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Cotton stalk is an important renewable resource. China is rich in cotton stalk, if such a large amount of resources are recycled, it will produce huge economic benefits. But most of them are not recycled at present. In order to improve the mechanized recovery level of cotton stalk, study the influence of different parameters on the mechanized recovery of cotton stalk, and solve the outstanding problems such as high cotton stalk plucking rate and high cotton stalk leakage rate, this paper studied and designed a toothed disc cotton stalk harvester. The machine was consisted of suspension device, limit wheel, pull-out tooth plate, stalk discharge device, hydraulic motor, hydraulic pipeline and hydraulic control box. The key component of the machine was a toothed disc type stalk pulling device. During operation, the cotton stalk was lifted out through the toothed disc, and then the cotton stalk was discharged to the surface through the stalk discharge device. Leakage rate and plucking rate of cotton stalk were the main parameters to evaluate the performance of toothed disc cotton stalk harvester. In this paper, Box-benhnken central combination test method was used to study the working parameters of toothed disc cotton stalk harvester. Three-factor and three-level quadratic regression orthogonal test was designed. The three-dimensional model of response surface was established with the diameter of the toothed disc, the toothed disc speed ratio and the lifting height as the influencing factors. The influence of each factor on the quality of work was analyzed, and the influencing factors were optimized synthetically. The results showed that the lifting height and the toothed disc speed ratio had significant effects on the cotton stalk plucking rate (P< 0.01), while the lifting height, the diameter of the toothed disc and the toothed disc speed ratio had significant effects on the rate of cotton stalk leakage rate (P<0.01). The working parameters of the machine were deduced from the regression model optimization as follows: the lifting height was 66.2 mm, the diameter of the toothed disc was 627.59 mm, and the toothed disc speed ratio was 0.57. In November 2018, field test was carried out in the Yellow River Delta (Binzhou) National Agricultural Science and Technology Park. Test area was divided into 17 test plots, leakage rate and plucking rate of cotton stalk at each test plot were calculated. The results of the Daejeon experiment showed that when the lifting height was 70 mm, diameter of the toothed disc was 630 mm and the toothed disc speed ratio was 0.57, the cotton stalk plucking rate could reach 1.5% and the cotton stalk leakage rate was low to 3.0%. The test results showed that the theoretical results were coincident with the measuring results, and the error between them was less than 4%. The research results can provide references for the structure improvement design and operation parameters optimization of toothed disc cotton stalk harvester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton stalk is an important renewable resource. China is rich in cotton stalk, if such a large amount of resources are recycled, it will produce huge economic benefits. But most of them are not recycled at present. In order to improve the mechanized recovery level of cotton stalk, study the influence of different parameters on the mechanized recovery of cotton stalk, and solve the outstanding problems such as high cotton stalk plucking rate and high cotton stalk leakage rate, this paper studied and designed a toothed disc cotton stalk harvester. The machine was consisted of suspension device, limit wheel, pull-out tooth plate, stalk discharge device, hydraulic motor, hydraulic pipeline and hydraulic control box. The key component of the machine was a toothed disc type stalk pulling device. During operation, the cotton stalk was lifted out through the toothed disc, and then the cotton stalk was discharged to the surface through the stalk discharge device. Leakage rate and plucking rate of cotton stalk were the main parameters to evaluate the performance of toothed disc cotton stalk harvester. In this paper, Box-benhnken central combination test method was used to study the working parameters of toothed disc cotton stalk harvester. Three-factor and three-level quadratic regression orthogonal test was designed. The three-dimensional model of response surface was established with the diameter of the toothed disc, the toothed disc speed ratio and the lifting height as the influencing factors. The influence of each factor on the quality of work was analyzed, and the influencing factors were optimized synthetically. The results showed that the lifting height and the toothed disc speed ratio had significant effects on the cotton stalk plucking rate (P< 0.01), while the lifting height, the diameter of the toothed disc and the toothed disc speed ratio had significant effects on the rate of cotton stalk leakage rate (P<0.01). The working parameters of the machine were deduced from the regression model optimization as follows: the lifting height was 66.2 mm, the diameter of the toothed disc was 627.59 mm, and the toothed disc speed ratio was 0.57. In November 2018, field test was carried out in the Yellow River Delta (Binzhou) National Agricultural Science and Technology Park. Test area was divided into 17 test plots (each plots is 30 m×0.76 m), leakage rate and plucking rate of cotton stalk at each test plot were calculated. The results of the Daejeon experiment showed that when the lifting height was 70 mm, diameter of the toothed disc was 630 mm and the toothed disc speed ratio was 0.57, the cotton stalk plucking rate could reach 1.5% and the cotton stalk leakage rate was low to 3.0%. The test results showed that the theoretical results were coincident with the measuring results, and the error between them was less than 4%. The research results can provide references for the structure improvement design and operation parameters optimization of toothed disc cotton stalk harvester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain loss rate is one of the most important performance index of corn head in mechanized harvesting. Seed harvesting is the main development direction of mechanized corn harvesting. The characters of seed harvesting corn variaty increased the urgency to reduce grain loss on corn head. The paper was proposed to solve the problem of grain loss on corn head. Theoretical analysis was conducted to the snapping process. Corn ear was subjected to pull force by the snapping rolls and the pull force transferred by corn stalk. Corn kernels were divided into 2 types due to their force condition. A kernel at the bottom end of corn ear was subjected to reaction forces by stripper plates, corn cob and the adjacent kernels and shear force by the pedicel. Kernels out of contact with the stripper plates were subjected to reaction forces by the adjacent kernels, pull force and shear force by corn cob. As the impact force was related to the impact time according to the theorem of impulse, the paper analyzed collision model between corn ear and stripper plates in the snapping process. A mathematical model was obtained about the impact time and intrinsic parameters of the system. The impact time was dependent on system mass, stiffness coefficient and damping coefficient, which lays on the mechanical structure and materials of collision objects. So, the impact force would decrease as the impact time could be prolonged by reducing the stiffness coefficient and raising the damping coefficient. The quantity of shed kernels could be reduced consequently. The paper proposed a corn head with wheel type rigid-flexible coupling snapping device to reduce loss. The corn head consisted of the frame, gear-box, snapping rolls, gathering chain, wheel type rigid-flexible coupling snapping device, and chain wheels. The wheel type rigid-flexible coupling snapping device consisted of snapping wheel axle, spring seat axle, supporting axle, buffer spring, and snapping wheel frame. Force analysis was conducted on the snapping wheel. According to the force conditions and dimension boundary condition, the structure diameters of snapping wheel, snapping wheel frame, and buffer spring were confirmed. In order to obtain the optimal parameters with the minimum loss rate of wheel type rigid-flexible coupling snapping device, the optimization experiments were conducted of the factors at 3 different levels. In the optimization experiments, the snapping wheel radius was designed at 10, 15 and 20 mm respectively, the flexible body thickness was at 2, 4 and 6 mm respectively, the snapping rolls rotating speed at 700, 800 and 900 r/min respectively. The Response Surface Analysis method was used to design the experiments. The software Design-Expert 8.0.6.1 was used to analyze the data. Regression equation was induced according to the experiment and analysis above. The optimal combination of wheel type coupling snapping device was as follows: The snapping rolls rotating speed was 700 r/min, the snapping wheel radius was 15 mm, the flexible body thickness was 4 mm. Verification contrast test was conducted between corn head with wheel type rigid-flexible coupling snapping device and the one with snapping rolls and stripper plates on corns at different moisture contents. As the kernels moisture contents were 21.8%, 16.7% and 13.4%, the grain loss rate decreased 53.4%, 48.6% and 47.0% respectively. This study provides not only theoretical basis but also design reference for the improvement of corn harvester design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweet potato is an important food crop and energy crop. In order to solve the problems of larger loss rate and high damage rate of 4UZL-1 sweet potato combine harvester during the operation process, a potato connection and conveying mechanism was designed based on the analysis of the structure of 4UZL-1 sweet potato combine harvester and characteristics of domestic sweet potato planting models in this paper. The potato connection and conveying mechanism was mainly composed of a depth limiting mechanism, a digging conveying mechanism, an arc grid conveying mechanism and a scraper chain conveying mechanism. The working parameters were obtained through the kinematic and mechanical analysis of the working process of the mechanism. Aiming at the main evaluation indexes of potato damage rate and loss rate during the transfer and transportation, the Box-Benhnken test was presented on the basis of single-factor test. The angle of the digging conveyor, the conveyor angle of the scraper chain, the conveyor speed of the digging and the conveyor speed of the scraper chain were selected as testing factors. The multiple regression model of evaluation index to each factor was established, and the influence of each factor on operation quality was analyzed, and the optimal structure and operation parameters were obtained. The results showed that the order of the significance influence of factors on potato loss rate from large to small was that the conveyor angle of the scraper chain, the conveyor speed of the digging conveyor, the conveyor speed of the scraper chain and the angle of the digging conveyor. The order of the factors influencing on potato damage rate from large to small was the conveyor speed of the digging, the angle of the digging conveyor, the conveyor speed of the scraper chain and the conveyor angle of the scraper chain. When the forward speed of the machine was 1 m/s, the angle of the digging conveyor was 20°, the conveyor angle of the scraper chain was 68°, the conveyor speed of the digging was 1.2 m/s, and the conveyor speed of the scraper chain was 0.67 m/s, respectively, the potato loss rate was 1.12%, and the potato damage rate was 0.94%. Compared with the predicted values, the relative errors were 3.4% and 1.1%, respectively, the results satisfied the performance requirements of the 4UZL-1 sweet potato combine harvester. The study is benefit for the structure improvement and operation parameters optimization of the sweet potato combine harvester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the problems of low removal rate and incomplete separation for the current longitudinal-axial-flow combined harvester in the case of harvesting rice and wheat, a segmented longitudinal-axial-flow threshing device was designed in this paper. The threshing device mainly comprised a tapered threshing roller, a concave sieve with adjustable threshing strength, a 360° separation device and an electric control system for operating parameters. Through the single factor tests, the optimal switching states of the concave sieve with adjustable threshing strength for rice and wheat threshing was obtained respectively. In order to find out the influence rule of the working parameters of the device on the threshing effects and the optimal parameter combination, the multi-objective optimization tests were carried out. The rotational speed of roller, the angle of deflector, the threshing gap of concave sieve, the separation gap of concave sieve and the feeding rate were selected as the influence factors and the crushing rate, impurity rate and loss rate were selected as the test indexes. The test results showed that the significant sequence of influence of threshing parameters on the crushing rate was the rotational speed of roller, the threshing gap of concave sieve, the angle of deflector, the feeding rate, the separation gap of concave sieve. The significant sequence of influence of threshing parameters on impurity rate was the rotational speed of roller, the angle of deflector, the threshing gap of concave sieve, the feeding rate, the separation gap of concave sieve. The significant sequence of influence of threshing parameters on loss rate was the rotational speed of roller, the angle of deflector, the threshing gap of concave sieve, the feeding rate, the separation gap of concave sieve. Through multi-objective parameter optimization analysis, the optimal working parameters combination for wheat threshing were determined that the rotational speed of roller was 905 r/min, the angle of deflector was 69°, the threshing gap of concave sieve was 18 mm, the separation gap of concave sieve was 19 mm and the feeding rate was 4 kg/s. The field verification tests were carried out using the optimal working parameters combination. The results indicated that the crushing rate was reduced from 1.46% to 1.00%, the impurity rate was reduced from 1.85% to 1.43% and the loss rate was reduced from 1.72% to 1.20% compared with the conventional longitudinal-axial-flow threshing device. All the relative errors between the measured values and the optimized values were less than 5%, the working indicators met the requirements of relevant national standards. The device effectively solved the problems of high crushing rate, unclean threshing and incomplete separation, the research results can provide reference for the structural improvement and operation parameters optimization of the threshing device of longitudinal-axial-flow combined harvester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rice-wheat cropping system is the main grain production model in many areas of China, especially in Jiangsu with the area of about 1.8×106 hm2. In other provinces of China along the Yangtze River valley, such as Sichuan, Anhui and Hubei, there are large areas of such cropping system. However, the rice straw processing before wheat planting has caused some problems in these places. As straw burning is forbidden by the government, straw incorporated to field is an available alternative method to process the rice straw. Traditionally, rice straw should be smashed and buried before wheat planting, which requires time and energy. Also, burying rice straw in soil will influence the growing of wheat if the seed stay on the straw. Furthermore, the soil nutrient will be consumed during straw decomposing. The clean area planting technology under full straw cropland, invented by Nanjing Research Institute for Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China, can complete seeding and straw mulching in the same time, which is a good method to deal with the straw processing problem. However, as the quantity of rice straw is relatively larger than any other straw, the excess rice straw mulching will impact the emergence of wheat, which is likely to cause low yield. To solve the problem, in this paper, we provided the rice straw processing model of part burying and part mulching based on the clean area planting technology under full straw cropland. Then, different straw distributed retention devices with different structures, including flat board with horizontal upward opening, oblique board with horizontal downward opening, flat board with several longitudinal openings and curved board with several longitudinal openings, were designed and introduced respectively. After the tests of these distributed retention devices under different parameters, the structure of curved board with several longitudinal openings was selected as the best one. On the basis of structural development, the central composite test method was used to optimize the key parameters of straw distributed retention device. The gross width of longitudinal opening, quantity of longitudinal opening and revolving speed of picking and smashing device were taken as the influencing factors. The variable coefficient of uniformity and deviation rate of distribution were taken as response values in the experimental study. Orthogonal rotational quadratic combination test with three factors and three levels was made to evaluate the combined influence of the factors on the test index value. Furthermore, regression equations to describe the relationships between the factors and each assessment index were established by using the regression analysis and response surface analysis with the software Design-Expert 8.0.6. The optimum combination of the selected parameters was obtained and verified, and the experimental verification of the mathematical model was also conducted. The results showed that trial factors had great effects on the performance of straw distributed retention device. The significant effects of quantity of longitudinal opening, gross width of longitudinal opening and revolving speed of picking and smashing device on reducing the variable coefficient of uniformity were in a decreasing order. The significant effects of gross width of longitudinal opening, quantity of longitudinal opening and revolving speed of picking and smashing device on reducing the deviation rate of distribution were in a decreasing order. The best parameters of the integrated straw distributed retention were as follows: when the gross width of longitudinal opening was 600mm, the quantity of longitudinal opening was 7 and the revolving speed of picking and smashing device was 1900r/min, the variable coefficient of uniformity and deviation rate of distribution were 18.75% and 0 respectively. The model validation tests were repeated for 3 times on the simulation field by using the optimization results, the values of practical variable coefficient of uniformity and deviation rate of distribution were 19.68% and 0 respectively. The percentage points of absolute error between the experimental and predicted values of variable coefficient of uniformity and deviation rate of distribution were 0.93 percentage point and 0.33 percentage point respectively, which indicated a reasonable choice of optimization conditions. The research results can provide references of technology and equipment for wheat planting after the harvest of rice in rice-wheat cropping system area in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astragalus smicus, also known as Chinese milk vetch, Zi yunying and so on, is one of the main winter green manure crops in paddy fields of central and southern China, it has the advantages of reducing fertilizer input, improving soil fertility, increasing crop yield and quality, and protecting ecological environment, and has strong nitrogen fixation ability and high utilization efficiency. In recent years, the production machinery of Astragalus smicus has been developed and applied rapidly in terms of capacity and utilization efficiency, but its development still lags behind. Ditching and sowing are important links in the production of Astragalus smicus. The yield of Astragalus smicus is largely determined by the quality of sowing, and ditching operation can make Astragalus smicus grow well in low-humid field with poor drainage or sandy soil with poor fertilizer and water retention. Astragalus smicus is often used as green manure in paddy field, but high stubble retention, large amount of straw, insufficient in sowing height of existing other sowing equipments, working parts easily clogged, etc., bring difficulties for mechanized production of Astragalus smicus. In order to solve the influence of machine-harvested rice stubble on mechanized production of Astragalus smicus, aiming at the problems of low quality and low production efficiency in independent ditching and sowing links at present, a Astragalus smicus ditching and sowing machine which suitable for machine-harvested rice stubble field was developed. A height adjustable sowing device was designed, by which the sowing components could be lifted to a proper position according to the residual straw situation in the field. The special seed-metering wheel and quantitative evenly-sowed device for Astragalus smicus were developed to achieve precision sowing and improve the sowing uniformity. The structure and working parameters of the double-disk ditching components were determined. The variation coefficients of ditching width and depth determined by field experiments were less than 6%, which met the drainage requirements of Astragalus smicus growth process. The multiple factor experiments and regression analysis of the test data were carried out by Design-expert software, the results showed that forward speed of machine, rotation speed of seed-metering wheel, seed-uniforming cylinder diameter significantly affected the sowing performance, the results of variance analysis showed that the rotation speed of seed-metering wheel had the greatest influence on the emergence rate and coefficient of variation of sowing uniformity, while the forward speed of machine had the least influence on the emergence rate and coefficient of variation of seed-metering quantity consistency, regarding the coefficient of variation of sowing uniformity, the most influential factor was seed-uniforming cylinder diameter, and the minimum impact factor was the rotation speed of seed-metering wheel, the optimal factor parameters combination which affected the sowing quality of Astragalus smicus ditching and sowing machine was as follows: forward speed of machine was 4.6 km/h, rotation speed of seed-metering wheel was 44 r/min, seed-uniforming cylinder diameter was 6 mm. Verified by field experiments, the Astragalus smicus emergence rate was 95.87%, quantity consistency was 12.7%, coefficient of variation of sowing uniformity was 8.07% in the condition of optimal parameter combination, the relative error was below 3% compared with optimal values predicted by the model. Compared with the existing sowing methods of Astragalus smicus, working efficiency of the designed ditching and sowing machine was 1 hm2/h, which was superior to the artificial sowding working efficiency of 0.1 to 0.125 hm2/h, the hand-shaking working efficiency of 0.2 to 0.3 hm2/h and the motorized sowing working efficiency of 0.5 to 0. 8 hm2/h, and was lower than the UAV sowing working efficiency of 3 to 4 hm2/h. In addition, the coefficient of variation of sowing uniformity and the combination type of ditching and sowing machine were also significantly superior to that of other methods. The Astragalus smicus ditching and sowing machine developed in the paper integrated ditching and sowing links in one operation, the working efficiency was greatly improved, the research provided a new method for Astragalus smicus ditching and sowing machine for machine-harvested rice stubble field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, Camellia oleifera fruit is deeply loved by consumers as specific woody oil resource. Because of the composition of fatty acid for camellia seed oil is highly similar to olive oil, it is also known as “Oriental olive oil”. However, the shelling operation of Camellia oleifera fruit largely relies on natural drying, which is of low efficiency, high labor intensity, high processing cost, and great dependence on weather. In order to improve the performance of shelling machine for Camellia oleifera fruit, increase the shelling rate and reduce the seed breaking rate, choosing the shelling rate and seed breaking rate as the indices, 3 aspects were studied based on the existing shelling equipment and practical engineering experience in this paper. Firstly, the physical parameters of Camellia oleifera fruit were studied. The parameters such as density, bulk density, grain size, water content and proportion of each component of Camellia oleifera fruit from Changning City were measured, which provided the data for the design of shelling machine parts. Secondly, the mechanism and main structure of the shelling machine were studied. In the beginning, the merits and defects of commonly-used methods for shelling were summed based on their working principle and mechanism. According to practical engineering experience and the measured data above, the final squeeze-rub shelling method for Camellia oleifera fruit was determined. Then the structure of main parts was designed, which included the shelling device consisting of the roller, annular plate and the regulating mechanism, and the separation device consisting of stirring shaft and circular groove structure screen. Finally, the three-dimensional (3D) prototype model was established and the drawing design was completed. Thirdly, the operating parameters of shelling machine for Camellia oleifera fruit were studied. The shelling machine for Camellia oleifera fruit was manufactured based on the structure design, and then the operating parameters’ optimization test was made. In the experiment, Camellia oleifera fruit’s shelling gap, speed of shelling motor, speed of separation motor were taken as single factors, respectively, and the shelling rate and seed breaking rate were taken as indices. The influence trend of these factors on the indices was drew out. Based on the result, the orthogonal experiment was designed, which aimed at studying the effects of the speed of shelling motor, the speed of separation motor and the gap of shelling on shelling rate and seed breaking rate. The results indicated that the water contents of the fresh Camellia oleifera fruit, shell and seed were 60.08%, 74.55% and 45.60%, respectively. The particle size distribution was 20-50 mm, and the bulk density was 0.52 kg/L. The optimal combination parameters were that the speed of shelling motor was 125 r/min, the speed of separation motor was 343 r/min and the shelling gap was 12 mm. And under the condition, the shelling rate was 96.91%, the seed breaking rate was 3.38% and the production capacity was up to 2 t/h. The optimal parameters achieved in this paper can provide reference and technical support for the actual application of shelling machine for Camellia oleifera fruit. And it will benefit the processing industry of Camellia oleifera fruit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, ridge tillage method is an effective farming method that can resist the drought and flood in the northeast area of China. Because of the climate and natural conditions, most of the northeast area of China will continue to adopt ridge tillage method. In the case of ridge planting, no-till can improve the ground temperature, and can control the summer flood and drainage. In recent years the strip rotary tillage type no tillage planter has been extended. Because of the rotary tillage, the root stubble is broken and the anti-blocking performance is good. However, the soil tillage intensity is between 6.5 and 7.8, and the tillage destroys the original ridge, and forms the new ditch. At present, the number of no tillage finger clip type precision seeding and fertilizing machine applied in the production, is about 3000 in the northeast area of China, and the soil tillage intensity index is 1, which reduces the soil tillage intensity and produces no new ditch; but the two-row machine has the complete machine weight of 1000 kg, which brings too large compaction on soil, and makes ridge stand almost flat, therefore, wheel rut compaction seriously affects maize root growth. This machine not only loses the advantage of ridge planting, increases soil hardness, but also enhances manufacturing cost, and makes the price per machine high. The cost of the field operation is greatly improved, which does not accord with the requirements of energy saving and emission reduction in agricultural production. For no tillage planter, the current problem is the existence of the problem remains a ridge shape. Aiming at the requirement of researching and developing new no tillage planter for the conservation tillage corn ridge agricultural technology in the northeast area in China, based on the Archimedes spiral theory, this paper analyzes the notched disc knife break crop performance and the technical requirements to stubble breaking cutter for ideal seed bed, optimizes the spiral notched disk break stubble cutter structure and carries out the optimal selection of parameter; and develops the stubble breaking ditching device and stubble breaking anti-blocking device. Through test verification of stubble breaking ditching device, it opens a "V"-shape groove, and 2 pieces of spiral-notch disc cutters have a diameter of 350 mm, when sowing depth is 40 mm, sowing and ditching width is 28 mm. Increasing the weight makes the stubble breaking ditching device achieve a weight of 100 kg, and in the area implementing high stubble conservation tillage mode and with a field coverage rate of 30%, stubble breaking ditching device can be adopted instead of the conventional planter seeding furrow opener, and ordinary seeder can realize no tillage planting. When stubble breaking anti-blocking device’s breaking stubble depth is between 70 and 100 mm, ditching width is 40-50 mm, and ridge cleaning width of ridge cleaning parts is 210 mm, which are up to the requirement of agricultural technology. Increasing the weight makes the monolithic disc broken stubble device achieve a weight of 113 kg in the area implementing conservation tillage of high stubble breaking rod cover mode and with covering rate of 1 kg/m2, stubble breaking anti-blocking device can be adopted, and ordinary seeder can realize no tillage planting. In this paper, the development of the rolling disc coulter and its edge is Archimedes spiral gap, after test for many times, stubble cutting resistance is small, the weight of machines can be reduced, because it is a passive anti-blocking device, keeping the shape of ridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, in the trellis vineyard, the methods of mechanical weeding are mainly divided into inter-row mechanical weeding and intra-row mechanical weeding. The development of intra-row mechanical weeding is relatively slow, because the identification and location for crop and weed is difficult in the process of mechanical weeding. Now, the theoretical study on intra-row mechanical weeding of trellis cultivated grape is not very much. In order to achieve the intra-row weeding of trellis cultivated grape, this paper designs an auto obstacle avoidance mechanism based on the existing weeder, which includes parallel four-bar linkage mechanism and trigger mechanism of obstacle avoidance. The contact rod is composed by 2 straight lines and an arc connecting straight lines in the trigger mechanism of obstacle avoidance. And the theoretical working principle of auto obstacle avoidance mechanism is described. After the pre-test, it is found that the length of the straight section of the first section of the rod, the arc angle of the intermediate transition arc and the 3 distances between the contact rod and the edge of the weeding part have obvious effect on the result of weeding. So a virtual prototype model for auto obstacle avoidance mechanism is built in ADAMS, and the trigger mechanism of obstacle avoidance is parameterized. Then, the orthogonal test is conducted by taking the combination of 3 distances between contact rod and edge of weeding part and the length of the first part of the rod as the test factors and the area which is not covered by the weeding parts after the work as the experimental index. The results show that the combination of 3 distances and its interaction with the arc angle of intermediate transition are significant factors. In order to analyze the effect of the combination of 3 distances on the area not covered by the weeding parts after the work deeply, the length of the first part of the rod is set as 1050 mm, the arc angle of intermediate transition is 85°the forward speed is 390 mm/s, the initial velocity of the cylinder is 50 mm/s, and furtherly taking the parameter the combination of 3 distances as the test factor and the area not covered by weeding parts after the work as the experimental index, the optimization simulation is conducted. The results show that the optimal value is obtained when the 3 distances between contact rod and edge of weeding part are 225, 300, and 212 mm, respectively. The area not covered is 783 mm2except the scheduled area which is not needed to weed. It is very small, so the weeds can be considered to be removed completely, which shows the result of weeding is good. On the basis of simulation optimization, the field tests of single obstacle avoidance and continuous obstacle avoidance are also carried out, in which the combination of 3 structural parameters of the obstacle avoidance mechanism is set as variable and the parameters such as length of the first part of the rod and arc angle of the intermediate transition arc as constant values. The field test results show that the average coverage rate of weeding operation after optimization is 97.5%, which is about 8% higher than before, and the standard deviation is 2.98%, which is lower than before. The stability of weeding is also better, and the effect of optimization is obvious. Generally, this study enriches the method of identification and location for crops and weeds in the process of mechanical weeding, and also provides reference for the improvement of the design of intra-row weeder for trellis cultivated grape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new grooved-roller seed metering device is developed to overcome the breakage of seedling, obtain high sowing rate and raise seeding efficiency in present, and exercise the optimal design. Firstly, this paper introduces the main structure, the working principle and the related structural parameters of the device in detail. Seed metering device is a key component to realize mechanized cultivation of Pennisetum, which is divided into 2 types according to its working principle. One type is real-time cutting seed metering device and the other type is pre-cut seed metering device. Compared with real-time cutting metering device, pre-cut seed metering device has the advantages of high automation, no damage to seed and lower labor intensity, so it shows a good market prospect and is the main trend of the future development of the metering device. The grooved-roller seed metering device is one of pre-cut seed metering devices. In terms of the stem stress state of seeding process, the evaluation function of seeding smoothness with force angle of the stem as the target was derived. According to the function, opening width of the seed groove and depth of the seed groove were the main impact factors of the improved device’s seeding performance. Based on the compressive strength of the stem, the best size of seeding slot was deduced as 20 mm × 20 mm finally. The different morphology and difference of seed diameters are the main influence factors of the problem, and those are easy to cause the bud break. The smoothness and accuracy of seeding were improved by adding the elastic dunnages on the groove of the seeding drum. According to the evaluation function of seeding smoothness, the structure size of the dunnages was optimized as the side gasket thickness of 4 mm and the bottom gasket thickness of 8 mm. In order to study the effect of dunnages on the fluency, the model of grooved-roller seed metering device of the Pennisetum was established by using the dynamic simulation software ADAMS (automatic dynamic analysis of mechanical systems). The effect regularities of structural parameters and motion parameters on seed groove and dunnages were studied. The simulations showed that the new seed metering device could realize the orderly discharge of seeds, and obviously reduce the stress of small-diameter seed by using the plastic dunnages, ensuring the seed row stability and the adaptability of seed diameter. Then the real tests in the laboratory and field were undertaken to verify the conclusions of virtual tests. Bench test results showed that the gasket could improve the flow degree of the seed row to a certain extent, in which the roller speed fluctuation ratio was less than 10%, the roller torque fluctuation ratio was less than 400%, and the seeding rhythm fluctuation ratio was about 20%. The research further indicated that the quality of the seeding was not affected by the roller speed, and sometimes the faster speed would slightly improve the fluidity of the seeding. Because when the roller speed was faster, the time the stem entered the entry took shorter, which reduced the resistance of the seed row to a certain extent. The results indicated that the seed metering device can realize the seeding operation and the dunnages can effectively improve the seeding fluency. Field experiment indicated that the seeder was stable, and the qualified index was greater than 93.33%, the missing index was less than 4.1%, the multiple index was less than 2.5%, and the variance coefficient was13.63%. The indicators were in line with the planting requirements of giant grass. The research provides a theoretical reference for the design of grooved-roller seed metering device of Pennisetum and the technical reference for the related design of planting machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweet potato is an important food crop and can also be used as raw material for foodstuffs, animal feed and raw materials for renewable energy. Furthermore, research shows that it has anti-cancer effects. As sweet potato vines are long and difficult to be separated. The vines cleaned up before sweet potatoes harvest has a great role in promoting to improve the quality of sweet potato and the sweet potato harvest efficiency. In order to alleviate the shortage of sweet potato vines crushing machine in the hilly areas of China, the walking sweet potato vines crushing machine was designed in this paper. Based on the analysis of the whole structure, we expatiated on the working principle of the sweet potato crushing machine, and analyzed the structure of key components such as crushed parts, anti-wear technology, ground lifting mechanism and transmission mechanism. Before the machine started to work, the ground clearance needed to be adjusted based on the width and height of the ridge. The high ground clearance leaded to the long stubble height and poor operating effect, but the low ground clearance leaded to damage the sweet potato and increase power consumption. Sweet potato vines breaking qualified rate, stubble height and damaging rate were the main indicators of evaluating sweet potato vines crushing machine. The Box-Benhnken central composite experimental design principle was used on the basis of single factor experiment to study the working parameters of walking sweet potato vines crushing machine. The cutter roller speed, the ground clearance and the distance between blades were taken as three factors which influenced the working quality, and a three-factor and three-level response surface experiment was conducted. The mathematical model of the response surface was established, and the influence of each factor on the machine quality of the operation was analyzed and optimized. The result showed that when the roller rotation speed was high, the ground clearance was small and there was a moderate distance between blades. As such, the overall impact trend of the vines breaking quality rate was high and the stubble heights was low. When the roller rotation speed was small, the ground clearance was high and there was a moderate distance between blades, and the overall impact trend of the rate of the damage was small. The experiment results also showed that the order of the factors affecting of the vines breaking quality rate was: roller rotation speed >ground clearance >distance between blades The order of the main factors affecting of the stubble heights was: ground clearance >roller rotation speed >distance between blades The order of the main factors affecting of the rate of the damage was: ground clearance >roller rotation speed >distance between blades. In 2016, a three-time repeated test for verifying the exactness of the model was conducted on the Nanjing Research Institute for Agricultural Mechanization Ministry of Agriculture of Baima testing site. The field test showed that the optimum parameters were: 1950 r/min for the rotation speed, 25 mm for the ground clearance and 40 mm for the distance between blades, 94.88% for the rate of vines breaking qualified rate, 47.08 mm for the stubble heights, and 0.23% for the rate of damage. By comparing the mathematical model and the experimental result, the error range was less than 5%, which meant that the model established was reliable and could be used for optimization. The results can provide a reference for the structural design and optimization of the operating parameters of the walking sweet potato vines crushing machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to better realize the combination of agricultural machinery and agronomy, the design of precision rice hill-drop drilling machine was further optimized and tested. The precision rice hill-drop drilling machine that was powered with high speed transplanter chassis was composed of frame, furrowing and ridging device, height and horizontal profiling mechanism system, power transmission system, seeding device and hydraulic lifting frame. It could meet the rice direct seeding agronomic requirements which are furrowing and ridging synchronously, adjustable sowing rate and hill space, optional row space, profiling seeding mode and stubble burying before seeding. The combined hole-type metering device included small and big type holes was used for the precision rice hill-drop drilling machine, so that it could meet the sowing rate requirement of conventional rice and hybrid rice simultaneously and adjust the seeding rate quickly. On the basis of the combination of agricultural machinery and agronomy as well as the experimental verification, the frame, reduction gearbox, horizontal profiling mechanism, height profiling system and installation angle of slide plate were optimized. The new frame could protect the main bar from being bended. The new reduction gearbox made the hill space to match the speed of the chassis more accurately and also could change the rotation direction to fit different kinds of chassis. The height and horizontal profiling mechanism made the seeding machine more floatable, so it could adapt more complicate ground. Furthermore, the related experiments proved that profiling system is conducive to the seedling emergence of rice. The seedling emergence rates of the rice varieties XS134 and PZTF, which were seeded by the precision rice hill-drop machine with horizontal profiling mechanism, were 7.8% and 8.7% higher than that without horizontal profiling mechanism, respectively. In order to protect the atmosphere environment, the government introduced the relevant policies and laws to prohibit the burning of straw, and promoted the comprehensive utilization of crop straw. Many farmers returned straw residue to field to improve soil fertility and reduce environmental pollution, but it could be more difficult for the direct seeding machine and rice transplanter working in the field as well. To overcome this difficulty, the stubble-burying seeding was studied. The angle of the slide board was confirmed as 4° by the experiment result, while the efficiency of stubble burying was 91.6% and the furrowing and ridging effect under 4° was relatively better than that under other degrees. In this paper, some verification tests involved the main technical indices of the seeding machine and its reliability. Results showed that, the pure work efficiency was 0.67 hm2/h, the qualified rate of hill space was up to 100%, the variable coefficient was as low as 2.5%, the qualified rate of the seeds number per hill reached 95% and the cavity rate was 0; furthermore, the variable coefficient of the consistency of seeding quantity per row and the stability of total seeding quantity were 3.8% and 1.5% respectively; after seeding with horizontal profiling mechanism, the height difference between the left and the right field surface was about 2.0 cm; more important, the average of assignment before first-time fault (MTTFF) was 30.4 hm2/h, and the validity reached up to 98.2%. Therefore, on the basis of these results which all meet the national standard and the requirements of the combination of agricultural machinery and agronomy, and the reduction gearbox makes the machine+ more universal. The performance of the optimized precision rice hill-drop drilling machine is reliable and has exciting application foreground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]