High-speed photographic analysis of the influences of rake angle on the soil crushing of deep loosening

Abstract

Rake angle is a key parameter of subsoiler structural design and has important impacts on subsoiler performance. In this study, the high-speed photographic technique is used to understand the mechanisms by which the rake angle of an arrow subsoiler (angles of 18°, 23°, and 28°) impacts soil crushing. The following results were obtained. (1) Rake angle is the main factor that influences the soil crushing process. Changing the rake angle can induce changes in the interactions between the subsoiler and soil, impacting soil crushing performance. (2) Rake angle has important impacts on the soil disturbance state. The horizontal soil disturbance distance increases and the vertical soil elevation decreases when the rake angle is increased. For a fixed soil loosening strip length, the soil disturbance resulting from a subsoiler rake angle of 23° was 1.14 and 1.03 times greater than the soil disturbance that resulted from rake angles of 18° and 28°, respectively. (3) The rake angle had important impacts on the soil crushing results. When the rake angle was 28°, the subsoiler soil crushing rates in the top 10 cm soil layer and the entire topsoil layer were 92.89% and 99.13%, respectively; which were greater than when the rake angles were 18° and 23°. The rake angle of a subsoiler has important influences on the soil crushing process. A reasonable rake angle is conducive to soil crushing and high-quality cultivation. This paper provides information for making decisions regarding subsoiler design and structural parameter optimization.