Applications of Discrete Element Method in the Research of Agricultural Machinery: A Review

Abstract

As a promising and convenient numerical calculation approach, the discrete element method (DEM) has been increasingly adopted in the research of agricultural machinery. DEM is capable of monitoring and recording the dynamic and mechanical behavior of agricultural materials in the operational process of agricultural machinery, from both a macro-perspective and micro-perspective; which has been a tremendous help for the design and optimization of agricultural machines and their components. This paper reviewed the application research status of DEM in two aspects: First is the DEM model establishment of common agricultural materials such as soil, crop seed, and straw, etc. The other is the simulation of typical operational processes of agricultural machines or their components, such as rotary tillage, subsoiling, soil compaction, furrow opening, seed and fertilizer metering, crop harvesting, and so on. Finally, we evaluate the development prospects of the application of research on the DEM in agricultural machinery, and look forward to promoting its application in the field of the optimization and design of agricultural machinery.

Calibrating contact parameters of typical rotary tillage components cutting soil based on different simulation methods

“…The soil texture configuration mainly consisted of loose soil. The soil density was measured using a five-point sampling method using a ring knife (100 cm 3 ) and an electronic balance (0.01 g), and the average density was 1250 kg/m 3 . The average moisture content of the soil was 9.63%, measured using the TDR300 soil moisture meter.…”

“…With the development of computer-aided engineering design, numerical simulation methods have been continuously applied to various fields, including agricultural engineering 3 , 4 . The main advantage of numerical simulations is their ability to produce fast predictions without the need for multiple field tests 5 , 6 .…”

“…Notably, the rotary cutter roller is in direct contact with the soil, which affects the quality and efficiency of operation at all times. Thus, the accuracy of cutting simulations need to be improved for calibrating and optimizing the soil contact parameters.With the development of computer-aided engineering design, numerical simulation methods have been continuously applied to various fields, including agricultural engineering 3,4 . The main advantage of numerical simulations is their ability to produce fast predictions without the need for multiple field tests 5,6 .…”

Optimization of Particle Distribution for Asphalt Mixtures in Screw Conveyer of Paver Based on Discrete Element Method and Response Surface Methodology

“…Due to the extremely large total number of particles in the simulation, it is possible to reasonably shorten the total simulation time to accelerate the simulation speed without changing the simulation trend. Based on previous literature, [ 11–14 ] it is known that the grading segregation trend is similar between 10 and 30 s of total simulation time. Therefore, all simulation times can be set to 10 s.…”

“…Its introduction has wide application value in research areas such as geotechnical and mining engineering. [ 12 ] With the gradual development of simulation based on the DEM, a large amount of particle information can be obtained through related software. A DEM system may have millions of particles, and the software EDEM can extract information on particle properties such as velocity, acceleration, mass, and wear.…”