Development and performance assessment of a grain combine feeder house-based mass flow sensing device.

摘要

Yield monitors have become an indispensable part of many precision agriculture systems because of their ability to quickly and efficiently measure yield variability within a field. The current technology of measuring grain yields with sensors mounted in the clean grain elevator is error prone due to mass flow variations caused by the threshing and separating operations. To reduce the effect of combine dynamic errors, a new crop mass flow sensing technology is being developed. This new sensor measures the tension on the feed conveyor drive chain, as it is believed that the tension on this chain is related to the flow of biomass through the feeder housing. The initial field tests were conducted in 160 m strips of corn that were broken into six blocks of varying grain yields. An analysis of the data indicated that chain tension sensors are sensitive to differences between the blocks of varying grain yields. Additional tests, under normal field conditions, were also conducted under varying biomass volumes controlled by selecting one of three specific stripper plate settings on the combine corn head. The chain tension sensor could detect differences between the stripper plate settings, as the greatest chain tensions were recorded at the narrowest stripper plate width. Results from both field trials were compared to yield data collected from an impact-style mass flow sensor located in the clean grain elevator. The results indicated that biomass flow sensing at the feeder housing might complement existing technologies to improve yield monitor data quality.