Numerical optimization and experimental validation of a five-link mechanism, potato planter

Abstract

Covering with plastic film in fall and planting through the film in spring is an effective drought-resistance, potato-cultivation method. To achieve proper under-plastic-film, hill-drop potato seeding, the geometry of an existing five-link planter mechanism that is driven synchronously by two cranks rotating in the same direction has been refined through bivariate plots and numerical optimization. For this purpose, novel quantitative measures of the geometry of the crunode portion of the dibber-tip path have been introduced. The prototype planter mechanism described in detail elsewhere has then been configured according to the three optimum kinematic solutions obtained, and field tests have been carried out. All three configurations satisfied the imposed agronomic requirements of potato planting through the plastic film, with one setup performing better than the other two, and then a previously reported solution obtained through manually conducted optimization.