Adhesive forces exist between soil and the surfaces of soil-engaging compon
ents on a variety of terrain machines including tillage and sowing machines
. This phenomenon of soil adhesion not only increases the working resistanc
e and energy consumption of these machines, but also decreases the quality
of work. Characteristics of soil adhesion to solid surfaces, behaviour and
principles of soil-burrowing animals for improved soil scouring and biomime
tics of soil-engaging components are reviewed in this paper. The characteri
stics of soil adhesion to solid surfaces were concerned with: the morpholog
ical features of soil at the contact interfaces, contact models of soil adh
esion, explanation of soil adhesion, factors affecting soil adhesion and co
nventional methods for reducing adhesion. Details on the behaviour of soil-
burrowing animals include: claw shape; body surface geometry, chemical cons
titution, liquid secretion and bioelectricity; and body flexing behaviour.
The principles of soil-burrowing animals in soil scouring mainly comprise t
he effects of geometrical morphologies and shapes, hydrophobicity, micro-el
ectro-osmotic systems, lubrication and body surface flexibility. Based on t
hese characteristics, biomimetic methods for reducing soil adhesion to soil
-engaging components include: biomimetic non-smooth surfaces; modification
of soil-engaging materials; biomimetic non-smooth electro-osmosis; and flex
ible components. (C) 2001 Silsoe Research Institute.