Study on the Design and Performance of a Seed Discharger for Peanut Plot Breeding Based on the CFD-DEM Method

In order to facilitate the peanut plot breeding process, a seed discharger for peanut plot breeding was designed and optimised. Two single stroke cylinders were used for seed replacement and to avoid confusion between different varieties of seeds. The working performance of the seed discharger was simulated by the CFD-DEM method. The simulation results showed that the seed suction hole could adsorb the seeds stably, the adsorption force at the seed suction hole was about 0.02 N, and the seed-clearing time was 0.31 s. When the rotation speed of the seed discharge cylinder was 25 r/min, the diameter of the seed suction hole was 6 mm and the working negative pressure was −5.5 kPa. The developed seed discharger was installed on the test bench to carry out the central composite design experiment, and the test results were analysed and optimised by Design-Expert software. The final parameters of the seed discharger were obtained as follows: rotational speed of the seed cylinder is 25 r/min, the diameter of the seed suction hole is 6 mm, and the working negative pressure is −6 kPa. This indicates that the design of the initial parameters is reasonable. Finally, the seed discharger was tested in the field. The results shown that the 95% confidence intervals for seeding pass rate, multiple-seed rate, and seed missing rate were (88.9557%, 93.1777%), (3.8137%, 6.4597%), and (2.1157%, 5.4777%), respectively, which met the requirements of peanut plot seeding.