DETERMINING THE PARAMETERS OF A AUGER LOADING MIXER OF ACTIVATED COMPOST

The mixing quality of activated compost is determined by the operating parameters of working elements. The paper presents a design of an activated compost loading mixer equipped with a belt auger and a metering hopper for mineral fertilizers. The authors provide basic research results on interaction process of the auger with a compost mixture and determine the basic design and operating conditions of the considered actuating elements. They obtained formulas to determine the optimal travel speed of the activated compost loading mixer; the rotational speed and diameter of the separating teeth of the auger, as well as the number of teeth. The study proved the relationship between the auger capability of separating a portion of material from
the main mass and its rotational speed and diameter, as well as the relationship between the transportation rate and the factor determined by the resistance of racks holding the teeth. The experimental study results have proved that the best mixing ratio value of 0.96 is achieved at a loader travel speed of 0.05 m/s and a rotational speed of the auger of 175…215 min-1, and the maximum performance value amounts to 39 kg/s at a travel speed of 0.05 m/s and an angular speed of the auger of 175…15 min-1.