A Method of Quantifying Discrete Element Method Simulations of Top Soil Burial from a Mouldboard Plough

Abstract. The mouldboard plough is a primary tillage tool and has been used since Roman times with the main purpose to: provide soil inversion that helps to bury trash, weeds and crop residue; create the basis for a seedbed; and loosen and aerate the soil. To date the development of the mouldboard ploughs, in the case of soil movement, is mainly based on empirical studies which requires expensive and time consuming field tests and may only be undertaken at certain times of the year. Modelling of soil-tool interaction is a complex process due to the variability of the soil profile, non-linear behavior of the soil material, and the dynamic effect of the soil flow. An approach that will give further insight, is the technique of Discrete Element Method (DEM). In this study, the top soil burial during the soil-mouldboard interaction process was simulated using DEM. A procedure was developed to compare and quantify soil movement and surface layer burial of DEM simulations with soil bin and field results. Results of the study shows that DEM has the potential to predict soil movement from tillage implements, including inversion and surface soil burial.