Measurement and evaluation of the effect of vibration on fruits in transit—Review

Abstract

Mechanical vibration is a prominent cause of produce damage in many postharvest fruit supply chains. Knowledge on the causes, occurrence, and mechanistic relationship of vibration to produce damage is important for systematic development of remedial actions. This review identifies and discusses the critical factors of vibration, their implications for fruit quality, and possible improvements to addressing the issue of fruit quality deterioration. Frequently reported mechanical damage types caused by vibration on fruits are scuffing, fruit rub, and skin bruising. A wide range of factors can significantly affect the vibration intensity and thus resultant mechanical damage. Critical frequencies of vibration in the range of 0 to 10 Hz, attributed to peak energy levels in the power spectrum, cause substantial damage in fruits. Greater vertical acceleration and transmission of vibration to the higher tiers in a stacked column of packages result in increased mechanical damage. Fruit packages stacked in the rear positions of trucks are also affected more by vibration. Produce transported in leaf spring trucks has a higher risk of damage when compared with air-ride suspension trucks. Additionally increased road roughness, vehicle speed, and duration of exposure to vibration proliferate fruit damage. The effects of different inner packing methods and different package types on mechanical damage are less frequently investigated. More accurate characterization of mechanical damage caused by vibration and shocks and its reproduction by enhanced simulation methods will contribute to optimizing damage prevention mechanisms and further improving the quality of fruits in transit within the postharvest supply chain.

Development and Performance Evaluation of a Tomato Packaging Container using Acrilonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Plastic Sheets

“…It was observed from the table that baskets placed at the bottom have higher percentages of transit and damaged loss. This implied that the arrangement of basket inside the vehicle resulted in the loss of fresh tomato fruits during transportation (Fernando et al, 2018). Overfilling and inappropriate arrangements of baskets inside the vehicle may have caused transit loss (Sibomana et al, 2016).…”

Quality deterioration of bananas in the post-harvest supply chain- an empirical study

“…As shown in previous studies on various fruits, the intensity and time of exposure to vibration will determine the severity of damage (Vursavus and Ozguven, 2004). Previous research has indicated that road roughness (Soleimani and Ahmadi, 2015), suspension characteristics of trucks (Timm et al, 1996;Ishikawa et al, 2009), vibration frequency and transmissibility (Vursavus and Ozguven, 2004;Fernando et al, 2018) were all critical factors in fruit damage caused by vibration in transit. Other researchers have also shown that the position of the package on the truck floor and the height of the package in a stacked column on a pallet influences the level of damage in variety of fruits during transit (Vursavus and Ozguven, 2004;Barchi et al, 2002;Berardinelli et al, 2005;Slaughter et al, 1998).…”

“…Fruit damage can be also associated with impacts during handling and compression from packaging (Van Zeebroeck et al, 2007), and with compression between fruits or between fruits and the container (Zwiggelaar et al, 1996;Dadzie and Orchard, 1997;Van Zeebroeck et al, 2007). Studies on various fresh fruits have shown that vibration in-transit has been a predominate cause of fruit damage (Barchi et al, 2002;Vursavus and Ozguven, 2004;Fernando et al, 2018). It was further revealed that the extent of fruit damage can be influenced by the stack height of the package and the stacked position of the pallet during transport (Barchi et al, 2002;Berardinelli et al, 2005;Fernando et al, 2018).…”

Assessment and Characterizing Mechanical Damage in Packaged Bananas in the Post-harvest Supply Chain

“…Mechanical damage in fruits can occur due to compression, impact and vibration when fruits are transported in packages or in bulk bins [12][13][14]. Bruising can occur due to impacts or compression forces [15,16] resulting in peel and/or flesh damage in bananas depending on the severity of the impact/pressure.…”