ABSTRACT
A multi-functional experiment setup was proposed in this paper for soil cutting simulation and rake tooth optimization. The setup includes the rigid soil bin, the rigid cover board, the spring loading system and the observation device of the pore water evaporation. The spring loading system, which included the rake tooth installation device, was fixed in the soil bin. The rake tooth was installed on the rake tooth installation device and the sloping angle of the rake tooth can be adjusted with the device. An observation device for pore water evaporation was set on the soil bin cover. The soil and saturation water was put into the bin before the experiment. The soil bin was sealed with the rigid cover board and was kept air tight during the experiment. The rake tooth was powered by the spring loading system in the cutting process. The pore water evaporation in the cutting process was observed through the observation device. The mechanism of cutting resistance in the dredging process could be revealed with series of experiments and the minimum traction force, the optimal dredging velocity and pore water evaporation can be tested quantitatively in this experiment setup.
