*3.3. Field Experiment Analysis*

As shown in Figure 14, the loss rate of using the conventional header wheat combine is 0.97%, and the loss rate of using the DCH is 1.05%, but less than 1.2%, which conforms to the relevant national operation quality requirements. The feed rate is reduced for the DCH, and the operating parameters of the threshing and separation device and the cleaning device do not match, increasing the loss rate. Therefore, in the follow-up study, it is also necessary to research the impact of the change in the feed length of the stalk on threshing separation and cleaning performance.

As shown in Table 6, the stubble height of the DCH is 11.02 cm, lower than the stubble height of the conventional header, and it meets the relevant operation quality requirements. The variation coefficient of the stubble height of the DCH is higher than that of the conventional header, indicating that the consistency of the stubble height of the DCH is lower than that of the conventional header. The main reason is that after the upper cutterbars of the DCH cut the upper stalks, the remaining stalks are tilted by the thrust of the header plate before being cut, resulting in uneven cutting after the lower cutterbars cut.

**Figure 14.** Harvesting loss rate of the WCH using different headers.

**Table 6.** Measurement results of the stubble height.


As shown in Figure 15, under the same operating speed, the fuel consumption per unit area of the WCH with a conventional header is 33.9 kg/hm2, and the fuel consumption per unit area of the WCH with a DCH is 30.1 kg/hm2, which reduces the fuel consumption by 11.2%. Compared with the conventional header, the DCH has two layers of cutterbars, and the power consumption of the header is increased. However, at the same operating speed, the length of the stalk fed into the combine becomes shorter, the feed rate decreases, and the power consumption of the conveying, threshing, and cleaning systems decreases, thus reducing the fuel consumption per unit area.

**Figure 15.** Fuel consumption per unit area of the WCH using different headers.

#### **4. Conclusions**

(1) In this paper, a DCH was designed that can only cut the upper part of the wheat plant into the WCH. By reducing the feed length of the stalk, the problems of the wheat combine, such as congestion and high power consumption, are solved, providing a technical reference for the efficient harvest of the wheat combine.


**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, L.Y. and M.L.; methodology, X.H. and W.W. (Wanzhang Wang); investigation, L.Y., W.W. (Wanzhang Wang) and X.H.; writing—original draft preparation, L.Y., M.L. and X.H.; writing—review and editing, L.Y. and W.W. (Wanzhang Wang); visualization, W.W. (Wenhe Wei) and Z.Q.; funding acquisition, M.L. and W.W. (Wanzhang Wang). All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by China Agriculture Research System (CARS-03), Henan Province Science and Technology Projects (222102110235), and Henan Province Science and Technology Projects (232102110271).

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors would like to thank Zhengzhou Zhonglian Harvesting Machinery Co., Ltd., as well as gratefully appreciate the reviewers who provided helpful suggestions for this manuscript.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest. There is no conflict of interest with Zhengzhou Zhonglian Harvesting Machinery Co., Ltd.

#### **References**


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