Optimization of Bucket Size of Garlic Metering Device Using Multibody Dynamics Simulation

Abstract

© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery.Purpose: As planting is one of the laborious tasks in garlic farming, the mechanization of the process is necessary. The missing-plant rate is an important performance index of the garlic planter, and a simulation method can be applied to design and analyze the system. In this study, the optimal bucket size of the metering device was determined for each group of garlic with a simulation method to satisfy the required missing-plant rate. Methods: Three-dimensional (3D) CAD models representing the actual garlic clove shape were developed and reflected in the model. To precisely reflect the results of statistical analysis pertaining to the length and angle of garlic cloves in the 3D model based on the garlic clove size, 160 Korean traditional garlic cloves were classified into four groups. In addition, a multibody dynamics (MBD) model was developed to simulate the dynamic behavior of the metering device, and the optimal bucket size for each group was determined by applying 3D CAD models of garlic cloves to the dynamics model. Results: From the simulation results, it was confirmed that the thickness of clove and the optimal bucket size has a linear relationship, and the optimal bucket sizes for groups 1–4 were 9.96, 14.77, 17.21, and 20.51 mm, respectively. Conclusion: The optimal bucket size proposed in this study can be used as an initial setting by operators who are not adept at using garlic planters. In addition, the methodology used in this study can be applied to the design and design verification of various agricultural machines with similar mechanisms.