Substantiation of the parameters of a soil tillage machine ripper

Introduction. Production of safe food requires the avoidance of using chemical means to bring weeds under control in cultivating crops. Existing tillage loosening and separating machine PRSM-5 Dokuchaevskaya optimizes the physical and mechanical state of the cultivated soil layer, while the weeds are carefully removed from the soil by combing out together with the whole weed root system and laid on the surface, where they dry up under the influence of climatic factors. During the operation of the tillage machine, about 30% of the total energy consumption is spent on the rotor drive. Therefore, this machine is not working satisfactorily in firm soils. Materials and Methods. The soil was considered as an elastic-plastic medium. The generalized Hookeʼs law model and a variant of the plastic flow theory were taken into account. To simplify the calculations, there was used the experimental study information on the position in space of the soil deformation surface. The intensity of stresses of polyplastic deformations of the soil layer was determined. For the numerical solution of the problem, the Ritz method was used. Results. In connection with the indicated disadvantages, the parameters of the rotor ripper are justified taking into account the reduction in energy consumption for its drive. As a result of solving the problem by the Ritz method, the geometric shape of the rotor ripper was determined. The energy performance of the section of the tillage machine was evaluated by the torque of the rotor drive of the loosening-separating device. The rotor drive torque was determined for rippers with flat, convex, and concave profiles and for the profile substantiated during the study. Discussion and Conclusion. The profile substantiated during the study provides the best conditions for transporting the soil at the initial moment of the rotor entry into the soil and the minimum energy consumption for its drive.