Research on Material Conveying and Collection Technology During Crop Harvesting

Material conveying and collection are critical to harvesting efficiency, crop quality, energy consumption, and operational continuity in combine harvesters. However, existing studies mainly focus on individual technologies, while systematic criteria for technology comparison and selection remain insufficient. This review critically analyzes major conveying and collection technologies, mechanism-based simulation methods, and intelligent sensing and control strategies. Screw, clamping-flexible, chain/vibrating, and pneumatic conveying systems are compared in terms of conveying efficiency, crop damage and material loss, energy consumption, reliability, and adaptability. DEM, dynamic/vibro-acoustic analysis, and CFD–DEM are further evaluated according to their applicable mechanisms, physical fidelity, and computational cost. Recent advances in multi-source sensing, data-driven prediction, and feedforward–feedback control are summarized. Based on these comparisons, a system-level optimization framework is proposed, emphasizing efficiency, quality preservation, and energy efficiency while maintaining operational reliability and adaptability. The review indicates that no single technology is universally optimal; technology selection should be matched to crop properties, operating conditions, and dominant performance objectives. Future research should focus on material-property-informed technology selection, mechanism–data hybrid modeling, and adaptive closed-loop control for intelligent harvesting systems.