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Mariana Cioba
- Supervisors:
Dr John Fielke, Dr. Essie Bidhendi
- Completion Date: December 2005
Project title:
Capstem Removal from Sultanas
Brief description of project:
The study investigates the percentage of capstem removal with a view
for reducing sultana damage and increasing the percentage of capstem
removal.
Project details
Client:
Dried Fruit Research and Development Council (awarded this
research with the Bob Taylor Scholarship Award in 2000)
Aims
- To provide recommendations on machine design and operating
parameters.
- To improve the removal efficiency of capstems from dried grapes,
where removal efficiency is a compromise between high capstem
detachment and low berry damage of sultanas for the dried fruit
processors to suit the requirements of the Australian consumers.
Methodology
- Examine the parameters affecting the capstem removal
- Study dried grapes physical properties
- Model the passage of capstems and sultanas through the cone
- Correlate the predicted data with known capstem characteristics
- Propose improved methods of capstem removal based on computer
models
Testing for this project has utilised using AMRDCs :-
- Stable Micro Systems Test Machine
- Experimental conning machine
- Computer packages
- Temperature controlled rooms
Achievements
- Mechanical properties of sultanas were determined and the impact
of sultana with the coning machine walls was simulated.
- Tensile forces necessary to completely remove the capstem
- Fatigue and number of cycles required to bend upon detachment of
the capstem
- Static analysis of capstem removal and ANSYS simulation of bending
the capstem
- Coefficient of Restitution for different temperatures and moisture
contents of sultana
- Dynamic simulation of a sultana impacting a plate
- Dynamic simulation of a sultana impacting the inner cone of the
conning machine
Publications
Cioba M and John Fielke, Coefficient of Restitution, paper presented
at the SEAg International Conference, Adelaide 2000.
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