Estimation and modelling the wear resistance of plough points and knife coulters by discrete element method

Abstract

This study aims to find out whether the working parts of ploughs of different manufacturers have different wear parameters. A comparative analysis of the resource of plough points and furrow coulter knives is performed (according to changes in mass, diagonal length of working parts, etc.). Reinforced plough points wore 2.5 times less by mass, and 4.53 times less diagonal shortening than non-reinforced plough points. Plough points strengthened with carbide plates suffered less wear and less shortening before being damaged by stones. As a whole, the abrasive wear of geometrically identical and close-in-composition parts is determined by the hardness of the steels from which the part is made, and the microstructure obtained during heat treatment. The performed numerical simulation of abrasive wear showed the results of plough point thickness variation close to field experiments. The obtained normal stress diagram explains the intensity of wear on the front edge of the plough point. The proposed soil bin improvement with a zone for smaller particles helps to avoid meshed geometry deformation.