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Copyright of INMATEH - Agricultural Engineering is the property of INMATEH - Agricultural Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The whole--body vibration is a significant physical risk factor for drivers associated with low back pain and their comfort while driving on different types of terrain. Whole--body vibration levels were measured on several types of agricultural tractors during a wide range of normal field operations. In this study, we outline a system for measuring the WBV operator of agricultural tractors of different types, with loads on several types of terrain and different speeds. to assess the risks to the human body according to ISO standards. The evaluation of the driver's exposure to vibration on 4 types of terrain, running at 2 different types of speed and a value of the seat suspension angle for an agricultural tractor of 80 HP and 2500 RPM, being a large tractor consisted in the installation of 3 triaxial accelerometers at the operator--seat interface, on the seat--back at the level of the spine and on the tractor cab near the operator's support leg, in accordance with ISO 2631--1. The data collected were calculated and evaluated using VATS NexGen Ergonomics software in accordance with ISO 2631--1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The foundation of contemporary society is agriculture, which is a significant part of human civilisation. Reduced arable land, climate change, water scarcity, and widespread population and labour migration from rural to urban areas have all slowed agricultural development rates. Therefore, enhancing agricultural output requires the implementation of novel strategies. Agriculture can play a crucial role in promoting economic growth because of its strong forward and backward links with the secondary (industrial) and tertiary (services) sectors. However, this industry has continued to face a number of difficulties, including rising input costs, climate change, temperature variations, a water deficit, and changes in precipitation patterns. Particularly in the areas of the world with the greatest food insecurity, the escalating effects of climate change could further reduce crop production. The paper presents the evolution of agriculture and the main crops grown at national and European level in the context of climate changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional ingredients have gained a large-scale development determined by the increased interest shown by consumers worldwide. Functional ingredients are bioactive compounds that can be used in the manufacture of functional food products. These bioactive compounds can be obtained from accessible materials. The use of these materials aims to transform affordable raw materials at low prices into functional ingredients concentrated in proteins, amino acids, minerals and fibres, which can be used to obtain foods with a beneficial role in health. The paper presents a series of experimental researches for obtaining and characterizing functional materials obtained from Jerusalem artichoke and hemp seeds. The samples obtained had low moisture content, between 5.11 – 5.43 % for Jerusalem artichoke and 4.8 – 5.13 % for hemp, ideal for storage and use as powder. Jerusalem artichoke registered high sugar contents (between 21.2 – 27.2 %), while hemp flour had high fat content (between 18.56 – 23.52 %), making both products suitable to be used as functional ingredients in the food industry.

The equipment for burying in the ground the drip irrigation lines was designed and built at INMA Bucharest, within a complex research project carried out in partnership with other institutes, universities and research stations in Romania. The equipment is intended for drip irrigation technology for field crops. Subsurface crop irrigation technology is a variant of the classic drip irrigation technology, in which the drip lines are buried below the soil surface, providing water directly to the root zone of the plants. The depth of burial and the distance between the drip lines depends on the type of soil and the structure of the roots of the crop. The activities prior to the experimental research consisted in determining the characteristics of the test field (soil compactness, soil moisture, geographical coordinates of location). Experimental research of the equipment aimed at determining the energy indices (working speed, traction force, traction power, working capacity and fuel consumption).

Biomass is abundantly present in diverse ecosystems, and is considered to be a highly valuable energy source worldwide due to its high diversity. Agricultural residues contribute substantially to the overall biomass potential. Although all agricultural residues can be used as fuel, their range is limited in practice by the possibilities of production, compaction, transport and use. The present paper presents a technology and the associated technical equipment developed and tested by INMA Bucharest for processing Miscanthus biomass that can be used for various energy purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the existing statistical data at the country level, over 65% of the wastewater (rural from agricultural livestock farms) is discharged without purification, 61% are insufficiently purified and only 10-15% are properly purified. The pollution effect of wastewater not purified or insufficiently purified on surface waters, is mainly manifested by the content of suspended matter, of organic matter, in nutritional salts, ammonium and in pathogenic microorganisms. It is well-known that the nutritional salts of nitrogen and phosphorus cause the eutrophication of surface waters, with the effect of consuming the dissolved oxygen needed to sustain the aquatic life. Ammonia is particularly toxic to aquatic life. Unsaturated or insufficiently purified wastewater pollutes groundwater, among others with nitrates, ammonium and bacteriologically. From the presented results, the purification of waste water is an essential requirement of the development of human civilization. Being a necessity with special social and ecological implications, the unitary regulation and the general provision of the necessary infrastructure is a priority, in this sense an article will be presented in an experimental treatment station that performs the collection of waste water from an agrozootechnical farm. The purification of water within this experimental model of treatment plant will be done autonomously from an energy point of view (electricity supply is carried out through a hybrid system based on photovoltaic panels and wind turbine), and the recovery. The use of purified water is done in a greenhouse, using a mixed irrigation system (dripping / spray irrigation).

Deep soil loosening machine MAS 65 is destined to work soil at depths exceeding 45 cm, thus the machine’s frame is subjected to loads which could affect its structural integrity. Within this paper a static structural analysis was performed on the machine’s 3D model using finite element method and strain and stress distribution maps were created. Using the Von Mises stress map there were identified several critical points which could fail during normal exploitation conditions and which should be monitored by strain gages during field tests in order to prevent structural failure.

In recent years, intense concerns about the increasing resistance of weed populations to herbicide treatments, the low availability of bioactive ingredients for vegetable crops, as well as the expansion of organic farms for these niche crops have stimulated the development of new non-chemical methods of control or new approaches to those already used. In general, vegetable crops exhibit increased sensitivity to weeds compared to other crops. Therefore, weed control in organic vegetable crops is a real challenge for farmers, mainly using the so-called physical combat methods. Therefore, weed destruction is accomplished by using manual, mechanical, thermal or mulching means. The paper presents the preliminary experimental results obtained under laboratory conditions, referring to an innovative model of equipment for the ecological weed control in vegetable crops. It will achieve the destruction of weeds, combining the thermal method based on using hot water with the mechanical one, by equipping the machine with environmentally friendly active parts. The results obtained constitute an important premise for developing efficient equipment for the ecological weed control that can be used within integrated control systems, specific for organic onion, bean and bell pepper crops.

The challenges caused by climate change are becoming inevitable. The main cause is represented by human activities, which are associated with the overexploitation of ecosystem services and natural resources, to meet the ever-growing demand for human needs. This leads to extensive environmental degradation and the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, leading to a dangerous increase in the global average temperature. The benefits of biofuels compared to traditional fuels aim at greater energy security, lower environmental impact, financial savings and socioeconomic aspects related to the rural sector. The concept of sustainable development embodies the idea of inter-connectivity and balance between economic, social and environmental concerns. Romania relies heavily on biomass for the contribution of energy from renewable sources in this sector, biomass being generally used more in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicinal plants are gaining much interest recently because their use in ethno--medicine treating in common disease such as cold, fever and other medicinal claims are now supported with sound scientific evidences. A wide range of technologies is available for the extraction of active components and essential oils from medicinal and aromatic plants. The choice depends on the economic feasibility and suitability of the process to each particular situation. Bioactive compounds from medicinal plants were synthesized using effective extraction methods which have important roles in the pharmaceutical product development. In this paper will be presented some methods of extraction of active principles from medicinal and aromatic plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The benefits of biofuels compared to traditional fuels include greater energy security, lower environmental impact, financial savings and socio-economic issues related to the rural sector. The concept of sustainable development embodies the idea of interconnectivity and balance between economic, social and environmental concerns. The use of renewable energy is an efficient way to ensure a cleaner energy supply. Romania has the capacity to produce energy from a multitude of sources, biomass being one of the most abundant and easy to use. Lignocellulosic waste represents an important biomass source that can be easily transformed in solid biofuels, thus eliminating losses and contributing to environmental protections. The paper presents a solution for lignocellulosic waste recovery, by transforming it into tablets using a specially designed equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manner in which we obtain our energy represents one of today's priorities in the context of climate changes and of increased levels of pollution worldwide. The orientation towards renewable energy was first triggered by the inevitable and rapid depletion of fossil fuels, but also by a more active involvement of authorities in problems related to environmental protection. Biomass is one of the most important sources of renewable energy and has the advantage that after an adequate processing, it can be used in the same purposes as fossil fuels. The paper presents a series of experimental researches for assessing the benefits of introducing additives (corn starch) in the recipes for obtaining pellets from agricultural biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a synthesis regarding bioreactors systems used at waste treatment in order to obtain bioenergy (biogas) by dry digestion. Biogas production is a good way of satisfying national and European regulations becoming more stringent in relation to the use of organic waste for energy production, followed by recycling as fertilizer. Biogas technologies contribute to reducing the volume of waste and of costs for their disposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intelligent control system is a software-hardware system that achieves a differentiation of crop plants from the weeds and after that it destroys the weed. It is based on two intelligent cameras. Each camera surveys two rows of culture and digitally transmits the commands obtained after processing the images, to a logical programmable controller (PLC). This paper presents general aspects and a comparison between two smart cameras; the first one is black-and-white and the second is a colour camera. Recognition and processing of images algorithm depends on colour, shape or position. If the first uses shape to recognize and make the difference between weed and plant, the second uses the difference of colour pixels to make that difference. The paper also includes the stages of algorithm realization and implementation for images processing and recognition. The experiment was performed on lettuce at INMA Bucharest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When is moving on public roads, on smooth roads or downhill, on the tractor-semitrailer aggregate operates forces and moments that affect the efficiency and parameters of the braking of its. In this work is making an analysis of these forces and moments in order to highlight the subsequent effect that they have on the aggregate road holding while is moving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conception, design and fabrication of agricultural machinery, in modern age, cannot be achieved in competitive conditions without including in these activities the one of experimental research through field and laboratory testing. Acceleration of tests is a way of hurrying up the information obtaining regarding products behavior in conditions of economic efficiency. By accelerated testing concept we understand time compression and acceleration of braking mechanisms in a reasonable amount of time so that the products reliability will be evaluated. This concept is also applied to agricultural machinery testing, especially of those high stressed in exploitation. The paper will present the stages which have to be passed for design validation of a resistance frame from a deep soil loosening machine by applying an accelerated testing program within a laboratory unit. For this, we will present the real solicitations spectrum at which the machine is subjected in exploitation and the synthesized accelerated test program obtained using a Rainflow counting algorithm. Then, the deep soil loosening machine will be mounted on a specialized stand and will be subjected to strains according to the obtained testing program, with the final purpose of its resistance frame design validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]