O aumento nacional e mundial no consumo de açúcar e as pressões pelo uso de fontes de energia renováveis, como o etanol e a energia elétrica gerada através da queima de subprodutos da cana-de-açúcar vêm impulsionando o crescimento da área destinada à produção da cultura no Brasil nas últimas décadas. Segundo a UNICA (2010), o Brasil atingiu na safra 2008/2009 uma produção total de cana-de-açúcar de 569,1 milhões de toneladas processadas, o que representa um crescimento de 14,8% com relação à safra anterior. Esse incremento é representado pelo aumento no consumo de etanol como combustível que cresceu 22,2% no mesmo período. A colheita mecanizada de cana-de-açúcar também vem aumentando nos últimos anos e as principais razões para esse crescimento são a escassez de mão-de-obra para colheita manual, as legislações ambientais que buscam a eliminação gradativa da queima prévia do canavial para a colheita e a redução de custos operacionais da colheita mecanizada frente à colheita manual. Por esses fatores, e com o objetivo de avaliar o desempenho efetivo dos três modelos de colhedoras de cana-de-açúcar mais comercializadas no Brasil, foram realizados ensaios em condições de campo operando em colheita de cana crua na Usina Clealco, município de Clementina, Estado de São Paulo no período de 22 a 27 de março de 2010. A variedade colhida foi a RB85-5453, sem queima prévia, de primeiro corte, com espaçamento entre fileiras de 1,5m, o solo foi classificado como latossolo vermelho e o micro-relevo do terreno estava em condições adequadas para operação de colheita mecânica com declividade de 2,4%, e bom paralelismo entre fileiras de plantio. A área do ensaio foi caracterizada como canavial de porte ereto e a produtividade agrícola média foi de 115,14 t.ha-1. As máquinas foram ensaiadas em duas velocidades de deslocamento pré-estabelecidas em 5,0 e 7,0 km.h-1 (tratamentos 1 e 2) com cinco repetições para cada velocidade totalizando 30 determinações, ou seja, 10 para cada máquina. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado com esquema fatorial 3X2. Cada repetição correspondeu a 150 m de colheita ao longo das fileiras de plantio. A metodologia de ensaio e avaliação do desempenho efetivo foram os propostos por Ripoli & Ripoli (2009), por meio de determinações das capacidades efetivas, eficácia de manipulação, perdas de matériaprima de campo, índices de matéria estranha vegetal e mineral na matéria-prima, consumo de combustível e freqüência do comprimento e índice de cisalhamento de rebolos. Foi constatado que com o aumento da velocidade de deslocamento não houve diferença estatística nas variáveis eficácia de manipulação e na maioria dos índices de qualidade de colheita e de perdas, apenas a variável perda de colmos e sua frações melhorou, contudo melhorou-se as capacidades efetivas e consumos de combustível por unidades de área e produção, ou seja, o aumento da velocidade de deslocamento trouxe benefícios de ordem econômica mantendo a qualidade de colheita. / Increasing national and global sugar consumption and pressures by the use of renewable energy sources, such as ethanol and the electric energy generated by the burning of sugar cane sub-products are driving the growth of the area destined to the production of culture in recent decades. According to UNICA (2010), the Brazil reached in 2008/2009 harvest season a total sugarcane production of 569.1 million tons processed, representing a growth of 14.8% regarding the previous crop. This increment is represented mainly by the increase in consumption of ethanol as a fuel which grew 22.2% over the same period. Sugar cane mechanical harvesting also has been increasing in recent years and the main reasons for this growth are the shortage of labor to harvest manual, environmental laws that seek the gradual elimination of sugar cane areas flaring prior to the harvest and the reduction of operational costs of mechanical harvesting against manual harvest. By these factors, and to assess the actual performance of the three sugar cane harvesters models made in Brazil, were conducted tests in field conditions operating in green sugarcane at Clealco sugar cane mill, municipality of Clementina, State of São Paulo in the period from 22 to 27 March 2010. The variety harvested was the RB85-5453, without burning, first cut, with 1,5 m spacing between rows, the soil was classified as red latosol and micro-relief of the land was under appropriate conditions for mechanical harvesting operation with 2.4% slope, and parallelism between planting rows. The test area has been characterized as erect sugar cane and average agricultural productivity was 115.14 t ha-1. The machines were tested at two harvesting speeds pre-established in 5.0 and 7.0 km h-1 (treatments 1 and 2) with five repetitions for each treatment totaling 30 determinations, i.e. 10 to each machine. The statistic analyses design was entirely randomized with schema factorial 3 x 2. Each repetition matched 150 m of harvesting along the row of planting. The test methodology and evaluation of effective performance used were those proposed by Ripoli & Ripoli (2009), through effective capacities determinations, effectiveness of manipulation, field losses indexes, harvesting quality and mineral and vegetal impurities index, fuel consumption and damage index and length frequency of the billets. It was found that with the increased speed of displacement there was no statistical difference in the variables effectiveness of manipulation and in most harvesting quality indexes and harvest losses, only the variable loss of stalks and its fractions has been improved, but the variables effective capacities and fuel consumptions per unit area and production has shown betters index, in other words, increasing the speed of displacement has benefited from economic order while maintaining quality harvest.

Après de multiples cycles au cours des siècles passés, la récolte des algues dans le Finistère se renouvelle et s’inscrit comme une filière d’avenir. Au-delà des changements socio-économiques, elle se confronte aux problématiques actuelles de conservation de la biodiversité et de partage de l’espace maritime. Comment dès lors concilier activités anthropiques et préservation du milieu ? La démarche ethnoécologique mobilisée, interroge la gestion des ressources par les populations locales au travers de leurs engagements — pratiques, savoirs locaux et représentations. L’objectif de la thèse est donc double : comprendre les dynamiques des engagements des collecteurs d’algues ? Et comprendre comment ils sont mobilisés et ils évoluent face aux enjeux actuels ? Grâce à une enquête ethnographique et aux méthodes de l’ethnoécologie, nous avons interrogé les cadres scientifiques, sociaux et administratifs de manière diachronique pour saisir le contexte et les enjeux. Ensuite, nous avons questionné l’identité des collecteurs au travers des « statuts administratifs », puis de cinq profils émergeant des données. Cette diversité des formes d’engagement se retrouve dans les perceptions sensorielles mobilisées lors de la récolte, dans les systèmes de classification vernaculaires des algues et dans l’appréhension de l’espace. L’analyse de ces trois dimensions révèle un ensemble très riche de savoirs « intimes », « incorporés » et « situés » indissociables des techniques, sur les algues, le milieu aquatique et les dynamiques de l’écosystème. Différents éléments au travers des savoirs et des représentations éclairent les conflits et illustrent l’influence des scientifiques et des industriels sur les collecteurs. L’aléa climatique de l’hiver 2013-2014, en impactant la ressource algale, a contraint les collecteurs d’algues à s’adapter. Il a révélé les jeux d’acteurs dans les filières et la nature composite, voire hybride des engagements, premier pas vers une cogestion. / After several cycles over the course of past centuries, seaweed harvesting in Finistere is once again experiencing a revival and emerging as a promising sector. Beyond socio-economic transformations, it is also faced with current issues of biodiversity conservation and the sharing of maritime space. How can human activity and preservation of the environment be reconciled? The mobilized ethnoecological approach looks at resource management by local communities through their engagement - practices, traditional ecological knowledge, and representations. The aim of this thesis is thus twofold: understanding the dynamics of seaweed harvesters' engagement, and understanding how they mobilize and cope with current issues. Through ethnographic survey and ethnoecological methods, the scientific, social, and administrative frameworks were investigated diachronically to understand the context and the issue. The identity of the collectors were studied through both 'administrative statuses' as well as five profiles that emerged from the data. This diversity in forms of engagement is reflected in the sensory perceptions mobilized during harvesting, in the vernacular classifications of seaweed, and in how space is apprehended. The analysis of these three dimensions reveals a rich body of 'intimate', 'embodied', and 'situated' knowledge that is inextricable from practices relating to seaweed, aquatic environments, and ecosystem dynamics. Finally, various elements across knowledge and representations shed light on conflicts and illustrate the influence of science and industry on collectors. The climate event that took place during the winter of 2013–2014, for example, left an impact on seaweed resources and forced collectors to adapt. It revealed the interplay between actors of the various sectors and the composite (or even hybrid) nature of their engagement, a first step towards co-management.

Combine harvesters are used to gather plants from the field and separate them into the components of value, the grain and the straw. The optimal utilization of existing combine potential is an inevitable task to maximize harvest efficiency and hence to maximize profit. The only way to optimize the threshing and separation processes during harvest is to adjust the combine settings to existing conditions. Operating permanently at optimal harvest efficiency can only be achieved by an automatic control system. However, for reasons of transparency and due to lack of sensors, the approach in this thesis is a combined development of an interactive and an automatic control system for combine process optimization. The optimization of combine processes is a multi-dimensional and multi-objective optimization problem. The objectives of optimization are the harvest quality parameters. The decision variables, the parameters that can be modified, are the combine settings. Analytical optimization methods require the existence of a model that provides function values in dependence of defined input parameters. A comprehensive quantitative model for the input-output-behavior of the combine does not exist. Alternative optimization methods that handle multi-dimensional and multi-objective optimization problems can be found in the domain of Artificial Intelligence. In this work, knowledge acquisition was performed in order to obtain expert knowledge on combine process optimization. The result is a knowledge base with six adjustment matrices for different crop and combine types. The adjustment matrices contain problem oriented setting adjustment recommendations in order to solve single issues with quality parameters. A control algorithm has been developed that is also capable of solving multiple issues at the same time, utilizing the acquired expert knowledge. The basic principle to solve the given multi-objective optimization problem is a transformation into one-dimensional single-objective optimization problems which are solved iteratively. Several methods have been developed that are applied sequentially. In simulation, the average improvement from initial settings to optimized settings, achieved by the control algorithm, is between 34.5 % and 67.6 %. This demonstrates the good performance of the control algorithm.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a influencia da configuração física do sistema de espalhamento de palha em colheitadeira de grãos na eficiência do espalhamento da palha, visando cobertura mais uniforme do solo de cultivo. Tal processo produzirá melhoramentos no próximo plantio, pois espalhamento mais uniforme de palha evita perdas de nutrientes do solo por incidência luz solar, assim como previne erosão hídrica e eólica. Para analisar a influencia dos parâmetros da configuração física do sistema espalhador de palha foram realizados testes alterando parâmetros como quantidade de pás, ângulo de pás, rotação dos rotores, diâmetro dos rotores, defletor central e vazão de material. Devido à importância econômica no cenário nacional e mundial, utilizou-se a cultura de soja e os testes foram realizados em laboratório seguindo as normas da Sociedade Americana de Engenheiros Agrícolas e Biológicos (ASAE). O trabalho visa fornecer dados que auxiliem designers no desenvolvimento de novos projetos de gerenciamento de resíduos, de modo que venham a aumentar a eficiência desses sistemas, contribuindo com o crescimento da agricultura em no país. Os resultados apontam que a geometria do defletor central apresenta o parâmetro de maior influencia na uniformidade de cobertura da palha ao solo. / The objective of this work is to analyze the influence of the physical configuration of the straw spread system in grain harvester on the efficiency of the straw spread, aiming at a more uniform coverage of the crop soil. This process will produce improvements in the next planting, because more uniform straw spread prevents soil nutrient losses by sunlight, as well as prevent water and wind erosion. In order to analyze the influence of the parameters of the physical configuration of the straw spreader system, tests were performed changing parameters such as blade quantity, blade angle, rotor rotation, rotor diameter, central deflector and material flow. Due to the economic importance in the national and world scenario, the soybean crop was used and the tests were carried out in laboratory according to the standards of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASAE). The work aims to provide data to assist designers in the development of new waste management projects, so that they will increase the efficiency of these systems, contributing to the growth of agriculture in the country. The results indicate that the geometry of the central baffle presents the parameter of greatest influence on the uniformity of covering of the straw to the soil.

Jellyfish have inhabited this planet for millions of years and are the oldest known metazoans that swim using muscles. They are found in freshwater sources and in oceans all over the world. Over millions of years of evolution, they have adapted to survive in a given environment. They are considered as one of the most energy efficient swimmers. Owing to these characteristics, jellyfish has attracted a lot of attention for developing energy efficient unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs). The goal of this thesis is to provide understanding of the different physical mechanisms that jellyfish employs to achieve efficient swimming by using analytical and computational models. The models were validated by using the experimental data from literature. Based upon these models refinements and changes to engineering vehicles was proposed that could lead to significant enhancement in propulsion efficiency. In addition to the propulsion, the thesis addresses the practical aspects of deploying a jellyfish-inspired robotic vehicle by providing insights into buoyancy control and energy generation. The thesis is structured in a manner such that propulsive and structural models inspired from the natural animal were systematically combined with the practical aspects related to ionic diffusion driven buoyancy control system and thermal -- magnetic energy harvesting system. Jellyfish morphology, swimming mechanism and muscle architecture were critically reviewed to accurately describe the natural behavior and material properties. We provide full understanding of mesoglea, which plays most significant role towards swimming performance, in terms of composition, mechanical properties and nonlinear dynamics. Different jellyfish species exhibit different microstructure of mesoglea and thus there is a wide variety of soft materials. Mechanical properties of collagen fibers that form the main constituent toward imparting elasticity to mesoglea were reviewed and analyzed. The thesis discusses the theoretical models describing the role of structure of mesoglea towards its mechanical properties and explains the variation occurring in stiffness under given experimental environment. Muscle architecture found in jellyfish, nerve nets and its interconnection with the muscles were investigated to develop comprehensive understanding of jellyfish propulsion and its reaction to external stimuli. Different muscle arrangements were studied including radial, coronal muscle, and coronal-muscles-with-breaks in-between them as observed in Cyanea capillata. We modeled these muscle arrangements through finite element modeling (FEM) to determine their deformation and stroke characteristics and their overall role in bell contraction. We found that location and arrangement of coronal muscle rings plays an important role in determining their efficient utilization. Once the understanding of natural jellyfish was achieved, we translated the findings onto artificial jellyfish vehicle designed using Bio-inspired Shape Memory Alloy Composite (BISMAC) actuators. Detailed structural modeling was conducted to demonstrate deformation similar to that of jellyfish bell. FEM model incorporated hyperelastic behavior of artificial mesoglea (Ecoflex-0010 RTV, room temperature vulcanizing silicone with shore hardness (0010)), experimentally measured SMA temperature transformation, gravity and buoyancy forces. The model uses the actual control cycle that was optimized for driving the artificial jellyfish vehicle "robojelly". Using a comparative analysis approach, fundamental understanding of the jellyfish bell deformation, thrust generation, and mechanical efficiency were provided. Meeting energy needs of artificial vehicle is of prime importance for the UUVs. Some jellyfish species are known to use photosynthesis process indirectly by growing algae on their exumbrella and thereby utilizing the sunlight to generate energy. Inspired by this concept, an extensive model was developed for harvesting solar energy in underwater environment from the jellyfish bell structure. Three different species were modeled for solar energy harvesting, namely A.aurita, C.capillata and Mastigia sp., using the amorphous silicon solar cell and taking into account effect of fineness ratio, bell diameter, turbidity, depth in water and incidence angle. The models shows that in shallow water with low turbidity a large diameter vehicle may actually generate enough energy as required for meeting the demand of low duty cycle propulsion. In future, when the solar energy harvesting technology based upon artificial photosynthesis, referred to as "dye-sensitized solar cells", matures the model presented here can be easily extended to determine its performance in underwater conditions. In order to supplement the energy demand, a novel concept of thermal -- magnetic energy harvesting was developed and extensively modeled. The proposed harvester design allows capturing of even small temperature differences which are difficult for the thermoelectrics.  A systematic step-by-step model of thermo-magnetic energy harvester was presented and validated against the experimental data available in literature. The multi-physics model incorporates heat transfer, magnetostatic forces, mechanical vibrations, interface contact behavior, and piezoelectric based energy converter. We estimated natural frequency of the harvester, operating temperature regimes, and electromechanical efficiency as a function of dimensional and physical variables. The model provided limit cycle operation regimes which can be tuned using physical variables to meet the specific environment. Buoyancy control is used in aquatic animals in order to maintain their vertical trajectory and travel in water column with minimum energy expense. Some crustaceans employ selective ion replacement of heavy or lighter ions in their dorsal carapace. A model of a buoyancy chamber was developed to achieve similar buoyancy control using electro-osmosis. The model captures all the essential ionic transport and electrochemistry to provide practical operating cycle for the buoyancy engine in the ocean environment. / Ph. D.

Main subject of this diploma thesis is design proposal of self-propelled forage harvester which uses tracks for moving. This is associated with a construction changes while technical, estetical and ergonomical requirements remain the same or will be improved.

This thesis focuses on design solutions for the Harvester. It is a machine designed for the extraction of timber in large quantities. Its major place of employment is in coniferous forests. The machine is able to cut down the tree, remove branches from the tree and cut it into requested segments suitable for the removal and all in one step. The main aim of the thesis is to create an original shape solution for the Harvester, a machine for the wood harvesting, with a view to future development. The total concept is based on the present progressive, constructional technology solutions. Machine design is based on the the fundamental ergonomic requirements that make it easier for drivers to work. In the proposal I use a combination of a wheeled harvester with a walking robot design.

This master thesis deals with design of hydrostatic drive for harvester. It contains calculations of parameters from current drive like speed, hydraulic losses and tractive effort. Because now these parameters are insufficient in next part of work is proposed few options how to achieve required parameters. In selected cases are made calculations and based on the results are recommended two options for realization.

Komatsu Forest AB in Umeå saw an opportunity to increase performance during fast varying loads, e.g., when starting to feed after the felling cut, that proved more difficult to reach with their new line of stage V forest harvesters. It was believed that this issue was magnified as a result of new environmental regulations which limited their diesel engines' fuel injection quantity with low turbo boost pressure. It was in Komatsu Forest's interest to make comprehensive measurements of hydraulic and engine parameters in order to investigate what was limiting performance. This thesis includes a literature study into a number of viable options for storage types for a heavy hybrid vehicle with the purpose to recommend the best suited type for Komatsu's harvesters. It also includes extensive measurements made on a producing harvester where hydraulic and engine parameters as well as for example valve currents were logged and used as grounds in making the energy storage recommendation. With results from the measurements, the goal was to estimate how much energy is needed, how much energy can be stored and lastly to design an energy storage to supply additional power to increase performance. With successful measurements, it was possible to detect that approximately five kJ of energy with a maximum momentary power of 37 kW was sufficient to achieve a smoother first feeding. Furthermore, approximately 9-14 kJ of energy and between 0,3 and 0,5 l of hydraulic fluid was estimated as potential stored energy and volume from feeding stops of different sized trees plus an additional 3 kJ and 0,1 l of fluid from cutting stops. The best suited energy storage then proved to be an accumulator mounted on the P-line, which resulted in an appropriate accumulator volume of 4 l with an estimated pressure range of 250-280 bar.

Denna rapport är resultatet av ett examensarbete på Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan i samarbete med Skogforsk. Syftet är att analysera den trädkapningsprocessen hos en skördare, optimera dess energiförbrukning och föreslå modifieringar av systemet. En analys av skördarhuvudets energiförbrukning genomfördes baserat på testdata från Skogforsk. Denna undersökning gav en inblick i prestandan hos hydraulmotorn Parker F11-19 vid kapnng av träd med varierande diameter, samt en kvantifiering av mängden energi som används av skördarhuvudets olika komponenter. Hydrauliska och mekaniska modeller av skördarhuvudet skapades med hjälp av simuleringsverktygen Hopsan och Simulink. Dessa modeller användes för att verifiera optimeringsförslagen. Resultatet av denna studie är fyra optimeringslösningar för ett skördarhuvud. Det första förslaget är att använda en ackumulator för kinetisk energiåtervinning i matningsrullarna, vilket kommer att bidra med en minskning av energiförbrukningen med 6.85%. Det andra förslaget är att optimera sågcylinderns position, vilket kommer leda till en reduktion med 0%, dvs aktuell position bedöms vara optimal. Det tredje förslaget är förändring av kvistknivarnas utformning, vilket minskar energiförbrukningen med 2.72%. Det fjärde förslaget är att använda en alternativ motor som kräver mindre energi, vilket bidrar till en markant minskning av energiförbrukningen med 28.4%. Totalt kommer de föreslagna förändringarna att resultera i en reduktion av energiförbrukningen med 37.9%. Resultatet är teoretiskt och ytterligare fält- och riggprov är nödvändiga för att validera resultaten. / This report is the result of the Master of Science thesis project developed for KTH Royal Institute of Technology in collaboration with the Forestry Research Institute of Sweden (Skogforsk) for the Forestry Master Thesis School 2016. The purpose is to analyze the tree cutting process of a harvester machine, optimize the energy consumption and propose modifications to the system of components if applicable. A study on the energy usage of a harvester head was performed based on test data gathered by Skogforsk, providing insight about the performance of the hydraulic motor Parker F11-19 when cutting different tree diameters and quantifying the amount of energy used on each part of the harvester head. Hydraulic and mechanical models of the head were built using Hopsan and Simulink, respectively. These models were used for the verification of the optimizations proposed. The results from this research study are four optimization solutions for a harvester head. The first suggestion is to use an accumulator for kinetic energy recovery in the feeding rollers, which will contribute with a reduction in energy consumption of 6.85%. The second suggestion is to optimize the saw’s cylinder position, which did not provide any improvements. The third suggestion is a redesign of the delimbing knives, which will reduce the energy consumption with 2.72%. And the final suggestion is to use an alternative motor that requires less power, which will result in a significant decrease of energy consumption by 28.4%. In total, the changes suggested will result in a reduction of the energy consumption by 37.9%. The results are theoretical and further testing in practice is needed in order to assess the veracity of the results.