Simulation of forces acting on the cutter blade surfaces and root system of sugarcane using FEM and SPH coupled method

Abstract When the harvester cuts the sugarcane, the forces acting on the cutter blade surfaces and the sugarcane roots are unclear, which is not conducive to further clarify the cutting mechanism of sugarcane and the role of the roots in the cutting process, as well as reduce the stubble damage rate. This paper aimed at: (1) verifying the rationality of the modeling method of sugarcane cutting system based on FEM and SPH coupling algorithm by the physical tests; (2) studying the forces acting on the blade surfaces, and the stress and role of the roots by using the established simulation model. The results show that the modeling method of sugarcane cutting system is reasonable. In the sugarcane cutting, the maximum normal force on the bevel and lower plane of the blade are large, they are 337 N and 273 N, respectively. The maximum horizontal tensile stress of the right roots on the upper, middle and lower layer are 0.92, 0.44 and 0.068 MPa, respectively, while the left roots are 0.85, 0.37 and 0.062 MPa, respectively. And reducing the friction coefficient between the bevel or the lower plane of the blade and sugarcane by anti-friction measures can effectively reduce the cutting resistance due to friction. When cutting sugarcane, the upper roots have the greatest fixation effect on sugarcane. Studying the forces of the blade surfaces and roots by the simulation method is of great significance for further exploring new method to reduce the cutting resistance and the stubble damage rate.