Abstract

In this study a comparative finite element analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of tillage tool geometry on soil disturbance and reaction forces. A nonlinear three dimensional finite element model, using ANSYS software, was developed to study the soil cutting process by trapezoidal (T₁) and rectangular (T₂) flat tools that inclined to the horizontal at three rake angles (R₁ = 30°, R₂ = 60° and R₃ = 90°), therefore a total of six treatments were considered in this analysis. The soil media was assumed as elastic-perfectly plastic material with Drucker- Prager’s model. Results of this study revealed that the maximum vertical soil displaced by T₁ is greater than that of T₂; hence T₁ disturbed the soil better than T₂. Results also showed that a significant reduction in draft force was noticed when cutting the soil with T₁ in comparison to T₂. Designing the tool in the form of T₁ significantly reduces the surface area of the tool; thus conserving the engineering material.

Keywords:

Draft force, soil cutting simulation, soil disturbance, tillage tool geometry,

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Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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