Finite element modelling for fruit stress analysis - A review

Publication date: Available online 2 January 2020Source: Trends in Food Science & TechnologyAuthor(s): Nurazwin Zulkifli, Norhashila Hashim, Hazreen Haizi Harith, Mohamad Firdza Mohamad ShukeryAbstractBackgroundA deep understanding of the motion and the intensities of forces endured by the fruits overtime during the various handling processes is necessary if improvements are to be made in the handling systems or related tools. The finite element method (FEM) has been used to investigate the effect of mechanical loading on fruit before developing a prototype of the intended design. Simulation tests were performed to visualise the time-dependent deformation behaviour. Various studies have been reported on the use of FE for studying the effect of compression and drop forces on fruits. However, to the best of the knowledge of the authors, the application of finite-element analysis in fruit mechanics has not been summarized yet.Scope and approachThis review is concerned with establishing the introductory concept of FEM for evaluating fruit response under the static and dynamic loading. The FE equations were formulated based on the stress-strain constitutive equations.Key findings and conclusionsThe review summarises the application of FEM for fruit stress-strain analysis. A brief description of the fundamentals and the existing models that have been developed to cope with problems of fruit mechanics are reported. This paper provides a review of the main FEM studies and a compariso...

Source: Trends in Food Science and Technology - January 4, 2020 Category: Food Science Source Type: research