CALCULATION OF PARAMETERS OF AUTOMATED EMERGENCY UNLOADING OF A CYLINDRICAL BUCKET FOR STORAGE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

<jats:p>An emergency unloading system improves the efficiency of unloading cylindrical bins used for storing bulk agricultural products, including when the hoppers feeding the conveyors are partially or completely clogged. A system for emergency unloading of cylindrical bins is proposed. Its distinguishing feature is the unloading hatch, which is designed as a rack-and-pinion valve. The valve is equipped with sensors for detecting the lower and upper positions of the gate, which is moved by a geared motor with automatic control. During emergency unloading, agricultural products are fed by gravity directly to the central conveyor through the unloading hatch. A backwater sensor is installed at the top of the gravity feed. Analytical relationships have been obtained to determine the total throughput of the hoppers through which stored agricultural products are fed to the central conveyor, depending on their geometric shape and opening sizes. The lift height of the gate valve during emergency unloading of a cylindrical bin and the rotation angle of the gear wheel required to open the outlet of the rack-and-pinion valve were determined based on parameters such as the width and height of the central conveyor chute, the speed of the central conveyor scrapers, the average gravity flow rate of the product, the bulk density of the product, its lumpiness, as well as the gear wheel parameters and the total throughput of the hoppers operating during emergency unloading. In this case, the lift height of the gate valve is maximum and depends on the height of the central conveyor chute, the speed of the central conveyor scrapers, the average gravity flow rate of the product, and its lumpiness.</jats:p>