Listening for cane loss

McCarthy, Stuart G. and Harris, Harry and Billingsley, John (2000) Listening for cane loss. In: Mechatronics and machine vision. Robotics and Mechatronics (3). Research Studies Press, Baldock, United Kingdom, pp. 113-118. ISBN 0--86380-261-3

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Abstract

A method is described for controlling sugar cane loss during harvesting. In a mechanical harvester, unwanted leaf material is separated from sugarbearing cane in an air-stream, and waste material is thrown back onto the field. Up to ten percent of the cane harvested is also lost, and this can represent up to fifty million dollars per year. The primary extractor fan of a harvester generates the air-stream, and is the principal cleaning system during the harvesting process. The effectiveness of the fan varies with speed, and a compromise must be achieved between retaining trash and losing cane. An accurate and reliable measure of cane loss can be obtained by detecting the impacts of harvested cane on the blades of the fan. Field trials of this detection process have been successfully conducted on a cane harvester in Bundaberg.

Statistics for this ePrint Item

Item Type:	Book Chapter (Commonwealth Reporting Category B)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference on Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice. Published version deposited with permission of the Editor.
Faculty / Department / School:	Historic - Faculty of Engineering and Surveying - Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
Date Deposited:	19 Aug 2009 05:38
Last Modified:	26 Sep 2016 00:54
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sugar cane harvester; billet; cane loss; acoustic; primary extractor fan; mechatronics
Fields of Research :	07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences > 0701 Agriculture, Land and Farm Management > 070103 Agricultural Production Systems Simulation 09 Engineering > 0913 Mechanical Engineering > 091399 Mechanical Engineering not elsewhere classified 09 Engineering > 0999 Other Engineering > 099901 Agricultural Engineering
Socio-Economic Objective:	E Expanding Knowledge > 97 Expanding Knowledge > 970107 Expanding Knowledge in the Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/5568

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