Agricultural Rotor Blade Angles for Turbulence Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional extractor-fan assemblies in sugar-cane harvesters are inefficient, leading to high power consumption, increased fuel usage, and environmental impact due to turbulence in air flow, which necessitates high power driving and dual assemblies.
Innovation Solution
A rotor with blades fixed to a hub, featuring root, medium, and trailing angles optimized to reduce turbulence, with root angles between 47 to 59 degrees and trailing angles between 66 to 78 degrees, enhancing air flow displacement efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional straight profile blades are used in extractor-fan assembly, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but air flow turbulence increases and displacement efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature principle by replacing straight blade profiles with curved profiles that follow the natural flow of air. The blades are designed with specific curvature radii (R1, R2, R3) that guide air flow smoothly from the hub outward, eliminating turbulence caused by straight edges while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through standardized curved geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes geometric parameters of the blades including root angle (45-60 degrees), trailing angle (60-75 degrees), and profile curvature radii. These parameter optimizations transform the blade geometry to achieve better air flow displacement efficiency while controlling manufacturing complexity through defined parameter ranges.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional extractor-fan assembly with inadequate blade angles is used, then manufacturing is simpler, but air flow displacement efficiency is low requiring higher power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes blade geometric parameters including root angle (45-60 degrees) and trailing angle (60-75 degrees) to maximize air flow displacement efficiency. These parameter changes enable the extractor-fan assembly to achieve higher productivity with lower power consumption, directly addressing the energy efficiency problem.
3Productivity
If extractor-fan assembly operates with high power demand, then air flow displacement can be maintained, but fuel consumption increases and environmental impact worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes operational parameters by optimizing blade geometry to reduce the power demand of the extractor-fan assembly. The optimized root and trailing angles, combined with curved profiles, enable efficient air flow displacement at lower power levels, reducing fuel consumption and environmental impact while maintaining productivity.
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 optimized rotor design significantly reduces power demand, allowing single extractor-fan assembly operation with 30 HP, lowering diesel consumption and harvesting costs while improving sugar-cane cleaning efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the rotor comprising a set of blades fixed to a hub, defining medium and trailing root angles, which facilitate displacement of air along the blades
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a rotor (90) applied to an extractor-fan assembly (80) for agricultural machines, especially for sugar-cane harvesters, the rotor (90) comprising a set of blades (1) fixed to a hub (2). Each of the blades (1) has such a construction that defines a root angle (3) that may range from 47 to 59 degrees, a medium angle (4) that may range from 53 to 69 degrees and a trailing angle (5) that may range from 66 to 78 degrees. Due to the construction angles of the blades (1), the air flow comes in contact with the rotor (9) smoothly, without any turbulence in its displacement, which results in high efficiency and efficacy of the extractor-fan assembly (80).