Filters
Measurements and Analysis of the Physical Properties of Cereal Seeds Depending on Their Moisture Content to Improve the Accuracy of DEM Simulation
This article presents the results of research on the influence of moisture on changes in the physical properties, i.e., the length, width, thickness, and weight, of dressed and untreated cereal seeds in order to improve the simulation process based on the discrete element method (DEM). The research was conducted on the seeds of three winter cereals, i.e., triticale, rye, and barley. The seeds with an initial moisture content of about 7% were moistened to five levels, ranging from 9.5% to 17.5%, at an increment of 2%. The statistical analysis showed that moisture significantly influenced the physical properties of the seeds, i.e., their length, width, thickness, and weight. As the moisture content of the seeds increased, there were greater differences in their weight. The average increase in the thousand kernel weight resulting from the increase in their moisture content ranged from 4 to 6 mg. The change in the seed moisture content from 9.5% to 17.5% significantly increased the volume of rye seeds from 3.10% to 14.99%, the volume of triticale seeds from 1.00% to 13.40%, and the volume of barley seeds from 1.00% to 15.33%. These data can be used as a parameter to improve the DEM simulation process.
Application of artificial neural network for the quality-based classification of spray-dried rhubarb juice powders
AbstractThe aim of the study was to develop a neural model enabling classification of fruit spray dried powders, on the basis of graphic data acquired from a bitmap received in the process of spray drying. The neural model was developed with multi-layer perceptron topology. Input variables were expressed in 46 image descriptors based on RGB, YCbCr, HSV (B) and HSL models. Sensitivity analysis of input variables and principal component analysis determined the significance level of each attribute. The optimal model with the lowest error value root mean square, at the level of 0.04 contained 46 neurons in the input layer, 11 neurons in the hidden layer, 10 neurons in the output layer. The results allowed to show that dyeing force (color features) had influence on effective differentiation of the research material consisting of spray-dried powders of rhubarb juice with various dried juice content levels: 30, 40 and 50% as well as high (“H”) and low (“L”) level of saccharification a chosen carrier (potato maltodextrin).
Analysis of the strength of an innovative design of an organic farming potato harvester
Abstract Small organic farms still use potato lifters for harvesting. This harvesting technology involves a lot of work because potatoes need to be picked manually. The aim of this study was to design an innovative organic farming potato harvester aggregated with a 38 kW tractor and to analyse its strength with the finite element method (FEM). The research assumption was to fit the innovative construction with a potato basket in order to minimise the labour consumption of organic potato cultivation. The project involved analytical calculations of the strength, which were followed by the design of a CAD model and a detailed strength analysis with the FEM. Autodesk Inventor and Femap were the programs used to aid the design of the machine. The designed model had no nodes where stresses would be greater than 32% of the maximum allowable stress in the material structure and 43% of the maximum allowable stress in the structure of welds. The innovative design of the potato harvester developed in this study can be used with all tractors (farm and orchard tractors) equipped with a three-point linkage.
Applications MLP and other methods in artificial intelligence of fruit and vegetable in convective and spray drying
The seasonal nature of fruits and vegetables has an immense impact on the process of seeking methods that allow extending the shelf life in this category of food. It is observed that through continuous technological changes, it is also possible to notice changes in the methods used to examine and study food and its microbiological aspects. It should be added that a new trend of bioactive ingredient consumption is also on the increase, which translates into numerous attempts that are made to keep the high quality of those products for a longer time. New and modern methods are being sought in this area, where the main aim is to support drying processes and quality control during food processing. This review provides deep insight into the application of artificial intelligence (AI) using a multi-layer perceptron network (MLPN) and other machine learning algorithms to evaluate the effective prediction and classification of the obtained vegetables and fruits during convection as well as spray drying. AI in food drying, especially for entrepreneurs and researchers, can be a huge chance to speed up development, lower production costs, effective quality control and higher production efficiency. Current scientific findings confirm that the selection of appropriate parameters, among others, such as color, shape, texture, sound, initial volume, drying time, air temperature, airflow velocity, area difference, moisture content and final thickness, have an influence on the yield as well as the quality of the obtained dried vegetables and fruits. Moreover, scientific discoveries prove that the technology of drying fruits and vegetables supported by artificial intelligence offers an alternative in process optimization and quality control and, even in an indirect way, can prolong the freshness of food rich in various nutrients. In the future, the main challenge will be the application of artificial intelligence in most production lines in real time in order to control the parameters of the process or control the quality of raw materials obtained in the process of drying.
The Process of Pasting and Gelling Modified Potato Starch with LF-NMR
Currently, society expects convenience food, which is healthy, safe, and easy to prepare and eat in all conditions. On account of the increasing popularity of modified potato starch in food industry and its increasing scope of use, this study focused on improving the physical modification of native starch with temperature changes. As a result, it was found that the suggested method of starch modification with the use of microwave power of 150 W/h had an impact on the change in starch granules. The LF-NMR method determined the whole range of temperatures in which the creation of a starch polymer network occurs. Therefore, the applied LF-NMR technique is a highly promising, noninvasive physical method, which allows obtaining a better-quality structure of potato starch gels.
Fruit Powder Analysis Using Machine Learning Based on Color and FTIR-ATR Spectroscopy - Case Study: Blackcurrant Powders
Fruits represent a valuable source of bioactivity, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They are often used in research due to their potential to extend sustainability and edibility. In this research, the currants were used to obtain currant powders by dehumidified air-assisted spray drying. In the research analysis of currant powders, advanced machine learning techniques were used in combination with Lab color space model analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The aim of this project was to provide authentic information about the qualities of currant powders, taking into account their type and carrier content. In addition, the machine learning models were developed to support the recognition of individual blackcurrant powder samples based on Lab color. These results were compared using their physical properties and FTIR spectroscopy to determine the homogeneity of these powders; this will help reduce operating and energy costs while also increasing the production rate, and even the possibility of improving the available drying system.
Early detection of mastitis in cows using the system based on 3D motions detectors
AbstractMastitis is one of the major health problems in dairy herds leading to a reduction in the leading to a reduction in the quality of milk and economic losses. The research aimed to present the system, which uses electronic 3D motion detectors to detect the early symptoms of mastitis. The system would allow more effective prevention of this illness. The experiment was carried out on 118 cows (64 Holstein Friesian and 54 Brown Swiss). The animals were kept in free-stall barn with access to pasture. The occurrence of mastitis cases was noticed in veterinary register. Microbiological culture was taken from milk in order to confirm the development of infection. Data from motion detectors were defined as time spent by animals on feed intake, ruminating, physical activity and rest, and were expanded by adding information about feeding group, breed type and lactation number. During analyses, two approaches were used to process the same dataset: artificial neural networks (ANN) and logistic regression. The obtained ANN and the logistic regression models proved to be satisfactory from the perspective of applied criteria of goodness of fit (area under curve—exceed 0.8). Quality parameters (accuracy, sensitivity and specifity) of logistic regression are relatively high (larger than 0.73), whereas the ranks of significance of the studied variables varied across datasets. These proposed models can be useful for automating the detection of mastitis once integrated into the farm’s IT system.
Determination of the constant pressure loss for a new segmented orifice with an inclined inflow plane
Abstract A key innovation of this study is the first-ever experimental determination of the ratio of permanent to total differential pressure loss (Δploss/Δp) for a segmented orifice with an inclined inflow plane—a geometry not standardized in any current measurement norms. While previous investigations by the authors focused on flow characteristics, this paper uniquely quantifies energy-related pressure losses, showing that a 60° inclination reduces permanent pressure loss by up to 4.9% compared to conventional 90° orifices. A combined experimental and numerical approach was applied to evaluate three orifice geometries with water as the working fluid. CFD simulations using the Transition SST model guided the optimization of pressure tapping locations. The results indicate that the inclined design improves flow stability and measurement reliability while reducing pressure losses. The findings suggest that the segmented inclined orifice is a cost-effective and energy-efficient alternative to conventional differential pressure flowmeters in industrial applications.
The Need for Machines for the Nondestructive Quality Assessment of Potatoes with the Use of Artificial Intelligence Methods and Imaging Techniques
This article describes chemical and physical parameters, including their role in the storage, trade, and processing of potatoes, as well as their nutritional properties and health benefits resulting from their consumption. An analysis of the share of losses occurring during the production process is presented. The methods and applications used in recent years to estimate the physical and chemical parameters of potatoes during their storage and processing, which determine the quality of potatoes, are presented. The potential of the technologies used to classify the quality of potatoes, mechanical and ultrasonic, and image processing and analysis using vision systems, as well as their use in applications with artificial intelligence, are discussed.
The application of convolutional neural networks, LF-NMR, and texture for microparticle analysis in assessing the quality of fruit powders: Case study – blackcurrant powders
Abstract It can be observed that dynamic developments in artificial intelligence contributing to the evolution of existing techniques used in food research. Currently, innovative methods are being sought to support unit processes such as food drying, while at the same time monitoring quality and extending their shelf life. The development of innovative technology using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to assess the quality of fruit powders seems highly desirable. This will translate into obtaining homogeneous batches of powders based on the specific morphological structure of the obtained microparticles. The research aims to apply convolutional networks to assess the quality, consistency, and homogeneity of blackcurrant powders supported by comparative physical methods of low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and texture analysis. The results show that maltodextrin, inulin, whey milk proteins, microcrystalline cellulose, and gum arabic are effective carriers when identifying morphological structure using CNNs. The use of CNNs, texture analysis, and the effect of LF-NMR relaxation time together with statistical elaboration shows that maltodextrin as well as milk whey proteins in combination with inulin achieve the most favorable results. The best results were obtained for a sample containing 50% maltodextrin and 50% maltodextrin (MD50-MD70). The CNN model for this combination had the lowest mean squared error in the test set at 2.5741 × 10−4, confirming its high performance in the classification of blackcurrant powder microstructures.
Predicting Fruit’s Sweetness Using Artificial Intelligence - Case Study: Orange
The manual classification of oranges according to their ripeness or flavor takes a long time; furthermore, the classification of ripeness or sweetness by the intensity of the fruit’s color is not uniform between fruit varieties. Sweetness and color are important factors in evaluating the fruits, the fruit’s color may affect the perception of its sweetness. This article aims to study the possibility of predicting the sweetness of orange fruits based on artificial intelligence technology by studying the relationship between the RGB values of orange fruits and the sweetness of those fruits by using the Orange data mining tool. The experiment has applied machine learning algorithms to an orange fruit image dataset and performed a comparative study of the algorithms in order to determine which algorithm has the highest prediction accuracy. The results showed that the value of the red color has a greater effect than the green and blue colors in predicting the sweetness of orange fruits, as there is a direct relationship between the value of the red color and the level of sweetness. In addition, the logistic regression model algorithm gave the highest degree of accuracy in predicting sweetness.
Analiza proszku owocowego z wykorzystaniem spektroskopii w podczerwieni z transformacją Fouriera (FTIR ATR)
Measurements of the flow of a liquid–solid mixture/suspension through a segmented orifice
AbstractThe paper attempts to solve the metrological problem that occurs when measuring the intensity of a flowing fluid with suspended solids with densities greater and less than the density of the fluid. The issue of the possibility of self-cleaning of a prototype variant of a segmented orifice from floating solid particles forming mixture/suspensions is discussed. For spherical particles of solids calculations have been made to allow for determining a borderline between their floating and entrainment by the flow, based on dimensionless numbers: Archimedes number and Reynolds number. Experimental tests and CFD simulations were conducted with a variable flow determined by Reynolds number for comparable segmental orifices with orifice module m = 0.102. Flow characteristics were plotted. Based on the results obtained from numerical simulations, positive influence of the inclination of skew segmental orifice downflow plane was presented. The results obtained from the study are a guideline for planning further studies to expand the knowledge of segmented orifices with inclined inflow plane.
Optimization of the Sowing Unit of a Piezoelectrical Sensor Chamber with the Use of Grain Motion Modeling by Means of the Discrete Element Method. Case Study: Rape Seed
Nowadays, in the face of continuous technological progress and environmental requirements, all manufacturing processes and machines need to be optimized in order to achieve the highest possible efficiency. Agricultural machines such as seed drills and cultivation units are no exception. Their efficiency depends on the amount of sowing material to be used and the patency of seed transport tubes or colters. Most available control systems for seed drills are optical ones whose operation is not effective when working close to the ground due to large dusting. Thus, there is still a need to provide seed drills with sensors to be equipped with control systems suitable for use under conditions of massive dusting that would shorten the time of reaction to clogging and be affordable for every farmer. This study presents an analysis of grain motion in the sowing system and an analysis of the operation efficiency of an original piezoelectric sensor with patent application. The novelty of this work is reflected in the new design of a specially designed piezoelectric sensor in the sowing unit, for which an analysis of indication errors was carried out. A seed arrangement of this type has not been described so far. An analysis of the influence of the seed tube tilt angle and the type of its exit hole end on the coordinates of the grain point of collision with the sensor surface and erroneous indications of the amount of sown grains identified by the piezoelectric sensor is presented. Low values of the sensor indication errors (up to 10%), particularly for small tilt angles (0° and 5°) confirm its high grain detection efficiency, comparable with other sensors used in sowing systems, e.g., photoelectric, fiber or infrared sensors and confirm its suitability for commercial application. The results presented in this work broaden the knowledge on the use of sensors in seeding systems and provide the basis for the development of precise systems with piezoelectric sensors.