A discrete element model of the edible sunflower seed was constructed, addressing the lack of an accurate model for edible sunflower seeds in the simulation process of seeding, cleaning, and transportation, and it was calibrated and verified through actual and simulation tests. Taking the edible sunflower seed as the research object, the range of its simulation parameter values was preliminarily determined through actual tests. Using the seed repose angle as the test index, the simulation parameters of the seed were calibrated through the Plackett—Burman test, the steepest climb test, and the Box–Behnken test. The suspension velocity of the seed model was determined by the Fluent–EDEM coupling simulation test, and the reliability of the discrete element model of the edible sunflower seed was verified. The simulated test results showed that the seed repose angle obtained by the optimization test was 35.823°, which exhibited a relative error of 0.103% in comparison to the average values obtained from the actual test. The simulated suspension velocity of the seed was 6.98 m/s. with a deviation of 0.55 m/s from the average suspension velocity obtained through the actual test. The discrete element model of the edible sunflower seed is accurate and reliable, offering guidance for improving the design of machinery used for seeding and harvesting edible sunflowers.

In view of the low degree of mechanization and poor quality of harvesting of edible sunflower after drying, an in situ bionic harvesting device was designed, which can achieve low-loss harvesting of edible sunflower without removing the edible sunflower disc. According to the physical characteristics of sunflower stalks in the field, influencing factors of in situ low-loss feeding were obtained, and the structural parameters of the in situ feeding mechanism were determined. Based on bionic technology and static analysis, the influencing factors on the performance of the bionic threshing mechanism were obtained. By analyzing the mechanical characteristics of edible sunflower seed, the operation parameters of the seed collection mechanism were determined. Based on the structural analysis results of the harvesting device, a response surface optimization test was carried out. The test results show that when the average rotation speed of the bionic loosening roller was 113.57 rpm, the average rotation speed of the simulated artificial striking roller was 230.80 rpm, the average forward speed of the harvesting device was 0.58 m/s, the working quality of the harvesting device was the best, the seed loss rate was 2.12%, and the edible sunflower disc threshing rate was 98.96%. A field verification test further confirms that under the optimal working parameters, the relative deviation between test indexes and response surface optimization test results was less than 2%. During the operation process, the movement of key components of the harvesting device was coordinated and stable. The research results can provide new ideas for the mechanized harvesting of the edible sunflower disc after drying.

Design and experiment of a picking robot for Agaricus bisporus based on machine vision

Design and experiment of the environment control system for the industrialized production of Agaricus bisporus

Owing to the low stiffness of thin-walled workpieces, disturbances can readily arise during milling, severely compromising machining accuracy and surface quality. This study proposes a new viscoelastic model of a magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) and analyzes its vibration reduction performance under dynamic cutting forces. First, the governing equations of the system are derived from Newton’s second law, and the amplitude-frequency response curves are obtained using the harmonic balance method. The analytical results are then validated by Runge–Kutta numerical integration, with good agreement between the two approaches. Next, the vibration reduction performance of the MRE-based viscoelastic nonlinear energy sink (MNES) and the effects of its parameters are analyzed. Finally, the nonlinear stiffness coefficient and damping ratio are varied simultaneously at different mass ratios to identify the optimal parameter ranges for the MRE-based viscoelastic nonlinear energy sink of magnetorheological elastomer. The results show that the maximum amplitude of the main system first decreases and then increases as the nonlinear stiffness increases. With appropriate parameter selection, the MRE-based viscoelastic nonlinear energy sink of magnetorheological elastomer provides better vibration reduction performance than the traditional nonlinear energy sink. In addition, as the mass ratio increases, the minimum attainable value of the main-system amplitude initially decreases and then approaches a constant, while the optimal ranges of the nonlinear stiffness coefficient and damping ratio widen slightly. By combining a set of calculated parameters with the differential constitutive equation of the magnetorheological elastomer, the corresponding stress–strain curve is obtained. This provides guidance for the fabrication of magnetorheological elastomers with favorable vibration-damping performance. The stability of milling chatter is also analyzed. The calculated stability lobe diagram and supplementary time-domain verification results show that a milling system with the MNES can effectively suppress chatter and allow a greater depth of cut.