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Collaborative project: Development of a process computer to controll relevant substrate parameters in case of baggin technology (EPEKSIFO) - subproject 1
Project
Project code: 2813802410
Contract period: 01.02.2011
- 31.01.2014
Budget: 138,395 Euro
Purpose of research: Experimental development
Silage bagging is a conservation process used to anaerobically storage of crops that can be ensiled as well as their industrial by-products. The substrate is picked up by transportation vehicles using a bagging machine, compressed in a steel tunnel using rotating pressing equipment and deposited on the ground in the attached fully-enclosed polythene bag. The objectives of the investigations were to develop an automated pressure controlling system for the storage and documentation of measurement data using the bag geometry and the ensiled material. The height and width registered in the bag – which were recorded using distance sensors – were used as benchmarks for automatically regulating the pressure and for calculating geometric data for the bag. A NIRS system was calibrated and the sensor head in the crop flow integrated into the steel tunnel in order to determine the DM content. When ensiling corn, control accuracy when adjusting the hydraulic pressure on the lanyard’s brake – based on the bag expansion calculated using geometric data for the bag – was good. Only 2 % of the measurements were outside of the tolerance range (e.g. 9-10 % bag expansion). When storing grass, the geometric data for the bag was significantly less homogeneous and as a result, the measurements of the foil expansion deviated to a greater extent, up to 50 % outside of the tolerance range in relation to the target values set. In order to evaluate the effect of different compression intensities based on the set bag expansion, the storage density and the reheating of the silos were analysed. In corn silage, values of between 179 and 280 kg DM m-3 were measured. The effect of different pressure settings was verifiable over the entire cross-section of the bag. In the case of grass silage, the compression values lay between 89 and 188 kg DM m-3. Temperatures measured at the section surfaces of the corn silage showed reheating after 5 to 7 days at an ambient temperature of Ø 23°C. Values differed significantly, depending on the pressure applied, particularly in the top and side area of the bag sections. The grass silage samples were stable for 6 days at the section surface at Ø 18 C°, whereby there was no significant difference between the variants. In general, the NIRS sensor proved to be suitable for use in the crop flow in the pressing machine. However, continuous direct contact with the ensiled material must be optimised, to minimise incorrect measurements. As in the case in other NIRS application scenarios, additional comprehensive sample measurements on extending calibration are required to improve the accuracy of measurements. Combining the DM values measured with a cross-section of the bag allows different batches of the ensiled material to be easily assigned in the silo.
Section overview
Subjects
- Agricultural Technology Animal Production
