Development of Energy-Efficient Feed Grinder

The relevance of research on the development of feed grinding is determined by the importance of technological process of feed preparation for feeding, which significantly affects the productivity and health of livestock, as well as the overall economic performance of livestock farming. The efficiency of feed grinders is determined by two factors: energy consumption for grinding and compliance of the ground feed with zootechnical requirements. This study examines development of a feed grinder based on energy-saving principles, not only through optimization of design and operating parameters of grinding unit, but also through the creation of a start-stop system for grinder, which minimizes idle operation during cyclical and uneven feed of the ground feed into the loading hopper. This reduces the inefficient use of energy resources when grinding feed in accordance with zootechnical requirements. The goal of this study is to reduce the energy consumption of root crop grinding by developing a feed grinder, substantiating its design and operating parameters, and developing a start-stop system. The design of grinder proposes the use of flat knives in the upper tier and comb knives in the lower tier, as well as comb counter-cuts with an 80 mm spacing between the combs and mesh frames with 25 mm mesh size. The specific energy consumption of developed feed grinder for chopping carrots is 0.23 kWh/t, the throughput is 2.8 t/h and the yield of 10 to 15 mm fraction is 43.5%. The results of production tests conducted at the livestock complex of Agro-N LLC in Novospasskiy district of Ulyanovsk region confirmed the laboratory results and recommended the developed feed grinder for agricultural enterprises raising cattle.