Abstract:Aiming to address the issue of lack of suitable machinery for intertillage and weeding operations after grain-filling stage of winter wheat and before sowing of subsequent crops in "winter wheat+" intercropping mode in Xinjiang, a mid-tillage and weeding machine with individual contour-following functionality was designed. The overall structure and working principle of the machine were elaborated, and the contour-following mechanism and dynamic motion process of the rotary tiller blade were analyzed. Based on the measured characteristic parameters of typical weed Chenopodium album, a discrete element model of Chenopodium album and soil complex was constructed by using Bonding V2. The simulation analysis revealed the failure process of the Chenopodium album and soil complex, and identified the operating speed of mid-tillage and weeding machine and the rotational speed of blade roller as main parameters affecting the operation effect. Using Box-Behnken experimentation and multi-objective optimization, the optimal operating parameter combination of blade roller rotational speed, operating speed, and tilling depth was determined to be 270 r/min, 3 km/h, and 70 mm, respectively. Field tests were conducted by using this optimal parameter combination. The results showed that the weed removal rate, soil fragmentation rate, and wheat seedling damage rate were 95.3%, 89.4%, and 4.23%, respectively. The tilling depth stability coefficient was 91.6%, and the field soil fragmentation rate was basically consistent with the simulation results. The machine operated stably and could meet the requirements of intertillage and weeding, soil fragmentation, low seedling damage, and stable tilling depth in the intercropping mode.