• Journal of Drive and Control
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.71-79
• /
• 2023

In the field of agricultural machinery, various on-field tests are conducted to measure design load for optimal design of agricultural equipment. However, field test procedures are costly and time-consuming, and there are many constraints on field soil conditions due to weather, so research on utilizing simulation to overcome these shortcomings is needed. Therefore, this study aimed to model agricultural soils using discrete element method (DEM) software. To simulate draft force, predictions are made according to travel speed and compared to field test results to validate the prediction accuracy. The measured soil properties are used for DEM modeling. In this study, the soil property measurement procedure was designed to measure the physical and mechanical properties. DEM soil model calibration was performed using a virtual vane shear test instead of the repose angle test. The DEM simulation results showed that the prediction accuracy of the draft force was within 4.8% (2.16~6.71%) when compared to the draft force measured by the field test. In addition, it was confirmed that the result was up to 72.51% more accurate than those obtained through theoretical methods for predicting draft force. This study provides useful information for the DEM soil modeling process that considers the working speed from the perspective of agricultural machinery research and it is expected to be utilized in agricultural machinery design research.

• Journal of Drive and Control
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.46-55
• /
• 2024

In the agricultural machinery field, load analysis is mostly done through field tests. However, field tests are time-consuming and costly. There are also limitations in test conditions due to weather conditions. To overcome these environmental limitations, research on load analysis through simulation in a virtual environment is actively being conducted. This study aimed to select the most appropriate soil particle size for modeling by analyzing the effect of soil particle size on the prediction of draft force of the implement using simulation and soil particle modeling in a virtual environment with the discrete element method (DEM) software. The accuracy was verified by simulating the draft force for the same moving speed by soil particle size. For soil particle modeling, DEM soil modeling was performed by designing soil property measurement procedure. Soil particle correction was performed with a virtual vane shear test. Average DEM simulation results showed an error of 27.39% (19.43~40.66%) compared to actual measured data. The possibility of improvement was confirmed through additional research. Results of this study provide useful information for selecting soil particle size in soil modeling using DEM from the perspective of agricultural machinery research.