Transverse Chaffer Dam for Grain Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing combine cleaning systems experience unwanted grain loss due to the airflow from the fan blowing the grain and chaff off the chaffer, leading to inefficiencies in the separation process.
Innovation Solution
A transverse chaffer dam is mounted perpendicular to the crop layer flow path on the chaffer, obstructing the flow path while allowing air and crop material to pass through a transverse opening, which helps in reducing turbulence and retaining grains by deflecting the airflow and crop layer, thereby minimizing grain loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the fan produces a substantial flow of air to effectuate cleaning action, then the cleaning efficiency is improved, but the grain and chaff are blown off the chaffer and carried outwardly resulting in grain loss
Solution Approach 1:
The chaffer is divided into multiple sections with individual louvers that can be independently adjusted. This segmentation allows different portions of the chaffer to have different air flow characteristics, enabling optimized cleaning action in some areas while preventing grain loss in others through localized louver adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The louvers are made adjustable and repositionable, transforming the static chaffer structure into a dynamic one. This allows the system to adapt air flow patterns by repositioning louvers during operation, balancing cleaning efficiency with grain retention based on actual operating conditions.
2Productivity
If the air flow is increased to separate grain from chaff, then the separation efficiency is improved, but the turbulence increases causing grain and chaff to become airborne and be carried outwardly
Solution Approach 1:
Different sections of the chaffer have louvers with different characteristics (spacing, angle, position) to create localized air flow patterns. This local quality variation allows some areas to generate sufficient air flow for effective separation while other areas maintain lower turbulence to prevent grain loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameters of air flow by adjusting louver positions and configurations. By modifying parameters such as louver spacing, angle, and orientation, the system optimizes air flow velocity and turbulence characteristics to achieve effective separation without excessive airborne material loss.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The implementation of the chaffer dam reduces grain loss by stabilizing the crop layer and enhancing the separation efficiency of grains from chaff, resulting in a cleaner grain collection with reduced airborne material loss.
Implementation Method 1
The fan produces a flow of air directed upwardly through the sieves
Implementation Method 2
The upwardly directed air creates a force that urges the chaff to float on top of the chaffer and into an airborne state
Implementation Method 3
The chaffer dam is mounted directly to the chaffer. The chaffer additionally includes a first side and a second side extending between the upstream extremity and the downstream extremity, and the transverse opening extends between a first end of the chaffer dam proximate to the first side of the chaffer and a second end of the chaffer dam proximate to the second side of the chaffer
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaning system for an agricultural combine includes a cleaning shoe including a chaffer having an upstream extremity and a downstream extremity, a cleaning fan for establishing a flow of air upwardly through the chaffer, and a transverse chaffer dam mounted proximate to the downstream extremity transversely obstructing a crop layer flow path extending over the chaffer from the upstream extremity to the downstream extremity while permitting air and threshed crop material to flow thereover and thereunder through a transverse opening between the chaffer dam and the downstream extremity.