Effect of Mounting Angle on Bending Subsoiling Tool–Soil Interactions Using DEM Simulations

Xuezhen Wang, Hao Zhou () and Jiangtao Ji
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Xuezhen Wang: College of Agricultural Equipment Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, China
Hao Zhou: College of Agricultural Equipment Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, China
Jiangtao Ji: College of Agricultural Equipment Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: Mechanical subsoiling is an effective practice to promote better water infiltration and crop root development. The bending subsoiling tool (BST) is a primary subsoiling tool and is used to remove soil compaction and restore soil productivity. In this study, a discrete element model was developed and validated using laboratory soil bin tests to investigate the effects of the mounting angle of the BST (5°–33°) on soil disturbance behaviors and draft forces. The results show that the upheaval, failure and fragmentation of soil was achieved by successive shearing, uplifting, extrusion, tension and turning actions from the cutting share and cambered shank of the BST. Increasing soil depths gave smaller soil disturbance ranges in lateral, forward and upward directions. With an increase in mounting angle, both the draft force and soil rupture distance ratio initially decreased and then increased, whereas the soil loosening efficiency initially increased and then decreased. Overall, increasing the mounting angle of the BST from 5° to 33° gave a greater soil surface flatness that increased rapidly when the mounting angle increased from 26° to 33°. Appropriately increasing mounting angle of the BST from 5° to 26° could lift more moist soil from the deep seed and middle layers (5.0–15.5% increase) into the shallow seed layer (depth of <50 mm) without seriously affecting the mixing of the deep layer and other layers. Considering both the soil disturbance characteristics and draft forces, a mounting angle of 26° appeared to outperform the other angles.

Keywords: discrete element method (DEM); mounting angle; soil bin test; soil disturbance behaviors; subsoiling (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
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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