Modal Properties of the Macaw Palm Fruit-Rachilla System: Characterization by Vibration Tests and Numerical Simulations

Abstract

Abstract The macaw palm is a palm tree with wide geographic distribution. The aim of this work was to determine the modal properties of the macaw palm fruit-rachilla system subjected to mechanical vibrations. Three-dimensional models were elaborated using a computational program for 3D CAD modeling. The three-dimensional model developed was validated as a function of the real displacements observed during laboratory vibration tests. The average values observed for the system natural frequencies in the vibration tests were 20.09 Hz for the immature stage and 19.86 Hz for the mature stage. The average values of natural frequencies obtained by the numerical simulations were 28.41 Hz and 25.56 Hz for the immature and mature maturation stages, respectively. The vibration mode corresponding to the natural frequencies evaluated was characterized as pendulum displacements of the macaw palm fruit-rachilla system.

Keywords

• finite element method
• palm
• natural frequencies
• vibration modes