Cotton stripper harvester evaluation and modification for cotton fiber quality preservation and foreign matter removal

The goal of Phase I was to determine cotton fiber quality and foreign matter characteristics of bur cotton after it was processed through sequential selected cotton stripper conveyance/cleaning locations. Five sequential conveyance locations were selected for data collection along with hand picked cotton as a reference. The data analysis aided in targeting relevant locations for redesign to reduce foreign matter content while preserving fiber quality. Phase I identified points on the harvester located between the row units and field cleaner that could be modified or redesigned to aid in fiber quality preservation and foreign matter removal.The objective of Phase II was to design and evaluate an alternative conveyance system. A wire belt conveyor was selected as a replacement for the cross auger. A wire belt conveyor was designed and built convey bur cotton from one half of a four row cotton stripper and was evaluated in a laboratory. The results were compared to a standard cross auger in terms of fiber quality and foreign matter impact. There were no significant differences identified between the current auger design and the wire belt conveyor in either foreign matter removal or fiber quality.The objective of Phase III was to characterize and parameterize bur cotton flow on a wire belt conveyor. Two techniques were used: fiber quality and foreign matter data were collected along with use of a top view high speed camera. Three yields common to the Southern High Plains, a one m row width, and 5.6 km h-1 ground speed were used to determine three material conveyance rates. Four wire belt conveyor widths (0.18, 0.36, 0.53, and 0.69 m), and four material depths (0.025, 0.05, 0.10, 0.18 m), were chosen. Fiber quality, percent foreign matter removal, and foreign matter data were collected from the extreme high and low depths for each belt width and material flow rate to determine the wire belt configuration effects. Results determined that wire belt configuration had insignificant impact on fiber quality, lower material depths produced higher foreign matter removal, and wider, greater material depths aided in a more uniform velocity profile development