A high-rate granular material dispensing mechanism

Abstract A high-rate granule handling device is described 2 . The keys to the success of the device are three suction nozzles and a granule separation scheme. The three nozzles are arranged so that three-row seeding from an aircraft can be accomplished at near 3000 seeds/min per nozzle, or near 9000 seeds/min for the mechanism. The seeds, or granules, are 3/16-in.-diam. near-spheres when coated in a water-soluble clay coating, and emphasis is on the high-rate handling problems of the granular seeds. A theoretical analysis for predicting the exit velocites of the granules as they leave the nozzle is summarized. Good agreement with experiment is obtained. Tests and development of the device are described.