LAUSR

The mechanical properties of jujube branches are the basis of designing and optimising the working parameters of pruning operations and branch crushing machinery. The mechanical properties of the cell wall of jujube branches were measured using a nanoindentation technique, and the representative volume element for characterising the microstructure of a jujube branch was established using a computed tomography (CT) X-ray technique. In addition, the macro equivalent mechanical properties of jujube branches were predicted using finite element analysis of the representative volume elements. The accuracy of the finite element simulation results was verified through a macro test. The results show that the estimated mechanical properties of jujube branches obtained by using the representative volume element were slightly higher than those obtained by the macroscopic methods but the prediction errors were