Innovations in Mechanization and Control Systems of Production in Olive Sector

The rapid and sweeping changes occurred in the last few years in the world have been crucial driving forces behind the evolution of olive growing practices on a global scale. These drives to change are gradually modifying the traditional olive growing scenarios thanks to the successful advent of a modern mechanized and specialized olive orchard cultivation where resource efficiency improvements and production cost reduction have become mandatory. In particular, the olive growing innovation process is based on a model referred to as “super intensive”, whose main advantage lies in highly-efficient mechanized harvesting operations performed uninterruptedly by means of the same grape harvesters long used to collect grapes. At renewal that affects models cultivation joins the growing attention paid to quality control and food safety are crucial in order to increase the competitiveness of products and improve the level of acceptance of same by consumers. "Traceability" is the key word today on the food scene, presenting as a tool of ompetitiveness and rationalization of production systems and enhancement of  uality productions. The present study is intended to explore both olive growing innovation process and its quality control systems, by a series of tests conducted in Spain and in Italy. The results obtained have shown that super intensive olive orchard cultivation presents clear advantages in terms of abatement of hours of work, which is meant to contain costs and reach appropriate levels of productivity while safeguarding olive quality. It appears also that, in response to growing demands for food security and enhancement of food production, a system of traceability can ensure accuracy and speed of transmission of  guarantee of quality

Innovations in Mechanization and Control Systems of Production in Olive Sector

The rapid and sweeping changes occurred in the last few years in the world have been crucial driving forces behind the evolution of olive growing practices on a global scale. These drives to change are gradually modifying the traditional olive growing scenarios thanks to the successful advent of a modern mechanized and specialized olive orchard cultivation where resource efficiency improvements and production cost reduction have become mandatory. In particular, the olive growing innovation process is based on a model referred to as “super intensive”, whose main advantage lies in highly-efficient mechanized harvesting operations performed uninterruptedly by means of the same grape harvesters long used to collect grapes. At renewal that affects models cultivation joins the growing attention paid to quality control and food safety are crucial in order to increase the competitiveness of products and improve the level of acceptance of same by consumers. "Traceability" is the key word today on the food scene, presenting as a tool of competitiveness and rationalization of production systems and enhancement of quality productions. The present study is intended to explore both olive growing innovation process and its quality control systems, by a series of tests conducted in Spain and in Italy. The results obtained have shown that super intensive olive orchard cultivation presents clear advantages in terms of abatement of hours of work, which is meant to contain costs and reach appropriate levels of productivity while safeguarding olive quality. It appears also that, in response to growing demands for food security and enhancement of food production, a system of traceability can ensure accuracy and speed of transmission of a guarantee of quality. Keywords: Super intensive olive growing, grape harvesters, traceability, food safety, Italy

Thermal analysis of a cold room

The purpose of this research was to study the storage of fresh raw horticultural material processed and frozen in an industrial plant in southern Italy. A simulation technique (validated by experimental tests) was used giving the chance to evaluate the effect of bins location on the cooling capacity of the cold room avoiding expensive experimental tests. An external cooling system and an intermediate fluid ensure the cooling of the products. The air is distributed inside the cold room by two blowers that provide the forced convection of the air itself. First of all, experimental tests were carried out to validate the preliminary results obtained from the previous experiment, and then the authors carried out a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis in order to verify where a good arrangement of the storage bins is achieved inside the room. The tests were carried out in summer (July) on zucchini and peppers. The important deviations in the temperature of the product are mainly due to the different position occupied by the bins in the room. In fact, they are positioned at different distances and heights from the forced convection fans. Both simulation and experimental results show that the raw material cooled in the shortest possible time was the one placed to the shortest distance from the wall and at the lowest height of the room because of the low heat transfer through the floor. By increasing the distance from the access door through which the most significant heat transfer takes place, there is a small variation due to the optimal position of the storage bins inside the room, which still allows a good distribution of air

Thermo-fluid-dynamic characteristics of confluent jets for distribution of treated air in small environment

The diffusion of the air through nozzles and/or diffusers has been studied extensively thanks to the numerous examples of environmental conditioning systems and in general of systems in which the flow of matter escapes from particular openings. In this paper, we studied closed and small environments requiring thermo-hygrometric and ventilation control. Air jets are used to mix the treated air within the environment. The widespread diffusion of this technology, mainly conceived for large environments, justifies the characterization of a particular type of system realized by the authors. The first results of experimental tests carried out with a particular air conditioning system are showed in the present work. The particularity of the system consists in a low construction cost, possibility of modifications and operation according to the characteristics and needs to different agricultural species. This initial phase of the research related to the isothermal regime, allowed by the conditioning system, aimed to characterize the fluid-dynamic behaviour of the air diffusion systems realized with perforated surfaces. First tests were carried out in a specifically designed climatic room whose climate conditions are strictly controlled by a suitable control system under isothermal conditions. Moreover, an ad-hoc designed experimental device was used. It consists of a pantograph kinematic structure carrying the probes around in the fluid dynamic field. It allows measuring air velocity in different points in stationary or slowing enough transient conditions. The experimental data was used to validate the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to predict the internal airflow velocity distribution

Vibration Analysis of an Olive Mechanical Harvesting System

Rosana G. Moreira, Editor-in-Chief; Texas A&M UniversityThis is a paper from International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR, Commission Internationale du Genie Rural) E-Journal Volume 9 (2007): Vibration Analysis of an Olive Mechanical Harvesting System. Manuscript PM 07 012. Vol. IX. July, 2007