Abstract
Aiming at the low mechanization of paddy field weeding and lack of dedicated agricultural machinery for paddy field weeding in China, a self-propelled system of paddy field weeding machine was designed. The overall structure and working principle of self-propelled system were illustrated and analyzed. The interaction mechanism of wheel-soil during weeding was analyzed. The wheel-soil interaction model was established, then, wheel traction and surface flatness were selected as the evaluation indexes for discrete element simulation experiment. The steering performance, stability, and over ridge ability of self-propelled system were analyzed, and field experiment was carried out. The simulation experiment results show that the wheel traction is approximately 600 N and the surface flatness is less than 30 mm. The field experiment results show that the minimum turning radius of the prototype is 2,050 mm in paddy, overturning limit angle of the prototype is 36°, and maximum height over the ridge is 400 mm. The speed range of the weeding machine on the road and weeding operation was 0~16.20 km/h and the 0~5.40 km/h respectively. The weeder can meet the speed demands of weeding operation. The study results can provide reference for research and development of paddy field operation machinery.
Highlights
There are many kinds of weeds in paddy fields competing for living space with rice (Tang et al, 2018), and breeding diseases and pests, which is one of the main factors affecting rice yield
(1) This research analyzes the factors influencing the trafficability of the self-propelled walking system for the paddy field weeder, explores the interaction mechanism of the wheel soil during the operation of the weeding machine, and determines the structure parameters of the system according to the analysis results
The wheel traction and surface flatness were used as the test indices to simulate the soil bin of a single wheel
Summary
There are many kinds of weeds in paddy fields competing for living space with rice (Tang et al, 2018), and breeding diseases and pests, which is one of the main factors affecting rice yield. The scientific and effective control of weeds in paddy fields is the key to achieving high and excellent rice yield (Basavaraj et al, 2016; Atul et al, 2017). There are many research achievements on paddy field weeding machinery in Japan (Wang et al, 2017 a; Qi et al, 2016). The walking weeding machine in paddy fields (Qi et al, 2012) developed by Meishan Co., Ltd. has flexible steering, but its working efficiency is not high. The hand-held weeder (Qi et al, 2013; Qi et al, 2015) developed by Qilong has a compact structure and flexible field steering, but low work efficiency and high labor intensity
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