Development of a detachable sugarcane loader. | |
| Author | Burin Tinnangwattana |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.AE-07-04 |
| Subject(s) | Loaders (Machines) Sugarcane |
| Note | A thesis submitted in pa1tial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Agricultural Systems & Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. AE-07-04 |
| Abstract | In sugarcane fields during the harvesting season, sugarcane bundling and loading is done manually which is a very time consuming and back breaking job. To overcome this, a low cost detachable sugarcane loader was developed which could be powered by a locally available gasoline engine of 4.1 kW (5.5 hp) engine. The detachable sugarcane loader can be mounted on the side-frame of the 6 to 10 wheels trucks and can easily be detached once the loading was completed. The power transmissions were arranged using belt drives and chain drives, to operate the cane conveyor which carries the cane bundles each weighing average 29 kg. The average field capacity of the machine with engine running at 2,500 rpm, supported by four field laborers, two each on ground and on the truck, was 8.4 tons/hr, or 9 bundles/min in contrast to the manual method involving 8-10 labor-group and two loading points, at rate 4 bundles/min corresponding to a field capacity of 4.97 tons/hr. The timeliness improvement of the new development was 68.4%. The ergonomic study of the developed system showed significant benefits. The Recommended Weight Limit (RWL) of the manual method at origin of the both lifting points increased from 5.08 to 5.20 kg in developed method while the same at destination increased from 4,29 to 6.21 kg. The lifting index (LI) of the manual method at origin of the both lifting points decreased from. 5.72 to 5.58 in developed method while the same at destination decreased from 6.77 to 4.68. The heart rate of the laborer for different activities manual-lifting, manual-arrange, developed-arrange, manual-carrying and developedcarrying were increased 48%, 21.03%, 12.22%, 8.75%, 3.94% respectively after working period. Systolic and diastolic of blood pressure increased after working for all of positions. Overall discomfort score of manual-lifting and manual-carrying were 8 and 7 respectively and were under uncomfortable category. The activity score for developed-carrying, manual-arrange and developed-arrange was 5 for all activities which were fallen under some comfortable category. The estimated cost for loading with the developed machine was 37.7 bahthon in contrast to 50 baht/ton by manual method. The fabrication cost and the operating cost of the machine was marginal, leaving the break even investment for the machine to be 41.23 tons with the assumptions; 10 years of machine life, loading eight hours working days, and 150 'days/year. The performance and cost analysis of the machine indicated that considering the current labor shortage, the machine will have a wider application among sugarcane growers |
| Year | 2007 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. AE-07-04 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Food Engineering (AE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Jayasuriya, Hemantha P.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Salokhe, Vilas M;Athapol Noomhorm; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Royal Thai Government (RTG); |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2007 |