Mechanics- based design and performance optimisation of a feeding–chopping device for direct alfalfa silage harvesting

Mechanics- based design and performance optimisation of a feeding–chopping device for direct alfalfa silage harvesting | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Mechanics- based design and performance optimisation of a feeding–chopping device for direct alfalfa silage harvesting Pengzhan Hu, Yong You, Xiaohang Zhang, Haiyi Wang, Zhencheng Liu, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9411874/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Feeding and chopping are key operations in alfalfa harvesting, directly affecting silage quality and operational energy consumption. To address the problems of insufficient feeding stability, poor chopped length uniformity, and high specific energy consumption during direct alfalfa harvesting, a five-roller feeding–chopping device was designed. Based on the mechanical analyses of the feeding and chopping processes, the key structural parameters of the device were determined. Feeding speed, preload force, and rotational speed of chopping cylinder were selected as experimental factors, while standard grass length ratio, specific feeding and chopping energy consumption were used as evaluation indices. Single-factor experiments and a three-factor quadratic orthogonal rotatable combination experiment were conducted, and the operating mechanism was further analyzed using high-speed photography and torque sensor data. The single-factor experiments determined that the ranges of feeding speed, preload force, and rotational speed of chopping cylinder were 1–3 m/s, 900–1300 N, and 800–1200 r/min, respectively. The optimal parameter combination obtained from the quadratic regression equation was a feeding speed of 2 m/s, a preload force of 1090 N, and a rotational speed of chopping cylinder of 1010 r/min. Validation experiments were carried out under the optimal parameter combination, and the results were 90.34%, 0.86 kJ/kg, and 2.58 kJ/kg, respectively. The relative errors between the experimental results and the software-predicted values were all less than 10%. The results provide a theoretical basis and experimental support for parameter matching and low-energy optimization design of feeding–chopping devices for direct alfalfa harvesting. Alfalfa Silage harvesting Standard grass length ratio Specific energy consumption Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9411874","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":632588090,"identity":"db9c8226-ff0b-40ea-9522-129d11c8ac56","order_by":0,"name":"Pengzhan Hu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pengzhan","middleName":"","lastName":"Hu","suffix":""},{"id":632588091,"identity":"3ca112ee-dfd2-42b7-9edd-79d64a116eff","order_by":1,"name":"Yong 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consumption","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9411874/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9411874/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eFeeding and chopping are key operations in alfalfa harvesting, directly affecting silage quality and operational energy consumption. To address the problems of insufficient feeding stability, poor chopped length uniformity, and high specific energy consumption during direct alfalfa harvesting, a five-roller feeding\u0026ndash;chopping device was designed. Based on the mechanical analyses of the feeding and chopping processes, the key structural parameters of the device were determined. Feeding speed, preload force, and rotational speed of chopping cylinder were selected as experimental factors, while standard grass length ratio, specific feeding and chopping energy consumption were used as evaluation indices. Single-factor experiments and a three-factor quadratic orthogonal rotatable combination experiment were conducted, and the operating mechanism was further analyzed using high-speed photography and torque sensor data. The single-factor experiments determined that the ranges of feeding speed, preload force, and rotational speed of chopping cylinder were 1\u0026ndash;3 m/s, 900\u0026ndash;1300 N, and 800\u0026ndash;1200 r/min, respectively. The optimal parameter combination obtained from the quadratic regression equation was a feeding speed of 2 m/s, a preload force of 1090 N, and a rotational speed of chopping cylinder of 1010 r/min. Validation experiments were carried out under the optimal parameter combination, and the results were 90.34%, 0.86 kJ/kg, and 2.58 kJ/kg, respectively. The relative errors between the experimental results and the software-predicted values were all less than 10%. The results provide a theoretical basis and experimental support for parameter matching and low-energy optimization design of feeding\u0026ndash;chopping devices for direct alfalfa harvesting.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Mechanics- based design and performance optimisation of a feeding–chopping device for direct alfalfa silage harvesting","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-06 06:53:57","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9411874/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"7eb56a88-f0b8-4667-8df2-f35c5c7bec59","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 6th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"185859296585360255998124212448025145001","date":"2026-04-30T15:58:31+00:00","index":24,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-06T06:53:58+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-06 06:53:57","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9411874","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9411874","identity":"rs-9411874","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}