To improve the automation level and operation quality of China's beet harvester and reduce the loss due to damaged and missed excavation, this study used a self-developed sugar beet combine harvester and field simulation experiment platform, based on the single-factor bench test of the automatic row following system in the early stage, taking hydraulic flow A, spring preload B, and forward speed C which have significant influence on performance indices as test factors, and taking the missed excavation rate, breakage rate and reaction time as performance indices, the orthogonal experimental study on the parameter optimization of the three-factor and three-level automatic row following system with the first-order interaction of various factors was carried out. The results of the orthogonal experiments were analyzed using range analysis and variance analysis. The results showed that there were differences in the influence degree, factor priority order and first-order interaction, and the optimal parameter combination on each performance index. A weighted comprehensive scoring method was used to optimize and analyze each index. The optimal parameter combination of the overall operating performance of the automatic row following system was A 2 B 2 C 1 , that is, the hydraulic flow was 25 L/min, the forward speed was 0.8 m/s, and the spring preload was 198 N. Under this combination, the response time was 0.496 s, the missed excavation rate was 2.35%, the breakage rate was 3.65%, and the operation quality was relatively good, which can meet the harvest requirements. The comprehensive optimization results were verified by field experiments with different ridge shapes and different planting patterns. The results showed that the mean values of the missed excavation rate of different planting patterns of conventional straight ridges and extremely large "S" ridges were 2.23% and 2.69%, respectively, and the maximum values were 2.39% and 2.98%, respectively; the average damage rates were 3.38% and 4.14%, and the maximum values were 3.58% and 4.48%, which meet the industry standards of sugar beet harvester operation quality. The overall adaptability of the automatic row following system is good. This study can provide a reference for research on automatic row following harvesting systems of sugar beets and other subsoil crop harvesters.

To obtain the optimal operation parameters of fixed-bed reversing ventilation drying of peanuts, a set of partial differential equations indicating the heat and mass transfer relationships between the peanut pods and air during drying was proposed. Then, a series of discretized models were established for simulation, and the time consumed, unevenness, and energy consumption for batch drying were calculated. The results showed that reversing ventilation and segmented drying was helpful to these issues for high drying ability. The optimal operation parameters were determined by uniform design experimentation of mathematical simulation. The result showed that when the moisture content (wet basis) was above 22%, a ventilation velocity of 0.46 m/s was optimal; when the moisture content was between 8% and 22%, a ventilation velocity of 0.20 m/s was optimal. Using the optimal parameters, the computer simulating result was compared with the experimental results. The correlation coefficients between the simulating and the experimental values for the temperature and moisture content were all above 0.98 and the quality of dried peanuts was close to that of natural sun-dried ones, which indicates that the optimization results of the drying parameters are highly reliable.

In order to solve problems such as poor applicability of headers, weak separation ability of threshing mechanisms and poor impurity-removal ability of cleaning devices in the existing seed harvest methods of Chinese milk vetch (Astragalus sinicus L.), a combined Chinese milk vetch seed harvester was designed in this paper. The parameters of the key components, such as the flexible anti pod-dropping seedling-lifting header, the longitudinal rod-teeth-type threshing device and the air-sieve-type layered impurity-controlled cleaning device, were designed and optimized. Aiming at reducing seed loss rate, breakage rate and impurity rate of Chinese milk vetch during the mechanical harvesting process, through multi-parameter optimization, the best combination of working parameters was obtained: machine forward speed was 3 km·h−1, rotation speed of the threshing drum was 550 r·min−1, rotation speed of the cleaning fan was 990 r·min−1 and the scale sieve’s opening was 35 mm. Field tests were performed under these parameters, and the results showed that the seed loss rate of Chinese milk vetch was 2.35%, the breakage rate was 0.22% and the impurity rate was 0.51%, which were better than the technical requirements of loss rate and breakage rate less than 5% and impurity rate less than 3% specified in relevant standards. The research results can solve the shortage problem of efficient seed harvest equipment in large-scale planting areas of Chinese milk vetch, and will further help to carry out seed harvest experiments on different varieties of Chinese milk vetch and other green manure varieties in paddy fields.