Simulation of stress and bending moment occurring on conventional and slatted moldboard's plough using finite element method and validate by experiment

Moldboard is one of the most important working parts of a plough; it is the most vulnerable to stress due to working through the soil. Thus, the study aimed to determine the extent of the moldboard's ability to withstand stress and bending torque. The stresses affecting the structure of the moldboards were examined and analyzed under conditions similar to the field conditions in which the flip-flop moldboard plough operates, using the Finite Element Method (FEM) with the ANSYS software. The principal stresses, principal strains, and displacement ratio were adopted in the first stage. In the second stage of the study, the results were tested in the field to investigate the performance of two shapes of moldboards (standard - conventional and slatted moldboard) at two soil moisture contents (SMC) (10.23% and 16%) utilizing two forward speeds (4.96 and 6.20 km.h-1) to determine the impact of these factors on stress and bending moment. Theoretically, the slatted moldboard outperformed the conventional moldboard by 7% and 13% recording lower principal stress and lower principal strain, respectively. However, the conventional moldboard's continuous surface offered greater structural stability, showing 45% less displacement. Practically, the results indicated that the stress increased when SMC decreased, and respond positively with speed. Meanwhile, the manufactured slatted moldboard recorded the lowest bending moment under all tested factors.