Potato digger with latticed plowshares and oscillating rods

Abstract

The process of digging potatoes is characterized by high energy costs due to the interaction of the potato digger's plowshares with the tuber-bearing soil layer. The study aims to substantiate the parameters of potato digger's lattice plowshare. In the proposed potato digger, the plowshare is made latticed and equipped with oscillating rods. This potato digger has a mechanism for transmitting torque to oscillating rods. The experiments were carried out using a special laboratory-field installation. Various lattice plowshares were manufactured, and single-factor experiments were carried out. During the experiments, the degree of damage and loss of the tuber and the traction resistance potato digger were taken as evaluation criteria. The results of experimental studies to determine the parameters of plowshare are presented. It is established that the optimal design scheme for a potato digger consists of torque transmission mechanisms, lattice plowshares, and forcibly oscillating rods. As a result, theoretical studies, analytical dependencies, and mathematical models were obtained to determine the parameters of a lattice plowshare. Studies have established that to destroy the tuber formation to the required extent with minimal damage and loss of tuber, as well as energy costs, the width lattice plowshare should be 55 cm, the angle plowshare installation relative to the horizon is 22°, the length plowshare is 38 cm, and the width gap between the bars is 3 cm.