Abstract
In this study, experimental work was undertaken to investigate the engineering factors that influence the agricultural residual chopping machine's performance for producing unconventional feed. The research was conducted at the Textile Agriculture Laboratory, Al-Rasheed Municipality, Baghdad- Iraq. Two types of chopping knives (smooth edges and serrated), two feeding speeds (5.5 and 9.5 rpm), and two types of agricultural Residuals (corn stalks and palm fronds) were used for investigation. The technical parameters evaluated comprised productivity, total required power, cutting efficiency, and fuel consumption. The moisture content of corn stalks was 56% and palm fronds 34%. The results showed that the serrated knife was the most effective achieving the highest productivity of 109.60 kg.h-1, the minimal total power consumption of 7.00 kW, and the lowest fuel consumption of 2.22 l.h-1. Additionally, the lower feeding speed of 5.5 rpm resulted in the highest cutting efficiency at 66.90%, the lowest power requirement at 7.20 kW, and the lowest fuel consumption at 2.28 l.h-1. Among the materials used, corn stalk exhibited the highest cutting efficiency at 72.41%, the lowest total power requirement at 7.00 kW, and the lowest fuel consumption at 2.22 l.h-1.
