Design and Simulation Analysis of a Bionic Weeding and Plant Protection Integrated Vehicle for Sesame

To address the poor mechanical adaptability of conventional equipment to 40 cm narrow-row sesame cultivation and the high weeding resistance and energy consumption of traditional weeding tools, this study developed an integrated bionic weeding and plant protection vehicle. The vehicle features a modular structure capable of three-row weeding and four-row plant protection, coupled with an extended-range hybrid powertrain. Its parallel linkage design enables terrain adaptation, ensuring consistent weeding depth of 3–6 cm and stable spraying height. Combined with an adjustable spraying width and a “detection–feedback–adjustment” mechanism to prevent plant collisions, the vehicle is fully compatible with the agronomic requirements of narrow-row cultivation. Inspired by mole cricket forelegs, the vehicle’s bionic weeding wheel blade model incorporates quantified biological features: quadratically fitted claw toe contours (R2 > 0.97), a toe base height-to-width ratio of 1:2, and a toe groove radius-to-toe height ratio of 1:1. This design achieves a reliable biological-to-engineering translation. EDEM-based Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations confirm that the bionic wheel outperforms conventional designs: the average torque is 17.4% lower (7.75 vs. 9.38 N·m), the soil disturbance rate is 8.2 percentage points higher (95.2% vs. 87.0%), and soil particle motion is more ordered (average velocity: 0.52 vs. 0.58 m/s), effectively reducing energy waste and improving weeding efficiency.