The South African sugar industry ranks eleventh in size out of 200 sugar-producing
countries; and continuous advancement is essential to ensure that this industry
remains competitive. The transfer system from field to mill, includes sugarcane being
moved, loaded, transloaded and off-loaded and amounts to more than 25 % of the
total production cost of sugarcane, hence small adjustments can have significant
economic benefits. Payload variability is a current problem making the loading
operation a leverage point for improvement. As a consequence of poor management
and the under-utilisation of equipment, loading has been identified as an inefficient
and costly operation. Studies have shown that technology and management can
contribute to improved loading accuracy.
This study aimed to evaluate loading characteristics in an attempt to develop
guidelines for loading. Whole-stick loose sugarcane, which is loaded with grabloaders,
is common practice in South Africa and this study aims to improve this
loading system. This was achieved by reviewing transfer systems worldwide and
synthesising the sugarcane characteristics that drive the designs and the management
of equipment and systems within the transfer system. The sugarcane characteristics include the sugarcane bulk density, the length, the diameter and other variety
characteristics e.g. the degree of lodging. Other factors, such as the preparation
method for loading, the harvesting method and the topography, also have a marked
influence on the efficiency of the transfer system.
An assessment of typical South African loading practices was undertaken to establish
beneficial practices and current operating rules. These factors included the way in
which the sugarcane was presented prior to loading, as well as the techniques
adopted for loading. The results were used to generate practical recommendations for
the improvement of the loading component in order to make the transfer system more
efficient. An efficient system comprises a balance of high quality operations with
respect to safety, accurate loading, reduced cycle time, optimal fuel usage, reduced
roadside losses, reduced sugarcane damage and increased off-loading efficiencies.
An investigation into consignment characteristics was also carried out to identify the factors that need to be considered during the loading operation. These factors
included the sugarcane bulk density, the degree of sugarcane alignment and the
design characteristics of various vehicles. A set of practical guidelines were created
from this study. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/5155 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Moodley, Samantha. |
| Contributors | Bezuidenhout, Carel Nicolaas. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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