Improving the performance of the threshing process is of utmost importance in enhancing the quality of sunflower seeds and minimizing power consumption in sunflower production. In this study, we developed a modified sunflower threshing machine by incorporating two types of threshing rotors, namely the angled rasp bar rotor and the tine bar rotor, as compared to the round bar rotor. The performance of these rotors was evaluated under various rotational speeds (150, 200, 250, and 300 rpm) and concave clearances (10, 15, and 20 mm). The evaluation parameters included machine throughput, the specific energy of threshing, the percentage of damaged seeds, the percentage of unthreshed seeds, and threshing efficiency. The results indicate that the specific energy decreased with an increase in rotor speed and a decrease in concave clearance, with the tine bar rotor exhibiting the lowest values. Threshing efficiency showed an increasing trend with higher rotor speeds and reduced concave clearance. The modifications made to the rotor design resulted in an enhanced threshing efficiency, with an improvement from 96.30% to 97.93% achieved at a rotor revolving speed of 300 rpm and a concave clearance of 10 mm. Moreover, the specific energy consumption reduced from 9.65 kW·h/ton to 5.09 kW·h/ton under the same operational conditions. These findings highlight the efficacy of the novel rotor design modifications in optimizing the performance of the stationary sunflower threshing machine, leading to improved efficiency and reduced energy consumption in sunflower seed threshing operations. Given its performance characteristics, this machine exhibits potential suitability for sunflower farms of small to medium scale.

This study was conducted to investigate the mechanical behavior of apricot and cherry pits under compression loading along the three axial dimensions of the pits. The mechanical behavior was expressed in terms of force required to rupture of the pit, deformation at rupture point, deformation ratio (strain), energy absorbed and toughness. Also; masses and geometrical properties (axial dimensions, geometric mean diameter, sphericity and volume) of these pits were determined. These properties are necessary to design of cracking machines and knowledge amount of force and energy requirements for cracking operation. All experiments were carried out at moisture content of 9.81 and 12.92 %, (d.b.) for apricot and cherry pits, resp. The results showed that; the highest values of rupture force, deformation and energy required to crack the apricot pit were at loading position through the length axis, while; the lowest values were through the width axis, whereas; the highest values of rupture force, deformation and energy required to crack the cherry pit were at loading position through the thickness axis, while; the lowest values were through the width axis. In conclusion; the results obtained of the mechanical behavior of apricot and cherry pits indicated that; the compression through the width axis can be recommended for cracking process with minimum force and energy requirements.

The major goal of this research is to investigate some engineering factors affecting the performance of wheat grinding for obtaining whole flour. To achieve this goal, the effect of grinding disc shape, clearance, and moisture content of wheat grain on the performance of grinding was studied. The results showed that the specific energy requirements and extraction ratio increased with increasing the moisture content, whereas the productivity of whole wheat flour increased with increasing the moisture content from 14 – 16 % and then decreased with increasing the moisture content from 16 – 20 % for all types of tested grinding discs. Also, the specific energy consumption and extraction ratio decreased with increasing the tested grinding clearance from 0.1 – 0.4 mm, whereas the machine productivity increased with increasing the clearance from 0.1 to 0.4 mm for all types of tested grinding discs. Under the tested moisture content range and grinding clearance, the results showed that the original grinding disc was better than the other two local discs, the original disc (D1) had low values of specific energy requirements, and it had high values of productivity and extraction ratio followed by local disc (D2) with four curved blades. The highest values of machine productivity were 4.61 and 4.33 Kg/h with specific energy requirements of 0.089 and 0.092 kWh/kg and extraction ratio of 71 and 57 % using the original disc (D1) and local disc (D2), which has four curved blades respectively when the moisture content was 16% and grinding clearance was 0.1 mm.

The purpose of this investigation to study some engineering factors that control groundwater level. Also, to study variations in water table depths with timeindifferent soils and amendmentsto accommodate variant crops and periods in growing season. To achieve this goal, two experiments were carried out, namely: (1) alaboratory experiment by using the soil tank model and (2) a field experiment, including utilization of rice straw as drain filling material. Three control depths were used for drainage outflow in the soil tank model, namely: (20, 12 and 4 cm from soil surface).The soil surface in the soil tank model was watered by surface irrigation, followed by draining through drains and was measured water table level at different times. The results obtained from model could be summarized as follows: Water table falling rate at mid-point between drains increases with the drainage depth and decreases with drain-spacing for both of soil with and without of rice straw.Water table falling rate at mid-point between drains in sandy loam soil with drain of straw was much more than bare soil.Water table falling rate at mid-point between drains in sandy soil with drain of straw was less than bare soil.Water table falling rate at mid-point between drains in clay loam soil with two drains of straw was more than one drain.Three treatments of soil were used in the field experiment, namely: silty clay soil, silty clay soil with drain of rice straw and silty clay soil with two drains of rice straw. Two control depths were used for drainage outflow, namely: 70 and 40 cm from soil surface. Two spaces for drains were used as follows: 3 m (by opened the two drains), 8 m (by closed one of drains during drainage). Results have demonstrated that: Water table falling rate at mid-point between drains increases with the drainage depth and decreases with drain-spacing for both of soil with and without of rice straw.Water table falling rate at mid-point between drains in silty clay soil with two drains of straw was more than one drain and one drain was more than bare soil. Also, it has been got relations correlate between water table heightsand time at different engineering designs for subsurface drainage system with different soils, with and without rice straw, bydimensional analysis.

Landscape plays a vital role in maintaining ecological balance and minimizing the consequences of global warming and due to increased demand for turfgrass and a shortage of servicing machinery for various stages of mechanization required for construction of landscaping, particularly cultivating machines, as well as the manual planting of turfgrass is exhaustive, time-consuming and costly. So, the current study aims to develop and manufacture a turfgrass planting machine, testing its performance, and investigate its operating costs. In the present study, seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Sw.) was used. The developed turfgrass planting machine was tested in sandy soil by studying the following variables: forward speed, applied load, and size of turfgrass sprigs. Results showed that the planting depth increased by decreasing the forward speeds (from 4.40 to 1.15 km/h) and increasing the load (from 100 to 200 kg). Additionally, increasing the size of the sprigs reduced planting depth because larger sprigs have more resistance to planting process. For small, medium, and large turfgrass sprigs, the highest planting efficiencies were 99.00, 96.84, and 77.24% with actual performance rates of 0.171, 0.165, and 0.154 fed/h, fuel consumption rates of 1.90, 2.02, and 2.24 L/fed, andfield efficiencies of 62.36, 60.63, and 56.30% respectively. Whereas the operational costs of the developed machine were 44.98, 45.09, and 45.26 LE/h, while the turfgrass planting costs were 263.43, 272.85, and 293.58 LE/fed, respectively at forward speed of 1.15 km/h and applied load of 200 kg.