Criterion of the working process and design of a feed chopper

There have been analyzed the existing indicators for assessing the working process of chopper, as well as has been proposed a generalized criterion taking into account both quantitative and energy indicators of chopper, including the qualitative characteristics of crushed vegetable feed. Using the above mentioned criterion, there have been presented the results of choppers with various types of working bodies used in practice in fodder production. Based on the generalized criterion, a promising direction for improving universal feed choppers has been identified. This direction can be a chopper with a knife working body with a tiered arrangement of knives on the shaft. There has been suggested a feed chopper of knife type. The feed chopper includes a vertical cylindrical chamber with counter-cutting elements on its inner surface. Inside the chamber there is a shaft with knives fixed on it and the disk. The disk features diametrically located radial slots, which accommodate trihedral rectangular prisms. The prisms are installed at right angles downwards and with the possibility of vertical movement. The upper inclined sides of the disc slots have cutting edges. The shaft is made with an axial cavity to accommodate a screw mechanism for vertical movement of the prisms. When chopping rough feeds, the prisms are installed in the upper position, forming projections on the disk surface. When chopping root crops - to the lower position, forming openings between the disk and prisms. The chopper allows us to grind both coarse and succulent vegetable foods. The universal chopper has modes for chopping both coarse and succulent feed to obtain a crushed product to a particle size that meets zootechnical requirements.