Application of Discrete Element Method to Potato Harvesting Machinery: A Review

Yuanman Yue, Qian Zhang, Boyang Dong and Jin Li ()
Additional contact information
Yuanman Yue: College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Qian Zhang: College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Boyang Dong: College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Jin Li: College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-28

Abstract: The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is an innovative numerical computational approach. This method is employed to study and resolve the motion patterns of particles within discrete systems, contact mechanics properties, mechanisms of separation processes, and the relationships between contact forces and energy. Agricultural machinery involves the interactions between machinery and soil, crops, and other systems. Designing agricultural machinery can be equivalent to solving problems in discrete systems. The DEM has been widely applied in research on agricultural machinery design and mechanized harvesting of crops. It has also provided an important theoretical research approach for the design and selection of operating parameters, as well as the structural optimization of potato harvesting machinery. This review first analyzes and summarizes the current global potato industry situation, planting scale, and yield. Subsequently, it analyzes the challenges facing the development of the potato industry. The results show that breeding is the key to improving potato varieties, harvesting is the main stage where potato damage occurs, and reprocessing is the main process associated with potato waste. Second, an overview of the basic principles of DEM, contact models, and mechanical parameters is provided, along with an introduction to the simulation process using the EDEM software. Third, the application of the DEM to mechanized digging, transportation, collection, and separation of potatoes from the soil is reviewed. The accuracy of constructing potato and soil particle models and the rationality of the contact model selection are found to be the main factors affecting the results of discrete element simulations. Finally, the challenges of using the DEM for research on potato harvesting machinery are presented, and a summary and outlook for the future development of the DEM are provided.

Keywords: potato harvesting machine; numerical simulation; DEM; damage avoidance (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: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/315/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/315/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:315-:d:1581056

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().