Discrete Element Method Analysis of Soil Penetration Depth Affected by Spreading Speed in Drone-Seeded Rice

초록

This research explores, using discrete element method (DEM) simulations, the behavior of rice seed infiltration into soil when it is deployed via unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-mounted systems. Five distinct sowing strategies were analyzed to evaluate their effectiveness in embedding seeds within paddy soil: gravitational drop, centrifugal spreading, airflow propulsion, pneumatic discharge, and pneumatic shooting. A two-step analysis was performed. Initially, the flight dynamics of rice seeds were modeled, and the influence of air and water drag forces were accounted for. Subsequently, soil penetration was simulated with DEM based on the material properties and contact parameters sourced from the existing literature. The results show that the pneumatic methods effectively penetrated the soil, with pneumatic shooting proving to be the most efficient due to its superior impact momentum. Conversely, the methods that failed to penetrate left seeds on the soil surface. These findings demonstrate the necessity to enhance UAV sowing technology to improve penetration depth while maintaining operational efficiency, and they also offer crucial insights for the progress of UAV applications in agriculture.

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