Applications of Discrete Element Method in the Research of Agricultural Machinery: A Review

As a promising and convenient numerical calculation approach, the discrete element method (DEM) has been increasingly adopted in the research of agricultural machinery. DEM is capable of monitoring and recording the dynamic and mechanical behavior of agricultural materials in the operational process of agricultural machinery, from both a macro-perspective and micro-perspective; which has been a tremendous help for the design and optimization of agricultural machines and their components. This paper reviewed the application research status of DEM in two aspects: First is the DEM model establishment of common agricultural materials such as soil, crop seed, and straw, etc. The other is the simulation of typical operational processes of agricultural machines or their components, such as rotary tillage, subsoiling, soil compaction, furrow opening, seed and fertilizer metering, crop harvesting, and so on. Finally, we evaluate the development prospects of the application of research on the DEM in agricultural machinery, and look forward to promoting its application in the field of the optimization and design of agricultural machinery.

[1]  Mehari Z. Tekeste,et al.  Calibration and Validation of a Discrete Element Model of Corn Using Grain Flow Simulation in a Commercial Screw Grain Auger , 2017 .

[2]  Hongwen Li,et al.  The effect of various edge-curve types of plain-straight blades for strip tillage seeding on torque and soil disturbance using DEM , 2020 .

[3]  Chen Chen,et al.  Movement law of maize population in seed room of seed metering device based on discrete element method , 2016 .

[4]  Chris Saunders,et al.  Three-dimensional discrete element modelling of tillage: Determination of a suitable contact model and parameters for a cohesionless soil , 2014 .

[5]  S. Banisi,et al.  DEM-based design of feed chute to improve performance of cone crushers , 2021, Minerals Engineering.

[6]  Hang Chengguang,et al.  Discrete element simulations and experiments of soil disturbance as affected by the tine spacing of subsoiler , 2017 .

[7]  F. Jia,et al.  DEM simulations and experiments investigating the influence of feeding plate angle in a rubber-roll paddy grain huller , 2021 .

[8]  Ying Chen,et al.  Simulation of straw movement by discrete element modelling of straw-sweep-soil interaction , 2019, Biosystems Engineering.

[9]  W. Cornelis,et al.  DEM simulation of stress transmission under agricultural traffic Part 3: Evaluation with field experiment , 2020, Soil and Tillage Research.

[10]  J. R. Hess,et al.  Biomechanics of Wheat/Barley Straw and Corn Stover. , 2005, Applied biochemistry and biotechnology.

[11]  Jin Tong,et al.  DEM and soil bin study on a biomimetic disc furrow opener , 2019, Comput. Electron. Agric..

[12]  Bo Li,et al.  Comparison of Two Subsoiler Designs Using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) , 2018 .

[13]  Peter Eberhard,et al.  A discrete element model to describe failure of strong rock in uniaxial compression , 2011 .

[14]  M. Marigo,et al.  Discrete Element Method (DEM) for Industrial Applications: Comments on Calibration and Validation for the Modelling of Cylindrical Pellets , 2015 .

[15]  K. Tamás.  The role of bond and damping in the discrete element model of soil-sweep interaction , 2018 .

[16]  Rui Zhang,et al.  Simulation on mechanical behavior of cohesive soil by Distinct Element Method , 2006 .

[17]  Hiroshi Nakashima,et al.  Tractive performance analysis of a lugged wheel by open-source 3D DEM software , 2020 .

[18]  J. De Baerdemaeker,et al.  Simulation of grain-straw separation by a discrete element approach with bendable strawparticles. , 2012 .

[19]  Chris Saunders,et al.  Defining the effect of sweep tillage tool cutting edge geometry on tillage forces using 3D discrete element modelling , 2015 .

[20]  John M. Fielke,et al.  Simulating the effect of rake angle on narrow opener performance with the discrete element method , 2018, Biosystems Engineering.

[21]  Carol Plouffe,et al.  Estimating bond damping and bond Young's modulus for a flexible wheat straw discrete element method model , 2019, Biosystems Engineering.

[22]  Harald Kruggel-Emden,et al.  A strategy to determine DEM parameters for spherical and non-spherical particles , 2017 .

[23]  Long Qi,et al.  Modelling residue incorporation of selected chisel ploughing tools using the discrete element method (DEM) , 2020 .

[24]  Luís Marcelo Tavares,et al.  Contact parameter estimation for DEM simulation of iron ore pellet handling , 2013 .

[25]  M. Molenda,et al.  Rapeseed impact against a flat surface: Physical testing and DEM simulation with two contact models , 2010 .

[26]  J. L. Hernández-Hernández,et al.  Effect of Different Working and Tool Parameters on Performance of Several Types of Cultivators , 2020, Agriculture.

[27]  M. Annoussamy,et al.  Change in mechanical properties of wheat straw due to decomposition and moisture. , 2000 .

[28]  M. Molenda,et al.  Parameters and contact models for DEM simulations of agricultural granular materials: A review , 2016 .

[29]  Walter Söhne,et al.  DRUCKVERTEILUNG IM BODEN UND BODENVERFORMUNG UNTER SCHLEPPERREIFEN , 2014 .

[30]  Kurt A. Rosentrater,et al.  Discrete Element Model Calibration Using Multi-Responses and Simulation of Corn Flow in a Commercial Grain Auger , 2018 .

[31]  P. Cundall,et al.  A discrete numerical model for granular assemblies , 1979 .

[32]  Wouter Saeys,et al.  A discrete element approach for modelling the compression of crop stems , 2016, Comput. Electron. Agric..

[34]  Zhang Dongxing,et al.  Calibration method of contact characteristic parameters for corn seeds based on EDEM , 2016 .

[35]  Rimantas Kacianauskas,et al.  Maize grain shape approaches for DEM modelling , 2015, Comput. Electron. Agric..

[36]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  DEM modelling of industrial granular flows: 3D case studies and the effect of particle shape on hopper discharge , 2002 .

[37]  Hanping Mao,et al.  Modelling and simulation of the grain threshing process based on the discrete element method , 2020, Comput. Electron. Agric..

[38]  Long Qi,et al.  Simulation of cotyledon-soil dynamics using the discrete element method (DEM) , 2020, Comput. Electron. Agric..

[39]  Jens Michael Carstensen,et al.  Segregation phenomena in gravity separators: A combined numerical and experimental study , 2016 .

[40]  Xiaochan Wang,et al.  Numerical simulation and field tests of minimum-tillage planter with straw smashing and strip laying based on EDEM software , 2019, Comput. Electron. Agric..

[42]  Jaco Van der Linde,et al.  Discrete element modeling of a vibratory subsoiler , 2007 .

[43]  Moses Okoth Marenya,et al.  Performance characteristics of a deep tilling rotavator , 2010 .

[44]  Hiroshi Nakashima,et al.  Experimental validation of distinct element simulation for dynamic wheel-soil interaction , 2007 .

[45]  Ying Chen,et al.  Modelling of soil–seed contact using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) , 2014 .

[46]  Marcos A.S. Barrozo,et al.  Repose angle of monoparticles and binary mixture: An experimental and simulation study , 2016 .

[47]  F. Bourrier,et al.  Discrete modeling of granular soils reinforcement by plant roots , 2013 .

[48]  T. K. Goswami,et al.  Modeling breakage and motion of black pepper seeds in cryogenic mill , 2018 .

[49]  Ying Chen,et al.  Modeling of soil–claw interaction using the discrete element method (DEM) , 2016 .

[50]  Hui Yan,et al.  A Study on Boundary Modeling of Three-Dimensional Discrete Element Method Based on Pro/ENGINEER , 2011 .

[51]  Marek Molenda,et al.  Stress profile in bulk of seeds in a shallow model silo as influenced by mobilisation of particle-particle and particle-wall friction: Experiments and DEM simulations , 2018 .

[52]  Songül Gürsoy,et al.  Measurement and modelling of soil displacement from sweeps with different cutting widths , 2017 .

[53]  Hiroshi Nakashima,et al.  FE-DEM with interchangeable modeling for off-road tire traction analysis , 2018, Journal of Terramechanics.

[54]  Yuhang Han,et al.  Structural Optimization and Performance Evaluation of Blocking Wheel-Type Screw Fertilizer Distributor , 2021 .

[55]  Omar González Cueto,et al.  Prediction model for non-inversion soil tillage implemented on discrete element method , 2014 .

[56]  Hongbo Pan,et al.  Effect of soil particle size on soil-subsoiler interactions using the discrete element method simulations , 2019, Biosystems Engineering.

[57]  Hanru Liu,et al.  Effects of feeding direction on the hulling of paddy grain in a rubber roll huller , 2019, Biosystems Engineering.

[58]  M. Siraj,et al.  Study of a flat-bottomed cylindrical silo with different orifice shapes , 2019, Powder Technology.

[59]  Fanyi Liu,et al.  Modeling of flexible wheat straw by discrete element method and its parameter calibration , 2018 .

[60]  Toshitsugu Tanaka,et al.  3-D DEM simulation of cohesive soil-pushing behavior by bulldozer blade , 2012 .

[61]  Chris Saunders,et al.  Three-dimensional discrete element modelling (DEM) of tillage: Accounting for soil cohesion and adhesion , 2015 .

[62]  Ya Jun Yu,et al.  Analysis on the Contact Interaction between Thresher and Corn Ears Based on the DEM , 2012 .

[63]  Li Yang,et al.  Modeling the interaction of soil and a vibrating subsoiler using the discrete element method , 2020, Comput. Electron. Agric..

[64]  John M. Fielke,et al.  Torque and energy characteristics for strip-tillage cultivation when cutting furrows using three designs of rotary blade , 2015 .

[65]  Yaoming Li,et al.  Numerical simulation of gas–solid two-phase flow to predict the cleaning performance of rice combine harvesters , 2020 .

[66]  Zhijun Zhang,et al.  DEM simulation of bionic subsoilers (tillage depth >40 cm) with drag reduction and lower soil disturbance characteristics , 2018, Adv. Eng. Softw..

[67]  M. Zang,et al.  Calibration and validation of DEM-FEM model parameters using upscaled particles based on physical experiments and simulations , 2020 .

[68]  Jens Michael Carstensen,et al.  Design and performance optimization of gravity tables using a combined CFD-DEM framework , 2017 .

[69]  Woong-Ki Park,et al.  Strip tillage characteristics of rotary tiller blades for use in a dryland direct rice seeder , 2003 .

[70]  Marek Molenda,et al.  Discharge of rapeseeds from a model silo: Physical testing and discrete element method simulations , 2013 .

[71]  Carl Wassgren,et al.  Determination of material and interaction properties of maize and wheat kernels for DEM simulation , 2020 .

[72]  Zhan Zhao,et al.  CFD-DEM simulation of material motion in air-and-screen cleaning device , 2012 .

[73]  T. Way,et al.  Modeling soil-bulldozer blade interaction using the discrete element method (DEM) , 2020 .

[74]  M. Molenda,et al.  Development of a rarefaction wave at discharge initiation in a storage silo—DEM simulations , 2018 .

[75]  Hang Chengguang,et al.  Analysis of the movement behaviour of soil between subsoilers based on the discrete element method , 2017 .

[76]  Zheng Ma,et al.  Discrete-element method simulation of agricultural particles' motion in variable-amplitude screen box , 2015, Comput. Electron. Agric..

[77]  P. Eberhard,et al.  A discrete element model and its experimental validation for the prediction of draft forces in cohesive soil , 2014 .

[78]  Lizhang Xu,et al.  Development of rapeseed cleaning loss monitoring system and experiments in a combine harvester , 2019, Biosystems Engineering.

[79]  Jin Y. Ooi,et al.  Scaling Of Discrete Element Model Parameters In Uniaxial Test Simulation , 2013 .

[80]  Jingwei Gao,et al.  Numerical analysis on tractive performance of off-road wheel steering on sand using discrete element method , 2017 .

[81]  Mengyan Zang,et al.  Application of the FEM/DEM and alternately moving road method to the simulation of tire-sand interactions , 2017 .

[82]  Wouter Saeys,et al.  A discrete element approach for modelling bendable crop stems , 2016, Comput. Electron. Agric..

[83]  Xiaolong Lei,et al.  Simulation of seed motion in seed feeding device with DEM-CFD coupling approach for rapeseed and wheat , 2016, Comput. Electron. Agric..

[84]  C. J. Coetzee,et al.  The destemming of grapes: Experiments and discrete element modelling , 2013 .

[85]  Ying Chen,et al.  Modelling the interaction of a deep tillage tool with heterogeneous soil , 2017, Comput. Electron. Agric..

[86]  P. Schjønning,et al.  Soil mechanical stresses in high wheel load agricultural field traffic: a case study , 2017 .

[87]  Peter Eberhard,et al.  Prediction of draft forces in cohesionless soil with the Discrete Element Method , 2011 .