Authors

Abstract

Orchard flower thinning is essential for improving fruit quality and stabilizing yield in modern orchards, yet traditional manual and chemical methods no longer satisfy the demands of mechanized orchard management. To address the characteristics of China’s dwarf and dense orchard planting system, a hydraulic-driven vehicle-mounted flower-thinning machine was developed. Dynamic simulations of the flower-thinning process were conducted using ANSYS/LS-DYNA to analyze the effects of thinning shaft rotational speed, traveling speed, and thinning radius on the striking force. Based on single-factor and orthogonal multi-factor simulations, a regression model of striking force was established. The results showed that all three factors significantly influenced the striking force, with notable interaction effects. When the thinning radius was 0.4 m, the optimal operating parameters were a shaft speed of 290 r·min⁻¹ and a traveling speed of 5.4 km·h⁻¹, corresponding to an effective thinning range of 0.4–0.6 m. Under these conditions, the striking forces obtained from simulation and indoor bench tests were 5.083 N and 5.22 N, respectively, with a relative error of 2.7%. Field experiments further demonstrated an average thinning rate of 37.8% under the optimal parameters, achieving effective thinning while reducing damage to branches and leaves.

Abstract in Chinese

果园疏花作业是提升果实品质与稳定产量的关键环节，传统人工与化学疏花均难以满足现代果园管理需求。针对我国矮密果园种植模式，本文设计了一种基于液压驱动的机载式疏花机，并基于 ANSYS/LS-DYNA 的疏花过程动态仿真分析，探究疏花轴转速、行进速度及疏花半径对疏花击打力的影响规律。通过单因素与正交多因素试验建立疏花击打力回归模型，结果显示：疏花轴转速、行进速度、疏花半径对疏花击打力均有显著影响，且存在显著的交互作用；在疏花半径为 0.4m 时，对该模型求解确定最优参数组合为疏花轴转速 290r/min、行进速 度 5.4km/h，此参数下有效疏花范围在半径 0.4～0.6m 之间。为验证参数有效性，在半径为 0.4m 处对其进行仿真和室内台架对比试验，击打力分别为 5.083N 和 5.22N，误差率为 2.7%。田间试验结果表明，整机在最优参数下进行作业时，平均疏花率为 37.8%，在保障疏花率的同时显著降低了对枝叶的损伤。