Simulation of Maize Harvesting using EDEM Simulation (Courtesy of Budapest University of Technology)

After taking into consideration the maize harvesting of a combine harvester, the geometrical model of a maize stalk with an ear was formed. Afterwards, the mechanical properties of the bonded structure of the different maize parts were calibrated by the typical loading cases during harvesting: transversal compression, three-point bending, dynamic cutting and ear-detachment. Based on several commercial maize headers the CAD model of a general one was designed and imported into EDEM®. Afterwards, all the motions of the machine parts were determined in order to simulate the technological process of harvesting. The interactions among the plant and parts of the machine were analysed in detail to obtain information about the loads and working efficiency of the parts of interest: the stalk rollers, the chopping unit and the gathering chains. Based on the DEM provided results a finite element analysis was carried out on the left stalk roller by using the one-way coupling option between EDEM® and Ansys®.Consequently, the results clearly demonstrate that EDEM® can be easily integrated into the course of agricultural machine development, moreover, EDEM® is a powerful tool to analyse complex processes as maize harvesting by a combine harvester.

Adam Kovacs, Budapest University of Technology and Economics. 1st Place Winner 2018 EDEM Visualization Contest.