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AgriEngineering
Volume 7
Issue 2
10.3390/agriengineering7020028
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Analysis of Olive Detachment Force to Improve Olive Shaker Efficiency Through Branch Modeling

by
Giuseppe Macoretta
1,
Sofia Matilde Luglio
2,*,
Federico Conforti
1,
Michele Abruzzo
1,
Lorenzo Gagliardi
2,
Marco Fontanelli
2 and
Michele Raffaelli
2
1
Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 2, 56122 Pisa, Italy
2
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
AgriEngineering 2025, 7(2), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriengineering7020028
Submission received: 3 December 2024 / Revised: 16 January 2025 / Accepted: 21 January 2025 / Published: 27 January 2025
Versions Notes

Abstract

Mechanical shaking enables efficient harvesting of olives, especially in hilly regions where automated farming is not feasible. This study delves into branch and olive detachment modeling to enhance the efficiency of a hand-held branch shaker. Shaking time, forces, accelerations, olive detachment forces and harvesting efficiency were experimentally measured. The fruit maturity index affected the force needed to detach the olive, with the highest value for olives at the C0 stage of maturity (5.93 N). No difference emerged among the tested shaking times (6 s and 12 s), neither in terms of harvest efficiency (mean 81.17%) nor in terms of damage (rate of 5.30). Therefore, the lower time was considered the most appropriate. Multibody and a Finite Element (FE) models were developed to investigate the branch response and the olive detachment condition. The stresses predicted by the FE harmonic analysis (about 8 MPa), based on the excitation force and shaking frequency measured during the tests, was in line with the measured olive detachment forces (3 to 8 MPa). The shaking frequency and the average branch acceleration in proximity to the shaker hook were 15 Hz and 50m/s2, respectively. Further studies could focus on the impact of the branch shaker on operator health, particularly risks from prolonged vibration exposure.
Keywords: branch modeling; olives; harvesting; detachment forces; hand-held branch shaker branch modeling; olives; harvesting; detachment forces; hand-held branch shaker

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MDPI and ACS Style

Macoretta, G.; Luglio, S.M.; Conforti, F.; Abruzzo, M.; Gagliardi, L.; Fontanelli, M.; Raffaelli, M. Analysis of Olive Detachment Force to Improve Olive Shaker Efficiency Through Branch Modeling. AgriEngineering 2025, 7, 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriengineering7020028

AMA Style

Macoretta G, Luglio SM, Conforti F, Abruzzo M, Gagliardi L, Fontanelli M, Raffaelli M. Analysis of Olive Detachment Force to Improve Olive Shaker Efficiency Through Branch Modeling. AgriEngineering. 2025; 7(2):28. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriengineering7020028

Chicago/Turabian Style

Macoretta, Giuseppe, Sofia Matilde Luglio, Federico Conforti, Michele Abruzzo, Lorenzo Gagliardi, Marco Fontanelli, and Michele Raffaelli. 2025. "Analysis of Olive Detachment Force to Improve Olive Shaker Efficiency Through Branch Modeling" AgriEngineering 7, no. 2: 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriengineering7020028

APA Style

Macoretta, G., Luglio, S. M., Conforti, F., Abruzzo, M., Gagliardi, L., Fontanelli, M., & Raffaelli, M. (2025). Analysis of Olive Detachment Force to Improve Olive Shaker Efficiency Through Branch Modeling. AgriEngineering, 7(2), 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriengineering7020028

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