Analysis of the separating performance of peanut harvester sorting system

This study examined the performance of the separating system of a self-propelled peanut harvester by analyzing the relationship between a shaking screen and rotational speeds of winnowing. The shaking screen was manufactured to have rotational speeds of 370, 470, 570 rpm and winnowing was manufactured to have rotational speeds of 1,500, 1,760, 2,020 rpm by adjusting the pitch circle diameter of each pulley. The sample was prepared based on the yields of an actual self-propelled peanut harvester and analyzed with Statistical Analysis Software after measuring the weight of peanuts and stems. The stem separation ratio was high as 95.3% when rotational speeds were 570 rpm (shaking screen) and 2,020 rpm (winnowing). The peanut loss ratio was low as 0% when rotational speeds were 370 rpm (shaking screen) and 1,500 rpm (winnowing). The results indicated that the stem separation ratio was improved with high rotational speeds of shaking screen and winnowing; the peanut loss ratio was reduced with low rotational speeds of shaking screen and winnowing. However, the rotational speed of winnowing did not influence on the peanut loss ratio; as a result, separation performance was improved with low rotational speed of shaking screen and high rotational speed of winnowing. Low rotational speed of shaking screen, however, may cause congestion during process, thus follow-up studies are needed.