Analysis and Experimental Investigation of Seed Disturbance Induced by Flexible Cell Holes in an Air-Suction Peanut Seed-Metering Device

To address unstable seed filling and susceptibility to seed damage in air-suction peanut seed-metering devices, a flexible cell-hole seed-metering device comprising a double-layer seed-metering disc, elastic rubber cell-hole inserts, and conical springs was developed. EDEM simulations, bench tests, and field tests were conducted to investigate the effects of cell-hole type, cell-hole height, and seed-metering disc speed. Seed velocity, force, and disturbance transmission characteristics were analyzed in the simulations, while seed-metering performance was evaluated using the miss-seeding, multiple-seeding, and seed-damage indices in the bench tests. The results showed that the single ellipsoid cell-hole type produced greater consistency between the directions of seed motion and cell-hole movement. A cell-hole height of 5 mm provided an effective balance between seed disturbance and damage reduction, while a seed-metering disc speed of 20 r/min improved seed-adsorption stability. In the field tests, the mean miss-seeding, multiple-seeding, and seed-damage indices were 3.75%, 4.54%, and 1.75%, respectively. These findings demonstrate that flexible cell holes can guide seeds to move with the cell holes and promote the stable transmission of localized disturbance throughout the seed mass, thereby providing an effective approach to improving seed-adsorption stability while limiting mechanical damage.