Introduction to Bermuda King L.L.C. Senior Design Project | BAE 4012, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Engineering

Download Introduction to Bermuda King L.L.C. Senior Design Project | BAE 4012 and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Engineering in PDF only on Docsity! Creative Solutions, Inc. 12 December 2002 1 2002-2003 Bermuda King L.L.C. Senior Design Project Fall Report Submitted by Cash Maitlen Darren George Mickey Friedrich Matthew Steinert 11 December 2002 BAE 4012 Dr. Paul Weckler Creative Solutions, Inc. 12 December 2002 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 PROTOTYPE MACHINE .................................................................... 2 STATEMENT OF WORK.................................................................... 3 DESIGN CRITERIA ............................................................................ 4 TESTING ............................................................................................ 5 INITIAL TESTING ................................................................................. 5 FLOOR CHAIN MEASUREMENT AND PLANTING RATE CAPABILITIES.......... 7 DEVELOPING A BASELINE .................................................................... 7 DEFINITION OF PROBLEMS .......................................................... 11 SOLUTIONS APPROACH................................................................ 12 PROPOSAL #1.................................................................................. 13 PROPOSAL #2.................................................................................. 13 PROPOSAL #3.................................................................................. 13 GANTT CHART ................................................................................ 15 Creative Solutions, Inc. 12 December 2002 3 bars then attempt to control the feeding rate of sprigs onto the beater bar which in turn distributes the sprigs to the ground. The sprigs are then pressed into the soil with vertical disks. Power is supplied by a tractor through a PTO shaft and into a right angle gear-box. There is no speed reduction in line to the flail bars or beater bar. Speed reduction to the floor chain is accomplished through a variable ring-cone gearbox with a 432:1 minimum reduction and sprockets. Statement of Work Following discussions with Brian Henderson of Bermuda King and Clay Buford of the OSU extension service, the following items are to be considered in regard to CSI’s involvement with the Super Gray project. 1) The planter’s inability to supply a consistent profile of sprigs to the flail bars. 2) The uncontrollable variability in planting density. 3) A desire to plant between 30 and 1000 bu./ac. at speeds up to 10mph. 4) Bermuda King must be able to manufacture the design solutions in house. The path CSI will take to complete the project will be to analyze the problems in question and develop concepts which will improve the planters performance in these areas, then after selection of the most promising concepts by Bermuda King, design and fabrication of the components will be completed by CSI. Bermuda King is to supply CSI with the Super Gray prototype for testing and modification, in addition to financial support needed for parts, material, and supplies. Creative Solutions, Inc. 12 December 2002 4 CSI will make all test data, drawings, and any other information pertaining to the project available to Bermuda King. Also, the prototype planter with modifications will be returned to Bermuda King. An oral presentation of CSI’s design solution concepts will be presented to Bermuda King in January 2003. After discussion and approval by Bermuda King the project will continue through the end of the 2003 spring semester. A full report and final presentation will be delivered in May of 2003. Detailed drawings of all design components and modifications will be created. An operator’s manual will also be written for proper operation and understanding of the solution. The operator’s manual will be easy to understand and will contain any necessary drawings. A finalized prototype will be constructed and presented to Bermuda King in May of 2003. The modified prototype’s performance should be a marked improvement over the initial design. Design Criteria Many design factors are associated with the solution. The design solution should be compatible with current Bermuda King sprigger designs. A reasonable design budget to solve the problem needs to be established and proposed to Bermuda King. The design budget needs to include a realistic cost estimate of materials, services, and labor involved with the design work and modifications which is not provided by CSI or any other uncompensated source. Dimensional restrictions are limited to the ability of the solution to be safely transported, used, and to be loaded by a front end loader. The dimensions of the solution Creative Solutions, Inc. 12 December 2002 5 should not exceed the capabilities of Bermuda King to manufacture the solution. All instruments and controls of the solution should be easily understood and operated. All controls should be placed in a convenient and safe location. Warning labels and safety shields need to be placed where possible injury could occur. Testing The project brought to use is one that is not clearly defined. It is known that planting rates are highly variable with this machine but the exact cause of the variability remains a mystery. Therefore, it was decided that the first course of action in developing a solution would be to perform extensive testing on the machine to define problems and formulate solutions. Initial Testing Initial testing was done with the planter “as-delivered”. The primary purposes of the initial test are listed below. 1. Gain an appreciation for the characteristics of Bermuda grass sprigs and the inherent problems associated with their handling. 2. Gain firsthand experience in the operation of Bermuda King harvesting and planting equipment. 3. Visually observe the planter in operation to gain insight into the problems and possible causes. Two main problems were observed during the initial operation of the machine. The planting rate is very inconsistent both across the width of the sprigger and along the length of a pass, and the top rear portion of the mass of sprigs roll back as the box is Creative Solutions, Inc. 12 December 2002 8 this the planter was loaded with sprigs, a tarp was placed beneath the beater bar on the ground, the planter was engaged for one minute and the sprig output was collected and weighed (See Figure 5). Data from this test is shown below in Table 2. Fig. 5 Second Test Setup Experiment Time (min.) Ringcone Setting Discharge (kg) 1 1 10 51 2 1 10 100 3 1 10 67 4 1 5 40 5 1 5 45 6 1 5 34 Table 2 Discharge Rates before Modification Creative Solutions, Inc. 12 December 2002 9 After observing six test runs it was determined that some modification was needed to help meter the flow of sprigs through the throat area. The chains powering the second and fourth flail bars were removed to observe results (See Figure 6). The non- powered flail bars were observed only to have slight rotation during operation. Only two tests were conducted to analyze the results of the modification because sprigs were noticed to jam against flail bar 2. The results are listed below in Table 3. Fig. 6 Chains Removed from Flail Bars 2 and 4 Experiment Time (min.) Ring-cone Setting Discharge (kg) 1 1 10 28 2 1 10 16 Table 3. It was then decided that flail bar 2 needed to be rotated during operation to keep the sprigs from jamming against it. A hydraulic motor was mounted to power the second Flail bar 4 Flail Bar 2 Creative Solutions, Inc. 12 December 2002 10 flail bar by use of a chain and sprockets (Figure 7). An oil flow control valve was connected in series with hydraulic lines running from the test tractor to the motor. A series of tests was first performed to observe which direction of rotation and the rotation rate which would produce the best discharge characteristics. Counter rotation at 20 rpm was found to produce the best results, and a set of three tests were performed for these settings. These results are posted in Table 4. Fig. 7 Hydraulic Motor Mounting Experiment Time (min.) Ringcone Setting Discharge (kg) 1 1 10 17 2 1 10 11 3 1 10 15 Table 3 Discharge Rates with Hydraulic Motor Flail Bar 2 Hydraulic Flow Valve Creative Solutions, Inc. 12 December 2002 13 efforts on maximizing the current prototype design. Our goal is to develop a series of “mini-solutions” which can then be packaged to provide optimal improvement in planter performance. Proposal #1 The first proposed design modification is to incorporate a set of multiple mini- solutions. First, we suggest decreasing the flail bar length while increasing the flail bar drum diameter to correct the problems entailed with current flail bar design and its’ engagement of varying amounts of sprigs. We also believe performance could be improved if the speed of the flail bars were reduced. A moving tailgate could also be incorporated into this design to further increase planting accuracy. Proposal #2 The second proposal is also simply a set of modification to the current machine design. It would consist of utilizing three vertical flail bars to supply sprigs to the bottom beater drum. A slotted cage would be placed over the beater drum and sprig metering would be controlled by the speed of the beater drum and thus the amount of sprigs it pulls through the cage. Proposal #3 The third and final proposal is to retract previous statements and investigate a revolutionary new sprigger design not based on the current prototype. This would change the nature of the project into more of an investigation of possible concepts rather than the creation of a fully operational prototype. In the end the decision about which course of action we choose to pursue will be the discretion of Bermuda King and its’ owners. Creative Solutions, Inc. 12 December 2002 14 Currently, we plan to meet with Bermuda King and their management just after the first of the year to discuss the future and direction of this project. Creative Solutions, Inc. 12 December 2002 15 Gantt Chart