Tag Archive for: fuel efficiency

Publication: Decreasing Fuel Consumption of Excavator-Based Harvesters with Machine Control System

Compared with purpose-built units, excavator-based harvesters offer many advantages, but they consume more fuel. Fuel efficiency can be increased by a better interface between the excavator and the harvester head.

Spinelli et al from CNR just published testing results of a new adaptation kit in Forests 2019 (10(1), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10010043). The kit is specifically designed to improve the communication between these two components. After installing the adaptation kit, productivity increased 6%, while fuel consumption per hour decreased 3.5%. Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per product unit decreased 10%, as an average.

Read the abstract or download the full pdf!

 

Figure 1: One of the excavator-based harvesters at work (left); the adaptation kit (right).

LUKE

Publication: Modifying the settings of CTL timber harvesting machines to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions

Following extensive field trials, LUKE just published results on experiments with Ponsse harvesters:

  • Adjustment of machine settings had an effect on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
  • Large energy saving potential in the Nordic and Baltic regions alone:
  • Potential savings may amount to almost 50 million litres of diesel per year.
  • Stem size also had a strong effect on fuel consumption and productivity.

Read the abstract or download the full pdf!

Whatch the video produced during the field trials: http://www.tech4effect.eu/fuel-economy-tests-harvesters/

 

Figure 1: The machines studied in the experiment, upper-left the Ponsse Beaver, upper-right the Ponsse ScorpionKing, below the Ponsse Ergo.

Newsletter January 2018

Read our second newsletter here:

TECH4EFFECT Newsletter January 2018

  • TECH4EFFECT explained in 2 minutes – animation
  • What is the TECH4EFFECT efficiency portal?
  • Already five countries to send data to the Efficiency Portal
  • From biomass to consumer products: BBI Stakeholder day

 

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Fuel economy tests – harvesters

In August LUKE, CNR-IVALSA and PONSSE successfully conducted field trials near Jyväskylä, Finland, on the efficiency of cut-to-length harvesting machines in cooperation with a contractor and their operators.

The aim was to reduce the fuel consumption of harvesters during cut-to-length operations by applying various technical settings to the machines, like idle times, engine settings and fine-tuning of hydraulic power supply components. A team of three to seven researchers, three operators and representatives of the manufacturer was working on site, collecting lots of measurements, study data and video material. Three different PONSSE harvesters were studied but similar measures can then also be applied for other machine types, such as forwarders used in timber extraction.

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UPDATE! Results publication now available in our publication section: http://www.tech4effect.eu/media-corner/publications/#toggle-id-2

(c) LUKE

Newsletter November 2017

Read our first newsletter here:

TECH4EFFECT Newsletter November 2017

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Successful TECH4EFFECT field trials with cut-to-length machines to reduce fuel consumption

Project partners LUKE, CNR-IVALSA and PONSSE successfully conducted field trials near Jyväskylä, Finland, on the efficiency of cut-to-length harvesting machines in cooperation with a contractor and their operators. The aim was to reduce the fuel consumption of harvesters during cut-to-length operations by applying various technical settings to the machines, like idle times, engine settings and fine-tuning of hydraulic power supply components.

A team of three to seven researchers, three operators and representatives of the manufacturer was working on site, collecting lots of measurements, study data and video material. Three different PONSSE harvesters were studied but similar measures can then also be applied for other machine types, such as forwarders used in timber extraction.