Analysis of Adhesion between Wet Clay Soil and Rotary Tillage Part in Paddy Field Based on Discrete Element Method

Abstract

To analyze the process of wet clay soil adhering to the rotary tillage part during rotary tillage in paddy field, simulation tests were carried out based on the discrete element method (DEM) in this study. The Plackett-Burman (PB) test was applied to obtain simulation parameters that significantly affected the soil adhesion mass. The Box-Behnken design (BBD) based on the principle of response surface method (RSM) was used to establish a regression model between significant parameters and soil adhesion mass. The soil adhesion mass obtained from the actual soil bin test as the response value was brought into the regression model. The optimal simulation parameters were obtained: the particle-particle coefficient of rolling friction, the particle-geometry coefficient of static friction, and the particle-particle JKR (Johnson-Kendall-Roberts) surface energy were 0.09, 0.81, and 61.55 J·m−2, respectively. The reliability of the parameters was verified by comparing the soil adhesion mass obtained under the optimal simulation parameters with the actual test value, and the relative error was 1.84%. Analysis of the rotary tillage showed that soil adhesion was mainly concentrated in the sidelong section of the rotary blade. The maximum number of upper soil particles adhering to the rotary tillage part was 2605 compared to the middle soil and lower soil layers. The longer the distance the rotary tillage part was operated in the soil for, the more soil particles would adhere to it. This study can provide a reference for the rational selection of simulation parameters for rotary tillage and the analysis of soil adhesion process in rotary tillage.