Improving Dynamic Performance of a Small Rhizome Chinese Herbs Harvesting Machine via Analysis, Testing, and Experimentation

Lixun Dai, Wei Sun (), Petru Aurelian Simionescu, Bugong Sun, Zongpeng Huang and Xiaolong Liu
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Lixun Dai: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Wei Sun: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Petru Aurelian Simionescu: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi Campus, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
Bugong Sun: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Zongpeng Huang: China Machinery International Engineering Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Changsha 410012, China
Xiaolong Liu: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-27

Abstract: The small rhizome Chinese herbal medicine harvesting machine is used for excavating the underground rhizomes of Chinese medicinal plants. The reliability of an existing machine of this type was found to be suboptimal due to high vibration levels, as confirmed by direct measurements. To remedy this issue, the differential equation of motion was derived, solved, and visualized using MATLAB software (R2017a). The impact of various parameters on the equation of motion was analyzed through both time and frequency domain plots, as well as experimental analysis. The parameters studied included the rotational speed of the tractor’s power take-off (PTO) shaft, the machine’s overall mass and stiffness, the transmission ratio, and the excitation force generated by the machine’s reciprocating parts. To reduce vibration in the non-resonant state and avoid resonance as the natural frequency changes, several modifications were necessary: the PTO speed needed to be controlled, the stiffness of the machine had to be increased, and the mass of the reciprocating parts had to be decreased. Additionally, expanding the transmission-ratio range of the operational machinery was essential. Sandbags were added to the machine’s frame to increase its overall mass. The above measures have reduced the vibration speed of the harvester during operation. The vibration speeds V max and V RMS of the harvester under both working and non-working conditions have decreased by half compared to their original values, reducing the occurrence of resonance in the harvester and effectively mitigating vibration damage, thereby enhancing operational reliability.

Keywords: underground rhizome harvesting; avoiding resonance; vibration reduction; motion equation; graphic representations; laboratory evaluation (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: 2024
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