Design and Experiment of Circular Reducing and Collecting Potato Lifting Device for Potato Combine Harvester

Abstract

In response to the problems of high potato damage rate, high peeling rate, long transportation distance, and large volume of existing potato combine harvesters, combined with the harvesting mode in the main potato production areas of northern China, circular loss reducing and collecting potato lifting device suitable for potato lifting operations was designed based on bagging potato combine harvesters. On the basis of expounding the overall structure and working principle, combined with the analysis of potato kinematics model and impact characteristics, it was found that the main factors affecting the lifting efficiency and potato damage of the device were the height of the lifting baffle, the angle between the lifting baffle and the lifting belt, the distance between two adjacent lifting baffles, and the running speed of the lifting belt, a simulation model of potato and circular loss reducing and collecting potato lifting device was constructed through DEM-MBD coupling, and single factor and multi factor experiments were conducted on the influencing factors. The optimal parameter combination for the circular loss reducing and collecting potato lifting device was obtained through parameter optimization: the height of the lifting baffle was 199.21mm, the angle between the lifting baffle and the lifting belt was 75.86°, and the distance between adjacent lifting baffles was 240.35mm. The results of the inter bench test showed that when the loading rate was 24t/h and the conveyor belt speed was 0.8m/s, 1.0m/s and 1.2m/s, the average values of the five collision acceleration peaks collected by the electronic potato were 636.63m/s2,593.29m/s2, 685.63m/s2, with skin breaking rates of 1.13%, 1.06%, 1.21%, respectively. The collision acceleration peaks were all smaller than the critical damage threshold of the potato. Field experiments showed that at operating speeds of 0.6m/s, 0.7m/s and 0.8m/s, the potato damage rates were 0.94%, 1.06% and 1.12%, and the skin breaking rates were 1.09%, 1.21% and 1.33%, respectively, the circular loss reducing and collecting potato lifting device operated normally without any phenomenon of potatoes falling. The coordination of various components ensured that the bagging type potato combine harvester was in an efficient and stable operating state.

Keywords: potato combine harvester, soil cleaning and impurity removal device,  potato collection and transportation device, coupling simulation, structural optimization