Design and Analysis of Pneumatic Downforce Regulating Device for No-Till Corn Planter

Xinpeng Cao, Qingjie Wang, Dijuan Xu, Shenghai Huang, Xiuhong Wang and Longbao Wang
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Xinpeng Cao: College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Qingjie Wang: College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Dijuan Xu: Beijing Vocational College of Agriculture, Beijing 100083, China
Shenghai Huang: College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Xiuhong Wang: College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Longbao Wang: College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: To avoid the issues of undesired soil compaction and seeding depth variation caused by the downforce fluctuation of the corn no-till planter, the influence of the structural parameters of the air spring on the downforce was researched in this paper, by establishing the gas–solid coupling simulation model of the air spring. The downforce test bench was built to verify the simulation model; the test showed that the vertical output force error of the simulation model was 4.79%, the pitch diameter error was 0.76%, and the pressure error was 5.07%. The cord angle, piston angle and piston diameter were used as influencing factors to carry out single-factor experiments. The influences of structural parameters on downforce were analyzed from four aspects: the vertical output force, the vertical stiffness, the pressure difference and the deformation rate. The results showed that the cord angle reduced the effective area and its change rate during deformation by limiting the radial deformation of the bellow. When the cord angles were 30°, 45° and 60°, the deformation rates were 65.6%, 20.3% and 4.8%, respectively. The cord angle had a positive effect on the vertical output force when the cord angle was in the range of 30~56°, and it had a negative impact in the range of 56~60°. As the cord angle increased, the vertical stiffness decreased. As the piston angle increased, the effective area of the air spring decreased, and the change in internal pressure decreased, reducing its vertical output force and stiffness. The piston diameter had little effect on the internal pressure and deformation rate. It increased the vertical output force and stiffness by increasing the effective area. The structural parameters of the air spring had a significant impact on the stability of the downforce; the structure of the air spring should be optimized according to the downforce demand of the corn no-till planter.

Keywords: air spring; no-till planter; downforce control; finite element analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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