Trends in Food Science & Technology 97 (2020) 29–37

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Trends in Food Science & Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tifs

Finite element modelling for fruit stress analysis - A review T

a a,b,∗ a,b
Nurazwin Zulkifli , Norhashila Hashim , Hazreen Haizi Harith ,
Mohamad Firdza Mohamad Shukerya,b
a
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
b
SMART Farming Technology Research Centre (SFTRC), Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Background: A deep understanding of the motion and the intensities of forces endured by the fruits overtime
Finite element method during the various handling processes is necessary if improvements are to be made in the handling systems or
Fruit response related tools. The finite element method (FEM) has been used to investigate the effect of mechanical loading on
Stress-strain analysis fruit before developing a prototype of the intended design. Simulation tests were performed to visualise the time-
dependent deformation behaviour. Various studies have been reported on the use of FE for studying the effect of
compression and drop forces on fruits. However, to the best of the knowledge of the authors, the application of
finite-element analysis in fruit mechanics has not been summarized yet.
Scope and approach: This review is concerned with establishing the introductory concept of FEM for evaluating
fruit response under the static and dynamic loading. The FE equations were formulated based on the stress-strain
constitutive equations.
Key findings and conclusions: The review summarises the application of FEM for fruit stress-strain analysis. A
brief description of the fundamentals and the existing models that have been developed to cope with problems of
fruit mechanics are reported. This paper provides a review of the main FEM studies and a comparison between
different types of stress analysis as well as outlining the potential use of FEM for future reference. This review
can become an appropriate, timely and beneficial reference for any relevant follow-up research for the assess-
ment of the quality of agricultural produces.

1. Introduction
Market demand for fruits has grown steadily all over the world, with
a total production of 785.25 million (M) metric tonnes (t) in 2017 as
compared to 779.55 Mt in 2016 (FAOSTAT 2019). Apart from this, Asia
led in 2017, accounting for 462.87 Mt which is equivalent to 58.94% of
the world total production. With an increase in consumption, many
distinct, true breeding varieties have been developed for desired phe-
notypes such as the shape, size, taste, flesh colour, firmness and disease
resistance (Majerska, Michalska, & Figiel, 2019). Fruit has become part
of the daily diet for most people as they are now aware of the health
benefits that come with an adequate fruit intake, for example to redu-
cing the risk of cancer (Poirier et al., 2019).
The availability of fruit for consumption must be increased by re-
ducing the amount of post-harvest losses and by improving the hand-
ling operation (Chegere, 2018). Improper physical handling during
harvesting, grading, packaging and transport can result in structural,
tissue and cell damage to fruits (Yuri et al., 2019). Therefore, it is
important to identify the factors affecting fruit deterioration and to use
the appropriate technological procedures to provide only the best
quality produce throughout the supply chain. The management of fruit
quality in distribution begins with understanding the nature of the
distribution chain, from production to consumption which involves
numerous mechanical operations. This is because all kinds of fruit are
characterised by the complex rheological behaviour of the non-homo-
geneous material, which constantly changes with time (Romero & Rose,
2019). Much work is required to express the relationships between
rheological and textural properties into a constitutive form as a math-
ematical function (Chen & Opara, 2013; Chen & Opara, 2013).
The determination of the textural and rheological properties of
fruits implies the measurement of stress and strain over a function of
time. Compression, tensile, drop and pendulum tests are performed to
measure the different mechanical properties of fruits (Giongo et al.,
2019; Komarnicki, Stopa, Szyjewicz, & Młotek, 2016; Opara & Fadiji,
2018; Pham & Liou, 2017; Stopa, Szyjewicz, Komarnicki, & Kuta,
2018). However, the conceptualisation either as a static or dynamic

∗
Corresponding author. Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor,
Malaysia.
E-mail address: norhashila@upm.edu.my (N. Hashim).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2019.12.029
Received 29 October 2019; Received in revised form 23 December 2019; Accepted 26 December 2019
Available online 02 January 2020
0924-2244/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
N. Zulkifli, et al. Trends in Food Science & Technology 97 (2020) 29–37

mechanical problem should be first defined before choosing the in- provide an obvious alternative for gaining the understanding using the
strumental method, as different tests measure specific properties. For framework of continuum mechanics. Formulation of the system equa-
instance, the texture analyser and universal testing machine are used to tion is developed to express the conservation of between mass, applied
measure the compression properties and the pendulum device is used to force and energy, supplemented with the established constitutive
measure the impact properties of fruits respectively. In practice, it is equations.
difficult to study every possible combination of critical stresses because The FE model can be developed using various choices of FEA soft-
each test is expensive and requires a specific experimental set-up. Plus, ware. The practicability of FEM is that it can reduce the number of
the probe sizes and shapes should be able to accommodate the sample physical experiments by replacing with a simulation study of the pro-
geometry or the measurement would not provide reliable results (Li, totype. Developing the FE model allows for simulation under the pre-
2013). It is also noticed that the given properties of a fruit are specific at defined case study. FE software such as ANSYS, ABAQUS and SOLID-
a given time, and that the mechanical response is also affected by the WORKS have prepossessing facilities to define the complicated
instrument properties. geometrics and to simulate structural, heat transfer and fluid flow
This current decade has seen the development of non-destructive problems.
techniques based on image processing technology (Hashim et al., 2013;
Mohd Ali, Hashim, Bejo, & Shamsudin, 2017; Zulkifli, Hashim, Abdan,
2. Finite element modelling
& Hanafi, 2019), thermo-acoustic ultrasound (Vasighi-Shojae, Gholami-
Parashkouhi, Mohammadzamani, & Soheili, 2018), electronic and
Fruits are diverse in nature, complex in structure and biodegradable
spectroscopy devices (Figueiredo Neto, Cárdenas Olivier, Rabelo
such that the nature of the deformation depends on the material con-
Cordeiro, & Pequeno de Oliveira, 2017) have been developed for au-
ditions of the fruit body. In order to gain an understanding of the sig-
tomatic quality detection of agricultural products. However, these
nificance of the material characterisation, studies have been done on
techniques require extensive research to anticipate real-time mon-
the characterisation of different biomaterials for predicting the rheo-
itoring, especially when fruit progressively and continuously tends to
logical properties of fresh fruit. A deep understanding of the motion and
soften throughout the ripening process (Goldberg, Agra, & Ben-Arie,
the intensities of forces endured over time during various handling
2019). The systems also require a standard setup for a particular type of
processes is necessary if improvements are to be made to the handling
fruit, which is even more challenging to develop a practical and por-
systems.
table usage of the system (Abasi, Minaei, Jamshidi, & Fathi, 2018).
FE mechanical modelling in fruit stress analysis is the process of
With the advancement in computer modelling and simulation, nu-
approximating the system equation, as well as simulating and pre-
merical methods have been adopted for studies of fruit mechanics.
dicting the mechanical responses in fruit upon loading. The results are
Finite element analysis (FEA) is used to solve multidimensional me-
assumed as the consequence of effects that need to be considered in
chanical problems which are derived by the partial differential equation
analysing specified mechanical problems. Fig. 1 illustrates the steps
of the mechanised systems. This method can be used to solve for ex-
involved in FE stress analysis as proposed by Fadiji, Berry, Coetzee and
ample, the estimation of the fruit responses to applied forces, making it
Opara, (2018). However, this chapter onwards will focus more on the
possible to determine the influence of post-harvest handling systems
pre-processing step as most work is done at that stage to develop the FE
that affect the susceptibility of the fruit to damage (Li, 2017). This
model. This includes the preparation of a geometrical model, assigning
method includes the finite volume method (FVM), the finite difference
method (FDM), and the finite element method (FEM). In FDM, partial
differential equations are discretised directly, and the functions are
written as a linear algebraic equation, represented by a grid point
within the continuum space (Rapp, 2017, pp. 623–631). FDM is more
suitable to model the behaviour of solids that have a simple and regular
geometrical shape for example granular materials. The results have
shown to be reliable to solve mechanics problems for soybean seeds
(Xu, Yu, Yu, & Wang, 2018), rapeseeds (Wojtkowski, Pecen, Horabik, &
Molenda, 2010) and grapes (Coetzee & Lombard, 2013). For FVM, the
system equation is discretised into several control volumes. The solu-
tion is usually formulated based on a related fluid or gas conservation
law, and the approximate functions are assumed to be the fluxes over
the surfaces of finite volume (Mazumder, 2016, pp. 277–338). Deriva-
tion of such functions is best used to solve fluid-flow (Kannan et al.,
2018; Brunetti, Šimůnek, & Bautista, 2018) gas adsorption (Rossi et al.,
2019) and heat transfer problems (Cevoli & Fabbri, 2017).
Meanwhile, for FEM, the system equation is solved by measuring
the local effects of point nodes. The domain is discretised into geome-
trical elements, and the approximate solutions over these elements are
represented by continuous functions at the nodes of each element. The
localised-solution for each element is measured and will be assembled
to represent the entire problem of the regional domain (Klimchik,
Pashkevich, & Chablat, 2019). The microscopic structural scale in fruit
tissues is a composite material, combining stiff reinforcing elements and
a compliant binding medium that assembled into increasingly larger
scale configurations to form the macroscopic tissue structure (Zhang,
Xiong, Yang, & Wu, 2019). Hence the macroscopic properties of fruit
issues are significantly affected by the composition and structure of the
microscopic tissues. With FEM, it can be assumed that fruit responses to
loading were reflected from the cells that assembled the entire physical Fig. 1. Steps involved in stress analysis by means of FEM (Adapted from Fadiji,
and mechanical properties (Dintwa et al., 2011). The FEM models Coetzee, Berry, Ambaw & Opara, 2018).

30
N. Zulkifli, et al. Trends in Food Science & Technology 97 (2020) 29–37

material properties, meshing, and defining the constraints and
boundary conditions for the designated simulation study.
The dataset of the geometry, mechanical properties and the applied
load of the fruit model will be generated as inputs for the FE codes to
generate matrix equations for each element. By means of FEM, the
equation is derived as a weak form of integral function which contains
an expression of a single-point solution to a given set of boundary
conditions and constraints. Theoretically, the element function U h is
approximated using polynomial interpolation within the nodes func-
tion, in the direction of x, y and z axes which can be expressed as
Equation (1) (Liu & Quek, 2014, pp. 43–79).
nd
U h = (x , y, z ) = ∑ Ni (x , y, z ) di
i=1 (1)
However, if the size is inappropriately small, a longer computational
time to solve the model may be required, especially for multiple
iterations of the nonlinear and dynamic stress analyses (Li, Li, Yang, &
Liu, 2013).
Automated meshing is normally employed. However, the element
nodes may not incorporate all features of the irregular shape of the
geometrical model even at the smallest scale of elements. Skills will be
then required, for instance, to use the combination of different types of
elements to mesh the complex geometrical region. Some authors have
assigned the different types of elements to mesh the different geome-
trical attributes within the fruit regions. For instance, Li, Andrews, and
Wang (2017) and Miraei Ashtiani et al. (2019) assigned the tetrahedral
elements for modelling the peel, whereas hexahedral elements were
used for the pulp for both tomato and grapefruit respectively.

where Ni is the sub-matrix of the function for nodal displacement, nd is

the number of nodes, di is the nodal displacement at the i -th node. The
approximate functions use to govern the system equation can be re-
presented by the following equation (Equation (2)).
[R] = [K ][u] − [F ] (2)
where [u], [K ], [R], F ] are the displacement matrix, stiffness matrix,
reaction matrix and the load matrix respectively. Based on the for-
mulation of the FEM equations, possible solutions can be obtained for
problems involving static or dynamic stress analysis.
2.3. Fruit properties
Fruits have inherent mechanical properties such as elasticity, visc-
osity and plasticity which are related to their structural components.
The choice of material model depends on the measured properties ob-
tained from the experimental data. The mechanical testing such as
compression, tensile, creep and stress-relaxation will be physically
executed to measure the specific properties to input in to the simulation
test studies. The computation of the mechanical properties will be done
using mathematical formulations.

2.1. Preparing the geometrical model

2.3.1. Elastic properties
Determination of the elastic modulus is most used to describe the
Ideally, the FE model should be able to define the geometrical
rheological behaviour of a biomaterial. For the isotropic model, the
properties of the fruit structure. Normally, a scanning procedure cou-
elasticity behaviour can be assumed such that when a certain level of
pled with an image processing technique is adopted in the modelling
force is applied, the model will be able to instantaneously and finitely
procedures. As the scanned fruit reflects the complexity of the geome-
deform upon its release. Hertz (1896) proposed a solution measuring
trical features within the different fruit regions i.e. the peel, flesh and
the modulus of the contact stresses in two sphere-elastic-isotropic
placenta, the processor might require more computational time to
bodies that were subject to uniaxial compression as shown in Table 1.
convert the surface model into a solid model. Therefore, in order to
To calculate the modulus of an irregular shape of material, assumptions
measure the compression properties of a kiwifruit, Kunpeng et al.
regarding the deformation can be made (Kosma & Cunnigham, 1962).
(2017) simplified the solid model by modifying the fruit placenta into a
The value of constant K can be calculated once cos θ is known (Equa-
fusiform shape with an internal chamfer representing the seed chamber.
tion (3)).
Li and Wang (2016) modelled only a quarter of a tomato to evaluate the
stress and strain distribution during compression within the pericarp, 1
−
1
R1 R1′
locule and septa regions. Meanwhile, a whole-single scale model is cos θ = 1 1 1 1
often used to predict the level of fruit susceptibility to bruising caused R1
+ R1′
+ R2
+ R2′ (3)
by impact loadings (Du, Wang, Wang, Yao, & Hong, 2019; Yousefi,
Farsi, & Kheiralipour, 2016). This simplification has been considered where R1 and R2 both are the major radiuses for the primary and sec-
due to the limitations of unpredictable changes in the material prop- ondary curvatures respectively, while R1 ′ and R2 ′ are both minor
erties within the different fruit regions. Plus, the severity of bruises of
Table 1
the whole fruit is influenced by the drop orientation and the area of
Calculation for Modulus of elasticity based on Hertz's theory (Hertz, 1896).
contact surface.
Form of loading Formula

2.2. Meshing Contact between a 3

1 1 2
sphere at two 0.338(1 − μ2) ⎡ 1 1 ⎞3 1 1 ⎞3 ⎤
E= 3 ⎢KU ⎛ R ⎜ + ⎟ + KU ⎛ +
⎜ ⎟
⎥
The applicable of FEM depends on the generation of high-quality parallel plates D2 ⎢ ⎝ U RU′ ⎠ ⎝ RL RL′⎠
⎥
⎣ ⎦
computational meshes. A good mesh operator should be able to provide Contact between half 1
0.338(1 − μ2) ⎛ 1 1 ⎞ 2
a faster sand non-convergent solution, which affects a significant dif- sphere/curved E= 3
⎜ + ⎟

surface and two D2 ⎝ RU RU′ ⎠

ference in degrees of freedom. Tetrahedral and hexahedral elements are
parallel plates
often used to mesh the fruit models as these elements exhibit good
Spherical indenter on a 1
geometrical adaptability with the irregular shape, size and curvature of 0.338(1 − μ2) ⎛ 1 1 4 2
curved surface E= 3
⎜ + + ⎞ ⎟

the fruit. D2 ⎝ RU RU′ d

⎠
Spherical indenter on a 0.338(1 − μ2)
1
Care should be taken to make sure that an appropriate number of
elements are included to capture the behaviour of the solution of the
flat surface E=
D2
3 () 4 2
d

entire model domain. Mesh density is a significant metric used to

control the accuracy of the FE model. The number and type of elements
chosen must be able to represent the elemental distribution of the ac-
tual fruit. Typically, the larger the number of elements and the smaller
size of the elements would give a better approximate solution to the
problem (Guessasma, Chaunier, Della Valle, & Lourdin, 2011).
Note: D is the deformation (mm); d is the diameter of curvature of the spherical
indenter mm; RU is the minimum radii of curvature of the sample at the upper
point of contact (mm); RU′ is the minimum radii of curvature of the sample at
the lower point of contact (mm); RL is the maximum radii of curvature of the
sample at the upper point of contact (mm); RL′ is the maximum radii of cur-
vature of the sample at the upper point of contact (mm).

31
N. Zulkifli, et al.
Fig. 2. A stress-strain distribution of kiwi flesh during compression test (Du
et al., 2019).
radiuses for the primary and secondary of the solid curvatures respec-
tively.
Earlier, the FEM models of apples (Celik, Rennie, & Akinci, 2011)
and pears (Salarikia, Miraei Ashtiani, Golzarian, & Mohammadinezhad,
2017; Yousefi et al., 2016) were developed under the assumption of
having the isotropic-linear elastic properties for drop test simulations.
The core, skin, flesh, stem and seed were considered a whole solid fruit.
The properties Young's modulus, density and Poisson's ratio were as-
signed to the material model to investigate the stress distribution and
deformation behaviour under dynamic loading.
2.3.2. Plastic properties
FEM can analyse the localised stresses at different points in the fruit
and gives the limit for spontaneous fracture propagation. Therefore, the
elastic-plastic consecutive model is used to investigate the fruit yield
criterion during plastic deformation. Fig. 2 illustrates the stress-strain
curve that shows the elastic-plastic behaviour of kiwi flesh upon suf-
fering compression force (Du et al., 2019). As illustrated, a linear in-
crease in stress was seen at the beginning of the compression. The de-
formation is recoverable within the elastic region. The increase in stress
with strain will be less linear for a large deformation. For the large and
small strain analysis, the properties of Young's modulus, the bioyield
stress, failure stress, and tangent modulus can be measured using either
the isotropic or kinematic hardening models respectively (Celik, 2017).
2.3.3. Viscoelastic properties
The generalised Maxwell's model which consists of the elements of a
linear elastic spring and a linear viscous dash-pot is used to represent
the viscoelastic properties of fruits. The assigned fruit properties of
stress-relaxation function E (t ) can be derived from the generalised
Maxwell's model which can be expressed in exponential series
(Equation (4)) (Gao, Song, Rao, & Ying, 2018).
E (t ) = E1 e−t / T1 + E∞
where E∞ is the equilibrium modulus, E1 is the disintegration modulus
and T1 is the relaxation time.
The assumed linear viscoelastic behaviour of fruit can also be ex-
pressed by the shear modulus (Ahmadi, Barikloo, & Kashfi, 2016). The
viscoelastic deviatoric stress σvit , n + 1 at time increment n + 1 is taken as
the total stress used in the simulation, as expressed by Equation (5).
σvit , n + 1 = σvit , n e−βΔtn +
2(G0 − G∞) ( 1 − E −βΔtn
β ) (Δε )
t
n In general, the material should be homogeneous, the contact force
Δtn
where β is the viscoelastic decay constant, while G0 and G∞ are the
Trends in Food Science & Technology 97 (2020) 29–37
instantaneous shear modulus and long term of shear modulus of the
material respectively.
3. Boundary condition and constraints
3.1. Static stress studies
The simulation of the compression test is performed to evaluate the
distribution of tangential and radial stresses within the fruit regions.
The severity of damage will be dependent on the amount and direction
of the applied load. At the beginning of the compression state, the stress
will be concentrated at the contact area between the fruit peel and the
upper and lower compression plates respectively. As the compression
force extends towards the radial and tangential directions, the amount
of stresses increases gradually and distributes from the peel towards the
internal part of the fruit tissues. Both the Von Mises and Tresca yielding
criterions are used to predict the formation of compression damage
within the fruit, exceeding the limit of yield strength of peel and flesh
regions (Li et al., 2013).
For a simple FE compression test, a fruit model will usually be as-
sumed to be geometrically asymmetric, purely elastic in behaviour and
having isotropic mechanical properties (Dintwa et al., 2011; Sadrnia
et al., 2008). However, different approaches have been taken in recent
years to better predict either the large linear or the non-linear analysis
of fruit compression, which also follows the criteria of Von Mises cri-
teria for failure (Khodabakhshian & Emadi, 2015). Kunpeng et al.
(2017) assigned different physical properties for peel and flesh for ki-
wifruit. The peel was assumed as an isotropic material, and the fruit
flesh was deemed as an anisotropic material. To imitate the actual
compression, plates were constructed at both the axial and radial ends
of the kiwifruit. A fixed constraint was set at the lower plate, and a
downward force velocity of 5 mm min was imposed on the upper plate.
Meanwhile, the coefficient was 0.4, representing the frictional contact
between peel and both plates. Stress distributions within the fruit were
compared with the different values of compression strain during the
entire time of loading.
In order to shorten the length of time required to perform the
computational process, Li and Wang (2016) used only a quarter fruit
model. The fruit section was modelled showing the different part of the
pericarp, septal and locular structure. Symmetry constraints were ap-
plied to the two orthogonal sections and to the reference point of the
locule in the model. The displacement function was applied, and a
5 mm downward-compressive strain was applied to the reference point
of the upper plate. Li et al. (2017) used the same model to simulate the
compression behaviour and measure the mechanical damage from the
von Mises stress distribution of the FE model. The FE analysis showed
that the maximum stress occurs at the contact point between the plate
and the peel, where the septal and pericarp tissues receive more da-
mage than the cuticle. The damaged was calculated either by summing
up the area or the volume from the integration point to the nodes of the
yielded elements respectively.
Table 2 summarises the application of FEM to predict the behaviour
of fruit under linear and non-linear static loading. Most validation of
the FEA results was achieved by comparing the model predictions with
(4)
the compression properties of the fruits.
3.2. Dynamic stress
The Hertz theory of impact is used to measure the pressure dis-
tribution between either spherical, elliptical or cylindrical bodies
(Hertz, 1896). According to the theory, the collision of bodies under a
static compressive load is based on specific fundamental assumptions.
should act over a small area relative to the size of the compression
(5)
plate, the radii of curvature of the contacting solids should exceed the
radius of the compression plate surface and the surface area should be
32
N. Zulkifli, et al. Trends in Food Science & Technology 97 (2020) 29–37

smooth. The requirement for smooth surfaces implies that only normal

Seyedabadi, Khojastehpour, and Sadrnia

stress arises over the contact surface, and the tangential forces will be

Khodabakhshian and Emadi (2015)

neglected. However, this theory is not applicable to biomaterials having

Pieczywek and Zdunek (2014)

material properties analysis accounting for non-elastic behaviour. Im-
Miraei Ashtiani et al. (2019)

pact phenomenon in fruits describes the collision that develops high-

magnitude forces being exerted and transmitted through the micro-
Kunpeng et al. (2017)

Sadrnia et al. (2008)

Dintwa et al. (2011)
scale of fruit tissues (Li, 2017).
As suggested by Dintwa, Van Zeebroeck, Ramon, and Tijskens
Li et al. (2017)

(2008), the energy of colliding fruits is provided in three forms. One is

Reference

the usual potential energy due to material resistance to deformation

(2015)
and manifested in the arising stresses and strains. Second is the vibra-
tion energy associated with stress or strain waves that propagate across
COMSOL Multiphysics the dimensions of the colliding bodies, and lastly is the energy dis-
sipation due to material inelastic deformation behaviour. From the
impact test, the relationship between these impact parameters and the
SOLIDWORKS

response properties of impact velocity, maximum force response, im-

ABAQUS

ABAQUS
Software

pact time and force impulse can be evaluated (Stropek & Gołacki,
ANSYS

ANSYS

ANSYS

ANSYS

2015).
With FEM, the characterisation of dynamic responses in fruit can be
carried out by drop test simulation. Stress distribution within the con-
Young's modulus; Poisson's ratio; Equivalent
Young's modulus; Poisson's ratio; Density;

tact area at the time of collision can be determined by assigning the

Young's modulus; Poisson's ratio; Density

Density; Hydraulic conductivity; Young's

model with inputs of drop height, drop orientation, mechanical prop-

Equivalent stress; Young's modulus

erties of fruit and the contact surfaces (Stopa, Szyjewicz, Komarnicki, &
Young's modulus; Shear modulus

Young's modulus; Poisson's ratio

Young's modulus; Poisson's ratio

Kuta, 2018; Stropek & Gołacki, 2019; Zhou, He, Karkee, & Zhang,
Failure stress; Failure strain

2016). Consecutive equations based on the elastic or the elastic-plastic

Poisson's ratio; Yield stress

modulus; Poisson's ratio

of material behaviour are normally applied to simplify the computa-

Inputs for simulation

tional problem of the FE dynamic model. Due to uncertainties and

limitations caused by factors such as the impact mechanism, physical
Poisson's ratio
Bulk modulus

properties and environmental conditions, such assumptions are made

Yield stress

Yield stress

constant throughout the entire time of modelling. Such a model has

stress

been established for kiwi (Du et al., 2019) pears (Celik, 2017; Salarikia
et al., 2017) and apples (Celik et al., 2011).
Therefore, the FEM viscoelastic model would be a potential alter-
Anisotropic

Anisotropic

Anisotropic

Anisotropic

Anisotropic
Properties

Isotropic

Isotropic

Isotropic

native to describe the dynamic behaviour of viscoelastic material (Gao

et al., 2018). Ahmadi et al. (2016) developed a model by assigning
elastic properties to peel and viscoelastic properties to both the cortex
Elastic-plastic

Elastic-plastic

Elastic-plastic

and core of an apple. The relaxation functions were used to represent

the viscous force generated by the flow inside the core and cortex. Two
-plastic
Elastic

Elastic

Elastic

Elastic

Elastic

values of impact velocities were input for the FE solution, considering

Model

the impact from the collision between the moving apple to still apple
and the collision between the moving apple to a rigid surface at 1 m/s
Determination of mechanical behaviour under different loading positions

and 0.2 m/s respectively. The variation in displacement, stress and

Quantification of an external area and internal volume of fruit damage

hydrostatic pressure distribution within the fruit were compared to the

Quantification of mechanical properties under compression loading

different rates of impact loading. In the simulation, the dropping force

Comparison of the axial and radial compression damage areas

Evaluation of non-linear deformation within epidermis tissue

was assumed to be dependent on the acceleration and impact velocity.

The results showed that for the collision between apples, the stress
distribution initially started at the point of collision, from the internal
layer towards the fruit peel (Fig. 3). The energy was absorbed within
the core and cortex region before being transmitted into the peel region.
Compression simulation on single tomato cell

Meanwhile for the collision between an apple and a rigid surface, the
of longitudinal and transverse directions

stress distribution started from the peel towards the cortex and core of
Finite element modelling for static stress analysis.

the fruit. The energy was transmitted from the elastic region towards
Prediction of internal bruising
Prediction of bruising area
Objective (s)

Pumpkin seed

Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Grapefruit

Fig. 3. The recorded simulation of collision between apples (left). The visua-
Tomato

Tomato
Sample
Table 2

Onion
Kiwi

lisation of stress distribution started from within the core to the cortex and
towards the fruit peel (right) (Adapted from Ahmadi et al., 2016).

33
N. Zulkifli, et al.
Fig. 4. The recorded simulation of the collision between an apple and a rigid
surface (left). The visualisation of stress distribution initiated from the peel to
the cortex and core of the fruit. (Adapted from Ahmadi et al., 2016).
the more viscous region with the assumption of a slight delay in release
(Fig. 4).
Table 3 summarises the application of FEM to predict fruit responses
under dynamic loadings. The validation of the FEM was achieved by
comparing results from the collision model with the mechanical prop-
erties of fruits.
4. The advantages of finite element mechanical modelling
Using FEM analysis, the prediction of rheological properties will be
beneficial to help to understand the resistance to damage mechanism of
fruit. FEM provides a reliable result for the quantification of rheological
properties within the different regions of fruit, without having to en-
gage in numerous laborious types of work. The measured properties of
the fruit will help to provide references regarding the influence of
mechanical impact during fruit handling. A comparative analysis of the
contribution between the fruit peel and flesh on fruit firmness can
provide fundamental information to improve postharvest performance.
4.1. Prediction of fruit quality properties
Consumer preferences have not been limited to only the good ap-
pearance, but also the texture characteristics such as the firmness,
hardness, succulence, or the juiciness of fruit. For example, the con-
sumer preference for levels of juiciness is normally used to define the
texture in fleshy fruits (Bianchi et al., 2016; Contador, Shinya, &
Infante, 2015). The juicier fruit contains more dissolved solids such as
sugar, acid and volatile components that influence the flavour of the
fruit (Seppä, Peltoniemi, Tahvonen, & Tuorila, 2013). Meanwhile,
firmness has been linked to water content, changes in pericarp mor-
phology, cell wall hydrolase activity and cell wall composition which
Table 3
Finite element modelling for dynamic stress analysis.
Sample Objective (s) Model
Kiwi Prediction of bruise susceptibility during Elastic-plastic
ripening
Potato Evaluation of dynamic responses Elastic
Viscoelastic
Pear Susceptibility of pear to bruise under dynamic Elastic-plastic
loadings
Pear Quantification of mechanical properties under Elastic
dynamic loading
Apple Viscoelastic finite element analysis for the Viscoelastic
measurement of dynamic properties in apple
Pear Prediction of bruising area under drop test Elastic
simulation
Apple Evaluation of deformation behaviour during Elastic
drop test
Trends in Food Science & Technology 97 (2020) 29–37
account for fruit softening (Romero & Rose, 2019; Zhang et al., 2019).
In general, the yielding stress is dependent on the strain rate, which
is lower at a lower deformation rate. Yielding take place on the loca-
lised stress planes, which are separated by the different layers of fruit
tissue. Thus, the yield limit of the different regions of fruit tissue can be
used to predict the overall strength or hardness of fruits. The estimation
of fruit hardness can be described by the affected cellular wall structure
and its composition. The behaviour of fruit resistance to loading varies
with different stages of ripening (Tinoco & Peña, 2019). Earlier, FEM
has been utilised in the assessment of ripeness for watermelon by vi-
sualising the mode shape of the displacement vector as a function of
resonance frequency by Abbaszadeh et al. (2014). With modal shape
and natural frequency analysis, the identification of the optimum lo-
cation for output vibration, maximum deformation and nodal position
were obtained from the corresponding bending pattern of the different
ripeness index.
Meanwhile Yousefi et al. (2016) measured the dynamic properties
of pears at different ripeness levels. Using the same simulation condi-
tions, in terms of contact surface, height, and drop orientation, the
over-ripe fruit has the highest value of bruising area as compared to the
unripe and ripe fruits. The degradation of the cell wall structure during
ripening tends to significantly affect the physical, mechanical and
chemical properties of fruit. In fact, a few studies have shown the
correlation between the firmness and total soluble solids in fruits
(Diamante & Umemoto, 2015; Guessasma et al., 2011). Plus, a higher
sugar concentration in the highly ripe fruit decreases the intrinsic
viscosity hence decreasing the yield stress significantly (Nambi,
Thangavel, Rajeswari, Manickavasagan, & Geetha, 2016).
4.2. Prediction of fruit bruise damage
Fruits are often exposed to a range of disorders associated with
mechanical injury affected by the various procedures such as abrasion
and impact during the handling operations. The presence of various
types of contacting surfaces may result in different levels of mechanical
damage (Opara & Pathare, 2014). Bruise damage is a type of sub-
cutaneous tissue failure without rupture of the skin of fresh produce
resulting from the action of excessive external force on the fruit surface
during impact, compression or vibration against a rigid body or fruit
against fruit which results in cell breakage (Hussein, Fawole, & Opara,
2018). A bruise may take up to a few hours or days to become visible,
depending on the severity of the impact damage (Fan, Li, Huang, &
Chen, 2017). The occurrence and visibility of bruises differ in time as
the level of damage is found to be dependent with the time of exposure
and the damaging mechanism caused by the different types of loading
(Van linden, Scheerlinck, Desmet, & De Baerdemaeker, 2006). Ac-
cording to Hussein et al. (2018), external bruising is usually described
Properties Input for simulation Software Reference
Isotropic Young's modulus; Bioyield stress; Tangent modulus; ANSYS Du et al. (2019)
Material density
Drop height
Isotropic Young's modulus; Drop height ABAQUS Gao et al. (2018)
Impact time
Isotropic Young's modulus; Tangent modulus ANSYS Celik (2017)
Poisson's ratio; Bioyield point; Tensile force;
Density; Drop height; Drop orientation
Isotropic Young's modulus; Poisson's ratio; Drop height; ABAQUS Salarikia et al.
Density, (2017)
Isotropic Young modulus; Shear modulus; Viscoelastic decay ANSYS Ahmadi et al.
constant; Poisson's ratio; Density; Impact velocity (2016)
Isotropic Young's modulus; Drop height ANSYS Yousefi et al.
Density (2016)
Isotropic Young's modulus; Poisson ratio SOLIDWORKS Celik et al. (2011)
Drop height; Density
34
N. Zulkifli, et al.
by the presence of a defect such as skin rupture or browning in the
exocarp surface of a fruit. Meanwhile, internal bruising involves either
damage to the fruit tissues beneath the exocarp, mesocarp and en-
docarp tissues. The spot of mechanical injury can then serve as an in-
fection site for numerous wound pathogens that can result in much of
the postharvest disease. These spots, even without infection by patho-
gens, are unsightly and cause moisture loss and excessive shrivelling
(Singh, Katiyar, & Singh, 2014).
Bruise susceptibility is a measure for response to external loading
and depends on factors such as variety, texture, maturity, water status,
firmness, temperature, size, shape and fruit position. This has been
confirmed by Wojtkowski et al. (2010) who found that the mechanical
behaviour of biomaterials is influenced by the moisture content that
changed the surface and mechanical properties and influenced the bulk
behaviour of fruit. Ahmadi, Ghassemzadeh, Sadeghi, Moghaddam, and
Neshat (2010) stated that the level of impact forces, fruit properties,
storage temperature and the radius of fruit curvature have a substantial
effect on the bruising damage.
Proper fruit handling practices are critical to protect the produce
from impact and vibration forces, for example during transportation.
With FEM, the fruit package can be designed to better protect the fruit
especially during long hours of transportation. The package should be
able maintain product quality and enhance shelf life, for example by
minimising transpiration-induced moisture loss and the resulting
shrinkage. Numerous simulations have been performed to predict the
strength and performance of corrugated paperboard packages used to
package fruit. The design of packages with specific size, weight, and
mechanical properties of the composing components of cellulose fibres
should be able to absorb the impact energy to protect the fruit from
collisions between fruits and with the surfaces of the box.FEM has also
been used to investigate the mechanical behaviour of ventilated cor-
rugated paperboard (VCP) packages when subjected to compression
and impact loading (Fadiji et al., 2018). Studies undertaken by Fadiji
(2019) used FEM to investigate the role of geometrical configurations of
ventilated holes to improve the strength of paperboard packages. The
vent area and the selection of corrugated paperboard types significantly
affected the strength of the package. Based on the same type of mate-
rial, the increase in vent area linearly reduced the strength of the
packages.
4.3. Developing the harvesting machines
A grasping robot has been developed to emulate skilled workers in
manipulating different sizes, shapes and mechanical properties of fruits.
The grasp stability is primarily affected by the object weight, the re-
lative curvature, the distance between the two contact points and the
friction force between the gripper and fruit surface (Zhang et al., 2018).
The gripper must be able to maintain the gripping force without da-
maging the fruits. Researchers Ji, Qian, Xu, Chen, and Zhao (2019)
established a FE viscoelastic model to simulate the process of grasping
at constant velocity with continuous energy input. The authors of that
study aimed at designing, constructing, testing and evaluating a pro-
totype based on the identification of physical and other properties, and
the contact surface pressure developed between the grasper and an
apple. From the simulation results, the distribution of a deformation
wave began from the contact point towards the internal flesh and core
of the apple displacement. The maximum deformation of the apple was
at the contact point and increased with increasing grasping velocity.
However, the maximum deformation rate decreased gradually, due to
the viscoelastic property of the apple and relaxation stress and energy
absorption.
Using FEM, a novel property has been employed for target assess-
ment of mechanical harvesting (Carvalho, Magalhães, & Santos, 2016;
Tinoco, Ocampo, Peña, & Sanz-Uribe, 2014). With the application of
FEM, the development of a robust design for fabricating agricultural
machinery and related tools can be implemented. For example, Tinoco
35
Trends in Food Science & Technology 97 (2020) 29–37
et al. (2014) carried out FEM using modal analysis to fabricate a fruit-
peduncle system. With the identified physical properties of Young's
modulus, shape function and the approximate finite element function,
the convergences of vibrational frequencies were analysed to determine
the harvesting frequencies. The mechanisms of damping and modes of
vibration were considered to describe the dynamic behaviour of the
system. The acceleration of tree branches was recorded to determine
the magnitude and frequency. Peng et al. (2017) established an FE
model of a jujube tree to simulate the mechanical responses under vi-
brational loadings that resembled an actual harvester. From the accel-
eration distribution of the nodal solution, the inertia force could be
used as a parameter to judge whether the shaking frequency would be
large enough to cause fruit detachment. Meanwhile Souza, Santos,
Costa, Santos, and Magalhães (2018) undertook a study to investigate
the interaction with the position of the harvester rod and the branch
clamping position. To investigate an effective way of harvesting (Xie,
Wang, Cheng, Zeng, and Yang (2018) considered the rotational speed of
the blade drum, overlapping length of the upper and lower chopping
blade and the bevel angle for the optimisation of a chopping harvester
for sugarcane.
There has been an increase in development over the past year, due
to the usefulness of the FEM application in agricultural industries.
Characterisation of mechanical properties has been highlighted to be an
essential factor in making any sound decision. With FEM, many cases
and numbers of trials can be performed during simulation, despite it not
being practical to perform conventional and destructive experiments.
An extensive analytical method can be used for results analysis of the
developed mathematical models to improve the performance, reliability
and consistency of the related mechanised systems.
5. Conclusions: towards the development of FE modelling
A deep understanding of the motion and the intensities of the forces
endured by the fruits over time during various handling processes is
necessary if improvements are to be made to the handling systems or
equipment. On the level of one impact, there are several experimental
techniques such as pendulum experiments, puncture tests and universal
testing system tests to study the mechanical relationships between the
forces involved and the resulting material deformations. However, in
practice, it is difficult to study every possible combination of critical
stresses because each test is expensive, and a large number of cases are
required.
Studies have been undertaken to measure and predict the rheolo-
gical properties of fresh fruits. At present, the main objective of the
agricultural industry is to improve the product quality to meet the
growing expectations of consumers. Sensory analysis can be used to
help producers to meet the market demand by understanding the tastes
and preferences of the consumers. Evaluation of texture sensation is
associated with the composition of moisture and sugar content, me-
chanical and geometrical attributes. Mechanical tests are performed to
acquire the characteristic curves of the rheological behaviour of agri-
cultural produce. Practically, the measurement of fruit firmness is
usually assessed with a penetrometer. The penetrometer is easy to use
and portable. It is used for the assessment of ripeness. However, the
reading only demonstrates a single point on the force-deformation
curve. Determination of texture is challenging because it comprises
multiple sensory parameters and associated changes in physicochemical
properties during the ripening processes. The changes in textural and
rheological properties of fruit during ripening are important for char-
acterisation and standardisation of postharvest operations. Depending
on the type of cultivar, harvest date and storage conditions, the textural
properties vary greatly with the extent of fruit softening.
Computer simulation is the process of analysing and predicting an
outcome based on the supporting data to predict the system properties.
The results of the simulation model should be able to exhibit the out-
comes of the designated-model and the real systems. FEM can be used
N. Zulkifli, et al.
as a tool for texture analysis and modelling of fruits including ap-
proaches to texture profile analysis of instrumental measurements. For
future use to develop texture mechanical profiling, the analysis should
rely on the objectives of a significant genotypic and the identification of
the different ripeness levels. Based on the gathered rheological data, the
identification of the novel-property can be defined so as to simulate
human sensation and perception with regard to the different textural
behaviour.
As a well-established approach, FEM can be utilised in agricultural
processes and post-harvest engineering for modelling the behaviour of
agricultural products under the operation of numerous mechanical
systems. The model is used by establishing a function to describe the
relationship between the physical properties such as mass, size, ripe-
ness, and loading; with the mechanical properties of the fruit which
includes the maximum force, absorbed energy, restitution coefficient,
and stress relaxation. However, most of the recent studies only high-
lighted the evaluation of the small strain and most fruit models were
assumed to be isotropic and exhibit elastic behaviour. The viscoelastic
behaviour and nonlinearity of geometrical and material properties have
not yet become mainstream practices. Although the previous studies are
useful to establish how FE can be used, more realistic simulation is
required to characterise the non-equilibrium-viscous behaviour of
fruits.
The application of FEM in modelling and simulation is often itera-
tive in nature, meaning that some of the procedures are repeated based
on the results obtained at the current stage. Thus, the behaviour of a
simulated mechanical system depends upon the current geometrical
properties of the model domain. However, the identification of the
domain properties can be very complex. Therefore, the geometrical
structures of the domains should be manageable such that the re-
presentation of the structural elements should at least approximate the
real structure. The accuracy of the results depends on the total number
of elements used. Although it raises significant issues such as the re-
finement of the geometrical description and the number of parameters
used to accommodate the constitutive laws, these limitations should not
be restricted only to computer resources. Indeed, there is still a need to
determine a selection of the defined properties, for example to measure
the intrinsic viscosity and to understand the contribution of the main
components of fruit tissues and the related cellular structure. These two
issues still require a significant amount of experimental work. However,
by allowing the exploration of the FE model domains out of experi-
mental reach, numerical simulation offers the opportunity to ascertain
the main contributions of physical variables and suggests hypotheses to
be tested experimentally.
Contributions
Nurazwin Zulkifli carried out the literature review and performed
the main writing part. Norhashila Hashim supervised the study as well
as advising the manuscript. Meanwhile, Hazreen Haizi Harith and
Mohamad Firdza Mohamad Shukery together work with the manu-
script, reviewed and revised the content.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests to dis-
close that might be perceived as affecting the objectivity of this review.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank the Southeast Asian Regional Center for
Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) for their fi-
nancial support.
36
Trends in Food Science & Technology 97 (2020) 29–37
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