The paper presents mathematical models describing the moments of resistance to cutting on the cutting drum shafts in the biomass cutting process. The mathematical procedures described in the paper have been verified on a test stand developed and constructed by the authors, which reflects real conditions of the process of cutting plant material into pieces of specified lengths. Experimental verification proved that the developed mathematical models are adequate for drums of both cylindrical and conical constructions. The value of the average error did not exceed 13%. Following the mathematical elaboration and verification studies, the authors carried out calculations for machines currently available on the market that are equipped with drum cutting units. The calculations were carried out for the most commonly cut material, i.e. for maize, straw and green plant materials. The obtained results confirm the complexity of the problem arising from a wide range of numerical values of cutting resistance, which is contained in the range of 400–1,800 nm. The compiled database can be practically applied in the selection of machines for specific field works, and the mathematical models developed and verified in the study can be applied at the stage of designing new designs of cutting drums used in forage harvesters.

The aim of this study was to examine the functional characteristics of the process of cutting surgical gauze with a drum cutting unit. For this purpose, the authors designed and constructed a test stand on which experimental tests were conducted. As part of this study, the results of the experimental tests are presented, which were conducted for three selected thicknesses of surgical gauze samples, four selected angles of feeding of the material to be cut and nine selected cutting speeds. In order to determine cutting resistance, the specific cutting resistance was used, and the energy consumption was estimated using the specific cutting work related to the cutting surface of the surgical gauze. The conducted experimental studies demonstrated that the highest value of the specific cutting resistance $p_c=78.14 \mathrm{N}\cdot {\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$ occurred during the cutting of eight-layer gauze at a cutting angle $\alpha =0°$ and a cutting speed $V_c=0.66 \mathrm{m}\cdot {\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. Meanwhile, the highest value of the specific cutting work was approximately $L_{jS}=120.00 \mathrm{J}\cdot {\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$ during the cutting of three-layer gauze, also at a cutting speed $V_c=0.66 \mathrm{m}\cdot {\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ for cutting angles $\alpha =0°$ and $\alpha =5°$. This study found that $V_c=0.66 \mathrm{m}\cdot {\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ is the threshold cutting speed at which the material is cut. Below this speed, the cutting drum does not have enough momentum to cut the material. Based on the statistical analysis of the obtained test results, it was concluded that there exists a relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The cutting speed has the greatest impact on the parameters of the surgical gauze cutting process. The test results, which have not been found in the worldwide literature to date, constitute a valuable contribution to the development of the theory of surgical gauze cutting. The experimentally determined specific cutting resistance p_c and specific cutting work of surgical gauze broaden the knowledge of the materials used in medicine and contribute to the expansion of scientific knowledge in this field.

This article describes the results of the studies related to the occurrence of the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn) pest carried out at the Technical University of Bydgoszcz. The studies concerned the real occurrence of the pest in corn stubble (cultivated variety SY Collosseum). The research issue undertaken is in line with an IPM (integrated pest management) system and is important since the feeding of the European corn borer can lead to large, direct yield losses estimated nationally at an average of up to about 20%, which does not differ significantly from that of world crops. Corn, for the purposes of this study, was harvested for green fodder in September, and for grain in November 2022, using a John Deere X9 1110 harvester. The average stubble height when cut for green fodder was 280 mm, while for grain it was 265 mm. The experimental studies conducted clearly showed that European corn borer larvae colonized as much as 12% of corn samples harvested for grain at an average stubble height of 155 mm, and 19% of corn samples harvested for grain at an average height of 75 mm. The conducted studies also showed that the average diameter of the stems at the height of the residence of the corn borer larvae when harvested for green fodder is 19.80 mm, and 21.80 mm for grain. The studies conducted by the authors showed the randomness of the locations of the pest larvae, which clearly indicates that the generally known and used mechanical methods of its control are not fully effective. Therefore, the authors presented their own design of a machine construction (filed with the patent office of the Republic of Poland) for destroying the European corn borer in a mechanical way without the use of crop protection chemicals. The presented research problem in this paper is of national and global importance considering the fact that corn is grown on an area of nearly 162 million hectares, where we have to deal with the European corn borer pest. In the case of implementing the design of the construction of a machine for destroying the pest, there will be no need to use chemical pesticides, which will significantly contribute to environmental protection.

In this paper, the research procedure is presented aiming at determining the impact of selected features and design parameters of the working unit of the hammer shredder on the rate of material circulation in the shredding chamber and its unit load. The addressed issues are new and very relevant,...

This paper describes experimental studies of cutting the outer layer of onions in a machine processing process. For this purpose, an original, globally innovative machine design with a modular structure was used, which was constructed in a real scale. For the purposes of carrying out the experimental studies, a test stand was constructed, a plan and programme for the studies were adopted, and a research methodology was developed. The results gained and the data obtained from the equations of the regression function for the developed machine design were used to construct systems of independent variables for which the dependent variable reaches extreme values. The unit energy consumption of the onion peeling process increases together with an increase in the number of air nozzles and the air pressure supplying the unit for removing the skins, while an increase in the material feeding speed and in the distance of the air nozzles results in a decrease in the energy consumption of the process.

This study attempts to address the problem of excessive soil compaction in the subsoil layer caused by the movement and operation of agricultural machinery by modernizing the plough design to combine two operations with high energy requirements, ploughing and subsoiling. The aim of this study was to modernize and develop the design of the share plough by adding an additional frame (heavy-duty tines) on which the mounted working elements (straight type chisel spike, two-heart type chisel spike, duck foot type chisel spike). The effect of the plough modernization was to destroy the plough pan, leading to a decrease in the bulk density of the soil in the subsoil layer. However, when tines with a duck foot (sweep) type chisel spike were used, an increase in soil bulk density was observed in the layer below the working depth of the tool. The modernization of the plough resulted in the increase in fuel consumption per units' area during ploughing related to the area cultivated. Using a modernized plough allows two energy-intensive operations – ploughing and subsoiling – to be combined in a single pass.