Bending properties of green forage maize in field

Stalk lodging is prone to occur during the harvesting of green forage maize due to the header and root anchorage, resulting in loss of harvest. In particular, the fallen stalk wraps around the header, causing a blockage and increasing the energy cost. To address this problem, the deflection model was analyzed and established and a novel method to explore the field bend characteristics of green forage maize was proposed. The effects of stalk diameter, bending angle, and cutting height on bending stress and Young’s modulus were explored by using the method of in-situ measurement. Additionally, the bending deflection, axial displacement and measuring point displacement were obtained. Experimental results indicate that the stalk diameter and bending angle have a significant influence on bending stress. The bending stress has a positive correlation with bending angle and cutting height, while there is a negative correlation with stalk diameter. On the other hand, the bending angle, stalk diameter, and cutting height are closely related to the Young’s modulus. The mean values of the Young’s modulus decrease as a quadratic function with the increasing diameter and bending angle, while the cutting height has the opposite effect on it. Besides, the average values of bending deflection, axial displacement, and measuring point displacement exhibit an increasing trend when the bending angle and cutting height increase. This study results can provide a reference for studying the failure mechanism of green forage maize stalk harvesting, and the design of green forage maize harvesting machinery.