Composite Biomimetic Multi-Subsoiler for Drag Reduction and Wear Resistance Simulation and Experimental Validation

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Engineering
• Biomimetics
• Soil Science

Background:

• Subsoiling in Southwest China's red soil faces issues like soil adhesion and compaction.
• Existing subsoiler tips are prone to deformation and fracture.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and optimize bionic geometric surface structures for subsoiler tips.
• To reduce operating resistance and improve wear resistance in red soils.
• To investigate the performance of bionic multi-subsoiler implements.

Main Methods:

• Engineering bionics applied to subsoiler tip design.
• Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations.
• Soil bin tests and discrete element simulation experiments.

Main Results:

• Bionic surfaces (micro-spike convex hull and micro-spike scales) showed superior bearing capacity and reduced deformation.
• Optimized bionic multi-subsoiler implement achieved optimal resistance and wear reduction.
• Optimal operating parameters identified: 1.25 m/s speed, 23.917° entry angle, 280.167 mm depth.

Conclusions:

• The proposed bionic design approach offers a viable solution for subsoiling in viscous red soils.
• The composite biomimetic surface significantly enhances soil disturbance efficiency and wear resistance.
• Results indicate clear potential for industrial application in agricultural machinery design.