Effects of Operating Parameters on the Performance of a Multi-Function Tillage Tool

Authors

  • Lijun Guo, Shiying Bi*, Aiping Liu

Abstract

There has been an increasing demand for multi-function tillage machines to save energy in
conservation agriculture systems. In this study, a tillage unit for subsoiling, crop stubble chopping, and soil
pulverizing in one operation, namely SCP, was proposed. The SCP consisted of a subsoiler and a rotary
blade. The in no vative features of the SCP were the synergy between the subsoiler and blade, and the
sliding-cutting mode of the blade. These features significantly reduced the energy consumption of the tillage
operation and greatly enhanced the effectiveness of stubble cutting. Results from theoretical analyses and
field experiments in a corn stubble field showed that the optimal parameters to operate the SCP were 100 kg
for the ballast weight, 1.5 km/h for the travel speed, 287.5 mm for the subsoiling depth, and 320.54 mm for
the horizontal distance between the subsoiler and blade. With these operating parameters, the measured
power consumption of the SPC was 1.58 kW, fuel consumption was 19.1 L/hm2
, stubble cutting rate was
91.4%, and the soil pulverizing rate was 82.2%. When comparing the two scenarios: the subsoiler only and
the SCP (the subsoiler and blade), the SCP resulted in reductions of 21.52% and 24.31% in power
requirement and fuel consumption respectively, and an increase of 49.08% in soil pulverizing rate. This
demonstrated that the synergy effect between the subsoiler and blade provided significant advantages. The
results suggest that the multi-function tillage unit can be used in an energy-efficient conservation tillage
machine.

Published

2020-03-31

Issue

Section

Articles