Study the tillage performance of different rotary burying blade rollers based on discrete element method

ABSTRACT The rotary buryig blade roller (RBBR) is a tillage tool that can both break up soil and bury straw. However, in previous experiments, it was found that the configuration of rotary blades on RBBR will significantly affect its tillage quality. To achieve the optimal structure of RBBR, this study optimized the configuration of rotary blades on RBBR. Additionally, the tillage performance of different RBBRs was evaluated using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). The results showed that after removing loose soil, the optimized RBBR (SR-8-1) achieved a flatter bottom of tilled layer compared to the previous RBBR (SR-6 and SR-9). Specifically, the calculated bottom evenness after tillage decreased by 40.49% and 40.65%, respectively. Furthermore, upon measuring tillage depth, stability coefficient of tillage depth increased by 5.12% and 3.84%. The exported average axial force from the software decreased by 65.72% and 80.39%. The comparison of field test and simulation showed that SR-8-1 was superior to SR-6 in all tillage parameters except power. Therefore, due to the advantages of SR-8-1 in terms of tillage performance, it is better able to meet the tillage needs than other structures.