Determination of acoustic vibration in watermelon by finite element modeling

Jamal Nourain; Yibin B. Ying; Jianping Wang; Xiuqin Rao

doi:10.1117/12.576953

19 November 2004 Determination of acoustic vibration in watermelon by finite element modeling

Jamal Nourain, Yibin B. Ying, Jianping Wang, Xiuqin Rao

Proceedings Volume 5587, Nondestructive Sensing for Food Safety, Quality, and Natural Resources; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.576953
Event: Optics East, 2004, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Abstract

The analysis of the vibration responses of a fruit is suggested to measure firmness non-destructively. A wooden ball excited the fruits and the response signals were captured using an accelerometer sensor. The method has been well studied and understood on ellipsoidal shaped fruit (watermelon). In this work, using the finite element simulations, the applicability of the method on watermelon was investigated. The firmness index is dependent on the mass, density, and natural frequency of the lowest spherical modes (under free boundary conditions). This developed index extends the firmness estimation for fruits or vegetables from a spherical to an ellipsoidal shape. The mode of Finite element analysis (FEA) of watermelon was generated based on measured geometry, and it can be served as a theoretical reference for predicting the modal characteristics as a function of design parameters such as material, geometrical, and physical properties. It was found that there were four types of mode shapes. The 1st one was first-type longitudinal mode, the 2nd one was the second-type longitudinal mode, the 3rd one was breathing mode or pure compression mode, and the fourth was flexural or torsional mode shape. As suggested in many references, the First-type spherical vibration mode or oblate-Prolate for watermelon is the lowest bending modes, it's most likely related to fruit firmness. Comparisons of finite element and experimental modal parameters show that both results were agreed in mode shape as well as natural frequencies. In order to measure the vibration signal of the mode, excitation and sensors should be placed on the watermelon surface far away from the nodal lines. The excitation and the response sensors should be in accordance with vibration directions. The correlations between the natural frequency and firmness was 0.856, natural frequency and Young's modulus was 0.800, and the natural frequency and stiffness factor (SF) was 0.862. The stiffness factor (SF) is adequate expression for the Modulus of Elastic (MOE), and adopted in the evaluation of their firmness.

Citation Download Citation

Jamal Nourain, Yibin B. Ying, Jianping Wang, and Xiuqin Rao "Determination of acoustic vibration in watermelon by finite element modeling", Proc. SPIE 5587, Nondestructive Sensing for Food Safety, Quality, and Natural Resources, (19 November 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.576953

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