Structural Design and Simulation of Pneumatic Conveying Line for a Paddy Side-Deep Fertilisation System

Qingzhen Zhu, Hengyuan Zhang, Zhihao Zhu, Yuanyuan Gao and Liping Chen
Additional contact information
Qingzhen Zhu: School of Agricultural Equipment Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Hengyuan Zhang: School of Agricultural Equipment Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Zhihao Zhu: School of Agricultural Equipment Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Yuanyuan Gao: School of Agricultural Equipment Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Liping Chen: School of Agricultural Equipment Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: To improve the consistency of sectional gas velocities in different rows in the pneumatic conveying line for a paddy side-deep fertilisation system, a new airflow equaliser was designed based on the mechanism of gas flow in ventilation engineering. Subsequently, the effects of key structural parameters and a position parameter of the airflow equaliser on the consistency of sectional gas velocities in different rows were investigated using the method of single-factor tests in Fluent, which provided a reasonable range for the next orthogonal test (notch angle (A): 120–180°, extended length (B): 18–30 mm and distance between adjacent branches (C): 120–160 mm). Thereafter, the parameters were optimised through an orthogonal test, using the coefficient of variation of the consistency of the sectional gas velocities in different rows ( CV ) as an indicator and using Fluent software. The results revealed that the order of primary and secondary factors was evaluated as B > A × B > C > A, and when A, B and C were selected as 150°, 30 mm and 120 mm, respectively, the consistency of the sectional gas velocities in different rows could get a very effective result ( CV = 7.07%). Finally, to validate the feasibility of simulations of the performance of the airflow equalisers and to practically evaluate the contribution of the optimised airflow equalisers to improve the consistency of the sectional gas velocities in different rows, a bench test for the line with the optimised airflow equalisers and a simulation test for the line without the optimised airflow equalisers were carried out and the results showed that the CV values were 9.53%, 20.69%, respectively. It concluded that the optimised airflow equalisers could significantly improve the consistency of the sectional gas velocities in different rows by comparing the CV in the three tests including the simulation test for the line with the optimised airflow equalisers. This research provides a good reference for optimising the pneumatic conveying line for a paddy side-deep fertilisation system.

Keywords: pneumatic conveying; side-deep fertilisation for rice paddies; pipe blockage; airflow equaliser; Fluent (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/6/867/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/6/867/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:12:y:2022:i:6:p:867-:d:839804

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().