Donghui Xue

In order to explore the laws of corn straw lateral moving and throwing, it is necessary to identify the main factors that restrict improvements in the quality of straw clearing and reductions in power consumption and then optimize the knife parameter combinations; in this paper, the kinematic analysis of single-stage lateral moving and throwing of corn straw was carried out, and the mathematical model for the collision process between the knife and straw is established. Key factors affecting the lateral moving and throwing efficiency of straw were determined according to the model analysis. A parameter combination optimization test was conducted with three-factor and five-level quadratic regression orthogonal rotation center combination test methods and discrete element virtual simulation, taking into account the edge angle of cutting, the rotation radius of the knife, and the rotation speed of the knife roller as test factors and the straw clearing rate and power consumption as performance evaluation indexes. The test results showed that at a travel speed of 7.2 km/h when the edge angle of cutting was 65°, the rotation radius of the knife was 420 mm, and the rotation speed of the knife roller was 538~600 rpm, the straw clearing rate was ≥85%, and power consumption was ≤1.5 kW. The field test was carried out to verify the optimized results, and the test results showed that the test values of the performance evaluation indexes were all in the ranges of the optimized interval. These research results lay down the foundation for the design of lateral straw clearing and throwing knives.

In northeast China, most seedbed-preparation devices use the ground-wheel profiling method to ensure their operational stability. However, during the wide-width operation of the front-mounted seedbed-preparation device, the poor trafficability characteristics and the low profiling accuracy of the ground-wheel profiling mechanism result in unstable straw clearing depth, poor straw clearing quality, and the low operational efficiency of the seedbed-preparation device. In order to solve the above problems, a straw-clearing-depth self-adaptive control system of a front-mounted seedbed-preparation device was designed. The key structural design of the self-adaptive control system was completed through theoretical analysis. The performance test results of the self-adaptive control system showed that the lifting speed of the front-suspension mechanism was greater than 0.2 m/s in the manual button control mode, and the relative error between the target value and the actual value of the straw clearing depth was 10.8% under the self-adaptive profiling control mode. The three-factor and five-level quadratic regression orthogonal rotation center combination test method was adopted to conduct a parameter combination optimization test, with the machine operation speed, the operation depth of the straw clearing knife, and the straw covering amount as test factors, and the straw clearing rate, the qualified rate of operation depth, and the consistency of straw clearing between rows as evaluation indices. The results indicated that when the machine operation speed was 5~8.8 km/h, the operation depth of the straw clearing knife was 50 mm, the straw covering amount was 0.9~1.44 kg/m², the straw clearing rate was ≥86%, the qualified rate of operation depth was ≥86%, and the consistency of straw clearing between rows was ≥83%. Field tests were carried out on the machine using operation speeds of 5 km/h, 6 km/h, 7 km/h, and 8 km/h under the conditions of an operation depth of the straw clearing knife of 50 mm and a straw covering amount of 1.2 kg/m². The results showed that the straw clearing rate, the qualified rate of operation depth, and the consistency of straw clearing between rows were all within the optimized range under different machine operation speeds, which was basically consistent with the optimized results.