Design and Testing of a Self-Propelled Fork-Tooth Harvester for Medicinal Plant Rhizomes

Long Wang, Wei Sun (), Luhai Zhang, Ming Zhao and Petru A. Simionescu
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Long Wang: College of Mechano-Electronic Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Wei Sun: College of Mechano-Electronic Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Luhai Zhang: College of Mechano-Electronic Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Ming Zhao: College of Mechano-Electronic Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Petru A. Simionescu: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi Campus, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-22

Abstract: To address the challenges of manually excavating deep-rooted medicinal herbs in the cold and arid regions of northwest China, such as low efficiency, high costs, and difficulties with mechanized methods, a self-propelled fork-tooth digger was developed for use in hilly and mountainous terrains. Key components, including the fork-tooth excavation device, hydraulic control system, and reverse trapezoidal crawler chassis, were designed and analyzed. A multi-body dynamics model (MBD) and discrete element model (DEM) for Astragalus and soil were developed, employing a DEM-MBD coupling method to simulate the harvesting process. Field trials demonstrated an excavation efficiency of 98.2%, a stem damage rate of 1.8%, a loss rate of 3.0%, and a maximum digging depth of 600 mm, all meeting existing industry standards. The results confirmed the design’s effectiveness in meeting the mechanization needs for harvesting rhizome medicinal herbs.

Keywords: rhizome medicinal materials; fork-tooth excavation shovel; crawler-based self-propelled; DEM-MBD coupled simulation (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
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