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Analysis of anti-clogging performance and particle transport characteristics of a stellate irrigation emitter Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-04-23 Yanfei Li, Xianying Feng, Xingchang Han, Yitian Sun, Hui Li
The service life and irrigation efficiency of drip irrigation systems are largely determined by the anti-clogging performance of the emitters. The degree and speed of clogging of the emitters are governed by the motion state of the particles in the flow channel. Computational fluid dynamics coupled discrete element method (CFD-DEM) and experiments were used to analyse anti-clogging performance and
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A model-free adaptive predictive path-tracking controller with PID terms for tractors Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-04-23 Jin Cheng, Bingli Zhang, Chengbiao Zhang, Yangyang Zhang, Gan Shen
An efficient tractor path-tracking method can increase the operational accuracy, improve land utilisation, and more efficiently provide services for autonomous tractors and precision agriculture. In this study, a model-free adaptive predictive control-proportional-integral-derivative (MFAPC-PID) method was devised. Based on preview theory, a tracking system based on course deviation angle was designed
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Heuristic cooperative coverage path planning for multiple autonomous agricultural field machines performing sequentially dependent tasks of different working widths and turn characteristics Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-04-22 Riikka Soitinaho, Vili Väyrynen, Timo Oksanen
Coverage path planning is a central task in agricultural field operations such as tillage, planting, cultivation, and harvesting. In future visions, manual operation will be replaced by fleets of autonomous agricultural vehicles that perform the tasks autonomously. A step towards this transition is to enable simultaneous and safe cooperation of autonomous vehicles on the field. In this article a novel
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The development of reference working cycles for agricultural tractors Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-04-22 Leonardo Angelucci, Michele Mattetti
Climate change and the current energy crisis are creating new challenges to agriculture and new technological solutions must be developed to increase agricultural machinery efficiency. Researchers and machinery manufacturers identified electrified powertrains as a possible solution to meet this demand. The development of field-effective electrified powertrains is challenging mostly due to the wide
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Path tracking control for brake-steering tracked vehicles based on an improved pure pursuit algorithm Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-04-15 Chenming Hu, Yu Ru, Xianzhe Li, Shuping Fang, Hongping Zhou, Xianghai Yan, Mengnan Liu, Rong Xie
Path tracking is critical for agricultural vehicles to achieve autonomous operation and to improve operational efficiency and accuracy. This study aims to address the high-precision path tracking requirements for the tracked vehicle GY-8. An improved pure pursuit path tracking control method is proposed to enhance the performance of path tracking. For the GY-8 vehicle's single-sided braking and steering
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Feeding intensity identification method for pond fish school using dual-label and MobileViT-SENet Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-04-13 Lu Zhang, Zunxu Liu, Yapeng Zheng, Bin Li
Accurately identifying the fish feeding intensity is crucial for timely understanding the feeding demand, dynamically adjusting the feeding strategy, and reducing costs. For the variability and uncontrollability of the pond aquaculture environment, the densities of feeding fish schools aggregating to the feeding point exhibit significant variations. Consequently, different densities of fish schools
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Effects of airflow disturbance from a multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle on fruit tree frost protection Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-04-09 Baiyu Qiao, Lingxiao Wang, Hu Han, Zhan Huang, Yongda Lin, Zongkai Jia, Hongyuan Nie, Xiongkui He, Yajia Liu
Fruit tree frost, an agricultural meteorological disaster primarily occurring in spring, severely impacts the growth and development of trees and fruit set. Therefore, exploring the temperature change rules of fruit trees during frost events is of considerable importance. This study used a T40 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as the test vehicle based on the air disturbance frost prevention principle
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Estimating maize plant height using a crop surface model constructed from UAV RGB images Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-04-06 Yaxiao Niu, Wenting Han, Huihui Zhang, Liyuan Zhang, Haipeng Chen
Plant height (PH) is an essential agronomic trait that can be used to assist in crop breeding pipelines, assess crop productivity and make crop management decisions. Improving the accuracy of the digital terrain model (DTM) and optimising the PH features of the crop surface model obtained from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images contribute to PH estimation. The influence of the fractional vegetation
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Examining the effect of different photovoltaic modules on cucumber crops in a greenhouse agrivoltaic system: A case study Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-04-06 Nabeel Gnayem, Esther Magadley, Alaa Haj-Yahya, Samar Masalha, Ragheb Kabha, Alhan Abasi, Hani Barhom, Madhat Matar, Mohammed Attrash, Ibrahim Yehia
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Resource allocation and route planning under the collection price uncertainty for the biomass supply chain Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-04-06 Xiang Ting Wang, Jin Xin Cao, Ying Lv
The escalating severity of global warming has drawn worldwide attention to ecological problems. Nevertheless, with the introduction of environmental policies, biomass resources have been effectively developed as a renewable energy source. This paper investigates an advanced biomass supply chain design wherein biomass resources are initially converted into bio-oil through widely distributed fast pyrolysis
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Design and optimisation of end effector for loose substrate grasping based on discrete element method Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-04-04 Wei Liu, Qingyu Wang, Huanyu Jiang
The transplantation of seedlings represents a pivotal stage in plug tray seedling cultivation. Conventional end effectors used in transplanters are primarily tailored for seedlings with well-established root systems and tightly bound substrates. However, when the substrate lacks sufficient root wrapping and remains loose, independent seedling removal devices utilising blowing or suction methods are
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Beef cattle abnormal behaviour recognition based on dual-branch frequency channel temporal excitation and aggregation Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-29 Yamin Han, Jie Wu, Hongming Zhang, Mingyu Cai, Yang Sun, Bin Li, Xilong Feng, Jinye Hao, Hanchen Wang
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Development and verification of a graphical detection system for multi-field interactions in stored grain based on LF-NMR Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-27 Ji Zhang, Wenfu Wu, Zhe Liu, Yunshandan Wu, Feng Han, Wen Xu
Stored grain is a complex ecosystem in which intricate multi-field interactions exist among abiotic and biotic factors, as well as the surrounding environment. Clearly understanding these interactions is crucial for ensuring grain storage security. This study developed a graphical detection system based on low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) technology, which consists of an LF-NMR imaging
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EvaSprayViti: A flexible test bench for comparative assessment of the 3D deposition efficiency of vineyard sprayers at multiple growth stages Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-26 A. Cheraiet, S. Codis, A. Lienard, A. Vergès, M. Carra, D. Bastidon, J.F. Bonicel, X. Delpuech, X. Ribeyrolles, J.P. Douzals, F. Lebeau, J.A. Taylor, O. Naud
The main approach to protect grapes against diseases involves the use of plant protection products. Understanding the quantitative amount and the distribution of these products on the vines is essential to assess the effectiveness of spray equipment and to evaluate the relationship between dosage and response when targeting pathogens. Improving the targeting of sprayers is an important lever to reduce
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Experiments and CFD simulation of downwash airflow and fog distribution discharged from a single-rotor UAV fitted with a pulse-jet thermal fogging machine Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-22 Jian Zhang, Qing Chen, Jian Liu, Yan Wang, Hongping Zhou, Fengbo Yang, Yu Ru
A single-rotor UAV fitted with a pulse-jet thermal fogging machine was developed. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was employed to simulate the downwash airflow and fog distribution of a single-rotor UAV fitted with a pulse-jet thermal fogger. The developed CFD models were validated in three steps by comparing the calculated results with the measurement experiments. Predicted air velocities of the
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The development and evolution of trunk injection mechanisms -a review Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-22 Israel Ojo, Yiannis Ampatzidis, Antonio de Oliveira Costa Neto, Haimanote K. Bayabil, John K. Schueller, Ozgur Batuman
Trunk injection of chemicals is an alternative to conventional methods of applying plant protection products, and it can potentially deliver the exact dosage of therapeutic material required by the plant without undermining environmental protection and human health. Although trunk injection has proven to be an effective method for managing systemic pathogens, several studies have highlighted limitations
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Aerodynamic properties of boundary layers along the roof of a large banana screenhouse under near-neutral atmospheric stability Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-19 Josef Tanny
Cultivation under screens and in screenhouses protects the crops from insects and extreme climate conditions and allows water saving. Previous studies considered the aerodynamic properties of boundary layers along two types of screens: a small shading thermal screen covering a hedgerow citrus orchard and a large 50-mesh, insect-proof screen covering a pepper plantation. To extend the previous results
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Nutrient quantification of livestock slurry and digestate using a low-cost handheld NIR spectrometer and multi-biomass calibration models Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-19 Francesco Maria Tangorra, Eleonora Buoio, Alberto Finzi, Annamaria Costa, Omar Ferrari, Giorgio Provolo
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Vibration modelling and testing of off-road vehicle incorporating coupled roll and pitch vibrations Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-19 Peng Huang, Yanchun Yao, Weijia Xiu, Jida Wu, Duanyang Geng, Zihan Yang, Yongsheng Li
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Development of an automated needle-based trunk injection system for HLB-affected citrus trees Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-15 Israel Ojo, Yiannis Ampatzidis, Antonio de Oliveira Costa Neto, Ozgur Batuman
Trunk injection of chemical compounds is a target-specific method of applying therapeutics that increases applied compound efficiency without compromising environmental safety and has proven to be an effective method to control citrus Huanglongbing (HLB). However, conventional (manual) trunk injection methods are labour-intensive and time-consuming, resulting in high application costs and posing implementation
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CFD simulation of the mixing process and performance evaluation of a two-way flow Chinese dome digester Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-14 Mfor E. Agborambang, Masaaki Fujiwara, Mutsumi Sekine, Pranshu Bhatia, Tatsuki Toda
The Chinese dome digester (CDD) is a cost-effective, self-mixed biodigester that is widely used in developing countries to treat biodegradable waste such as food waste. However, the scum formation owing to inadequate mixing remains a persistent issue in CDD operations. To address this issue, a newly designed two-way flow CDD (TWF-CDD) was proposed to improve mixing, prevent scum, and enhance methane
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Characterisation of pore structure of bulk wheat mixed with dockage using X-ray micro-computed tomography and deep learning Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-12 Douglas Santos Carrillo, Fuji Jian, Digvir S. Jayas, Jitendra Paliwal
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Architecture of a decentralised decision support system for futuristic beehives Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-12 Vitalijs Komasilovs, Rob Mills, Armands Kviesis, Francesco Mondada, Aleksejs Zacepins
Honeybees are essential to human society, providing pollination services globally as well as producing honey and other valuable products. Effective management of apiaries should not only rely on beekeeper knowledge and skill, but also incorporate new information technologies. The options to identify, predict and prevent beekeeping problems are becoming more affordable and applicable. The interdisciplinary
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Evaluation of health identification method for plug seedling transplantation robots in greenhouse environment Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-10 Yatao Li, Hong Wei, Junhua Tong, Zian Qiu, Chuanyu Wu
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A fish appetite assessment method based on improved ByteTrack and spatiotemporal graph convolutional network Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-10 Haixiang Zhao, Hongwu Cui, Keming Qu, Jianxin Zhu, Hao Li, Zhengguo Cui, Yuankai Wu
The appetite of fish significantly influences aquaculture efficiency and fish welfare. However, accurately assessing fish appetite has posed a challenging problem. Currently, the study of fish feeding behaviour relies primarily on the overall information obtained from images of fish schools, often overlooking the distinctive behavioural traits of individual fish. Analysing the behaviour of individual
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Flow rate uncertainty quantification of a microporous ceramic emitter Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Xufei Liu, Lin Zhang, Mengxue Han, Zhaoguo Wang, Jiasen Zhang
A new microporous ceramic emitter () was recently developed to reduce the investment cost of subsurface irrigation systems. Nevertheless, a dynamic mechanism in the flow rate uncertainty of was still unclear, which caused difficulty in making a water usage schedule for farmers. To address this issue, a simplified model was developed based on Darcy's law to quantify the emitter flow rate uncertainty
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Impact of canopy opener working height on spraying effect of a high clearance sprayer Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Jiangtao Qi, Xv Cong, Weirong Zhang, Hui Guo, Mao Li, Zhiyuan Bao, Sisi Yang
This study was aimed to solve the problem of low spraying effect in spraying deposition on both sides of maize leaves with different height canopy by traditional high clearance sprayers. The spray effect can be improved by installing the canopy opener on the boom sprayer. The deflection model of the maize stalk was established by the interaction process between the canopy opener and the maize stalk
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Acidification of livestock slurry and digestate to reduce NH3 emissions: Predicting needed H2SO4 dosage and pH trends over time based on their chemical-physical composition Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-04 Alberto Finzi, Ali Heidarzadeh Vazifehkhoran, Elio Dinuccio, Roberto Ambrosini, Giorgio Provolo
Acidification is a well-known treatment to reduce NH emissions from livestock slurries by lowering their pH, but its application at the farm scale is still limited. The acid dosage depends on the acid strength and slurries composition. Acidification does not have a lasting effect and after the acid addition the slurry pH tends to rise due to its buffer system. By studying 54 samples of pig slurry,
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A comparative study of machine learning models for respiration rate prediction in dairy cows: Exploring algorithms, feature engineering, and model interpretation Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-29 Geqi Yan, Wanying Zhao, Chaoyuan Wang, Zhengxiang Shi, Hao Li, Zhenwei Yu, Hongchao Jiao, Hai Lin
The respiration rate (RR) of dairy cows is a crucial welfare indicator for assessing heat stress in cows exposed to high temperatures. Machine learning (ML) models can automatically identify patterns from factors related to cow RR. This study utilised ML methods to establish a predictive model for cow RR using easily accessible variables in real production settings. A comparison of 20 ML algorithms
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Automatic acquisition, analysis and wilting measurement of cotton 3D phenotype based on point cloud Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Haoyuan Hao, Sheng Wu, YuanKun Li, Weiliang Wen, jiangchuan Fan, Yongjiang Zhang, Lvhan Zhuang, Longqin Xu, Hongxin Li, Xinyu Guo, Shuangyin Liu
This study constructed a high-throughput method for the acquisition and analysis of three-dimensional phenotypes of cotton, and proposes a method for evaluating the degree of wilting of cotton varieties based on phenotype. The upgraded version of the self-developed data acquisition platform MVS-Pheno V2 was used to continuously collect point cloud data. PointSegAt deep learning network model was used
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Simulation of full-film double-row furrow roller hole fertiliser application based on DEM-MBD coupling and research on its water and fertiliser transport law Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Huan Deng, Fei Dai, Ruijie Shi, Xuefeng Song, Wuyun Zhao, Haifu Pan
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Sensitivity analysis of lamp model parameters in energy and yield simulations of greenhouse Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-27 Marie-Pier Trépanier, Louis Gosselin
Greenhouses offer a means to extend the growing season and increase local food production. However, greenhouses tend to be energy-intensive buildings. The choice of lighting systems strongly impacts energy consumption and crop yield. Simulations can help determine the optimal lighting conditions. However, lamp models typically include many parameters that are either unknown or hard to obtain. This
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Design assessment of grain inverters in cross-flow grain dryer via CFD-DEM numerical simulation Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-23 Waseem Amjad, Zhengpu Chen, Kingsly Ambrose
Grain inverters are frequently installed in industrial-scale cross-flow grain dryers to provide consistent drying. Wide residence time distributions can result from an unfavourable grain inverter designs in cross-flow grain dryers, leading to uneven drying. In this study, a fluid particles interaction discrete-element method (DEM) coupled with a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code were used to
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A biophysical model of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) and pear (Pyrus communis L.) fruit growth Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-23 Bart Dequeker, Jakub Šalagovič, Moges Retta, Pieter Verboven, Bart M. Nicolaï
Fruit mass and sugar content are important quality attributes of apple and pear fruit. During fruit growth, water and sugars accumulate as a result of the coordination of water and solid fluxes. This causes expansive growth driven by turgor pressure and controlled by cell mechanical properties. To analyse the effect of environmental conditions on fruit growth dynamics, a biophysical model of apple
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Simulation of the flow characteristics of a labyrinth milli-channel used in drip irrigation Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-21 Heni Dallagi, Nassim Ait-Mouheb, Audrey Soric, Olivier Boiron
Water scarcity is a global concern, with irrigation of food crops contributing significantly to freshwater depletion. Drip irrigation technology reduces water consumption but faces issues like clogging in narrow discharge sections, diminishing efficiency, and increasing costs. Accurate prediction of flow characteristics and understanding parameters affecting biofilm growth and particle deposition is
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Numerical simulation of the effect of varying dispersion tooth insertion depth on the jet breakup and hydraulic performance Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-20 Xuwei Pan, Yue Jiang, Hong Li, Xin Hui, Shouchen Xing
Varying the depth that a dispersion tooth is inserted into water jet can cause significant differences in the hydraulic performance of irrigation sprinklers. The effect of insertion depth on jet breakup was investigated by combining the fluid volume method, overset grid technology, and using adaptive grid refinement. Jet fragmentation mode, droplet characteristics, and entropy production were analysed
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Study on the performance of detection air duct and evaluation index of agricultural cleaning centrifugal fans Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-20 Zheng Ma, Yongle Zhu, Jialei Li, Zhiqiang Song, Jie Yu, Yaoming Li, Lizhang Xu
Agricultural centrifugal fans play a pivotal role in agricultural machinery, particularly in the context of combine harvesters. The performance of these fans significantly impacts the overall operational efficiency of the machine. Given the absence of robust performance testing and evaluation methodologies for agricultural centrifugal fans, this study assesses fan performance by examining the actual
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Rabbit feeding robot: Autonomous navigation and precision feeding Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-16 Wei Jiang, Hongyun Hao, Jiayu Fan, Liangju Wang, Hongying Wang
Feeding remains a critical component in rabbit farming. In rabbit production, precise feeding is imperative, given its significant role in augmenting feed efficiency, curtailing farming expenses, reducing disease prevalence and mortality rates, and lessening environmental pollution. This study presents the design and development of a rabbit feeding robot that synergises mobile robotics and mechanical
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Numerical simulation and experimental study of jet breakup using a water dispersal needle in irrigation sprinklers Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-15 Xuwei Pan, Yue Jiang, Hong Li, Xin Hui, Shouchen Xing, Junaid N. Chauhdary
Introducing a water dispersal needle has been shown to be an effective way of improving the uniformity of water distribution from irrigation sprinklers. However, the jet breakup mechanism remains unknown. Here, the impacts of key parameters, including the insertion jet depth (), cone angle (), and distance from the nozzle outlet (), on jet breakup phenomena were investigated by simulation. A comprehensive
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Prediction uncertainty of greenhouse electrical power and gas demand: Part 1, the role of parameter uncertainty Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-13 Henry James Payne, Eldert van Henten, Simon van Mourik
Within the modern greenhouse horticultural sector energy usage is planned using mathematical models that simulate the greenhouse’s future performance. These models contain parameters whose values can be inaccurate which create errors in model predictions. This reduces the effectiveness of energy management and planning done using these models. This study proposes and demonstrates an algorithm to quantify
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Prediction uncertainty of greenhouse electrical power and gas demand: Part 2, the role of parametric and weather forecast error Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-09 H.J. Payne, E.J. van Henten, S. van Mourik
This study breaks new ground by assessing the influence of individual and collective errors in weather forecast variables and errors in model parameters on the prediction error of greenhouse power and gas demand. To achieve this a sample-based and a Polynomial Chaos based sensitivity analysis using higher order sensitivity indices is proposed. This is accompanied by a sensitivity analysis of the impact
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Study on separation of the tuber-soil binary mixture based on vibration and airflow coupling Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-08 Sifang Long, Wenbo Wei, Dongfang Li, Shuo Kang, Jun Wang
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Boundary modelling of the effective suction domain of an air-suction seed-metering device for quasi-spherical seeds Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-06 Zhaoyang Wang, Wei Su, Qinghui Lai, Junhong Li, Xiaojun Gao
The effective suction domain boundary directly affects the movement of seeds in air-suction seed-metering devices, thus the parameters involved can be optimised by analysing this pattern. However, relevant research on the effective suction domain boundary is scarce and vague. To further investigate the relevant theories of the effective suction domain boundary and the quantitative model, this study
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Picking patterns evaluation for cherry tomato robotic harvesting end-effector design Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-05 Jin Gao, Fan Zhang, Junxiong Zhang, Hui Guo, Junfeng Gao
Picking cherry tomatoes is a time-consuming and labour-intensive task, and robots are an alternative solution to address this issue. The end effector is a key component of the harvesting robot, and it is crucial for achieving automated harvesting of cherry tomatoes. To develop efficient end effectors for picking robots, this study proposes a method to aid end effector design by evaluating and analysing
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Integrating in-field Vis-NIR leaf spectroscopy and deep learning feature extraction for growth-stage dependent and independent genotyping of wheat plants Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-03 Bakhtiyar Salehi, Seyed Ahmad Mireei, Mehrnoosh Jafari, Abbas Hemmat, Mohammad Mahdi Majidi
The identification of different plant genotypes, particularly during various developmental stages, is challenging due to the high genetic diversity of agricultural products. In this study, the efficacy of visible and infrared leaf spectroscopy in identifying five wheat genotypes was assessed across three main growth stages: leaf opening, tillering, and flowering. Soft independent modelling of class
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Rapid identification of greenhouse tomato senescent leaves based on the sucrose-spectral quantitative prediction model Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-03 Jiheng Ni, Yawen Xue, Yang Zhou, Minmin Miao
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Influence of speed measurement method on performance of an electric-drive maize precision planter Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-31 Lin Ling, Guangwei Wu, Changkai Wen, Yuejin Xiao, Weiqiang Fu, Jianjun Dong, Jianhong Ding, Zhijun Meng, Bingxin Yan
An accurate speed measurement method is a prerequisite for an electric-drive precision planter. However, the influence of speed measurement methods on planting quality under different field conditions is unclear. In this paper, an electric-drive precision planter compatible with different speed measurement methods was built. Then, an experimental study was conducted to compare the influence of real-time
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Providing indoor and outdoor exercise to dairy cows: Assessment of effluent properties and gas emissions Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-30 Alexis Ruiz-González, Elizabeth Álvarez-Chávez, Andrea K. Carranza-Díaz, Dupont-Fortin Béatrice, Joahnn H. Palacios, Stéphane Godbout, Sébastien Fournel
Enhancing movement options for confined dairy cows, like in tie-stall housing, may boost natural behaviour and welfare. Yet, limited data exists on the environmental impact of both indoor and outdoor exercise areas. This study investigates the impact of exercise pen type on effluent properties and gas emissions during winter and/or summer conditions in a northern country such as Canada. Forty-five
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A suction cup-based soft robotic gripper for cucumber harvesting: Design and validation Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-29 Yuseung Jo, Yonghyun Park, Hyoung Il Son
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The charcoal cooling blanket: A scalable, simple, self-supporting evaporative cooling device for preserving fresh foods Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-25 Thijs Defraeye, Seraina Schudel, Chandrima Shrivastava, Thomas Motmans, Kingsley Umani, Eleonora Crenna, Kanaha Shoji, Daniel Onwude
Evaporative cooling is a technology that has potential to help preserve fresh produce after harvest. This passive cooling solution is particularly interesting for marginal and smallholder farmers in remote, off-grid areas. Evaporative coolers are rarely deployed in these scenarios because there is a lack of simple, affordable, and small-scale systems. A charcoal cooling blanket has been designed and
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Intensity-modulated optical fibre strain sensor for continuous measurements of below-the-surface food deformation during drying Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-22 Hamed Jafarishad, Mucheng Li, Yao Shen, Pawan Singh Takhar, Yuxiang Liu
Measurements of food deformation during drying processes are important for food quality control but remain challenging. A mm-scale optical fibre strain sensor is presented here to address this challenge. The sensor can be embedded in soft foods to provide continuous and distributed measurements of large food deformation below the surface during drying. The sensor performance was investigated by both
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Breakage simulations and experiments of granular fertilisers for optimizing a device of side-deep fertilisation by using the discrete element method Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-20 Jiapeng Duan, Dawei Liu, Fangping Xie, Yarong Zhang, Peng Zheng
The investigation of the fragmentation law of granular fertilisers in side-deep fertilisation devices is crucial for optimizing machinery. In this paper, Hertz-Mindlin with Bonding was used to establish a granular fertiliser model with breakage properties. The single-factor and central composite tests were carried out with the screw pitch, screw speed, and Y-shaped mouth angle selected as the test
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Study of the grain particle-conveying performance of a bionic non-smooth-structure screw conveyor Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-18 Zheng Ma, Zhiping Wu, Yufei Li, Zhiqiang Song, Jie Yu, Yaoming Li, Lizhang Xu
The screw conveying of agricultural materials is an important part of agricultural production that affects the operational efficiency of combine harvesters. The friction between materials and screw blades is an important factor hindering the improvement of conveying performance. The drag reduction effect of bionic non-smooth (BNS) surfaces has been verified in many fields, but its effect in granular
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Quantifying water stress in vineyards using a smartphone Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-18 Livia Paleari, Lucio Brancadoro, Chiara Rusconi, Ermes Movedi, Stefano Poni, Martino Bolognini, Davide Modina, Leonardo Cunial, Matteo Gatti, Gabriele Cola, Davide Bianchi, Roberto Confalonieri
There is an increasing demand for tools able to optimise water management in cropping systems, especially in cases of dry areas or when water management has a deep effect on both the amount and quality of productions. A method is proposed to estimate grape stomatal conductance (gs) from 3D leaf scans obtained using a smartphone. The method is based (i) on the use of the 3D leaf scans to derive the
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Automatic detection of continuous pig cough in a complex piggery environment Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-15 Xipeng Wang, Yanling Yin, Xinpeng Dai, Weizheng Shen, Shengli Kou, Baisheng Dai
Pig cough sound monitoring is an effective means of early warning for respiratory diseases. Until present, most studies focused on the investigation of high precision pig cough recognition algorithms based on manually segmented individual sound datasets. However, the recognition of continuous sound was mostly ignored, which cannot apply in practical engineering. Meanwhile, less consideration has been
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Pressurised sand bed filtration model: Set up and energy requirements for a filtration cycle Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-12 Toni Pujol, Miquel Duran-Ros, Gerard Arbat, Sílvia Cufí, Joan Pujol, Francisco Ramírez de Cartagena, Jaume Puig-Bargués
Rapid deep bed filtration is a common process of drip irrigation systems to prevent emitter clogging. The particle retention in the porous media increases the pressure difference between the filter's inlet and outlet. Commercial operational instructions preset a threshold value of this pressure difference to define the end of a filtration cycle. Accurate particle retention models may contribute in
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Continuous curvature wayline generation using quadratic optimisation for agricultural machine guidance Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-05 Liang Dong, Weizhong Yang, Long Wen, Xin Zhao, Aage Grøn Sørense Claus, Caicong Wu, Kun Zhou
Navigation systems are widely used in precision agriculture to improve efficiencies and yields. These systems guide agricultural machines to follow waylines calculated based on specific traffic patterns, including straight and curved waylines. While generating straight waylines is relatively straightforward, generating curved waylines presents challenges due to the variation in their shape and curvature
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Development of a crop growth model for the energy analysis of controlled agriculture environment spaces Biosyst. Eng. (IF 5.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-05 Marie-Hélène Talbot, Danielle Monfet
In controlled environment agriculture spaces, the conditions fluctuate between photoperiod and dark period, with crops growing continuously. As crops grow, their impact on the energy demand and energy use, often estimated using a building performance simulation tool, becomes more prominent. In this paper, a dynamic crop model integrated into a building performance simulation tool is proposed to estimate