Abstract
A vacuum metering device for garlic seeds was developed, and its metering performance was tested according to the design factors. Three design factors were as follows: suction surface diameter (Edge), suction surface curvature (Type), and guide height (Guide). The suction surface curvature represents the distance between the center of the grooved suction plate and the bottom of suction plate. The metering rate and multiple metering rate were analyzed as the metering performance of the developed device with two varieties of garlic seeds: Namhae (warm region-adapted garlic) and Uiseong (cold region-adapted garlic). The best metering performance for the Namhae seeds were found with the following conditions: An Edge, Guide and Type of 40, 4, and 35 mm, respectively. In the case of the Uiseong seeds, the best conditions were as follows: An Edge, Guide and Type of 35, 4, and 30 mm, respectively. The guide height was found to be the most influential design factor on the metering performance of the metering rate and multiple rate for both Namhae seeds and Uiseong seeds. Additionally, the interaction between the area of the suction surface and the curvature of the suction surface had some effects on the multiple rate for the Uiseong seeds. It was concluded that the guide height should be 4 mm or higher so that more than 90% of the metering rate could be achieved for the tested garlic seeds with the developed metering device.
Figures & Tables
Fig. 1. Views of the vacuum seed metering device for garlic seeder: (a) front, (b) rear, (c) left, (d) right.
