BENCH DESIGN AND STUDY OF PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A TEAT CUP LINER WITH ANTIBACTERIAL FILLER
He research purpose is to develop test benches and study the change in the physicomechanical properties of a teat cup liner depending on the content of antibacterial filler powder in it. The developed test bench includes a teat cup with a teat cup liner, a vacuum level setter, a vacuum meter and a multimeter. The milk tube plug of the teat cup liner contains a light-emitting diode, and its head plug - a photoresistor. A vacuum increase in the internal cavity of the teat cup liner caused a compression of its walls and decrease of light flux supplied from the light-emitting diode to the photoresistor, readings of which are recorded by the multimeter. The elongation of the teat cup liner was determined on a separate bench with a load of 6 kg. The tests were carried out for three sets of DD00.041 А1 RB teat cup lines, with four samples per a milking machine. The 1st set contained 0%, the 2nd - 3% and in the 3rd one - 5% of silver-based filler developed by the ECOS company. Measurements were carried out after 20, 60 and 110 hours of operation of milking machines with studied teat cup liners connected to a laboratory milking plant. It has been found that adding the filler to a teat cup liner increases its rigidity. In the initial state, the closing vacuum at 0% amounted to 24 kPa, at 3% - 26 kPa, at 5% - 30 kPa. After 110 hours of operation, the closing vacuum was reduced at 0% by 6 kPa, at 3% - by 6 kPa, at 5% - by 8 kPa. In the initial state, the extension of the teat cup liner sleeve at 0% was 25 mm, at 3% - 22.5 mm, at 5% - 20.5 mm. After 110 hours of operation, the elongation increased at 0% by 12 mm, at 3% - by 11mm, at 5% - by 10.3 mm. After 110 hours of operation, no changes were observer on the surface of the liner with no filler, in the 3% samples there appeared rough strips 40.. .50 mm long, while in the 5% samples there appeared through cracks 20.. .35 mm long. Thus the best characteristics have been found with a 3% filler.