Effects of structure and soil parameters on the detection performance of a contact soil surface height detection device

Abstract

The complex environment of the soil surface in the field poses severe challenges to contact soil surface height detection devices, as the device's vibration and soil subsidence can introduce detection errors. To address these problems, a contact soil surface height detection device based on an angle sensor was designed in this study. The kinematic and dynamic relationships between the device and the soil during the detection process were analyzed, and a dynamic model of the detection device based on the soil-machine system was established. The dynamic process of ‘soil excitation → device vibration → soil subsidence’ during detection was revealed. The Kelvin model was used to describe the transient subsidence process of the ground wheel, and the model's parameters under different soil moisture contents were experimentally determined with a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.85 ∼ 0.97. To investigate the influence of soil moisture content and device structural parameters (inertia parameter (J), initial angle (γ₀), prepressure of spring (F_t0), and spring stiffness coefficient (k)) on the detection results, a simulation model was established using MATLAB/Simulink to simulate the interaction between the detection device and the soil during detection based on the proposed dynamic model, and the simulation results were validated experimentally. The peak overshoot percentage (σ) and steady-state error percentage (Ess) were used as indices. The experimental and simulation indices exhibited a strong linear relationship with a linear regression coefficient of 0.82 ∼ 0.99, confirming the validity of the established model. The results obtained in this study can provide theoretical and technical support for the design, optimization, compensation, and control of contact detection and soil pressure devices with similar structures.