Investigating the use of acoustic vibrations to harvest winegrapes
Date
2013
Authors
Zrna, B.N.
Fielke, J.M.
Saunders, C.
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Conference paper
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2013 Society for Engineering in Agriculture Conference : innovative agricultural technologies for a sustainable future, 2013, pp.320-324
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2013 Society for Engineering in Agriculture (SEAg) Conference (22 Sep 2013 - 24 Sep 2013 : Mandurah, Western Australia)
Abstract
Australian wine grapes are commonly harvested with machines using pivoting bow shaped rods which shake the foliage and thus dislodge the bunch and berries from the vine. This investigation looks at improving the design and operation of the fruit removal system of mechanical wine grape harvesters. A method of vibrating the grape berries at their natural frequency using acoustics and thus having the berries dislodge themselves from the bunch will be trialled. Some earlier trials in a laboratory resulted in most berries being able to be dislodged using acoustic vibration. The trials on Thomson Seedless and Red Globe grapes using a frequency generator, an amplifier and a transducer showed that with a square wave output between 50 to 70 hertz berries can be dislodged from their rachis. These results need to be replicated for wine grapes of different varieties and sugar levels. Acoustic vibrations can be generated using electric or hydraulic devices controlled electronically so that varying frequencies can be selected to remove all of the grapes or only a selected range of ripeness or sized berries.
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Copyright 2013 Engineers Australia