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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Development Of A Decision Support System For Capacity Planning From Grain Harvest To Storage, Aaron P. Turner Jan 2018

Development Of A Decision Support System For Capacity Planning From Grain Harvest To Storage, Aaron P. Turner

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

This dissertation investigated issues surrounding grain harvest and transportation logistics. A discrete event simulation model of grain transportation from the field to an on-farm storage facility was developed to evaluate how truck and driver resource constraints impact material flow efficiency, resource utilization, and system throughput. Harvest rate and in-field transportation were represented as a stochastic entity generation process, and service times associated with various material handling steps were represented by a combination of deterministic times and statistical distributions. The model was applied to data collected for three distinct harvest scenarios (18 total days). The observed number of deliveries was within …


Combine Harvester Econometric Model With Forward Speed Optimization, Nathan E. Isaac, Graeme R. Quick, Stuart J. Birrell, William M. Edwards, Bruce A. Coers Jul 2016

Combine Harvester Econometric Model With Forward Speed Optimization, Nathan E. Isaac, Graeme R. Quick, Stuart J. Birrell, William M. Edwards, Bruce A. Coers

William Edwards

A combine harvester econometric simulation model was developed with the goal of matching the combine forward speed to the maximum harvested net income per acre. The model considers the machinery management costs of owning a combine and platform header for harvesting wheat. A statistical Design of Experiment (DOE) was used to evaluate the model using tri-level variables; the medium values constituted the model base case. Of the 27 input variables, the optimum speed was significantly influenced by the crop area, G/MOG ratio, grain unit price, field yield, field efficiency, grain moisture content, probability of a working day in the post-optimum …


Combine Harvester Econometric Model With Forward Speed Optimization, Nathan E. Isaac, Graeme R. Quick, Stuart J. Birrell, William M. Edwards, Bruce A. Coers Jul 2016

Combine Harvester Econometric Model With Forward Speed Optimization, Nathan E. Isaac, Graeme R. Quick, Stuart J. Birrell, William M. Edwards, Bruce A. Coers

William Edwards

A combine harvester econometric simulation model was developed with the goal of matching the combine forward speed to the maximum harvested net income per acre. The model considers the machinery management costs of owning a combine and platform header for harvesting wheat. A statistical Design of Experiment (DOE) was used to evaluate the model using tri-level variables; the medium values constituted the model base case. Of the 27 input variables, the optimum speed was significantly influenced by the crop area, G/MOG ratio, grain unit price, field yield, field efficiency, grain moisture content, probability of a working day in the post-optimum …


Combine Harvester Econometric Model With Forward Speed Optimization, Nathan E. Isaac, Graeme R. Quick, Stuart J. Birrell, William M. Edwards, Bruce A. Coers Jul 2016

Combine Harvester Econometric Model With Forward Speed Optimization, Nathan E. Isaac, Graeme R. Quick, Stuart J. Birrell, William M. Edwards, Bruce A. Coers

William Edwards

A combine harvester econometric simulation model was developed with the goal of matching the combine forward speed to the maximum harvested net income per acre. The model considers the machinery management costs of owning a combine and platform header for harvesting wheat. A statistical Design of Experiment (DOE) was used to evaluate the model using tri-level variables; the medium values constituted the model base case. Of the 27 input variables, the optimum speed was significantly influenced by the crop area, G/MOG ratio, grain unit price, field yield, field efficiency, grain moisture content, probability of a working day in the post-optimum …


Predicting Tractor Fuel Consumption, Robert D. Grisso, Michael F. Kocher, David H. Vaughan Jan 2004

Predicting Tractor Fuel Consumption, Robert D. Grisso, Michael F. Kocher, David H. Vaughan

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Reports from the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory (NTTL) show improved fuel efficiency during the past 20 years. A 4.8% decrease in average annual specific volumetric fuel consumption for the data used in the ASAE Standards was shown. Using fuel consumption and power data from the NTTL reports, new equations for fuel consumption were established that predict fuel consumption for diesel engines during full and partial loads and under conditions when engine speeds are reduced from full throttle.


Field Efficiency Determination Using Traffic Pattern Indices, Robert D. Grisso, Michael F. Kocher, Viacheslav I. Adamchuk, Paul J. Jasa, Mark A. Schroeder Jan 2004

Field Efficiency Determination Using Traffic Pattern Indices, Robert D. Grisso, Michael F. Kocher, Viacheslav I. Adamchuk, Paul J. Jasa, Mark A. Schroeder

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Field efficiency is an important criterion for determining field capacity during field operations and, indirectly, for making important machinery management decisions. Geographic location data gathered with a yield monitor during harvest and a data logger during planting were used to provide time−motion studies of equipment and operator productivity. This study used these spatial and temporal data to quantify field performance of a combine and a planter. Seven Nebraska fields were used to compare results from soybean and corn production systems. Fields that were relatively flat with straight rows were contrasted with contoured fields with slopes of 3% to 5%. Two …


Object-Oriented Methodology For Analyzing And Allocating Resources For Field Operations, Steven A. Freeman, A. Dale Whittaker Jan 1992

Object-Oriented Methodology For Analyzing And Allocating Resources For Field Operations, Steven A. Freeman, A. Dale Whittaker

Steven A. Freeman

An object-oriented methodology for machinery management was developed by combining knowledge system techniques with conventional problem solving techniques. The methodology developed here, if incorporated into a machinery management tool, provides the farmer with the ability to evaluate the physical feasibility of an overall farm plan (regarding field operations) being considered for the future and to identify possible solutions when the farmer is unable to complete this overall farm plan using current resources. The developed methodology also provides the farmer with the ability to assess the progress being made toward completion of the defined calendar as a result of changes in …