that the origin of the low distribution accuracy is caused in particular by the elbow and the vertical pipe before the dispensing head. These results open the way for the development of anticipation systems and correction of these defects. Finally the comparative study of two air-stream loading systems has showed that from the energy point of view the pressurized systems are more interesting than the injectors systems.