62 1890 1 PB PDF

Int. J Latest Trends Agr. Food Sci.
Vol-2 No 1 March, 2012

36
Comparison of Package Cushioning Materials to
Protect Vibration Damage to Golden Delicious
Apples
Amer Eissa*
1
, A. H., Gamaa
1
. G. R, Gomaa
2
. F. R and Azam
1
. M. M
1
Department of Agriculture Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural
Minoufiya University, Shibin El-Kom, EGYPT.
2
Department of Production Eng.& Mech. Design, Faculty of Engineering,
Minoufiya University,Shibin El-Kom, EGYPT.

Abstract - Damage to fruits and vegetables continues to
be a big challenge as global markets become a reality.
Worldwide distribution of sensitive produce is faced
with various levels of impacts from shipping and
handling. Despite a variety of packaging options
available today, bruising damage is commonplace for
post-harvest apples throughout the supply chain. The
major sources of bruising are compression, impact or
vibration forces.
Vibration simulation carried out to measure the
dynamic behavior of a apple during transporting. The
experimental program included the dynamic study on-
line. Operational modal parameter estimation was
made based on acquired data for three types of
cushioning materials (foam-net, paper-wrap and
without (control)). To assess the dynamic behavior of
package and the damage to apple due to transient
vibration during transporting and the possible effect
due to the damage of apple in package.
Six identified modes were identified in the frequency
range (0-1.6 kHz) using two techniques of estimation.
Peak picking method (P-P) and robust technique
enhanced frequency domain decomposition (EFDD) are
applied to avoid harmonic components in application.
The results obtained in range control package shows
that increasing damage volume compared to paper-
warp and foam-net package, may be due to closing
harmonic frequency of mechanical element with natural
frequency of apple and this need much attention in
design the system for fruit transport trucks in attempt
to keep the resonance frequencies of fruit away from
exciting frequency of rotating system. A comparison of
experimental results of three types of cushioning
materials shows that foam-net package is more suitable
for packaging. The use of foam-net reduced the
percentage of damage fruit by (50-63%).

Key Words: Apple, Bruise volume, Vibration damage,
Cushioning materials, Modal testing,
Operational Modal Analysis.

1. Introduction
Apples are a popular and nutritious
horticultural product popular worldwide. Consumers
insist on a high quality product that is free from any
bruises, cuts, punctures, physiological disorders and
pathogens (Matzinger B, Tong C. 1993). Bruising,
which is objectionable to fresh-market consumers,
can result in a lower grade for any apple. Several
studies have been conducted internationally that
show that compression, vibration and impact forces
cause a majority of the mechanical damage, such as
bruising, to apples in the supply chain. Apples
packaged commercially undergo a series of shocks as
a result of handling and transportation. Every process
from picking of the fruit to distribution to the
consumer offers an opportunity for bruises, cuts, or
punctures. Various studies have been done to
determine the effects of picking, handling, and
transportation on damage.
The quality of fruits can be determined by
its external and internal characteristics. The most
important external characteristics are the size, shape,
smell, appearance and product presentation, and the
most important internal characteristics are the taste
and texture (Abbott and Lu, 1996; Chen & de
Baerdemaeker, 1993; Wang & Sheng, 2005). The
flesh firmness is a texture attribute and one of the
major fruit quality indicators. The demands for high
quality fruits make it necessary for growers and
distributors to set up an integrated quality control
system for monitoring the quality of the fruits during
picking, storage, and distribution. The traditional
destructive technique for measuring the firmness is
the Magness-Taylor firmness test with penetrometer.
This method which is defined in terms of resistance
to penetration is, however, destructive and cannot be
used for on-line control of fruit quality. Currently,
there is a growing interest in non destructive methods
for on-line sorting. Many researchers proposed some
non-destructive methods based on the dynamic
principles, such as the acoustical signal and
resonance frequency produced by the machinery
____________________________________________________________________________________
International Journal of Latest Trends in Agriculture & Food Sciences
IJCSET, E-ISSN: 2049-5684
Copyright ExcelingTech, Pub, UK (http://excelingtech.co.uk/)

Int. J Latest Trends Agr. Food Sci. Vol-2 No 1 March, 2012
37
knock and shock power, (traditional modal analysis)
which utilize eigen-frequency of fruit vibration or
shock power to measure its firmness (Abbott et al.,
1992; Schotte et al., 1999; De Belie et al., 2000;
Wang, 2003; Wang et al., 2004a; 2004b). Although
the measurements and technologies may be different,
their purposes in all studies are to evaluate the
Youngs modulus of fruit firmness and obtain their
relationship. Several non destructive methods for
firmness estimation have been developed; the most
important ones are based on vibrations (Abbott, et al.,
1995), ultrasounds (Galili et al., 1993), compression
(Bellon et al., 1993) and impact forces.
Much research has been carried recently out
on assessing the effect of vibration during transport
on farm produce. The frequencies of transport
vibration have been monitored for trucks carrying
fresh fruit (Hinsch et al., 1993; Jarimopas et al.,
2005). Moreover, much attention has been paid to
assessing mechanical damage to different species of
fruit and vegetables during transport, such as potato
(Turczyn et al., 1986), peaches (Vergano et al.,
1991), apples (Timm et al., 1996; Van Zeebroeck et
al., 2006), loquats (Barchi, 2002), and pears
(Berardinelli et al., 2005). It is thus well known that
one of the major causes of mechanical damage to
fresh fruit is vibration during transport between farms
and retail out lets (Remon et al., 2003).
Apples are exposed to compressive forces
via forces applied by the pickers body, tree limbs,
ladder rungs or rail, bulk bin rails and bottoms.
Compressive forces may also get applied to apples by
other apples because of excessive bulk bin depth or
carton stack height, by operators forcing the cartons
shut or into a tight spot, etc (Brown 1993).

Vibration
forces are the second major cause of mechanical
damage to apples in the supply chain and are almost
impossible to avoid. If the cartons or bins that carry
the apples through the distribution environment hit
resonance (their natural frequency matches the
forcing frequency of the conveyance), severe
accumulated bruise damage is inherent. Impacts
impart high forces in an extremely short duration and
are often not obvious in mechanical handling systems
such as those used in packing lines. The effect of
impact forces usually results in bruises, permanent
damage and lower perceived quality. Bruise
sensitivity has also been reported to increase with
storage time (Brown 1993).

Effectiveness of
cushioning materials in protecting impact damage of
apples is the primary objective of this research.
Various packaging materials are in use today
to wrap individual apples to provide cushioning so
that they may survive the adverse distribution
environment effects. In a study, a net made of dry
banana string, an agricultural waste wrapping for
apples, was shown to save the fruit from damage at
the impact energy of 1.1 J (Jarimopas et al., 2004).
This study mentioned problems of fungi attack due to
the wrapping on the skin of the fruit. Another
research studied paper that is typically applied to line
the inner surface of plastic and bamboo fruit
containers for protecting fresh fruit from bamboo cuts
and moisture loss during transport (Jarimopas et al.,
2002). Paper was found not to be a good cushioning
material against impact damage. (Peleg, 1985).
Describes good interior packaging as that which
treats a fruit as separate units, avoids fruit-to-fruit
contact, absorbs the impact energy and is practical.

At present, foam nets function well as one of the
commercial packaging solutions (Chonhenchob V,
Singh SP., 2004).

However, it is not easily degradable
in a landfill.
For agriculture applications in many existing
practical case in addition to the random loads,
harmonic excitations are also present due to for
instance to the rotating components. If the frequency
of the harmonic components of the input is close to
the eigen-frequency of the fruit, damage will occur,
and OMA procedure fails to identify the modal
parameter accurately (Mohanty & Rixen, 2004;
Batel, 2002; Jacobsen et al., 2007). Therefore special
attention must be paid to identify and separate
harmonic component from structural modes and
eliminate the influence of harmonic component in
modal analysis, we need robust analysis to solve
problem which cannot be solved by conventional
approach as in (Ran Zhou et al., 2007; Barchi, 2002;
Vursavus & Ozguven, 2004), they used linear (PSD),
and this spectrum cannot detect side band frequency
if there is closed frequency because of poor
resulation through the average result and it need to
special correlation detection as in (Galvin, 2007)
used P-P method and this is good method for light
damping and for spaced modes. (Barchi, 2002;
Brincker et al., 2000) used natural excitation
technique and complex expontional identification) in
the presence of harmonic excitation.
38
In this paper exciter vibration with force
transducer used to investigate the fruit damage during
transport and measuring the response through
accelerometers with different types of cushioning
material were employed in simulated transporting test
in laboratory as in Fig (1a, b, c), using robust
technique to avoid harmonic component in
application this method is EFDD (Schwarz &
Richarson, 2001; Jacobsen et al., 2007) and
compared with P-P method. Three different types of
cushioning material were employed (paper-wrap
package, foam-net package and without-paper
package). The OMA procedure is based on damage
monitoring that could open the door or exploits the
automated (fruit and vegetables) damage monitoring
towards an automated fruit inspection system.
2. Experimental Procedure

Figure -1a. Schematic layout of the system used for vibrations analysis

Figure.1c. Position reference and vertical accelerometer.

39
An experimental platform is created to
investigate health monitoring schemes under (OMA)
for apple using three different types of cushioning
material and two techniques for operational modal
parameters estimation, the methods included.
1- Evaluation of change in modal properties.
2- Evaluation of EFDD (Enhanced
Frequency Domain Decomposition) transmittance
function with structure subjected to high frequency
and compound mode.
2.1. Specimen Preparation
Golden Delicious Apples at commercial
maturity, according to the skin color of fruits were
selected on the basis of uniform color and absence of
bruises and disease. All of the apples (about 200 kg)
were transported to the laboratory within 2 h.
According to the commonly used storage method for

Figure 2. OMA measurement model.

Figure 3- Schematic layout of the system used for preliminary vibration analysis.
40
golden delicious apples. Five fruits were selected
randomly from each group and a number was affixed
to their stem. Then, the selected apples were
transported in a refrigerated box to the laboratory
about 2 h prior to measurements.
The tested apples are taken from the main
spring crop (summer 2009, 2010), (Golden Delicious
Apples) were obtained from the Privet Farm",
samples were carefully hand harvested. All samples
stored after harvesting to a certain period, and then
tested in natural temperature after stored period.
2.2. Simulation Testing
The evaluation of the apple damage using
OMA was carried out simulating road transport in a
vibration exciter with three different of cushioning
packaging materials and two different of package
type. To simulate the transportation and random
vibration was used with force transducer.
Firstly Preliminary vibration measurements
were carried out on the apple package which putted
on the exciter as shown Fig (1a). During all
measurements package apples are placed above the
exciter, which generates random vibrations. Two
piezoelectric accelerometers were fixed on the two
positions one is a reference and the other moving
through a series of dots on the packaging individual
fruit apple as in Fig (2). The accelerometers were
connected to charge amplifier and (Pulse Lab shop
software 14.1.1.51) analyzer. The signals were
analyzed in the range (0-1.6 kHz) using FDD
technique (Jacobsen et al., 2007).
A frequency analysis of the signals was
carried using EFDD (Schwarz & Richarson, 2001;
Jacobsen et al., 2007) to assess the variability of
successive repeated measures of auto and cross
correlation function. Since two accelerometers were
available for the testing one of these accelerometers
is held stationary for the reference during the test Fig
(1c), where the i/p force remains unknown and may
vary between the set-ups. The reference
accelerometers is chosen in order to be able to
measure very carefully all the global mode of the
structure. To have a laboratory test for OMA
evaluation the data analysis in frequency range of
interest (0-1.6 kHz).
The apples were removed from cold storage
and inspected for any visible fruit damage in the form
of a bruise, cut, or puncture. Pre-test damage was
marked so as to not be included in the test results.
The apples were then immediately placed into the
package with three type of cushioning materials
(paper-wrap package, foam-net package and without-
paper package) on exciter vibration table.
2.3. Data Analysis
Different procedures to obtain modal
parameters from the ambient vibration data have been
considered (Mohanty & Rixen, 2004; Brownjohn,
2003; Brincker & Anderson, 2001; Galvin, 2007;

Figure 4 - The resonance frequencies of structure and coherence function between two signals.
41
Batel, 2002; Schwarz & Richarson, 2001; Jacobsen et
al., 2007).
The applied forces are unknown; therefore,
neither the FRF nor impulse response function can be
obtained to determine modal parameters as in
classical modal analysis (Dascotte, 2002; Batel,
2002).
The signal at the fixed accelerometer is used
as a reference to determine the FRF and the impulse
response function (Caccese et al., 2004). Two
complementary identification methods have been
considered in the present work (FDD and EFDD),
based on frequency domain analysis using Matlab
tool box. Fig (4) shows the resonance frequencies of
structure and coherence function between two signals
To indicate firmness f or spherical fruit,
stiffness factor (S) or firmness index (FI) (first

Figure 5 - Peak-picking of the average normalized singular values of the complete PSD matrix.

Figure 6 - .Mode shape of package fruit during OMA tests
42
introduced by Nourain Jamal, et al 2005) can be
calculated as:
S = f
2
m
2/ 3
(1)
where: S is the stiffness coefficient (kg
2/3

s
- 2
), f the dominant frequency where response
magnitude is the greatest (Hz) and m the fruit mass
(g).
Gmez. A. H., et al. 2006, reviewed a
mathematical model for the interpretation of the
vibrational behavior of intact fruit. They showed
that the Elastic Modulus (or Youngs Modulus) could
be estimates satisfactorily as follows:
E = f
2
m
2/3
1/3
(2)
where: E is the elasticity coefficient (Pa)
and the density (kg/m
3
).
2.3.1. The first identification method employed is peak-
picking (P-P).
Each of the SDOF systems obtained by the
singular value decomposition allows us to identify
the natural frequency and mode shape (unscaled) at a
particular peak. Using the operational modal analysis
software, we perform the peak-picking technique
(similar to the quadrature-picking in classical modal
analysis) for each resonance on the average of the
normalized singular values for all data sets see Fig
(4). The FDD technique provided the resonance
frequencies and the mode shapes. The very well
defined deformation patterns were animated using the
software and exhibit very clear modal deformations.
The frequency domain decomposition provided very
good results for the resonance frequencies and the
mode shapes. It is important to note that the
deformations obtained are not true mode shapes. The
residues obtained in the mathematical derivation are
not scaled to the input force and therefore will not
provide scaled shape vectors. It is also possible to
obtain damping characteristics of each mode and
more precise resonance frequencies by using the
enhanced frequency domain decomposition based on
the determination of the correlation functions (Fig
(5).
This has been used with success in many
other applications (Coucke et al., 2003; Galvin, 2007;
Brincker et al., 2000). This method is based on the
fact that when FRF reach a peak at certain frequency
it can be associated to the force or to resonance
frequency of the structure. Natural frequencies are
identified from the peaks of spectral density function
ni di
. 1
2
=

(3)

The distinguish between peaks associated
with the excitation and those associated with
resonance frequencies of the structure the coherence
function between two signal has a value close to one
for the resonance frequencies of the structure. This
fact helps to decide as shown in Fig (5 a, b) which of
the frequencies really are the natural frequencies of
the structures, the (peak picking methods) (P-P) is
based on the assumption that the dynamic resonance
peak is determined for each mode. This valid for
well separated mode as in Fig (6) and it's difficult to
identify modes very close to each other using this
method.
2.3.2. The second identification technique used is the
Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition (EFDD).
The technique used in frequency domain
(Jacobsen, 2006) which, from a simple form,
introduces significant improvement to the peak-
picking technique. This method based on a modal
decomposition realization of the spectral density
matrix. One of the advantages of this method being
the possibility of identifying the very close modes.
This nonparametric technique estimates
modal parameters directly from signal processing.
FDD technique estimates the modes using
singular value decomposition (SVD) of each spectral
density matrix. This composition corresponds to
(SDOF) identification of the system for each singular
value.
The relationship between the input x (t) and
the output y (t) can be written in the following form
(Jacobsen, 2006).
( ) [ ] ( ) [ ] ( ) [ ] ( ) [ ]
T
xx yy
j H j G j H j G =
(4)

where: G
xx
(j) : is the input power spectral
density matrix that is constant in the case of a
stationary Zero mean white noise input
G
yy
(j) : is the output PSD matrix, and H(j)
: is the FRF matrix as in equation (2).
The FRF matrix can be written in a typical
partial fraction from used in classical modal analysis
in term poles and residues.
( ) [ ]
( ) [ ]
( ) [ ]
[ ] [ ]
k
k
m
k c
k
j
R
j
R
X
Y
j H

= =

=
*
1
(5)

where :
dk k
j k
+ =
43
m being the total number of modes. 1
k

being the pole of the k
th
mode, s
k
the modal damping
and w
dk
the damped natural frequency of the k
th

mode:
2
0
1
k k dk
=

(6)
With
k
k
k
0
=

k
being the critical damping and w
0k
the
undamped natural frequency, both for mode k.
The (EFDD) technique allows the resonance
frequency and damping of a particular mode to
extract by computing the auto and cross correlation
functions (Schwarz & Richarson, 2001).
The free-decay time domain function (the
correlation function of the SDOF system) is used to
estimate damping for mode k:
=
pk
k
k
r
r
p
0
ln
2
(7)
where r
0k
is the initial value of the
correlation function and r
pk
is the p
th
extrema. The

Figure 8. Shape of damage to the flesh of the apple

Figure 9 - Degree of damage to the flesh of the apple
44
critical damping ratio for mode k is obtained with the
formula:
2
2
4
+
=
k
k
k
(8)
The damped natural frequency is obtained
by linear regression of the crossing times
corresponding to the extrema of the correlation
function. The undamped natural frequency for mode
k is then:
2
0
1
k
dk
k
f
f

=
(9)
Both parameters and an improved version of
the mode shapes are estimated from the SDOF Bell
functions. The SDOF Bell function is estimated using
the mode determined by the previous FDD peak-
picking operation. The latter is used as a reference
vector in a correlation analysis based on the Modal
Assurance Criteria (MAC). A MAC value is
computed between the reference FDD vector and a
singular vector for a particular frequency region. The
MAC value describes the degree of correlation
between 2 modes (it takes a value between 0 and 1)
and is defined as follows for 2 vectors f and Y :
{ } { }
{ } { }
{ } { }

=
.
*
) , (
2
MAC
(10)
The MAC is probably the most commonly
used procedure to correlate two sets of mode shape
vectors. The MAC is a coefficient analogous to the
correlation coefficient in statistics and ranges from 0
to 1; a value of 1 implies perfect correlation of the
two mode shape vectors while a value close to 0
indicates uncorrelated vectors. In general, a MAC
value greater than 0.800.85 is considered a good
match while a MAC value less than 0.40 is
considered a poor match.
The damping ratios can be identified
through the refinement of the FDD technique, called
EFDD. The EFDD technique is based on the fact that
the first singular value in the neighbourhood of a
resonant peak is the ASD of a modal coordinate.
Hence, taking back the partially identified ASD of
the modal coordinate in time domain by inverse FFT
yields a free decay time domain function, which
represents the autocorrelation function of the modal
coordinate. The natural frequency and the related
damping ratio are thus simply found by estimating
crossing times and logarithmic decrement.
After vibration testing the cartons were
stored a temperature of (20-22C
0
) for about 2472h
to allow full development of the bruise, after which
the apples in the cartons were then removed
individually and inspected for damage. During this
interval, the color of the bruised parts of the fruit
flesh changed from the original to brown (Schoorl &
Holt, 1977). The fruit were then cut in the middle of
the two bruised spots perpendicularly to the fruit
surface and the diameters (D) and depths (d) (mm) of
the spots were measured as shown in Fig (8). These
were used to calculate the bruise volume of the
individual spot based on the formula (Zarifneshat., et
al. 2010):
BV= (/6)* d*D
2
(11)
The number of bruises in each category
were recorded for each box type and each power
density spectrum used. A computer program
developed to analyze apple damage data was used to
summarize the data. Two types of product damage
data were determined:
(i) percentage of bruised fruit;
(ii) bruise area per fruit (mm
2
).
The percentage bruised fruit gives the
fraction of all apples in a carton that are bruised in
any way. the bruise areas, A, were then determined
by measuring the widths (2a and 2b, as shown in Fig.
(10) and assuming they were elliptical: (Lewis et al.
2007)
A= ab (12)

Figure 10 - Elliptical bruise thickness method for
bruise determination

3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Vibration levels in transit
The main characteristics of the vibration
levels of golden delicious apples in the exciter during
the tests are shown in (Figure.11) and Table 1. In the
current study, the PD spectra of apples with different
cushioning materials for two type package (Cartoon)
were characterized by peaks in the 200400 Hz, 400-
600 Hz and 600800 Hz range, with the highest
values noted for apples without cushioning materials
and the lowest for apples with foam nets. These data
were confirmed by the spectra of different vibration
levels during transport.
45
According to Table 1, foam-net packages
resulted in different frequency responses of peaks in
PD spectra from other samples. This phenomenon
could be due to the texture of foam-net packages,
which has more elasticity and springiness than paper-
wrap packages. The data in (Figure.11) indicate that
the values of the PD spectra attenuated above 200
800Hz relying on cushion materials, which showed
little effects of transport vibration in the damage to
fruits because of their low energy for higher
frequencies. Also, according to the results, there was
a very small difference between the different
cushioning materials in the vibration levels at
frequencies above 800Hz. Our data suggest that
foam-net packages were the most efficient in
alleviating vibration intensity during transport.
Vibration acceleration was determined using
PSD (Fig.11). Table (1) showed main characteristics
and peak values of power density (PD), Frequency
interval (Hz) of apples with different cushioning
materials for cartoon package, located at excitation,
during tests, which peaked at 331, 436 and 642 Hz

Figure 11. Power density (PD) spectra vs frequency (F) of the apples with
different cushioning materials at cartoon package

Figure.12. Typical acceleration history versus time during excitation.
46
from control package, package with foam- net

Fig. 13. Vibration during excitation from package with: (a) foam- net cushioning material, (b) paper-wrap
cushioning material, (c) control, at cartoon package.

47
cushioning material and package with paper-wrap
cushioning materials (Fig.11) in cartoon package.

Table 1. Main characteristics and peak values of
power density (PSD) ((m/s
2
)/Hz), Frequency
interval (Hz) of apples with different cushioning
materials at carton package, located at excitation,
during tests
Package frequency
(Hz)
Peak value
((m/s
2
)/Hz) of PD
spectra
control 331 3.73E-2
paper-wrap
cushioning
material
642 1.23E-1
Foam- net
cushioning
material
436 1.57E-2

To determine shock and vibration during
excitation, we measured the continuous acceleration.
(Fig.12) shows a typical example of acceleration data
for 1000
s
. Based on careful observation of
acceleration data, we found that shocks occur
frequently (Fig.12). The acceleration amplitude of
these shocks is mostly above 2 m/s
2
. These shocks
prevent the waveform from being considered random
vibration, and their acceleration level is significantly
higher than that of vibration
Typical exciter acceleration data is shown in
(Fig. 13) at package (cartoon): (a) from package with
foam- net cushioning material , (b) from package
with paper-wrap cushioning material and (c) from
control package. Vibration acceleration during foam-
net cushioning material was very much lower than by
package with paper-wrap cushioning materials.
According to Table 2, show maximum values of
acceleration of apples with different cushioning
materials for two type package. Data of vibration
acceleration at package with foam- net cushioning
material was lower than at package with paper-wrap
cushioning material and control package at cartoon
package. Our data suggest that package with foam-
net cushioning materials were the most efficient in
alleviating acceleration intensity during excitation.

Table 2. Main characteristics and maximum
values of acceleration (m/s
2
), time (ms) of apples
with different cushioning materials for two type
package, located at excitation, during tests
Package Time (ms) Acceleration (m/s
2
)
Control 708 4.99E+00
paper-wrap
cushioning
material
576 8.12E+00
Foam- net
cushioning
material
769 3.48E+00

Typical exciter force data is shown in (Fig.
14) at carton package: (a) from package with foam-
net cushioning material , (b) from package with
paper-wrap cushioning material and (c) from control
package. Vibration force during foam-net cushioning
material was very much lower than package with
paper-wrap cushioning materials.
According to Table 2, show maximum
values of force of apples with different cushioning
materials for two type package. Data of vibration
force at package with foam- net cushioning material
was lower than at package with paper-wrap
cushioning material and control package at two type
of package. Our data suggest that package with foam-
net cushioning materials were the most efficient in
alleviating acceleration intensity during excitation.
3.2. Dynamic behavior of Apple during
transporting.

The variation of vibration characteristics of
this type of apple with the correlation of its behavior
and material characteristics was investigated using
(OMA) for three types of cushioning materials. The
dynamic behavior of the simulation model of exciting
apples are governed by vertical bending and torsion
modes, in the frequency range of (0 1.6 kHz), six
modes have been identified in this frequency range.
Table ( ) shows the obtained natural frequencies and
damping loss factor for two techniques of estimation
of the model under the excitation conditions for both
three types of cushioning materials. The first test was
carried for foam-net cushioning material while the
second test for paper-wrap cushioning material and
the third was using without-paper cushioning
material for each apple. Very little change appears in
the natural frequencies obtained from the three
experimental tests, as can be seen from the values
shown in Table (3).
From measured resonance frequency, the
dynamic stiffness factor (SF) of the apple
48
was calculated and described according to Eq. (1). Table 4 and Fig.(15a, b, c) show the relation

Figure. 14. Force, (N) vs. Time (ms) during excitation from package with: (a) foam- net cushioning material,
(b) paper-wrap cushioning material, (c) control, at cartoon package.

49
between the resonant frequency and stiffness factor
(SF) of apple, which show that increasing stiffness
factor (SF) by increasing natural frequency for all
three type of cushioning materials at carton package.

Table 3. Main characteristics and maximum
values of force (N), time (ms) of apples with
different cushioning materials at carton package,
located at excitation, during tests
Cartoon
Package Tim
e (ms)
Force
(N)
Control 942 1.9E+
00
paper-wrap
cushioning
264 3.86E
+01
material
Foam- net
cushioning
material
815 1.06E
+00

From measured resonance frequency, the
dynamic modulus of elasticity of the apple was
calculated and described according to Eq. (2). Table
4 and Fig.(15a, b, c) show the relation between the
resonant frequency and modulus of elasticity (E) of
apple, which show that increasing modulus of
elasticity (E) by increasing natural frequency for all
three type of cushioning materials at carton package.
Table (3). Determining resonance frequency and damping ratio with foam-net of cushioning materials.
Mode Frequency
Hz
Damping Ratio
%
Elasticity, E
MPa
Stiffness, S
10
4
Hz
2
kg
2/3

EFDD Mode, 1 15.81 4.759
0.0042 0.0576
EFDD Mode, 2 68.92 4.402
0.0800 1.0950
EFDD Mode, 3 121.9 6.257
0.2503 3.4255
EFDD Mode, 4 275.3 0.1138
1.2767 17.4713
EFDD Mode, 5 323 2.817
1.7574 24.0501
EFDD Mode, 6 410.8 1.078
2.8427 38.9021
EFDD: Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition

Table (4). Determining resonance frequency and damping ratio with paper-wrap of cushioning materials.
Mode Frequency
Hz
Damping Ratio
%
Elasticity, E
MPa
Stiffness, S
10
4
Hz
2
kg
2/3

EFDD Mode 1 24.13 4.093 0.0098 0.1342
EFDD Mode 2 77.67 2.716 0.1016 1.3907
EFDD Mode 3 142.1 4.896 0.3401 4.6548
EFDD Mode 4 249.3 5.088 1.0469 14.3270
EFDD Mode 5 342.8 1.53 1.9795 27.0890
EFDD Mode 6 370.9 2.446 2.3173 31.7122

Table (5). Determining resonance frequency and damping ratio of without paper cushioning materials.
Mode Frequency
Hz
Damping Ratio
%
Elasticity, E
MPa
Stiffness, S
10
4
Hz
2
kg
2/3

EFDD Mode 1 18.63 6.706 0.0058 0.0800
EFDD Mode 2 28.23 4.795 0.0134 0.1837
EFDD Mode 3 131.9 3.74 0.2931 4.0105
EFDD Mode 4 209.4 4.813 0.7386 10.1080
EFDD Mode 5 380.2 4.552 2.4350 33.3224
EFDD Mode 6 556.2 1.581 5.2111 71.3139

50

Fig.14a. Relation between the stiffness factor and natural frequency of package with foam-net cushioning materials

Fig.14b. Relation between stiffness factor and natural frequency of package with paper-wrap cushioning materials

Fig.14c. Relation between the stiffness factor and natural frequency of package without paper cushioning materials

51

Fig.15a. Relation between the stiffness factor and natural frequency of package with foam-net of cushioning materials

Fig.15b. Relation between the stiffness factor and natural frequency of package with paper-wrap of cushioning
materials

Fig.15c. Relation between the stiffness factor and natural frequency of package without paper cushioning materials

52
3.3. Evaluation of vibration damage
In the current study, the apples were
exposed to severe vibration and extended transit time.
Injuries to apples included darkened burnings of the
skin and bruises with little or no penetration into the
flesh. (Fig. 16) gives the results of damage evaluation
of the apples with different cushioning materials. The
greatest damage was noted in the apples without
cushioning materials. Similar to what was seen with
vibration levels, the use of foam-net packages was
more efficient at reducing damage to individual
apples than paper-wrap packages.
Both of the cushioning materials
efficaciously reduced severe and moderate damages
per fruit (Fig. 16). However, the average number of
bruises in the slight range for apple with paper-wrap
packages was more than that for apples without
packages. This was because the apples with paper-
wrap packages turned many severe and moderate
bruises into slight bruises for their protective effects.
Foam-net packages were still more effective at
decreasing severe and moderate damages than paper-
wrap packages. This phenomenon was not solely due
to the placement of a layer of cushioning materials
between each fruit, but may also be related to their
ability to decrease vibration levels during transport.
Clearly, foam-net packages had more protective
effect than paper-wrap packages. The estimated
percentage of the average number of bruises apples
were at without paper packages (8.49%), apples with
paper-wrap packages (3.59%) and apples with foam-
net packages (1.91%). (Gentry et al, 1965) reported
that vibration bruising affected fruit appearance
provided a point of entry for decay organisms and
increased moisture loss from the fruit. According to
the results, relatively lower bruise area for apples
Table (6). The difference in % of damage wall.
Type of package Damage
(%)

Change of damage skin
Bruise Area
(mm
2
)
Bruise Volume
(mm
3
)
Bruise Spot Ratio
(BSR, %)
Control 63 75.21 1269.45 21.35
paper-wrap cushioning 45 41.80 672.15 14.25
Foam- net cushioning 36 23.98 382.56 7.6

Figure16.The average number of bruises apples with different types of cushioning materials.

53
with foam-net contributed to keeping the quality of
fruits better during the storage after transport.

The bruise spots have characteristic shapes

Figure 17.The bruises area of apples with different types of cushioning materials during excitation
test.

Figure 18.The bruises volume of apples with different types of cushioning materials during
excitation test.

54
expressed by bruise spot ratio (BSR), the ratio of the
bruise spot thickness (d) to the bruise spot diameter
(D). Our results are concentrated in Table (6). The
bruises obtained in the package foam-net had rather
lower bruise spot ratio than paper-wrap and control
package.
Fig 17. Show the relation between bruise
area of apple and storage period which increased by
increasing period of storage in three type of
cushioning materials. Therefore, most of the
vibration forces transmitted from the vibration table
to the apple package are damped by the apple in the
package and cause bruising of the apple. The reason
for these bruises can be attributed to the fact that such
forces in the apples are higher, causing some of the
apples to be periodically weightless. Weightlessness
allowed the apples to rotate and to bump against each
other. This movement caused the surface
discoloration and cell wall fatigue, and consequently
bruising damage in apples according to (Amer Eissa,
A.H. and Gomaa, F. R, 2009).
Data presented in Fig (18) and table (6)
showed that increasing in the bruise volume
(damage) at different cushioning materials at
increasing storage period for apple at carton package
see fig. 18. The bruise volumes obtained in the
package foam-net had rather lower bruise volumes
than paper-wrap and control package see table (6).

4. CONCLUSION
1- Foam-net packages shows the practical use of
vibration absorber as a quality assessment
technique for apple to reduced the transport
vibration levels and it was more effectively than
paper-wrap packages.
2- The use of foam-net packages also reduced the
mechanical damage to individual apple during
transport, compared with paper-wrap packages
3- Fruit bruising is one of the most important
factors limiting mechanization and automation in
harvesting, sorting and transport of soft fruit and
vegetables. Bruise extent is usually described in
terms of bruise volume, which is closely related
to product quality. The most important bruise
factor in every case is the loading extent, which
is usually expressed in the terms of loading
energy or absorbed energy.
4- The technique allows a very fast measurement
on-line (OMA) technique allows a scientist,
technician, or engineer to perform a modal
investigation easily, quickly and accurately. It
can be accomplished by only measuring the
response of the structure subjected to unknown
and unmeasured force furthermore, since the
technique is based on the vibration of the pear as
a whole, a global quality parameters is found,
this in contrast with several classical techniques
that are used to assess fruit quality (for instance
penetrometer or firmness values) that only give
local information.
5- Due to the damping characteristic of apple and
effect of intersect of dominant harmonic
component in the measured responses (which is
unavoidable in many applications of OMA).
EFDD is a robust estimation of the resonant
frequency of the six modes and damping ratio
was used, based on smoothing of the frequency
spectrum (coherence) and spaced mode to sure
that there are not leakage exist and there for the
inverse test time are successively obtained.
6- The selection of location and direction for the
force excitation and the response measurement
sensor are most important for detecting a mode.
7- The dynamic characteristics of the fruit species is
an important factor in determining the causes of
in transient fruit damage during transporting, this
need much attention in research, the importance
of fruit natural frequency in design of the
suspension system for fruit transport trucks in
attempent to keep the resonance frequencies of
truck away from the range of fruit resonance
frequency and to design cushioning package to
protect an item (fruit) of known strength from
known shock and vibration.
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