A rapid prototyping method for crop models using the discrete element method

Discrete element method is an important technical means to study and design agricultural machinery such as sowing, harvesting, and conservation tillage. Because the biomechanical characteristics of crops are incredibly complex, the fidelity, reliability, and accuracy of the discrete element model directly determine the accuracy of the simulation results and the traditional modelling method that particle splicing method cannot meet the simulation requirements. Therefore, a rapid prototyping method of the discrete element model based on the discrete element method is proposed, and an index Y comprehensively evaluate the modelling quality from volume and mass of model. Four common heterotypic crop materials, corn kernel, corncob, garlic, and wheat, are taken as research objects, to verify the feasibility and authenticity of the rapid prototyping method, and the compression test of corn kernels is used to verify the accuracy of the rapid prototyping method. The results show that the index Y of crop models established by the rapid prototyping method are 1.0350, 0.9946, 0.9772, 0.9839, and 0.9793, respectively with relative error are 3.5%, 0.5%, 2.28%, 1.61%, and 2.07%. The errors between the simulated values and the physical values of the corn ventral and top compression tests are 3.90% and 3.25%, respectively. The project results improve the precision of the crop discrete element model and provide a new method for researching crop micro-characteristics and the design and optimization of related institutions.