Design and Testing of a Gravity-Constrained Fertilizer Guide Tube for Stable Fertilizer Cluster Movement

Le résumé fourni par la source

Fertilizer clusters tend to lose their agglomerated state upon ground contact, which reduces fertilizer use efficiency. To address this, we designed a gravity-constrained fertilizer guide tube. Based on the principle of minimum friction, we designed a trapezoidal groove. By analyzing the motion of the fertilizer as it dropped and contacted the ground, we identified the key factors affecting hole formation such as the fertilizer guiding angle, groove angle, and forward velocity. We used the discrete element method to determine the optimal combination of parameters: with a fertilizer guiding angle of 60°, a groove angle of 80°, and a forward velocity of 6 km/h, the average hole length was 87.6 mm, the coefficient of variation of hole length was 6.51%, and the coefficient of variation of hole spacing was 1.76%. Bench test results indicated that under conditions of a target fertilizer dosage per hole of 6.0 g, a forward velocity of 4–10 km/h, and a target hole spacing of 0.20–0.30 m, the fertilizer clusters consistently maintained their agglomerated state during descent. Field test results showed that under conditions of a target fertilizer dosage per hole of 2.0–8.0 g, a forward velocity of 4–10 km/h, and a target hole spacing of 0.20–0.30 m, the average hole length ranged from 94.5 to 223.0 mm, with a coefficient of variation of hole length of 7.17–11.16% and a coefficient of variation of hole spacing of 2.95–6.06%. Although hole formation performance was somewhat reduced in the field, the fertilizer in each hole remained in an aggregated state and was distributed uniformly. The collision between the fertilizer and the soil was the key factor affecting hole formation. The results of this study can provide insights and references for the design and optimization of fertilizer-hole-applied discharge devices.

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