Optimization of Structural Parameters for Under-the-GroundSugarcane Basecutting

摘要

Basecutting is an important process in mechanical sugarcane harvesting, thus, it's very important to develop high-efficient basecutters. A series of indoor tests have been carried out on the structural and kinetic parameters of basecutters in above-the-ground basecutting. Few studies were focused on under-the-ground basecutting. In addition, those indoor tests did not consider the interactions among basecutter, soil, and cane stalks. The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of criticalstructural parameters on cutting performance with the mode of under-the-ground basecutting. A series of field test was carried out using Liugong sugarcane harvester. With stubble breaking, ratoon uprooting, and the power consumption as the response indices, the effects of blade number, the blade cutting angle, and the blade bevel angle on basecutting performance was investigated using the response surface methodology (RSM). Through the statistical analysis, three mathematical regression models were built to examine the relationship between these three indices (stubble breaking, ratoon uprooting, and power consumption) and dedicated factors (blade number, blade cutting angle, and blade bevel angle). And then, the response surface plots visually illustrated the interaction between critical factors and the influence trend of various factors on basecutting performance. The results showed that: excessive number of blades can increase the power consumption and cause uprooting problems; when the blade cut into stalk with a suitable angle, slide cutting would be occurred for the improvement of cutting quality and the reduction of cutting power. Finally, the optimal combination of critical parameters was determined in terms of the stubble breaking index (BI), the ratoon uprooting (Ul), and power consumption (P) by multi-objective optimization method. With the setting of 3 blades, JO" cutting angle, and 20" bevel angle, the response variables of the stubble breaking index, ratoon uprooting index, and power consumption reached to -0.623, -0.767, and 4.936 kW respectively. This study was expected to provide necessary information to guide engineers to design high-performance basecutter with under-the-ground basecutting.