Development and performance analysis of a rotary soil-taking punching device for improving transplanting hole structure in high-speed punching

•DEM-MBD simulations can model the soil tool interaction of the punching device.•Hole shape parameters were predicted with 1.18–13.59% relative errors.•Soil-taking punching minmizes soil disturbance around the transplanting hole.•Improving the forces on punching wheel and opener can effectively control slip rate. Achieving high-speed punching is crucial for improving the efficiency of transplanting operations. However, existing devices cause significant soil disturbance at high velocities, leading to elongated holes and inconsistent depths. To address these issues, this research introduces a novel rotary and soil-taking type punching device (RTP), contrasting its performance with the conventional non-rotating and non-soil-taking punching device (NRTP) at various speeds through a calibrated Discrete Element Method-Multi-Body Dynamics (DEM-MBD) model. Simulation results indicated that RTP produced superior hole shapes compared to NRTP at all tested speeds, especially at higher velocities. At 7 km/h, RTP’s holes were 8.05 % shorter and 2.79 % deeper, with a cross-sectional area 6.35 % smaller than NRTP’s. These results suggest that RTP effectively reduces soil disturbance and improves hole structure to meet agricultural requirements. Force analysis at 7 km/h showed the RTP’s punching wheel experienced a 17.13 % greater traction force compared to NRTP, while the opener encountered a 35.44 % reduction in peak punching resistance. This effect decreased the deformation and wear of the opener and migrated the increase in the slip rate. Additionally, the DEM-MBD model was validated through soil bin and field tests, with geometric mean values of relative errors between the simulated and actual measured hole shapes being 2.67 % and 3.43 %, respectively. These results demonstrate the potential of RTP in enhancing the quality of high-speed punching operations.