Soil adhesion is a major problem for agricultural machinery, especially in sticky soils within the plastic range. One promising and practical way to minimize soil–tool adhesion is to modify the surface geometry to one inspired by soil-burrowing animals. In this study, 27 domed discs were fabricated according to an L27 (3³) Taguchi orthogonal array and tested to determine the optimal dimensions of domed surfaces to reduce drag force. The optimized domed disc was tested in a soil bin under different soil conditions (soil texture: silty loam and sandy clay loam; soil moisture content: 23%, 30%, and 37%). All trials included a flat disc (without a dome pattern) as a control. The optimal dimensions of domed surfaces to generate the lowest possible drag force under the present experimental conditions were explored based on signal-to-noise ratio analysis. The optimal levels of control parameters were found at a surface coverage ratio of 60%, dome height of 5 mm, and dome base diameter of 20 mm. Statistics revealed that the dome height-to-diameter ratio and disc coverage ratio are crucial factors that influence the drag force of domed surfaces. In contrast, the dome base diameter had a limited influence on drag force. In all treatments, the drag force of the optimized domed disc was less than that of the flat disc (by about 9% to 25%, according to soil conditions). Accordingly, it can be concluded that adequately designed domed surfaces could significantly reduce the drag force in sticky soil compared to their flat counterparts.

Several studies highlighted that the surface shape modifications which are inspired by the soil-burrowing animals have positively impacted the soil-tool adhesion; however, it is still unclear what the optimum dimensions of the domed surface are for minimizing soil-tool adhesion. In this study, twenty-seven domed discs were created according to Taguchi orthogonal array L27(33) to determine the optimum dimensions of the domed surface that minimize normal adhesion force and disc sinkage simultaneously, as well as comparing the effect of the optimized domed disc versus the flat disc on the normal adhesion force under different soil conditions. The results revealed that disc coverage ratio and dome height to diameter ratio are essential to design parameters that influence the normal adhesion force of discs. According to the signal-to-noise ratio analysis, it was observed that the combination of 60% disc coverage ratio, 25% dome height to diameter ratio, and 10 mm dome base diameter was found to be the most appropriate for the well-balanced improvement of both normal adhesion force and disc sinkage simultaneously. In all treatments, the optimized domed disc produced less normal adhesion force than the flat disc (about 7%-18%, according to soil condition). It can be concluded that properly designed domed surfaces can significantly reduce the normal adhesion force when compared to flat surfaces. Keywords: biomimetics, paddy soil, normal adhesion, disc sinkage, Taguchi method DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20221501.6147 Citation: Salem A E, Zhang G Z, Abdeen M A M, Wang H C, Gao Y. Optimizing the adhesion of soil-touching parts based on biomimetic concepts using the Taguchi method. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2022; 15(1): 147–154.

Acquiring real-time ground pressure measurements from the surface of the soil in working parts of paddy fields is a challenging task. The real-time data can be used to monitor the changing state of the ground pressure of the working parts in a paddy field. To effectively reduce the accumulation of choked mud at the front end of the seeding skateboard and the contact adhesion between the skateboard and the paddy soil, a ground pressure measuring device suitable for paddy fields was designed. The device uses an Arduino controller, combined with Internet of things technology and wireless measurement technology. It can measure the pressure from 16 measuring points at the same time and transmit the measurement data to the computer remotely through the Internet of things technology, which greatly reduces the labor intensity of measuring personnel in the muddy paddy field. Analysis of the data showed that the forward tilt angle, ground pressure, and forward resistance of the seeding skateboard also increased with the increase of forward speed and vertical load. In addition, the distribution law of the ground pressure between the skateboard and the paddy soil was obtained. The conclusions show that the ground pressure measurement system can work stably in the paddy field and the measured data can be wirelessly transmitted to the computer and mobile phone.