Simulation and Experimental Study of the Tillage Mechanism for the Optimal Design of Wheat Rotary Strip–Tiller Blades

Yanshan Yang, Zhichao Hu (), Fengwei Gu () and Qishuo Ding
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Yanshan Yang: Nanjing Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanjing 210031, China
Zhichao Hu: Nanjing Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanjing 210031, China
Fengwei Gu: Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
Qishuo Ding: College of Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210031, China

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: In order to clarify the mechanism of tiller–soil interaction in the process of strip rotary tillage, this paper conducted a simulation and experimental research on four blade configurations composed of three rotary blades (bent C, straight and hoe) at three rotation speeds (280, 380 and 510 rpm). The study found that the soil throwing characteristics of the blades are the key factors affecting the quality of tillage. The increase in the rotation speed not only improved the soil breaking effect, but also enhanced the phenomenon of soil throwing and then led to a reduction in the soil backfill. In the BC configuration (combination of four bent C blades), the bent C blades showed the best soil throwing characteristics and created the best soil fragmentation. However, due to the obvious side throwing of the soil, the backfill effect of soil fragmentation was the worst. The backfill rate was only 8% when the rotation speed was 510 rpm and could not allow reaching the required seed–soil contact during sowing. The hoe blades in the HC configuration (combination of four hoe blades) could collect part of the soil fragments and throw them towards the direction of the machine during the cultivation process, which led to a good soil breaking effect and a low soil side throwing rate. When the rotation speed was 510 rpm, 36% of the soil was backfilled into the seedbed. In the SC configuration (combination of four straight blades), the straight blades could well control the scattering of the side-thrown soil fragments. At a super-high rotation speed (510 rpm), the side throwing rate was only 70%, and the backfill rate was as high as 60%. However, the soil fragments created by the blades were too large (average soil block diameter > 40 mm) and could not form a loose and finely broken seedbed environment. The MC configuration (combination of two straight blades and two hoe blades) benefited from the combination of straight blades and hoe blades, offering outstanding advantages for backfill and soil fragmentation. Therefore, under the condition of a centralized configuration of field surface straw, it is recommended to use the MC configuration of the wheat rotary strip–till planter for cohesive paddy soil.

Keywords: EDEM Simulation; side throwing; strip tillage; backfill; recommended blade (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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