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Research article2012Peer reviewed

Evaluation of the performance of a three-dimensional vibrating test rig for cleaning stumps

Anerud, Erik; Jirjis, Raida; Gebresenbet, Girma

Abstract

It has been shown that vibrating devices can successfully be used for separation and removal of unwanted/contaminant material, for both laboratory and full-scale industrial purposes. The presence of impurities on energy-rich softwood stumps is a major drawback when using stumps as fuel, since it leads to high ash content. Vibration methods can be an efficient approach to remove excess impurities and achieve acceptable ash content. Stumps are usually shaken in connection with harvesting and stored afterwards to facilitate the removal of contaminants. The required storage duration can lead to high dry matter losses and a faster and efficient cleaning method such as vibration is highly desirable. This study evaluated the performance of an adjustable three-dimensional vibrating test rig designed to assess the cleaning efficiency of vibration-based methods. Vibrating parameters such as acceleration amplitude, frequency and displacement of the test rig were determined for 12-24 mm distance between eccentric weight centre of mass and the rotating shaft of electric motors at rotation velocity 19.16-29.17 Hz. The acceleration amplitude ranged from 1.38 to 5.71 g. The parameters could be repeated irrespective of direction and number of vibration directions. The test rig was therefore considered to be a reliable tool for determining and evaluating the efficiency of vibration in removing contaminants from stumps.

Keywords

Tree stump cleaning, Vibrating test rig

Published in

Australian Journal of Agricultural Engineering
2012, Volume: 3, number: 2, pages: 51-58
Publisher: Southern Cross Publisher