To address the problems of high digging resistance, elevated energy consumption, and severe soil adhesion encountered during mechanized potato harvesting, a bionic potato digging shovel inspired by the corrugated dorsal structure of the white grub was developed. Based on reverse-engineered geometric curves, two longitudinally corrugated shovel models (L-S-1 and L-S-2) were constructed, and a coupled soil–potato–shovel model was established using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to evaluate soil disturbance characteristics and digging resistance at a forward speed of 0.5 m/s and an entry angle of 35°. The simulation results indicated that the longitudinally corrugated shovel L-S-2 exhibited the best overall performance, reducing digging resistance by 13.87% and increasing the soil fragmentation rate by 20.67% compared with a conventional flat shovel (P-S). Using L-S-2 as the baseline design, additional DEM simulations were conducted at forward speeds ranging from 0.4 to 0.6 m/s to systematically investigate the influence of operating speed on digging performance. To further enhance anti-adhesion performance, a composite bionic shovel (H-L-S-2) was developed by embedding polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hydrophobic material into the surface of L-S-2 and reinforcing the shovel tip using laser cladding. Soil-bin experiments were then performed under controlled conditions with forward speeds of 0.4–0.6 m/s and soil moisture contents of 15–20% at an entry angle of 35°, and the results showed an average resistance reduction rate of 17.46%, with a maximum reduction of 18.02%. Both DEM simulations and soil-bin tests confirmed the effectiveness of the composite bionic shovel in reducing soil adhesion, with the number of adhered soil particles decreasing by 41.2% in simulations and the mass of adhered soil reduced by 37.5% in physical tests. These results demonstrate that coupling a bionic corrugated structure with surface material modification can effectively reduce digging resistance, enhance soil fragmentation, and mitigate soil adhesion, providing a practical approach for optimizing the design of potato digging shovels.
Liu et al. (Fri,) studied this question.