Simulation of Planter Row Cleaner in Corn Residue Using Discrete Element Modeling

Abstract. A method is demonstrated to create a virtual test field with standing corn stalks and corn residue laying on top of soil for evaluating machine/crop residue interactions using discrete element modeling (DEM). This procedure was applied to evaluating a planter row cleaner performance. This procedure can be easily modified for different crop types and/or other machine types. The benefit of this procedure is that it provides a way to simulate the different components and percentage of crop. These may include: standing plants, husks/leaves, cut stalks, cobs, root balls, etc. The procedure also allows for the precise placement of the standing plants to represent a defined row spacing with proper plant spacing. Machine/crop residue interaction can be simulated to better understand how the interaction impacts performance and allow for virtual optimization of the machine characteristics. The row cleaner simulation results are compared with field test results.