Parameter Optimization of Vibrating and Comb-Brushing Harvesting of <i>Lycium barbarum</i> L. Based on FEM and RSM

• Main Authors: Jian Zhao, Te Ma, Tetsuya Inagaki, Yun Chen, Guangrui Hu, Zhiwei Wang, Qingyu Chen, Zening Gao, Jianguo Zhou, Miaohai Wang, Satoru Tsuchikawa, Jun Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: Horticulturae
• Subjects: <i>Lycium barbarum</i> L.; vibrating; comb-brushing; harvesting; mechanical model; finite element method
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/7/9/286

The current mechanical harvesting methods of <i>Lycium barbarum</i> L. are labor intensive and cause too much damage, but vibrating and comb-brushing harvesting can increase the efficiency while minimizing the damage. However, optimizing the main factors and their parameter values of vibrating and comb-brushing harvesting is challenging. To achieve the high-efficiency and low-damage harvesting of <i>L. barbarum</i>, firstly, the mechanical models of the materials used in the experiments were established based on the physical tests. Then, the vibrating and comb-brushing harvesting simulations were conducted based on FEM to acquire the ranges of the parameter values. The effects of the rotating speed, material, and amplitude on the harvesting rate of ripe fruit and harvesting rate of unripe fruit, as well as the damage rate of ripe fruit were determined based on RSM. Finally, the optimized parameters were obtained and verified using the field experiments. The field experiments showed that the harvesting rate of ripe fruit was 85.8%, the harvesting rate of unripe fruit was 10.5%, and the damage rate of ripe fruit was 9.7%. The findings provided the optimal parameter values, which were a design basis for the vibrating and comb-brushing harvesters of <i>L. barbarum</i>.