Biomimetic Design of a Brown Bear Claw-Inspired Subsoiling Shank: Design, DEM Simulation, and Field Validation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19139/soic-2310-5070-4221Keywords:
Biomimetics, bioinspired subsoiler, brown bear claw, bionic, draft force, soil disturbance, DEMAbstract
Subsoiling is essential for alleviating soil compaction, improving water infltration, and enhancing soil structure;however, conventional tools often require high draft force and produce ineffcient soil disturbance. Inspired by the penetrationmechanism of brown bear claws, this study proposes a biomimetic subsoiling shank to improve soil-cutting effciency anddisturbance quality. A discrete element method (DEM) model was developed using a linear cohesion-integrated hystereticspring contact model to simulate soil–tool interaction. Model parameters for loam soil from the Yellow River Delta (China)were calibrated using angle of repose tests, direct shear tests, and bulk density matching. Validation against experimentaldata showed good agreement, with a draft force error of ∼10%. While the DEM model demonstrated good accuracy fordraft force prediction, the simulation of soil disturbance geometry was moderately accurate, with relative errors rangingfrom 16.6% to 32.8%. Soil disturbance profles were quantifed using gradient-based image processing in MATLAB andgeometric reconstruction in AutoCAD. Field experiments were conducted to validate the DEM model and measure theabsolute performance of the bioinspired shank; owing to unavoidable variation in operating conditions between tools, thecontrolled DEM model was used for the formal comparative analysis. Comparative DEM simulation results indicated thatthe biomimetic shank reduced draft force by 6.1%, increased furrow cross-sectional area by 8.6%, and decreased ridge heightby 25.6% compared to a conventional design. Parametric analysis confrmed that rake angle and tillage depth signifcantlyaffect performance. The improved effciency is attributed to optimized stress distribution and soil flow induced by the clawinspired geometry. The fndings demonstrate the potential of biomimetic design and the effectiveness of the validated DEMmodel for optimizing soil-engaging tools.Downloads
Published
2026-06-25
How to Cite
Hassan, A. M., El Salem, A., Kamel, R. M., Zheng, X., Atia, F. A., Youssef, S., & Shaaban, F. (2026). Biomimetic Design of a Brown Bear Claw-Inspired Subsoiling Shank: Design, DEM Simulation, and Field Validation. Statistics, Optimization & Information Computing, 16(2), 1394–1416. https://doi.org/10.19139/soic-2310-5070-4221
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ahmed M. Hassan, Abouelnadar El Salem, Reham M. Kamel, Xiaoshuai Zheng, Fatma A. Atia, Sayed Youssef, Fatma Shaaban
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
