Design and experiment of the traction tiger nut combine harvester

The conventional tiger nuts harvesting method suffers from several drawbacks, including low harvesting efficiency, high levels of impurities, significant loss rates, and excessive labor intensity. To address these issues, a novel operational approach of sand removal first and then separatingwas introduced. A tractor-mounted tiger nuts combine harvester was designed to perform the tasks of excavation, sand removal, and rhizome separation of tiger nut tubers in a single operation. The machine’s overall structure and operational principles are described. It then details the design of critical components, such as the combined vibration digging device, the conveying and sand removal device, the cylinder screening device, and the wind-screen cleaning device. The structural and dynamic parameters of these key components were established through an analysis of the mechanism’s motion and the material flow during the combined vibration digging, conveying sand removal, cylinder screening, and wind-screen cleaning processes. Field trials demonstrated the harvester achieved an average loss rate of 4.88%, the average impurity rate (excluding gravel content) of 7.52%, and an average digging depth of ≥12.5 cm. Throughout the testing phase, the machine operated reliably, and the results fulfilled the operational requirements for the tiger nut harvester.