Comparative energy study of the air-stream loading systems of air-seeders

EA GEAPSI AGROSUPInternational audienceThe air-seeder became a solution, when the working width increasing of conventional mechanical seed drills having the storage hopper across the all working width had reached its limits. The single storage hopper of a modern air-seeder can supply the working widths up to 24 m, over many operating hours. However, it should be noted that to ensure the accurate loading of metered material into the air delivery system, we are faced by the problem of pressure difference between the storage hopper and the air stream. Most modern air-seeders are equipped with a Venturi-injector or a pressurized hopper (called also: pressurized tank). Even if both loading systems are largely used, there are no theoretical and scientific justifications in favour of these systems, since few evaluation reports based only on practical observations are available. Thus, this paper deals with a study on the influence of an air-stream loading system type on the total energy consumption and seeds-metering precision. Moreover, this paper proposes an explanatory model of the functioning conditions of each system. Experimental demonstrations show that pressurized systems are more convenient from an energetic efficiency point of view