The Design and Testing of a Combined Operation Machine for Corn Straw Crushing and Residual Film Recycling

To address the negative impacts in recovering large areas of residual plastic film from corn stubble in the Hexi irrigation area—such as the residual film containing substantial amounts of soil, corn stubble, and corn straw, and high power consumption during the operation process—in this study, a combined operation machine was designed for corn straw crushing and residual film recovery. The machine consisted of a double-wing, single-blade shovel for lifting the film and cutting corn stubble, a corn straw-crushing and returning device for reducing the residual film impurity rate, an eccentric teeth shifting cylinder for picking up residual film, a device for shifting residual film, and a collection device for bundling residual film. The key components of the combined operation machine were designed based on an agronomic model for corn planting and the mechanized operation requirements in the Hexi irrigation area. The optimal combination of operating parameters was devised based on theoretical calculations and single- and multifactor simulation tests. The results showed that when the angle of entry of the film-lifting shovel was 25.14°, the rotational speed of the eccentric teeth shifting cylinder was 80.96 rpm, and the forward velocity of the machine was 4.03 km/h, while the rate of recovery of residual film was 92.56%. The field test showed that the residual film contained 16.65% impurities, and the qualified rate of corn straw crushing was 88.51%, with a relative error of 0.65% from the optimized value. The experimental results provide theoretical support and a design reference for research on the mechanized recycling of residual film in large areas of corn stubble.