Handling and Spreading of Fertilizers: Part 4, The Reciprocating Spout Type Fertilizer Spreader

• Published in: Journal of agricultural engineering research 1995-09, Vol.62 (1), p.9-24
• Main Author: Hofstee, J.W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0021-8634; 1095-9246
• DOI: 10.1006/jaer.1995.1059

The motion of particles is discussed, as affected by physical properties such as coefficient of friction and coefficient of restitution and the design of the spout (spout length, bow, spout angle) and the propulsion of the spout as influenced by the angular velocity of the driving shaft and the crank connecting rod ratio. The factors that may have an effect are studied theoretically, by means of a simulation model, and experimentally. The results of the simulations show that there is a large interaction between the oscillatory action of the spout and the factors mentioned above. Resulting values for velocities and residence times depend heavily on whether the motion of the particles along the spout is "in phase" with the motion of the spout or not. The flow of fertilizer from the hopper to the bowl at the beginning of the spout also plays an important role. A consequence of the interaction is that this type of spreader is not very sensitive to fertilizer characteristics. The influence of the oscillatory motion is much larger than the influence of individual variables.