Bionic Optimal Design and Performance Study of Soil Loosening Shovels for Degraded Grasslands

To improve the soil loosening effects of degraded grasslands, this study investigates the performance of a bionic loosening shovel designed based on the claws of prairie zokor. A single-factor simulation test of the bionic loosening shovel was conducted using EDEM software to analyze the effects of loosening depth ( H ) and operating speed ( V ) on key parameters, including the ridge disturbance area ( A s ), furrow disturbance area ( A f ), loosening resistance ( F r ), and trench specific resistance ( F c ). Additionally, field tests were performed to validate the simulation results of the bionic loosening shovel. The findings indicate that the difference ratio ( D a1 ) between the simulated and test values for the bionic loosening shovel remained consistently low, confirming the reliability of the simulation model in predicting variations in response parameters. Furthermore, comparative field tests were conducted to evaluate the loosening performance of the bionic loosening shovel against standard loosening shovels (the diamond-shaped loosening shovel and the arrow-shaped loosening shovel). The results show that the bionic loosening shovel achieved the lowest values for A s , A f , and F r under the same operating parameters. However, its effect on improving A f was limited. These findings provide valuable technical support for the enhancement and optimization of loosening shovels for degraded grasslands.