Experimental Investigation of Plow-Chopping Unit

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The article presents research results of a machine tractor unit that performs two technological operations simultaneously: chopping plant residuals and covering of the chopped residuals into the soil.

In line 133 the authors mention that the surface's longitudinal profile's vertical oscillations were measured with constructed by a unique device. How this device was calibrated? Give more information about this.

In line 128, the authors measure the moisture and bulk density of the soil in layer 0-10 cm. According to the article's method [18], soil moisture was measured in layer 0-10 cm. Is not the layer 0-10cm too small about when the Plowing depth is 25cm (mean)? Why the authors did not measure the moisture and the bulk density of the soil in layer 10-20?

In line 158 the authors mention about the ADXL345 158 accelerometer. How this device was calibrated? Give more information about this.

Author Response

Thank you very much for your careful review and dedicated time for it.

Answers to 1.st reviewer

The article presents research results of a machine tractor unit that performs two technological operations simultaneously: chopping plant residuals and covering of the chopped residuals into the soil.

In line 133 the authors mention that the surface's longitudinal profile's vertical oscillations were measured with constructed by a unique device. How this device was calibrated? Give more information about this.

To calibrate the device under stationary conditions, the distance between the lever wheel and the supporting surface was changed in the range of 0-10 cm with an interval of 1 cm. For this, 9 wooden blocks were used, in which the height of the next one differed by 1 cm from the height of the previous one. During the installation of each bar, an electrical signal was recorded, which was formed by the SP-3A potentiometer. As a result, a dependence was obtained that made it possible to determine the height of the field profile oscillations from the electric signal magnitude.

The calibration process for this instrument is described in lines 146-150.

In line 128, the authors measure the moisture and bulk density of the soil in layer 0-10 cm. According to the article's method [18], soil moisture was measured in layer 0-10 cm. Is not the layer 0-10cm too small about when the Plowing depth is 25cm (mean)? Why the authors did not measure the moisture and the bulk density of the soil in layer 10-20?

In fact, the soil moisture measurement was carried out in layers of 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm. Since the moisture values of these soil layers differed little, the article gives the average value of soil moisture in the 0-30 cm layer, erroneously written by the authors as “ 0-10 cm ". In this regard, lines 132 and 154 have been changed accordingly.

In line 158 the authors mention about the ADXL345 158 accelerometer. How this device was calibrated? Give more information about this.

During the calibration process, the accelerometer was fixed on a platform, which vibrated in the vertical plane under the influence of the cam-eccentric drive. The vibration amplitude of the platform was changed by increasing the length of the eccentric. The platform oscillation frequency was taken equal to 1.6 Hz (10 s-1).

The calibration process for this instrument is described on lines 173-175.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

I consider that the authors responded to all the suggestions made by the reviewers and modified the article. I recommend publishing the article in its current form. Congratulations for the scientific contribution brought in the field.

Author Response

Thank you very much for your careful review and dedicated time. Thanks for the positive feedback.