EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH ON THE STABILITY OF A SPRAY BOOM WITH AN ACTIVE AND PASSIVE PENDULUM SUSPENSION

Abstract

When a sprayer is operating in the field, the uneven ground excitation causes the spray boom to move irregularly, significantly affecting the spray distribution uniformity and reducing the effectiveness of pesticide application. Installing a suspension between the vehicle and the boom is a crucial method to improve the boom stability. In this paper, experimental research on the stability of a boom with an active and passive pendulum suspension was carried out. The results of the transient response test of the passive suspension demonstrate that an increase in the suspension rotation damping coefficient reduces the overshoot of the system but slows down the response speed. Conversely, an increase in the suspension rotation stiffness coefficient speeds up the response speed. The results of the dynamic response test of the active suspension indicate that a smaller adjustment threshold of the control system for the boom inclination angle results in higher control accuracy. However, when the threshold is less than 1cm, the boom becomes challenging to balance. The results of the combination experiments based on the response surface method reveal that the rotation stiffness coefficient, rotation damping coefficient, unit forward speed, and their interactions significantly impact the adjustment time of the boom and the variation coefficient of the boom inclination angle. Through contribution rate analysis, the influence order of each factor on the adjustment time and variation coefficient was obtained. Additionally, the analysis of variance results show that the established regression model fits the actual situation well, and has reference significance for the design and application of the suspension.