Modeling of Soil Cutting at Different Attack Angles of the Ploughshare of the Rack Ripper Using Fractal Analysis Methods

The level of soil compaction is influenced by physical and mechanical properties, climatic conditions, the amount of annual precipitation, the type of cultivated crops, and other factors. Excessive compaction of the soil impairs water permeability and air access to the roots, resulting in reduced crop yields, increased soil erosion, reduced fertilizer efficiency, which leads to an increase in the cost of material and technical resources for tillage. Therefore, it is important to solve this problem with minimal energy and material costs. Such a solution is the loosening of the soil, which can be done naturally and with the help of mechanical loosening. (Research purpose) The research purpose is in evaluating the effectiveness of loosening the soil with a U-shaped ripper at different angles of the ploughshare using fractal analysis methods, which is necessary to reduce additional loads during further soil treatment. (Materials and methods) A dirt channel with a special cart was used to consider physical models of meliorative machines and specialized working equipment. (Results and discussion) Author conducted six experiments in a soil tray for each corner of the ploughshare separately. Nineteen ground sections were made. The structure of the soil before and after treatment depends on the mode of operation of the ripper model and the design features of its working bodies. (Conclusions) The more energy is spent on the treatment of homogeneous areas, the more the soil structure changes. To quantify the structural changes in the nature of the cultivated soil, we used its fractal characteristics, in particular, the fractal dimension. The soil sections have fractal properties, and, accordingly, fractal methods can be used for their analysis. The article proves the applicability of fractal methods in the analysis of the quality of tillage and the degree of its loosening.