Effect of piece size and tree part on chipper performance

Alberto Assirelli; Vincenzo Civitarese; Roberto Fanigliulo; Luigi Pari; Daniele Pochi; Enrico Santangelo; Raffaele Spinelli

doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2013.03.029

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Effect of piece size and tree part on chipper performance

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Effect of piece size and tree part on chipper performance

Alberto Assirelli, Vincenzo Civitarese, Roberto Fanigliulo, Luigi Pari, Daniele Pochi, Enrico Santangelo and Raffaele Spinelli

Biomass and Bioenergy, Vol.54, pp.77-82

2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2013.03.029

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Abstract

Engineering

Technology

Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences

biomass

energy

forestry

harvesting

wood

A commercial drum chipper was fed alternately and piecewise with poplar stems and poplar tops, in order to determine the effect of piece size and tree part on machine performance. Chipping stems required most of the available power (231 kW) delivered by the tractor, whereas chipping tops took about half that much. However, productivity was twice as high with stems, compared to tops (i.e. 25 and 11 t h-1 of oven dry wood, respectively). As a consequence, specific fuel consumption per unit product was 15% lower with stems, compared to tops - i.e. 0.61 and 0.72 L m-3, respectively. Mean feeding speed was 0.37 m s-1 for stems and 0.41 m s-1 for tops, but the difference was not significant (p = 0.1677). Productivity and fuel consumption were strongly related to piece size, but tree part had its own additional effect, independent from size and possibly related to form. When chipping tops it is advisable to feed more pieces at a time, in order to partly compensate for the effect of piece size. Operators expecting to chip primarily small-size materials may acquire special chipper versions with wider drums and additional side rollers, for smoother mass feeding.

Details

Title: Effect of piece size and tree part on chipper performance
Authors: Alberto Assirelli (Author) - CRA ING, Italy
Vincenzo Civitarese (Author) - CRA ING, Italy
Roberto Fanigliulo (Author) - CRA ING, Italy
Luigi Pari (Author) - CRA ING, Italy
Daniele Pochi (Author) - CRA ING, Italy
Enrico Santangelo (Author) - CRA ING, Italy
Raffaele Spinelli (Author) - CNR IVALSA, Italy
Publication details: Biomass and Bioenergy, Vol.54, pp.77-82
Publisher: Pergamon
DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2013.03.029
ISSN: 0961-9534
Organisation Unit: Forest Research Institute; Forest Industries Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450074002621
Output Type: Journal article

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