Test and evaluation of driving comfort of rice combine harvester

During the field operation of rice combine harvester, the vibration generated by vibration component will only reduce mechanical reliability and yield, but also cause resonance in the human body, leading to a decrease in driving comfort and even damage to the driver’s health. To study the impact of combine harvester vibration on driving comfort, a certain type of tracked rice combine harvester was selected as the research object, and vibration tests were carried out based on vibration source analysis in the driving cab during field harvesting operations. The study showed that under the influence of field road conditions and crop flow, the operating speed of the engine, threshing rotor, stirrer, cutting blade, threshing cylinder, vibration sieve and conveyor were fluctuating, and their rotation and reciprocating motion would produce vibration excitation in the driving cab. A spectrum analysis was conducted on the acceleration signal of the driver’s cab, and it was found that vibration frequencies at three measuring points, namely the pedal, control lever, and seat, can reach up to 36.7~43.3 Hz. These frequencies can cause resonance in various parts of the driver’s body, such as the head and lower limbs, leading to symptoms such as dizziness, throat discomfort, leg pain, defecation anxiety, and frequent urination, and even affect vision of the driver. At the same time, a weighted root-mean-square acceleration evaluation method was used to evaluate the driving comfort of the harvester. The evaluation method showed that the vibration at the foot pedal (A(w1) = 4.4 m/s(2)>2.5 m/s(2)) caused extreme discomfort, while the vibration at the seat (0.5 m/s(2)< A(w2) = 0.67 m/s(2)<1.0 m/s(2)) and the control lever (0.5 m/s(2)< A(w3) = 0.55 m/s(2)<1.0 m/s(2)) caused relatively less discomfort. This research can provide some reference for the optimization design of the joint harvester driver’s cab.