| Author | Parameswarakumar, M. |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. AE-88-10 |
| Subject(s) | Mango--Harvesting
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Mass removal technique for mango harvesting have seldom been tried
in the past. This study was conducted to investigate the technical feasibility of harvesting mango fruits by limb shake-catch method. An inertia
type slider-crank limb shaker was designed and developed. Field tests
conducted on Pimesen Mun and Kaew mango cultivars showed that to obtain
maximum fruit removal with minimum tree damage , the shaker should be operated in the range of 7 . 62-10.16 cm eccentricity and 800-700 rpm for four
seconds. With a view to obtain optimum design parameters for the inertia
type shaker following relevant bioengineering properties of t he s hake
harvest system were studied namely natural frequencies of t he fruit-stem
joint, detachment force to weight ratio, apparent stiffness of the limb
and the phase angle between the shaking force and limb displacement.
Impact test of mangoes on various cushioning materials viz., canvas,
coconut coir, nylon net, sponge , and paddy straw yielded the values of
fragility factor and coefficients of restitution. It was observed t hat
nylon net has least fragility factor and coefficient of restitution and
therefore its use was recommended for catching the fruit .
The theoretical mode l using double-physical pendulum to represent
the fruit-stem motions was analysed to yield the natural frequencies of
the system. The damped natural frequencies were observed in the range of
5 to 6 and 25 to 27 rad/sec respectively . Based on t he theoretical model,
t he tree must be shaken at twice t he second natural frequency range (i.e
450 to 515 cpm) for harvesting mango fruits without stem.
From the investigations, t his study proved that harvesting mango
fruits by limb-shake catch method is technically feasible . |
| Year | 1988 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Food Engineering (AE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Gupta, Chandra P.
|
| Examination Committee(s) | Singh, Gajendra ;Gee-Clough, D. ;Salokhe, Vilas M.
|
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Denmark |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1988 |