Modelling the interaction of soil with a passively-vibrating sweep using the discrete element method

This study investigates the passive vibration dynamics of a sweep tool in a laboratory soil bin test, employing various spring configurations. A discrete element method (DEM) model of simulating the passively vibrating sweep tool was developed based on the laboratory soil bin tests. Ensuring precision in the DEM model parameters was achieved by applying a genetic algorithm tailored for this purpose. The genetic algorithm revealed that within the particle assemblies of the three geometries used in the DEM, several parameter sets were suitable for accurately describing the modelled soil. The final parameter set was chosen by integrating the DEM model with results from the laboratory direct shear box test. Employing Fast Fourier Transformation, both the laboratory soil bin test and the calibrated DEM model of the soil and the vibrating sweep tool facilitated an examination of frequencies and amplitudes during force and displacement measurements. The results indicated that, compared to a rigid tool, the draught force required by the 16 spring sweep tool was reduced by 6–9%. The absence of DEM would have limited the investigation of kinetic energy in the sweep tool and the dynamics of energy dissipation in the soil, if measurement equipment alone was used. This research successfully demonstrated that the reduced draught force with the 16 spring passively vibrating sweep tool, operating near the system's eigenfrequency, resulted from its ability to generate higher kinetic energy in the sweep tool while minimising energy dissipation in the soil.