Effect of tine rake angle and aspect ratio on soil failure patterns in dry loam soil

Studies were conducted in a laboratory glass-sided soil bin with dry compact loam soil (c = 0.02 kPa, Φ = 20° and cone index 210 kPa) with the specific objective of observing the effect of flat tine rake angle and aspect ratio on soil failure patterns. The tine was moved in the soil in a quasi-static condition and soil failure patterns were observed through a glass window. Tine rake angles of 50°, 90° and 130° were used while aspect ratio effects were studied by varying both width and depth of the tine. Individual effects of width and depth were investigated by maintaining a constant aspect ratio of 2.0 but varying width and depth. Results obtained indicated that soil failure patterns are affected by tine design parameters. Soil failure patterns were observed to be of progressive shear type in all cases. For 50° rake angle tines, the patterns consisted of inclined shear lines starting from the tine tip and gradually moving upwards towards the horizontal soil surface, intersecting it at an average failure angle of 32°. In the case of 90° rake angle tines, the inclined shear surface was at a distance from the tine tip whereas, for 130° rake angle tines, prismatic-shaped stationary soil wedges were formed adjacent to the tine. Failure angles for the 90° and 130° rake angle tines were almost the same as those for 50° rake angle tines. The results of this study also indicated that aspect ratio alone cannot account for changes in soil failure patterns, their corresponding soil reactions, forward rupture or surcharge profiles. The effects are mainly due to the individual changes in width and depth. There were no distinct zones as described in the passive soil pressure theory. Soil failures were in regular cycles resulting in corresponding variations in the soil reactions on the tines.     

Hysteresis in soil mechanical behavior

The performance of a vertical tine was investigated at various water contents during wetting and drying cycles in a clay-loam soil. Results showed that at a given water content the soil during the wetting cycle failed by fracture mode and offered relatively more draft. Soil during the drying cycle cracked, and when a tine was pushed through the soil, it failed along the cracks. This failure mode was referred to as preferential fracture. For a given water content, tine forces and soil shear strength properties were found to be greater during the wetting cycle than the drying cycle, which leads to the conclusion that there is a hysteresis effect in soil caused by drying stress induced by seasonal wetting and drying.     

Effects of tine rake angle and aspect ratio on soil reactions in dry loam soil

Study was conducted in a laboratory glass-sided soil bin with dry compact loam soil with 5.2% (d.b.) moisture content. The specific objective of this study was to determine the effects of flat rigid tine rake angle (forward angle between tine face and horizontal soil surface) and aspect ratio (tine width/tine depth) on soil reactions. The tine was moved in the soil in a quasi-static condition and soil reactions were recorded using L-shaped force transducers. Corresponding soil failure patterns were observed through a glass window. Tine rake angles of 50°, 90° and 130° were used. The effects of aspect ratio were studied by varying both width and depth of the tines. Individual effects of width and depth were investigated by maintaining a constant aspect ratio of 2.0 but varying width and depth. Observations indicated that soil reactions are affected by tine design parameters. For all tine rake angles and aspect ratios, soil reactions were observed to be cyclic in nature and could be matched well with corresponding soil failure patterns. The horizontal and vertical soil reactions were in phase. Investigations into the individual effects of tine width and depth revealed that the aspect ratio alone cannot account for changes in soil reactions. The effects are mainly due to the individual changes in width and depth.     

3-D DEM simulation of cohesive soil-pushing behavior by bulldozer blade

A numerical simulation based on discrete element method (DEM) was conducted on the excavation and pushing processes of soil by a bulldozer blade. Soil contains water and the resistance acting on the bulldozer blade is largely influenced by the cohesive force due to liquid bridges formed among soil particles. In the present study, a cohesive bond force model proposed by Utili and Nova [5] was introduced in which the microscopic behavior of cohesive force was modeled analogously with macroscopic shear failure characteristics. The dependency on the magnitude of microscopic cohesive force was verified. The behavior of particles changed greatly by taking into account the cohesive bond force. The characteristic behavior of excavated soil aggregates, such as rolling motion and intermittent collapsing, were observed in front of the blade surface.     

The mechanics of soil cutting by a rotating wire

The cutting of soil by a rotating wire analogous to the tip of a rotary tiller blade while cutting a two-dimensional soil slice over a range of ‘fetch-ratios’ (bite length/depth-ratios) in a quasi-static condition is presented. A theoretical models based on Mohr-Coloumb soil mechanics has been proposed to predict forces on the wire (tip). The model is dependent upon observed passive general shear failure of the soil slice towards the curved free surface of a previous cut and the lateral local shear failure towards the undeformed soil. The predicted forces in a frictional soil and in a pure cohesive medium (artificial clay) agreed well with experimental results.     

Evaluation of link-track performances using DEM

A two-dimensional discrete-element model for the interaction between link-track and soil is presented. The model was developed using commercial PFC2D code. Two different particles, sphere and clump of two spheres, were used to represent the soil. The soil parameters of the model were determined using Hertzian contact theory. Based on the model and soil parameters, simulations of biaxial tests and calculations of the internal angle of friction and cohesion were preformed. The simulation results showed that the internal angle of friction should not exceed the value of 0.65 when using the spherical particles. Based on the clumped particles model, simulations of shear tests with two grouser plates (lengths 100 and 150 mm) were performed under different soil conditions, normal pressures, and cleat heights. A curve fitting of the simulation results was performed using three semi-empirical models from Bekker, Janosi, and Wong for representing the shear stress–displacement relationship. The best fitting was achieved using Wong’s approach. The simulation results of the cleat effects were compared with Bekker’s grouser approach and McKyes’s formulation for soil–blade interaction. In most of the cases, the results of Bekker’s model were the lower bound and McKyes’s model, the upper bound of the DEM simulation results. The properties of the soil model for the DEM were determined using simulation results of shear tests by grouser plate. In the range investigated, the size of the shearing grouser plate is not significant in determining the soil model properties.     

Triaxial force measurement at specific positions on a soil-cutting blade

In order to create a mathematical model of a soil-cutting blade, it is necessary to understand thoroughly the behavior of a soil slice and its interaction with the blade surface. The triaxial force transducer was developed to serve as one of the various tools to verify the proposed mathematical model. The prototype model transducer was fabricated, calibrated and tested with a soil slice on a flat cutting blade. The calibration results have indicated high sensitivity and the capability of simultaneous measurement in three directions. As a technological refinement, the detecting part of this triaxial force transducer was tapered to solve the problem of soil clogging in the opening clearance. Furthermore, the effects of the clearance configurations between the bore on the soil-cutting blade and the detecting part which is embedded in this bore were investigated to determine the most desirable configuration. The comparative results indicated that by tapering both the detecting part and the bore, the tangential stress measurement gained the highest value, and provided the most satisfactory condition for three-dimensional stress management.     

Finite element analysis of plane soil cutting

This study develops the finite element method (FEM) of solution to provide a theoretical means for determination of soil performance under the actions of a cutting blade—and the forces required to promote cutting. The developed FEM takes into account the effect of progressive and continuous cutting of the clay soil at the tip of the blade, with possible development of failure zones in the soil whenever the shear strength of the soil is exceeded. The solution provides detailed information on stress and deformation fields in the soil, together with tangential and normal pressures developed at the blade soil interface Correspondence between theoretically computed displacement fields and measured values has been obtained. In addition, the theoretically computed and experimentally measured values for forces developed in blade thrust are seen to be in close agreement.     

The cutting of soil by narrow blades

The available models for predicting the forces acting on a narrow soil cutting blade have required separate measurements of the shape of the three-dimensional soil failure pattern ahead of the blade. It is proposed that a three-dimensional model consisting of straight line failure patterns in the soil can be used to predict both the draft forces and the volume of soil disturbed in front of a narrow blade. Limit equilibrium mechanics equations are written for the soil wedges in terms of an unknown angle of the failure zone and the theoretical draft force is minimized with respect to this angle. Force factors are thus found which are of the type to fit Reece's general earthmoving equation, but which vary with the width to depth ratio of the blade as well as with the rake angle of the blade and the friction angle of the soil. In addition the approximate geometry of the three-dimensional failure pattern in the soil is predicted for varying blade shapes and soil strengths. This allows the design of simple tools on the basis of their draft force requirements and their soil cutting efficiency. The draft force predictions and failure geometry calculations are shown to have considerable verification by experimental results.     

The motion of a stone embedded in non-cohesive soil disturbed by a moving tine

As part of an investigation into impact damage on soil-working implements, a glass-sided model box has been used to study the motion of 10, 50 and 100 mm diameter hemispheres in sand as a 38 mm wide tine inclined at 45° approaches. The observations were made using high-speed photography. It was found that the sand did not always cause the hemisphere to move before contact with the tine, and that motion was determined by the position of the centre of the hemisphere relative to the boundary of soil disturbance ahead of the tine. This effect was independent of velocity. A minimum size of hemisphere was found below which motion always began before contact was made with the tine. In the particular arrangement used this was about 20 mm. Movement of the hemisphere before contact reduced the contact stresses and the practical implications of this are discussed.     

Reverse-rotational rotary tiller for reduced power requirement in deep tillage

In this paper details of rotary tillage regarding the movement of tilled soil are presented. A noticeable reduction of tillage power requirement was achieved during rotary tillage. The soil movement depended upon the direction of rotation and the ratio of tilling depth (H) to blade radius (R). With the differences in the soil movement, four kinds of rotary tilling patterns were determined. Increase in operating power generally resulted when a large amount of tilled soil was re-tilled in the zone of blade rotation. Improvement of backward throwing of the soil was required for power reduction, especially in deep tillage. A backward throwing model of soil by the blade was developed on the basis of trochoidal motion of the blade and sliding motion of the soil over a scoop-surface on the horizontal portion of the blade. The throwing model estimated the conditions for avoiding re-tillage, such as direction of rotation and shape of scoop-surface. The throwing model was applied to the design of the shape of the scoop-surface which enabled maximum backward throwing of the soil sufficient to avoid re-tilling. At tilling depths greater than 300 mm, reverse rotation with the new shaped blades brought about a tillage power reduction by about a half compared to forward or reverse rotation with conventional blades.     

Collapse failure in dry clay soils caused by tine implements

The relation between forces applied to the soil and the resultant soil reaction was studied in dry clay soils under a quasi-static condition. As a tine advanced in dry compact clay soils at 5.2% dry basis moisture content, masses of soil collapsed one by one in front of the tine. The horizontal and vertical components of soil resistance measured were cyclic and in phase, with distinct peak and trough values. The peak values and trough values indicated the soil stress conditions before and immediately after each failure occurred. The frequency of failure depended on the size of the tine. The magnitude of the peak values depended on level of compaction and trough values on density of collapsed mass. The paper presents the details of observations.     

Calibration of granular material parameters for DEM modelling and numerical verification by blade-granular material interaction

The discrete element method (DEM) is a promising approach to model blade-granular material interactions. The accuracy of DEM models depends on the model parameters. In this study, a calibration process was developed to determine the parameter values. The particle size was the same as the real material and the particle shape was modelled using two spherical particles rigidly clumped together to form a single grain. Laboratory shear tests and compressions tests were used to determine the material internal friction angle and stiffness, respectively. These tests were replicated numerically using DEM models with different sets of particle friction coefficients and particle stiffness values. The shear test results are found to be dependent on both the particle friction coefficient and the particle stiffness. The compression test results show that it is only dependent on the particle stiffness. The combination of shear test and compression test results can be used to determine a unique set of particle friction and particle stiffness values. The calibration process was validated experimentally and numerically by modelling a blade moving through granular material. Results show that the forces acting on the blade can be accurately modelled with DEM and the maximum error is found to be 26%. The relative particle-blade displacements were used to predict the position and shape of the shear lines in front of the blade. A good qualitative correlation was achieved between the experiments and the DEM simulations.     

Limitations of passive earth pressure theory for cage wheel lug and tine force predictions

Experiments in wet clay soil with cage wheel lug showed that the failure pattern in front of a lug was totally different from that assumed in passive soil pressure theory. Based on the failure pattern, the area of deformation zone and surcharge buildup in front of the lug, it was observed that the existing passive soil pressure theory could not be used to describe the soil movement caused by the action of the cage wheel lug. While working with a tine, four types of soil failure patterns were observed. It was found that these types of soil failures in front of a rigid tine were a strong function of soil moisture content. Passive pressure theory does not accurately predict the forces measured.     

Turbulence measurements in the inlet plane of a centrifugal compressor vaneless diffuser

Detailed flow measurements at the inlet of a centrifugal compressor vaneless diffuser are presented. The mean 3-d velocities and six Reynolds stress components tensor are used to determine the turbulence production terms which lead to total pressure loss. High levels of turbulence kinetic energy were observed in both the blade and passage wakes, but these were only associated with high Reynolds stresses in the blade wakes. For this reason the blade wakes mixed out rapidly, whereas the passage wake maintained its size, but was redistributed across the full length of the shroud wall. Peak levels of Reynolds stress occurred in regions of high velocity shear and streamline curvature which would tend to destabilize the shear gradient. Four regions in the flow are identified as potential sources of loss - the blade wake, the shear layers between passage wake and jet, the thickened hub boundary layer and the interaction region between the secondary flow within the blade wake and the passage vortex. The blade wakes generate most turbulence, with smaller contributions from the hub boundary layer and secondary flows, but no significant contribution is apparent from the passage wake shear layers.     

A framework for earthmoving blade/soil model development

This paper presents a framework for earthmoving blade/soil model development that combines the advantages of both the analytical and numerical methods. This framework greatly expands the limitations of traditional analytically formulated models and can be effectively used to tackle the technical issues that are faced with complex dozing. This model has a lot of new capabilities compared to other models that can be found in the open literatures. Some of the new capabilities are (1) it is a three-dimensional model and is able to account for the tilted and angled blade operations on different terrain conditions: level, uphill, and downhill; (2) uneven cutting can be effectively handled by the proposed model; (3) the transient soil piling, spillage process, and earthmoving productivity can be predicted and animated; (4) the forces and moments can be predicted as well as their centroids; (5) the cutting soil volumetric expansion and transient surcharge effect on resultant forces and moments acting on blade are well established; (6) many systematic relationships involving the dynamic dozing are well established through this framework. Numerical examples and qualitative validations are provided to demonstrate and verify the capabilities of this newly developed framework.     

3D Dynamic analysis of soil–tool interaction using the finite element method

Previous experimental and finite element studies have shown the influence of both soil initial conditions and blade operating conditions on cutting forces. However, most of these finite element analyses (FEA) are limited to small blade displacements to reduce element distortion which can cause solution convergence problems. In this study a dynamic three-dimensional FEA of soil–tool interaction was carried out based on predefined failure surfaces to investigate the effect of cutting speed and angle on cutting forces over large blade displacements. Sandy soil was considered in this study and modeled using the hypoplastic constitutive model implemented in the commercial FEA package, ABAQUS. Results reveal the validity of the concept of predefined failure surfaces in simulating soil–tool interaction and the significant effect of cutting acceleration on cutting forces.     

Two-equation turbulence models for prediction of heat transfer on a transonic turbine blade

Two versions of the two-equation k–ω model and a shear stress transport (SST) model are used in a three-dimensional, multi-block, Navier–Stokes code to compare the detailed heat transfer measurements on a transonic turbine blade. It is found that the SST model resolves the passage vortex better on the suction side of the blade, thus yielding a better comparison with the experimental data than either of the k–ω models. However, the comparison is still deficient on the suction side of the blade. Use of the SST model does require the computation of distance from a wall, which for a multi-block grid, such as in the present case, can be complicated. However, a relatively easy fix for this problem was devised. Also addressed are issues such as (1) computation of the production term in the turbulence equations for aerodynamic applications, and (2) the relation between the computational and experimental values for the turbulence length scale, and its influence on the passage vortex on the suction side of the turbine blade.     

基于仿生设计的风力发电机叶片力学性能的实验研究

根据风力机的基本理论和相似理论设计了一个翼型为SG6050,半径为1m的小型风力机叶片。运用结构仿生学原理,对所设计的风力机叶片进行了仿生物中轴铺层设计。通过模态实验与应变实验,比较了传统设计与仿生设计两种不同风力机叶片的力学性能。模态实验结果表明,基于仿生设计的叶片的前六阶固有频率比传统叶片的前六阶固有频率减少约8％;两种叶片的固有频率均满足设计要求;仿生设计的叶片几乎不会改变叶片的动态特性。而应变实验表明,仿生设计的叶片在各种工况下的应变均大于传统的叶片约10％～20％。新设计的叶片具有较好的柔性,有效减小了叶片的应力,提高了叶片的疲劳寿命。     

A model of stress distribution and cracking in cohesive soils produced by simple tillage implements

The objective of this research was to describe the mechanical behavior of soil under the action of a tillage tool, with the purpose of finding a relation between the tool geometry and the resultant soil structure. The problem was solved using fundamental principles of soil mechanics and force equilibrium analysis. As a result, a mathematical model was developed which describes three stress zones within the cut soil volume: shear failure, tension failure, and no internal failure. The model was programmed into a computer to generate maps of normal and shear stresses to visualize the three failure zones. The model was tested by cutting soil with flat tillage tools in a laboratory soil bin, and it proved to provide reliable predictions of the pattern of soil shear and tension failure.