Operational consumption of fuel of a sugar cane harvester

Studies have shown that using higher operational capacity harvesters render less fuel consumption per harvested area and, as a result, less operating expenses. " is paper aims to obtain the e# ective fuel consumption per hour of the CASE IH A4000 harvester during the mechanical harvest of raw sugar cane. " e study took place in a sugar cane plantation with mechanical harvest in an area belonging to a producer for Coagro (Cooperativa Agroindustrial do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Ltda.) (Agroindustrial Cooperative of the State of Rio de Janeiro), in the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro/ Brazil. " e variety of sugar cane was evaluated at RB867515 in its third cut. " e system of automatic data acquisition was built from a volumetric $ ow sensor to determine the fuel $ ow, in addition to a data collector (Datalogger) and a global positioning system (GPS) device. To determine the fuel consumption per hour, data from the fuel $ ow sensor were used. " e consumption per hour of fuel was 33.9 L.h. " e e# ective consumption was estimated in 1.84 L. ton. " e consumption per hour and the e# ective consumption of the CASE IH A4000 were more than double of what the manufacturers stipulated, which means, the consumption is much higher than desirable.

Palabras clave: Cosechadora Case IH A4000. Datalogger. Saccharum spp. 1 Introduction e increasing national and international demand of ethanol to add on fuels to combustion engines conditions the raise of the sugar cane production area in Brazil. Areas that were used for grazing are being replaced by sugar cane elds to keep up with the alcohol market demand (CERRI, 2005). In this matter, the sugar cane settles as one of the main Brazilian farming products, with Brazil being, currently, the biggest producer of sugar cane in the world. e area of sugar cane in Brazil currently is of 8,770 thousand acres, 4.8% smaller compared to the previous crop. e planted area in the state of Rio de Janeiro to the 2017/2018 crop was of 0.5 thousand acres, which means a reduction of the planted area in 35.7% compared to the previous crop, despite the productivity of the area having a raise of 7.7% and production has raised in 33.8%, compared to both crops (CONAB, 2017). e sugar cane harvest stands out due to the high costs involved and the operational di culties, being mechanical or manual. e process is in the stage of substitution from the manual cut to the mechanical one, although the last presents a few inconveniences, such as cane loss in the eld, quality reduction of the raw material and the reduction of the eld life-span (SCHIMDT JUNIOR, 2011). At Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, this process of substitution has been happening in a slower way compared to other municipalities of São Paulo and Paraná, but it has been attending the state legislation, Law No. 5,990 of June 20, 2011. According to data from Coagro, 60% of the cane was harvested mechanically in the municipality in the 2015/2016 crop.

Operational consumption of fuel of a sugar cane harvester
Inside the process of mechanical harvest, mandatory by the state legislation, it is necessary to evaluate some of the factors involved in the process, as raw materials loss, damage to the stumps and fuel consumption by the harvester, as they are of great importance, since, in addition of other reasons, they in uence signi cantly in the expenses of the harvesting process, specially against the fuel consumption by the harvester.
In that way, Lopes (2000) highlights the importance of evaluating the fuel consumption per area in the staging of agrarian machines, because it is the most relevant information to determine operational expenses.
Some papers have shown that using bigger harvesters with higher operational capacities resulted in less fuel consumption per area harvested and, as consequence, less operational expenses.
is paper aimed to obtain the consumption per hour and e ective consumption of fuel by the harvester CASE IH A4000 during the mechanical harvest operation of sugar cane in the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro State.

Characterization of the studied area
is experiment was carried out in July 2012 in a sugar cane eld systematically prepared for mechanized harvesting. e area belongs to a supplier from Coagro ("Agroindustrial Cooperative of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Ltd."), in the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes, northern Rio de Janeiro State. e geographical coordinates were: 21°47'50''S and 41°20'02" W. In this area, a sample area of 1,800 m² was chosen to perform the mechanized harvest and to measure the physical soil variables. e local soil is classi ed as a typically eutrophic Haplic Cambisol Tb, with a clayey texture (EMBRAPA, 2013). e climate of Campos dos Goytacazes is classi ed as Aw, according to Köppen, which means warm and wet with a rainy season on summer, presenting and average temperature of 23.2 ºC. July is the coolest month (average temperature of 20.1 ºC), and February is the warmest (average temperature of 26 ºC).
e harvester used in this study was the Case IH A4000 model, manufactured in 2009. e sugarcane, RB7515 variety on its third cutting, was harvested while raw with no previous burning in the daytime. e characterization of the sugar eld was done before the harvesting, since this condition in uences the operational performance of the used machine.
is characterization was made according to the methodology by Ripoli (2006): medium length and thatch diameter, soil moisture level, soil gradation and soil textural type; age and crop degree of ripeness and estimated productivity. Figure 1 shows the area of study, where the mechanical harvest of the sugar cane and the fuel consumption measurement were carried out, represented by a Google Earth image, which shows the orange trail of the harvester gotten through the GPS, model Garmin 60Csx.

System of automatic data acquisition
e system of automatic data acquisition was built from a volumetric ow sensor to determine the fuel ow, in addition to a data collector (Datalogger) and a global positioning system (GPS).

Volumetric ow sensor
To determine the fuel ow, a volumetric ow sensor was used, model FLOWMATE Oval M-III LSF45L0-M2, with magnetic sensor, reading pulse unit of 10mL pulse -1 , maximum ow of 500 L h -1 , voltage from 12 to 24 V of continuum current (VCC), maximum consumption at 10mA and exit pulse type 0/1 = maximum 0.5 VCC / 6.2 at 7.6 VCC, with minimum resistance of 10 kΩ (Figure 3).

Calibration of the volumetric ow sensor
e sensor was connected to a terminal plate, model Protoboard 840, and using jumper wares, and USB AB cable, a connection between the sensor, Arduino plate and computer was carried out (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Connection of the sensor and Arduino plate
e data acquisition system, after being implemented, was tested with the aim to verify data precision from the sensor and calibrate it. e sensor was evaluated using volume measurement previously determined from water, of 250, 500, 1,000 and 2,000 mL, at 20 °C. A graduated measuring beaker was used to determine the volume, with a 250 mL capacity, ± 2 mL. e data coming from the sensor were collected through serial port USB from the computer and presented on the screen of the Arduino program. e ow sensor was connected to data acquisition system implemented and evaluated in laboratory. e values determined by the beaker and the values determined by the ow sensor ( Figure 5

Installation of the sensor for volumetric ow in the harvester
e fuel ow meter was installed between the rst and second fuel lter, before the injection pump. e return from injector nozzles has its ow altered when installing a connector type "t" before the meter. Sensor for volumetric ow was installed according to Vale et al. (2008), who evaluated the development from the tractor and brushcutter in hoeing operation. e gure 6 shows the sensor for volumetric ow mounted in harvester A4000.

Data collection system
To collect data from the harvester fuel consumption, a Datalogger from Campbell Scienti c brand, model CR1000 was used to monitor, transport and store the signs generated by the ow and speed meters. e data collector has the capacity to store 4,000,000 data. For its feeding, it is necessary a minimum voltage of 12 volts and the maximum is 24 volts. e gure 7 shows the image of the datalogger Campbell Scienti c, model CR1000. Table 3 demonstrates inputs and outputs from connections of the sensor for volumetric ow and the Datalogger. To discharge data obtained by fuel ow sensors, collected through purchasing system, the computer program D-LoggerNet was used after carrying out eld tests with the sugar cane harvester.

Global Positioning System (GPS)
A GPS model Garmin 60Csx was used to mark the points, map the area and determine the harvester position. e computer program GPS TrackMaker was utilized as an interface to transfer to the computer the data acquired through the GPS.

Fuel consumption determination
To determine the hourly fuel consumption, data obtained by the fuel ow sensor were used. e pulses collected through ow sensor were converted in volume, considering the relation of 10ml pulse -1 e hourly consumption calculation was carried out according to equation 1.
"Ct"="CCa" /P (eq .3) where: Ct = Fuel consumption per ton of harvested cane, L.ton -1 ; CCa = Fuel consumption per area, L ha -1 ; P = Sugar cane crop productivity, ton. ha -1 . Table 4 presents consumption data from harvester A4000. Operational consumption of fuel of a sugar cane harvester e result generated by the automatic data acquisition system demonstrated that the hourly fuel consumption was 33.9 L h -1 (Table 4). According to Istoé Dinheiro Rural (REFORÇO..., 2009), that reports information under the harvester at the moment of product disclosure, the ideal hourly consumption from harvester A4000 is 16.8 L h -1 . e consumption found in this research was greater than the double from the number stipulated by the machine manufacturers when the product was launched. Lyra (2012) reports the need of evaluating fuel consumption from harvesters in a more intense way, since it is beyond the estimate values for this operation. is author mentions that this high consumption is due to lack of adequate training of the operators, that work with the machine at full blast most of the time, even when it is not necessary. Santos (2012) reports that the hourly fuel consumption from sugar cane harvesters also varies according to engine rotation and traveling speed. e higher the speed is, the lower is the hourly fuel consumption.

Results and Discussion
In compliance with Lyra (2012), a harvester spends on average 60 L diesel oil to reap one hectare sugar cane. Considering the current diesel oil price as R$2.75 per liter (ANP, 2017), this harvester will spend approximately R$165.00 per hectare reaped. Harvesting about 10 ha a day, the daily expense with fuel is superior than R$ 1,600.00.
According to some information from Coagro, when this evaluation was carried out, the harvester worked for 20 hours. Considering that the fuel consumption has kept the same throughout the work day, the total consumption during the 20 hours work was of 678 liters fuel, meaning that more than three fuel tanks spent in only one day of work and the harvester fuel tank supports 210 liters. ese 678 liters mean an expense of R$1,593.30 in one day of harvest. e e ective consumption, which refers to fuel volume used per ton of harvested sugar cane was estimated in 1.84 L t -1 (Table  4). According to Istoé Dinheiro Rural (REFORÇO…, 2009), the e ective consumption from harvester A4000 is 0.84 L t -1 . e value obtained in this research was higher than the ideal value estimated by the company that manufactured this machine. e sugar cane productivity estimate was 54 tons per hectare. Seki (2007) evaluated the operational and energetic performance in the corn harvest of humid (33% water tenor) and dry grains (15.4% water tenor). In the humid grain harvest, the harvester presented speed of 3.27 km h -1 , e ective operational capacity of 1,12 ha h -1 , fuel consumption per hour of 15.31 L h -1 and consumption per area of 13.59 L ha -1 . In dry grain harvest, the harvester presented speed of 3.63 km h -1 , e ective operational capacity of 1.25 ha h -1 , fuel consumption per hour of 12.64 L h -1 and consumption per area of 10.14 L ha -1 , which means, the e ective eld capacity of harvest was 10% higher.

Conclusions
e hourly fuel consumption and the e ective consumption from harvester CASE IH A4000 were greater than the double from the number stipulated by the machine manufacturers, meaning that the consumption is beyond the recommended levels and that the machine might have been deregulated at the time of harvest, causing great damage to the cooperative that was operating it.