Modeling of transportation process in a technological complex of beet harvesting machines

Abstract

Based on a critical review of known research and developments in recent years, the article presents a methodology for analyzing the capacity of the sugar beet sweeping-transport complex. The research aims to find rational use of machinery resources in the technological complex. A reloading method of transportation of root crops was considered. Its peculiarity was flexibility, adaptability to weather, and climatic and economic conditions during the gathering of sugar beet. Under favorable weather conditions and the availability of a sufficient number of vehicles, dug roots, removed from the combine from the field by a tractor semi-trailer, were reloaded into the heavy trucks. They were on the road from the edge of the field and transported to the plant. In case of changing conditions (in rainy weather, when the soil was too wet, or when there were not enough vehicles), a cleaner loader was added to the machines complex. After, the production process was carried out in a transshipment or flow-transshipment way. Beet harvesting and transportation of root crops were considered as work of the technological chain, which consists of three links: “field – beet harvester”, “beet harvester – tractor semi-trailer”, and “tractor semi-trailer – vehicle”. The basic steps of the capacity analysis allowed for determining the capacity of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd links, their comparison, and subsequent analysis and selecting rational options to overcome the possible difference between their values.