Simone Pascuzzi

One of the most delicate operations in the sugar beet harvesting process is removing the tops from the heads of the root crops without any mechanical damages. The aim of this study is to improve the design of the conveying and unloading system of the sugar beet topper machine. In this paper, a mathematical model of the motion of a cut beet tops particle M, along the conveying and unloading system, has been developed to support the evaluation of kinematic and design parameters, depending on the rotational speed of the thrower blade, the air flow speed, the required ejection speed of particle M, and the position of the trailer that moves alongside the harvester. It has been established that increasing the speed Va of the top particle M, which has left the end of the blade of the thrower, leads to an increase in the arc coordinate S(t) of its movement along the cylindrical section of the casing. Within the range of the speed change from 4 m·s–1 to 8 m·s–1, the value of the arc coordinate S(t) increases by 1.4 times during time t = 0.006 s. Moreover, a rapid decrease in speed V is observed with an increase in the length x of the discharge chute.

This paper analyses the influence of the type of electrode in a spark plug on exhaust gas emission. The objects of the research were the following vehicles of different years of production: the Volkswagen Beetle 1300, the Honda Nighthawk 650, the BMW e46 318i, the Hyundai i10, and the Audi A4 B6. The vehicles were powered by petrol and LPG. Spark plugs were selected for the vehicles, with different kinds of construction for the main electrodes and different numbers of poles but with similar heat values. A comparative analysis of the composition of the exhaust gas mixture was performed, depending on the set of spark plugs used. The amount of CO, HC, CO2, and O2 emissions was analysed. The results were compared with the applicable exhaust gas emission standards. Both in the case of E5 95 petrol and LPG gas, lower exhaust gas emissions were observed when iridium spark plugs were used.