Design Optimization and Mechanism Analysis of Water Jet-Type Inter-Plant Weeding Device for Water Fields

Existing rice inter-plant weed control devices have difficulty achieving inter-plant weed control in one pass. Due to the complex environment of paddy fields, these devices have a low weed removal rate and high seedling damage rate, making it difficult to ensure high-quality operation. This study innovatively designed a water jet-based rice inter-plant weed control device. Based on the mechanism of water jet erosion of soil, it can erode and excavate the soil layer on which weeds depend, achieving inter-plant weed control in paddy fields. The optimal range of structural parameters of the water jet angle and nozzle opening diameter was analyzed. The results showed that the optimal structural parameters of the device were a jet angle of 31 degrees and a nozzle opening diameter of 4 mm, which can achieve the best operational performance. Based on virtual simulation experiments, single-factor and multi-factor orthogonal rotation combination experiments were carried out with weed removal rate as the test index and different operating speeds and nozzle outlet pressures as the test factors to optimize the water jet-based inter-plant weed control device. The experimental results showed that when the working parameters of the water jet-based inter-plant weed control device were a forward speed of 0.30 m center dot s(-1) and a nozzle outlet pressure of 1.50 MPa, the weed removal rate was the highest at 92.78%. Field validation experiments showed that the weed removal rate was 90.16% and the seedling damage rate was 1.80% under this operation condition, and the quality of the operation met the requirements of inter-plant weed control technology. This study provides a technical reference for promoting the development of inter-plant weed control technology in paddy fields.