The Modelling of the Cutting Process During the Dry Peeling of Potatoes

Abstract

On their way to the consumer, a very large part of the potatoes is freshly peeled before being cooked. A newly designed peeling technique allows the currently high losses and environmental pollution to be minimized. Modern peeling techniques use knife-like blades in order to give the cut crops a smooth surface. Based on the examination of a mechanical peel- ing technique with a spatially swinging knife plate, a modelling approach for the simulation of the cut, which is carried out through the interaction between hole-shaped blades and freely movable potato tubers, is pre- sented. This modelling approach for the cut is closely coupled with the modelling of the impact behaviour of potato tubers, which has already been described in a separate contribution in this journal [1].