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However, subsoilers often encounter challenges such as high draft resistance and excessive energy consumption during operation. In this study, the claw toes of the badger and the scales of the pangolin were selected as bionic prototypes, based on which coupling bionic subsoilers were designed. The discrete element method (DEM) was used to simulate and analyze the interactions between soil and both the standard subsoiler and coupling bionic subsoilers. Field experiments were conducted to validate the simulation results. The simulation results showed that the coupling bionic subsoilers reduced the draft force by 7.70\u201316.02% compared to the standard subsoiler at different working speeds. Additionally, the soil disturbance coefficient of the coupling bionic subsoilers decreased by 5.91\u201313.57%, and the soil bulkiness was reduced by 2.84\u201318.41%. The field experiment results showed that coupling bionic subsoilers reduced the average draft force by 11.06% and decreased the soil disturbance area. The field experiments validated the accuracy of DEM simulation results. This study provides valuable insights for designing more efficient subsoilers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biomimetics10050306","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,12]],"date-time":"2025-05-12T09:13:38Z","timestamp":1747041218000},"page":"306","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["DEM Study and Field Experiments on Coupling Bionic Subsoilers"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Zihe","family":"Xu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, China"},{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hongyan","family":"Qi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical Engineering, Hunan University of Arts and Science, Changde 415000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lidong","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Weichai Power Co., Ltd., Weifang 261061, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shuo","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, China"},{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xuanting","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, China"},{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yunhai","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, China"},{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"207","DOI":"10.1016\/j.still.2016.06.005","article-title":"Crop yield and soil carbon responses to tillage method changes in North China","volume":"163","author":"Tian","year":"2016","journal-title":"Soil Tillage Res."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1596","DOI":"10.1016\/S2095-3119(19)62681-X","article-title":"Effects of subsoiling depth, period interval and combined tillage practice on soil properties and yield in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, China","volume":"19","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. 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