Simulation and Analysis of the Working Process of Soil Covering and Compacting of Precision Seeding Units Based on the Coupling Model of DEM with MBD

Abstract

In precision seeding, the final displacements of the seeds are determined as a working result of the profiling mechanism, opener, seed-metering device, covering apparatus and compacting machine. For a better understanding of the disturbance of seed displacement during soil covering and compaction in the actual working process, experiments and simulations have been performed. In this paper, a type of soybean seeding monomer was taken as the research object, and a soil bin test of soil covering and compacting was executed. The experimental results showed that the traction velocity and the open angle of the covering discs had a significant influence on the changes in the horizontal and vertical displacements of seeds during the soil covering processing. With an increasing traction velocity, the vertical displacements of seeds increased after soil covering; in contrast, the horizontal displacements decreased. When the covering apparatus had a larger open angle it had a smaller disturbance influence on the soil. Therefore, with an increase in the opening angle, the changes in the vertical and horizontal displacements of seeds showed a decreasing trend. Inversely, in the process of compacting, the forward velocity had little effect on the three-dimensional displacement change in the seeds after compacting. The analysis model of the precision seeding unit was established based on the coupling model of the DEM (discrete element method) with MBDs (multi-body dynamics). The process of soil covering and compacting was simulated and analyzed. The comparison between the experimental results and the simulated results showed that the trend was similar, and the two results were close. Thus, the feasibility and applicability of the coupling method were verified. It also provided a new method for the design and optimization of covering and compacting components of a precise seeding monomer.