Vibration analysis influence during crisis transport of the quality of fresh fruit on food security

Mechanical damage of agriculture produce is a major problem in the harvest and post-harvest chain.  This damage could cause huge economic loss.  In addition, it could lead to serious food safety concerns.  Several cases of foodborne illness have been traced to poor or unsanitary postharvest practices.  Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7, Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria, Cryptosporidium, Hepatitis, and Cyclospora are among the diseases and disease-causing organisms that have been associated with fresh fruits and vegetables.  Measurements of mechanical characteristics of agricultural products under different static and dynamic loads should help in predicting the type and magnitude of mechanical injuries which will help in minimizing losses and improve the safety the produce.  In the current study, we examined the parameters essential for fruit package processes.  Fruits were exposed to random excitation( is excited by combination of single- sinusoidal signal and a broad band stochastic single and compared to pure stochastic excitation) by using robust techniques EFDD enhanced frequency domain to harmonic excitation.  Six vibration modes were identified in the frequency range of 0-1.6 kHz by two techniques FDD & EFDD.  The paper-wrap and foam-net cushioning materials interaction is also studied.  Damage identification technique has been applied to determine the integrity of the structure.  Nearly all the examined fruit showed deterioration due to vibro-pressure and friction stresses mainly consisting of translucent or darkened bruises and streaks.  Results obtained from test without cushioning materials have been correlated with the package of paper-wrap cushioning materials and foam-net cushioning materials.     Keywords: vibration analysis, crisis transport, quality, damage, food safet

Comparison of Package Cushioning Materials to Protect Vibration Damage to Golden Delicious Apples

Damage to fruits and vegetables continues to be a big challenge as global markets become a reality. Worldwide distribution of sensitive produce is faced with various levels of impacts from shipping and handling. Despite a variety of packaging options available today, bruising damage is commonplace for post-harvest apples throughout the supply chain. The major sources of bruising are compression, impact or vibration forces.Vibration simulation carried out to measure the dynamic behavior of a apple during transporting. The experimental program included the dynamic study on-line. Operational modal parameter estimation was made based on acquired data for three types of cushioning materials (foam-net, paper-wrap and without (control)). To assess the dynamic behavior of package and the damage to apple due to transient vibration during transporting and the possible effect due to the damage of apple in package.Six identified modes were identified in the frequency range (0-1.6 kHz) using two techniques of estimation. Peak picking method (P-P) and robust technique enhanced frequency domain decomposition (EFDD) are applied to avoid harmonic components in application.The results obtained in range control package shows that increasing damage volume compared to paper- warp and foam-net package, may be due to closing harmonic frequency of mechanical element with natural frequency of apple and this need much attention in design the system for fruit transport trucks in attempt to keep the resonance frequencies of fruit away from exciting frequency of rotating system. A comparison of experimental results of three types of cushioning materials shows that foam-net package is more suitable for packaging. The use of foam-net reduced the percentage of damage fruit by (50-63%)

DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING OF PROTOTYPE FOR ORANGE GRADING USING PHOTOTRANSISTOR

Fruits are usually graded according to their quality. The purpose of the grading is to grad fruit into uniform categories (according to size, shape, weight, color and ripening stage). So the fruit can be classified as different grades according to the requirements of the market. Due to the lack of the small grading machinery to fit small farms and higher prices of large grading machinery, therefore this study aimed to designing, manufacturing and performance evaluating of a prototype for orange grading based on the dimensions of the fruit, which take place without physical contact. The prototype uses different successively operating components, such as phototransistors and actuators, each performing a specific task. The operating principle depend on the phototransistor, signal gathering circuit are also provided, a processing circuit and output circuit for distributing unit. When it works, the system receives digital signals produced by fruits that shadow the light from a phototransistor sensor during fruit measuring. After digital signals processed by the electronic circuit, every fruits sizing level is deduced. Then, the system will output switch signals to open the sorting switches according to fruits size.Testing of the grading prototype was statistically factorial in completely randomized design, featuring three control factors (conveyor chain velocity, sphericity percentage of fruit and stopping time) and three performance evaluation parameters (grading efficiency, damage percentage and productivity. The result showed that the best degree of grading efficiency obtained with the best degree of damage percentage were at 0.15m/s chain velocity and 1.5 sec Stopping time