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Inhalt archiviert am 2019-03-15

PEAT HARVESTING MACHINERY FOR OPERATION ON SMALLER BOGS

Ziel



THE DECREASING AVAILABILITY OF LABOUR AND THE HIGH COST OF MACHINERY ARE LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR A DECREASE IN TURF PRODUCTION FROM SMALL BOGS (TURF MOORS) (SOME LARGE MACHINES IN USE COST ABOUT 350,000 ECU). MECHANISATION OF TURF CUTTING ON SMALLER BOGS IS DIFFICULT. EXISTING MACHINES USED ON SMALL BOGS HAVE THE DISADVANTAGE OF POOR MANOEUVRABILITY AND LARGE SIZE. THESE FACTORS DISCOURAGE TURF PRODUCTION BY SMALL PRODUCERS AND IN THE PAST TEN YEARS OUTPUT BY THESE PRODUCERS HAS FALLEN BY HALF.

THE KEY TO AN APPROPRIATE HARVESTING SYSTEM IS TO DEVELOP A NEW METHOD OF EXPOSING THE PEAT TO THE AIR FOR WIND DRYING. AT PRESENT TURNING AND ARRANGING SODS OF PEAT FOR WIND DRYING ON SMALL BOGS IS UNMECHANISED AND VERY LABOUR-INTENSIVE.

THIS PROJECT AIMS TO MAKE IT ECONOMICALLY ATTRACTIVE TO EXTRACT PEAT FROM SMALL BOGS. IT INVOLVES THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A LIGHT WEIGHT, LOW COST (ABOUT 9,000 ECU) PEAT CUTTING MACHINE TO BE ATTACHED TO A MEDIUM POWERED (100 KW) AGRICULTURAL TRACTOR. HYDRAULIC POWER TRANSMISSION TO THE COMPONENT PARTS WILL ALLOW MORE EFFECTIVE CONTROL OF THE CUTTING MACHINE. THE PRINCIPLE OF THE PEAT HARVESTER IS SIMILAR TO A MOLE PLOUGH WITH AN AUGER OF 45 CM IN DIAMETER AND 2 M IN LENGTH. THE AUGER ROTATES USING POWER FROM THE TRACTOR, AND THE ANGLE IS CONTROLLED HYDRAULICALLY. PEAT DRAWN UP BY THE AUGER IS FED INTO A SOD SPREADER, WHICH WHEN FULL, WOULD DEPOSIT IT ON THE BOG SURFACE FOR AIR DRYING. COLLECTION OF THE PEAT WHEN DRY WILL BE VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD AS THE PEAT BECOMES BRITTLE DURING DRYING AND WILL BE BROKEN UP AT COLLECTION.

THE PROJECT INVOLVED DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF THREE TEST RIGS OF DIFFERENT AUGER DIAMETER AND LENGTH; SOD SPREADER LENGTH AND SPEED AND RATED POWER UNITS. FIELD TRIALS AND TESTING OF VARIOUS MODELS WERE CARRIED OUT OVER THREE PEAT CUTTING SEASONS. THE MACHINES WERE BUILT BY THE SHAMROCK MACHINE TURF COMPANY, A FIRM WHICH HAS FOR MANY YEARS BEEN PRODUCING LARGER PEAT HARVESTING MACHINERY. THE TWO PROTOTYPE TURF CUTTERS HAVE BEEN TESTED ON A BOG OF 88 % MOISTURE CONTENT. THE MAXIMUM TURF YIELD WAS 65 M3/HR WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO 14.4 TONNES/HR OF PEAT AT 25 % MOISTURE CONTENT. THE THIRD PROTOTYPE TURF CUTTER WAS FOR AN OUTPUT OF 90 M3/HR (AT 88 % MOISTURE).

THE FIRST MACHINE WORKED SO WELL IN INITIAL TESTS THAT A NUMBER OF MODELS WERE SOLD TO INTERESTED FARMERS. OPERATION ON BOGS OF DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS (SURFACE VEGETATION, DEGREE OF DECOMPOSITION, SUBMERGED OBSTACLES) SHOWED, HOWEVER, THAT THE MACHINE, AS DESIGNED, WAS NOT SUITABLE FOR GENERAL APPLICATION. THE NATIONAL BOARD FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IS, HOWEVER, RESOLVED TO PROCEED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUGER EXCAVATOR AT ITS OWN EXPENSE.

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NATIONAL BOARD FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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DUBLIN 4
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