JUSTIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTIVE-MODE PARAMETERS OF A PHOTO-ELECTRON SEPARATOR OF SUNFLOWER SEEDS

Despite the ever-increasing use of photoelectronic separators in the control and sorting at the stage of production of finished oilseeds, the area of their application continues to remain quite narrow. Therefore, it is envisaged to conduct experimental studies and substantiate rational parameters of the working bodies of the photoelectronic separator. The aim of the research is to increase the efficiency of the technological process of separation of sunflower seed according to its morphological indicators by justifying the designmode parameters of the developed photoelectronic separator. Experimental studies were conducted on the installation, consisting of an experimental sample of a photoelectric separator, a frequency converter, a laboratory power supply unit with the possibility of changing the voltage and an electricity meter. An experimental sample of a photoelectronic separator contained a bunker, a calibrated damper, a drum with radial blades, an electric motor, a vibrating channel, a vibromotor, a photoelectronic system for registering seeds, gas jets, a control relay, an air compressor. As a result of experimental studies of the photoelectronic separator, a physicomathematical model was developed that linked the total seed concentration, photoelectronic separator performance and its power consumption with seed supply, vibratory frequency, vibration frequency, drum rotation frequency, photosensor sensitivity. In the process of research, a compromise problem was solved, namely, minimizing the total concentration of seeds and power consumption by the photoelectric separator, with a maximum value of its productivity, which is comparable to the value of the seed supply. As a result, rational design and technological parameters of the photoelectronic separator were established