Assessment of granulated manure fertilizer centrifugal spreading field simulation

Abstract

Lately, the use of organic granular fertilizers from manure with a lower environmental impact for fertilizing agricultural soils has received a lot of attention. The use of these granular organic fertilizers is relevant for the reason that this way of fertilization helps solve the problems caused by the quantities of manure generated in the livestock sector and also contributes to the overall environmental sustainability. Besides, to extend the experimental studies of the field research, when spreading of 4 and 6 mm diameter granular manure fertilizers was carried out with a two-disc centrifugal fertilizer spreader, it is important to proceed with the modelling studies of spreading of these organic fertilizers. Spreading of fertilizer modelling was developed by using the SOLIDWORKS computer program. This program was used to create a fertilizer hopper part with a discharge opening, several types of cone-shaped spreading discs and several types and different sizes of fertilizer spreading vanes. The required parameters of the test fertilizer particles were determined in previous experimental studies and taken into account to perform the fertilizer spreading modelling. A relatively close coincidence of the modelling results of the organic fertilizer granule spreading trajectory, fertilizer spreading field and spreading volume distribution was obtained with the results of experimental studies. The results of this research make it possible to expand the scope of the performed experimental studies and to determine the spreading parameters for even and controlled spreading of granular fertilizers. The main directions of modelling research are the effect of the cone angle of the spreading disc, the tilt angle of the spreading vanes and the effect of the position of the fertilizer hopper spout concerning the spreading discs on the spreading uniformity of granular fertilizers.