Study on Centrifugal Spreading Characteristics of Pellet Feed Based on Discrete Element Method
Source abstract
Abstract
To clarify the spreading law of river crab pellet feed in a centrifugal spreading mechanism and provide a physical basis for the path planning of automatic feeding boats, this study took 4.0 mm sinking extruded river crab feed as the research object. A systematic research method combining physical experiments and Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulation was established. Physical experiments were conducted to calibrate the intrinsic parameters (density, Poisson’s ratio, elastic modulus) and contact parameters (friction coefficients and restitution coefficients between feed and 304 stainless steel/ABS plastic, as well as between feed particles) of the pellet feed. On this basis, a DEM simulation model of a vibration blanking-dual disc centrifugal spreading mechanism was constructed using the multi-sphere aggregation method and the Hertz-Mindlin (no-slip) contact model. A Central Composite Design (CCD) response surface experiment was employed to investigate the spreading law, with boat speed (0.5–1.5 m/s) and spreading disc rotation speed (800–1000 rpm) as independent variables, and unilateral spreading width (W), track superposition uniformity (ω), and transverse coefficient of variation (Cv) as response indicators to characterize spreading range and particle distribution. The results showed that the spreading disc rotation speed had an extremely significant effect (p < 0.0001) on all three response indicators, while boat speed had no significant effect. The feed exhibited a characteristic double fan-shaped superposition distribution pattern. Through multi-objective optimization, the optimal operational parameters were determined as a boat speed of 1.0 m/s and a spreading disc rotation speed of 879 rpm, yielding a unilateral spreading width of 2.9 m, a track superposition uniformity of 88.31%, and a transverse coefficient of variation of 8.33%. This study establishes a quantitative method for analyzing feed spreading characteristics and clarifies the spreading range and particle distribution law, providing a reliable physical basis for full-coverage path planning of crab pond feeding boats.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Fluid Dynamics Simulations and Interactions · Agricultural Engineering and Mechanization · Granular flow and fluidized beds
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Affiliations
College of Engineering Science and Technology, ShangHai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
Shanghai Chongming Farm, Bright Food (Group) Co., Ltd., Shanghai 202174, China
Funding
Shanghai Chinese Mitten Crab Industrial Technology System Construction Project
References (33)
Show source-provided references
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