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Computer-operated technology for chemical weed control on railroads

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• Description of the technology offer :

  Computer-operated technology for chemical weed-control on railroads. The technology divides the 7 meter-wide rail track into 9 lanes perpendicular to the rail-track. It can spray out four different types of agents in optional proportions in each lane. The reaction time of the system allows a longitudinal resolution of only 1 meter.
  

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  New and innovative aspects

  Our partner is a successful medium enterprise specializing in weed-control on railroads. Based upon its several years of experience, the company has developed a computer-operated technology for chemical weed-control on railroads detailed below. The company has successfully tested the technology and it is already in use in Hungary on 6,000 km railroad length annually.
  
  The selectivity of the technology
  
  The technology divides the 7 meter-wide rail track into 9 lanes perpendicular to the rail-track. It can spray out four different types of agents in optional proportions in each lane. The reaction time of the system allows a longitudinal resolution of only 1 meter.
  
  The main advantage of the sprayer system
  
  The greatest advantage of the system is that it can conform the environmental interests to the economic interests of the for-profit firm implementing the spraying. The system makes possible the use of technologies developed for the decrease of chemical emission in case of short decay-time post-emergent agents. With this new technology, the short decay-time post-emergent chemical agents that cause less harm to the environment become dominant as opposed to the long decay-time pre-emergent agents. However, this system is also suitable for the traditional total spraying with any kind of chemical agents. The saving on the amount of chemical agents is because of using area-selective,
  species-specific technologies, and because the spraying amount in the technology is proportional to the growth stage of the weed.
  A further advantage of the system is that it can be efficiently used against weed-resistance. Because of resistance, weed colonies often consist of the same resistant species, against which the species-specific, variable agent can be efficiently used.
  
  Weed control train construction
  
  The first weed control train was constructed in 1996, when a hydraulic injector instrument forwarded the herbicides onto water. The operation was manually carried out continuously on the entire width.
  
  According to the operational experiences the spraying unit of the train was modernised introducing a new hydraulic system and computer control focusing on savings in chemical use.
  In 1998 a Pre-Weed Recognition method was applied to recognise weediness on railway tracks and treatment based on this information.
  
  Two years later this was replaced by an ON-LINE Weed Recognition system to eliminate faults caused by differences between recognition and control with fitting in a special camera holder device. On the other hand, an injector valve was also designed parallel with the development of weed recogniser and weed control software resulting in further save in herbicides and more diverse plant protection activity because 4 different chemicals could be injected per treated sections.
  The standard dip angles of railway-embankments proved to be significantly different in practice, so thus the side nozzle system mounted on shaft was designed to be mobile. The operating staff changed the position of the equipment according to visual observance.
  
  In 2003 a new hydraulic system was developed in order to gain more accurate feeding system.
  The firm transferred the control and all devices needed in one section into a module unit (PM-01) using more up-to-date spare parts. These alterations induced the construction of a multifunctional spraying frame (PM-01 spraying frame) alongside which the precise documentation of the operational process was solved (GPS, weediness, etc.).
  
  The firm have implemented electro mechanical developments on the ground detector system (PM-01 spraying frame) and with applying new laser remote indicators the angle variations of the embankment are being tracked by software.
  Furthermore the mobilisation of Weed Recognition system has been solved allowing the examination and documentation of weediness on railway tracks without using the Weed Control Train.
  
  Technical features and data of the new technology
  
  Maximum speed (no spraying): 100 km/h
  Maximum spraying speed: 40-60 km/h
  Minimum spraying speed: 5 km/h
  
  
  Maximum quantity to spray out: 400 l/ha
  Quantity of chemical agents per hectare: 1 – 10 l with differentiated proportions
  
  Longitudinal resolution: 1 m
  
  Hit rate (coverage): 97%
  
  Storage capacity:
  Clear water: 90,000 liter
  Agent containers: 4 × 3000 liter
  
  Operating distance with full-width spraying: 225 ha, or 351 km
  Operating distance in case of average quantity of weed (approx. 32%): 1053 km
  
  The system adapts to the slope of the railway bed to a maximum of 90 angles.
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