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Chapter III
Chapter III
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
A Research Proposal
Presented to
Submitted by:
Janrick A. Libradilla
Niko Mangubat
April 2019
INTRODUCTION
Rationale
In the Philippines, agricultural activities account more than a third of the country’s
labor force. Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) recorded an annual labor force
participation of 43.5 million economically active out of the 71.3 million populations with
age of 15 years old above during 2018. Workers from the agriculture sector comprise
24.3% of the total number of employees in 2018. As the sector contributes a role for the
country’s growth, then should also be taken focus of and implementation of adaptation
total land areas were agricultural lands. Lands fit for growing crops account 51% of the
agricultural lands and 44% were permanent croplands. The country has suitable soil for
growing and cultivating crops. There are 21 major crops grown and cultivated in the
one of the tall perennial grasses that forms lateral shoots at the base producing multiple
stems, typically measuring 3 to 4 meters tall with about 5 centimeters diameter. The
Sugarcane is a plant suited for tropical areas and requires a year warm weather
to reach maturity. Suitable areas for cultivation have temperature of 20° to 26°C with
rainfall averaging of 150cm. It is not sensitive to cultivate as long as the soil is well-
fertile and drained. The harvest period ranges from December to May.
lower than P70 billion. During the crop year (CY) 2017-2018, the total sugarcane
plantation area was 418,256 hectares with Visayas Region making up about 66%,
Mindanao with 20%, and Luzon with 14%. According to the PSA, for the fourth quarter
of 2018, the highest production belongs to Western Visayas with 5.28 million metric tons
Small farms of 10 hectares and below cover the most of the total sugarcane
plantation area with about 36%, big farms of 50 hectares and above cover about 34%
and the farms of sizes 10 to 50 hectares cover about 30%. Eastern and Central Visayas
has three sugarcane mill districts namely Durano, Bogo-Medellin, and Ormoc-Kananga.
Remegio, Daanbantayan, and Tabogon of Cebu province. Durano was then merged
with Bogo-Medellin mill district during the crop year 2012-2013. According to the
Sugarcane Regulatory Administration (SRA), for the crop year 2017-2018, the mill
district has a total of sugarcane area planted and harvested of 6,300 hectares and a
manual method. In areas utilizing the manual method, they make use of sickles and
knives for harvesting sugarcane. Lack of locally designed and fabricated machines
gives less production and serves as hindrance for local farmers to cope up with the
sustainable agriculture. Thus, mechanization of sugarcane harvesting can carry out the
potential of the crop to uplift the country’s agricultural sector and as a commodity.
THE PROBLEM
industrialized farming mainly because small farms accounts a bigger percentage on the
country’s sugarcane area. Due to lesser availability of locally designed and fabricated
sugarcane harvesting machines for cutting and topping operations, there are still
farmers who practice manual harvesting which makes use of knives and sickles. Manual
harvesting requires laborers with enough knowledge and skills as improperness may
damage the crop leading to lesser sugar yield and poor juice quality. It also posts safety
concerns as such operation involves tools for shearing and cutting such as sickles and
Objectives
Lack of appropriate and suitable machineries for small-scale farming is one of the
especially in Medellin, Cebu. Hence, other small farms are viewed to be incompetent.
factor.
operation.
Statement of Hypothesis
If the machine with combined cutting and leaf-removing operations will be able to
harvest a great quantity, then it will be efficient. If the machine posts operator safety
Increasing demand by mills urges farmers to cope up with the sugarcane supply.
The machine can use and utilize in rural areas that belong to the Borbon-Medellin mill
primary commodity. The machine combines cutting and topping of sugarcane in one
system of operation, posts operator safety factor and requires less labor.
Scope and Limitations
harvesting machine with combine cutting and topping. The machine is applicable to
small scale operation for sugarcane harvesting in rural areas in Medellin, Cebu.
Furthermore,
Theoretical Background
This study is anchored on existing theories and models which serve as basis for
Materials
The machine should have elements made of material suitable for operating
considered. Those factors are the classification, economics, and properties of the
materials.
Classification of Materials
a. Metallic
b. Polymeric
c. Ceramics
d. Composites
Economic Consideration
A desirable material is one that suits the purpose of application and of considerable
cost. The following are the economic factors that need to be considered:
a. Availability
b. Suitability
c. Cost
Properties
a. Mechanical
b. Physical
Appearance and optical properties, density, melting point, and thermal and
c. Chemical
Safety of Operation
Any parts of the machines can post safety risks and concerns. In the design of
machines, it is necessary to consider and provide safety devices for the operator which
One of the factors in designing machines is to keep the stress from exceeding
the ultimate stress at which the failure occurs. The stress under operating conditions is
known as design or working stress and it is considered as safe and allowable. It can be
defined through:
Bending Moment
bending moment that varies from one point to another along its axis. Beams are the
most common member subjected to bending moments and are classified according to
calculated by simply multiple the forces applied to the distance to where it is applied.
M = WL
where:
W = load
Shaft
Shafts transmit power by means of torsion and are classified as transmission and
machine shafts. Transmission shafts are those that are used in power transmission
between the source and the machines absorbing the power while machine shafts are
those that is a constituent of the machine itself. The power transmitted to machine
members connected to the shaft is being delivered by a tangential force and the
Power transmitted, P;
P = 2πTN
T = Fr
16T
Sts = (solid round shaft)
πd3
where:
T = torque on shaft
r = radius of shaft
N = rotational speed
d = diameter of the solid shaft
V-belt
V-belts are suitable for short drives application and are commonly used in the
a. Compact
b. Positive drive
Gears are preferred when transmitting definite velocity ratio. Bevel gears are
used for shafts intersecting at an angle. This type of gear may have internal or external
1. Miter gears - equal bevel gears (having equal teeth and equal pitch angles)
2. Angular bevel gears - bevel gears connecting two shafts whose axes intersect at an
3. Crown bevel gears - bevel gears connecting two shafts whose axes intersect at an
angle greater than right angle with one bevel gear having a pitch angle of 90°
4. Internal bevel gears - bevel gear with teeth cut on the inside of the pitch cone
T1 N1 = T2 N2
Velocity ratio
Dp T1 N2
= =
Dg T2 N1
where:
Harvesting
Operations
Small Farms Advantages
Sugarcane
Cutting and
Topping Machine
for Small Scale
Farms
the agricultural sector’s contribution to the economy by promoting proper cultivation and
The agricultural sector is one of the prime contributors of the country’s economy.
The sector has a high potential to generate labor and uplift agriculture as commodity.
Such potentials are obstructed by the lack of appropriate agricultural technologies and
Evaluation of the status of mechanization should not limit on a specific crop. The
country needs to adapt on agricultural mechanization for food sufficiency, increase farm
income, modernize agriculture and educate the farmers about the advantages on
ageing farmers, shifting to other sector and the youths’ lack of interest in farming (DOA,
2018).
The problems affecting mechanization are can all be summed up to costly farm
inputs and lack of access to current farming technologies. Those problems affect the
farmers productivity in return. The enacted law Agriculture and Fishery Mechanization
on it as a main source for centrifugal and refined sugar aside from beets. It belongs to
the country’s top exported crops and its industry contributes a big part to the labor
participation force with workers and farmers of around 600,000 and 62,000 respectively.
Millers, distillers, and refineries are the ones controlling and managing the sugar
industry. The Visayas region is the top player for the industry with 18 millers and three
authorized to control and manage the country’s sugar industry and other related tasks.
The administration has also published a certain policy that controls the circulation of
sugar production for domestic used and apportion for export purposes known as the
Sugar Order No. 1. Despite having a big contribution to the economy, sugar industry
has challenges needed to be coped up. That could only be possible with the big help of
the government. The options to cope up with challenges that the industry is facing all
lead up to the need to adapt to modernize and mechanize way of farming and
farmers. Mills’ efficiency is interconnected with the quality and quantity of the
sugarcanes that undergo milling process. Maturity, trash content, and fertilization affect
the sugar-yielding capacity of the sugarcanes. Sugar industry should be accompanied
and supported by the government in its implementation and adaptation to science and
length, diameter, weight, characteristics of both nodes and leaves, and trash content of
the sugarcane. Specific values pertaining to the properties vary depending on the
varieties of sugarcane. The length of the sugarcane is very important especially for the
topping mechanism mainly because improper topping may lead to low quality of cane to
be milled. The diameter of the sugarcane is not the same from top to bottom and varies
suitable base cutter relating to the cutting force and energy requirement of the
sugarcane. Trashes of sugarcane are dried leaves and top leaves. It also vary
topping mechanism. Row spacing of sugarcane vary per field. Mostly large farms are
the ones following row spacing. Some small farms do not consider row spacing because
they are up to maximizing the field. This property dictates the efficiency of a harvester. It
determines the harvesting capacity of harvesters. The row spacing relates to the
number of sugarcanes harvest in a length and width of a row (Bastian et al., 2014).
Properties of sugarcane do not limit only on its physicality. Mechanical properties
are also need to be considered. The same with the physical properties, mechanical
properties also has something to do with the performance of different operations done in
and crushing. Designs for cutting and trashing operations of harvesters should consider
the bending resistance because sugarcane stalks tend to lean and bean during cutting
operations. Cutting resistance determines the necessary energy and forces to cut and
operation with cleaning mechanism so that components of the brushes used will not
resistance into account so that sugarcanes will not be damage as it pass through series
Harvesting Method
Manual
Despite the existence of small and big tractors for harvesting, there are still farmers who
utilize shearing and cutting tools. These tools are commonly hand knives and sickles.
Such operations done manually post risk to the health of the workers (Gopi et al., 2018).
content during harvest. In many countries burning process has been obstructed by their
the tools used and the skills and training of the workers performing such operation.
Sickles displayed greater productivity compared to other types of knives used except for
canes which undergo burning process. Topping of sugarcane should consider to proper
topping height as improperness may lead to additional transportation costs for high
topping height and low sugar yield for low topping height. Loading of sugarcane
depends upon the presence of loaders in the farms. Other farms have mechanical
farms don’t receive the wages proportional to how tiring their work is (Ahmed et al.,
2013).
Mechanized
harvesters combine the operations such as cutting, topping, trashing, chopping, and
loading all in one system for continuous operations. Despite being a progressive and
elite country, mechanization in China is still low and there is no other way to promote
sugarcane are classified as whole stalk type harvesting and chopper type harvesting.
Whole stalk harvesters, from the name itself cut and transport whole stalk of sugarcane
from manual to mechanized harvesting system, whole stalk harvesters is the best to
apply because it displays the same operations done by labors but in a mechanical way
and it is way cheaper than chopper harvesters. To choose between the two systems of
harvesting require analyzation because each has its own pros and cons. Developed
countries are already utilizing the chopper type of harvesting system (Mawla, 2014).
Green cane harvesting is the currently applied mode of harvesting which by the
harvested naturally in its green color. The other mode which is obstructed by authorities
is the burnt cane harvesting which undergoes pre-harvesting process of burning the
sugarcane to reduce trash content but a lot of studies found out that this process
reduces the sugar-yielding capacity of the sugarcane. Whole stalk and chopper type
harvesters can be applied in green cane harvesting. The older designs of whole stalk
harvester have a simple construction and structure because it simply cuts and loads
and do not have trashing mechanism so farmers who used to adapt to this designs
need to undergo burning process to eliminate the trash and leaves of the sugarcane.
Designs adapting green cane harvesting where later on made wherein it involve both
cutting and trashing operations in one system. The most adapted type is the chopper
harvester which does all the operations from cutting, topping, trashing, chopping, and
loading. The only major disadvantage of this type is that chopped sugarcanes are prone
that sugar-yielding capacity of the chopped sugarcanes will not deteriorate 24 hours
after harvesting has been done and this implies to the need of scheduling transportation
Jain et al., (2013) designed and developed a sugarcane harvesting machine with
a simple construction. The materials and components are angle bars for the frame,
wheels, and angle grinder with toothed cutting wheel was made. The evaluated capacity
of the machine was 3.75 tons of sugarcane per hour (Jain et al., 2013).
parameters. The harvester performed well with a field and operation capacity of 0.1005
hectares per hear and 5 man-hour per hectare and was cost-wise.
The machine made used of solar panels which served as an advocate to environmental
care. The machine was also developed to promote and encourage energy conservation
Harvesters make use of base cutters to cut down sugarcanes in ground level.
Base cutters are one of the factors that determine the quality of the cut. The commonly
used base cutters have five blades per disc. Base cutters has angle that should match
and be adjusted according to the field of operation whether it’s steep or flat surface
(Hijazi, 2016).
The right selection of base cutter blades is a big impact to the cut quality as it
affects the sugar-yielding capacity of the sugarcane. A lot of studies have been
circulating regarding the blades and blade configurations for base cutters. One factor
that affects the cutting ability of the blades is the dulling of the edges of the blades due
to wear and leads to poor cut quality. To further study about the right selection of base
cutters, four base cutter blade designs and configurations were tested and investigated.
These designs and configurations are typical straight blade, blade angled to 30 °,
toothed-edge blade, and a straight blade with laser-like cladding underside and all are
fitted to a sugarcane harvester of model John Deere 3520. Each designs and
configurations have different have different result with respect to the quality of cut, and
wear and each have pros and cons. The results summed up that the best selection is
The factors that affect the base cutters are its configuration, discs, dynamics,
rotary and forward speed, angle, and height. Modern harvesters have base cutter discs
propelled through legs coupled to a gearbox. Harvesters used in Australia has base
cutter configuration of distance 600 to 620 mm between centers of the discs (Sugar
7000 were studied and analyzed. It was found out that mechanical system failures of
the Case-IH 7000 harvesters are accountable to the base cutters. These failures occur
eventually because of the wear on the base cutters which result to blunting of sharp
major factor to be taken seriously as it results to damage and losses done by the
system. This damages and losses are what it caused to the sugarcane negatively such
as damaged ratoons and root system. Five different blades and discs were studied to
figure out the most preferable with parameters being based on. Conclusion was made
that the titled cutting blades had the lowest damage caused and serrated blades with
normal discs had the best outcome pertaining to the cutting height (Toledo et al., 2018).
Topping Mechanism
The main purpose of the topper is to remove and cut the top leaves of the
sugarcane. The existing mechanism and types of toppers used in large mechanical
harvesters namely drum type and shredder type. Topping operation is a challenging
process because it is affected by the weather conditions and the natural stature of the
sugarcane. Drum type topper utilizes single set of blades while the shredder type topper
uses multiple blades. In terms of performance, drum type topper is the most effective.
The presence of multiple blades in shredder type topper makes it perform the topping
operation in a faster way but of higher power consumption (Sugar Research Australia
Ltd., 2014).
trashing operation which made use of high-speed rotating brush system. The system
removes the leaves by pushing, rubbing, and striking mechanism. Four different
orientations and arrangements of the brush type system was evaluated in terms of
efficiency and velocity. It was concluded that the cane bottom feed with brush rotating in
the same direction and cane top feed with brush rotating in opposite direction displayed
rotating dish applying different stripping and cutting materials such as tendon string, soft
wire, medium wire, and sling. The LK92-11 sugarcane variety was made as basis of the
evaluation. The results showed that the stripping materials should be considered as
improper and low quality materials entangles and clogs the rotating dish