Determination of Drop-Test Behavior of a Sample Peach Using Finite Element Method

It is very important to determine mechanical damage quantity of fruit and vegetables during harvesting, handling, transportation, and storage. Specifically, determining damage quantity of agricultural products is very difficult on existing external forces. However, one of the useful methods is the finite elements method that can be used in different engineering disciplines to simulate the behavior of materials under the defined boundary conditions. In this study, a drop-test simulation was performed for peach samples by means of finite elements method. Some mechanical properties of the sample were measured by an experimental study (compressive test) and the obtained data were used in the finite elements method simulation. The stress-strain and force-deformation curve of peaches were determined as maximum force, Poisson’s ratio, specific deformation, modulus of elasticity, stress, and deformation energy were found to be: 59.6 N, 0.29, 10.9%, 0.89 Nmm–2, 1.19 Nmm–2, and 162.2 Nmm, respectively. At the end, the distribution of stress and shape of deformation of sample peaches at impact was obtained. When the stress magnitudes were evaluated, simulation outputs showed that simulation stress values are quite a bit compatible with experimental data.