Determination of Optimal Parameters of the Air Flow Created by the Pneumatic Loader of the Harvesting and Transport Unit

The design of working bodies of a harvesting and transport unit (HTU) for hay collection is considered. The HTU consists of a hay pickup, a pneumatic loader and an assembly chamber. The process of filling the chamber was investigated, and the characteristics of the pneumatic loader ensuring high-quality performance of this process were determined. The main requirement for the pneumatic loader is the ability to create and maintain technological parameters – air flow rate at a corresponding air flow velocity. An analytical expression was obtained for the trajectory of a hay mass particle at the outlet of the loader depending on the air flow velocity and the angle to the horizontal. The relationship between this velocity and the parameters of the material particle flight trajectory and the dimensions of the assembly chamber was established. The optimal parameters of the velocity of 22-25 m/s correspond to the following overall dimensions: length – 5.0 m, height – up to 4.0 m.