Substantiations for the optimal modes of cultivator paws on vibro-impact suspension

The most energy-consuming operation in agricultural production is the cultivation of the soil, which consumes up to 40% of the total energy expenditure. The use of various vibro-impact elements in the construction of working organs allows for more intensive crumbling of the soil and a lower energy intensity of the process due to variable soil resistance in accordance with the phases of its deformation and destruction. The object of our study is the developed design of a cultivator paw on a vibro-shock suspension. The subject of research is the relationship between the design parameters and operating modes of the proposed device with qualitative and energy performance indicators. A feature of the developed cultivator working body is the presence of a C-shaped elastic strut, the upper part of which is made in the form of a cylindrical spring with hemispherical strikers between the turns. The vibration of the column arising during the operation of this design will ensure periodic co-stressing of the hemispherical strikers located between the coils of the spring, and will contribute to the activation of the process of crumbling of the soil and self-cleaning of the paw. When justifying the design parameters and operating modes, methods of theoretical and agricultural mechanics, impact theory were applied. Theoretical relationships connecting the stiffness of a vibro-impact spring, the amplitude of oscillations with soil treatment regimes, its physico-mechanical properties, and also the design parameters of the working member are obtained. With an increase in the number of pairs of impactors n, the rational value of the amplitude of the oscillations of the spring decreases, and at n = 6 it is 8 mm. Experimental studies have shown that with an increase in the number of pairs of impactors n, the energy intensity of processing decreases by 7...16%, with the improvement of qualitative indicators within the experimental error and satisfying the agrotechnical requirements. At the same time, the greatest drop in energy intensity is observed at n = 6. A further increase in n is impractical, since the difference between the variants n = 6 and n = 8 does not exceed 3%.