ASABE Technical Library - Abstract

Abstract.

The objective of the study was to determine seed releasing characteristics and performance of a corn planter metering unit using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). An AGCO seed metering unit was tested using two seed discs (suitable for flat and round type corn seeds) in controlled laboratory conditions. Experiments were designed based on the two-variable Central Composite Design (CCD), one of the RSM designs. Effects of metering rate and releasing angle of the seed tube (seed tube tilt angle) in their five levels were investigated on performance and seed releasing characteristics. A video recording system allowed simultaneous recording of rear and side view in combination with image processing algorithms was used collect to data. The performance indicators investigated were quality of feed index (QFI), multiple and miss indices and seed releasing characteristics were side angle, rear angle and time between seeds. Based on the experimental results QFI values were found 98.97% (max) and 100% (max) for using flat corn disc and round corn disc, respectively. While the maximum side angle varied between 0,585 rad (33,5º) - 0,844 rad (48,4º) for flat and 0,583 rad (33,4º) - 0,83 rad (47,6º) for round, maximum rear angle ranged from 0,089 rad (5,1º) to 0.264 rad (15,1º) for flat and 0.112 rad (6,4º) - 0.308 rad (17,6º) for round type meter. In addition to experimental results, model equations were also developed to predict QFI, side and rear angles as the function of seeding rate and seed tube tilt angle.