| A self-contained data acquisition unit about the size of an apple was developed to measure vector impacts (accelerations). The purpose of this data acquisition unit is to aid in the study of bruising to fruits and vegetables; particularly apples. The unit uses an Intel 8097 microcontroller to control data collection, data storage, and communications with appropriately designed software. A serial communication line is used to issue interactive commands and retrieve data. The data acquisition unit stores data for impacts above a predetermined threshold and formats the data into records consisting of triaxial acceleration values along with the time of occurrence. An impact analysis software package which runs on a personal computer was also developed. The analysis includes: peak acceleration, overall velocity change, impact duration and enhanced plots of the original impact data. Some trial results from an apple packing line are presented. |
