Experimental research regarding the achievement of an equipment designed for chopping woody waste

This article presents the results obtained through experimental research carried out with a machine for shredding woody plant residues (twigs, vine ropes), residues obtained from dry or green cuttings, in fruit or wine plantations. The obtained shredding is intended for utilization in the form of compost or biofuel (pellet type). The machine was designed and made by a group of researchers from INMA Bucharest, with the aim of developing the machine system made available to farmers, for mechanized work in small and medium-sized fruit plantations. The sizes of the fractions of the wood fragments resulting from the chopping process, their humidity and volumetric weight were determined. Using as raw material greener or drier branches, with dimensions between 10-45 mm, with an adjustment of the chopping drum at an average speed of 1400 rpm and an average speed of the conveyor chain of 0.425 m/s, wood chips with different sizes between 4 and 16 mm were obtained, the proportions varying from 13% to 16%. The average working capacity of the equipment was approx. 14.2 mc/h. Research will continue to determine the energy indices of the machine designed and made at INMA Bucharest, and the results will be presented in another article.