Experimental Study on Tensile Properties of Sugarcane Leaves

Abstract

Highlights This article focuses on the tensile properties of sugarcane leaves. The moisture content and sheath diameter were selected as test factors, and the test index was the stalk-leaf connecting force. The load-displacement curves of stalks and leaves were plotted. Two-way ANOVA was also discussed. Abstract . The tensile properties of sugarcane leaves are critical factors affecting the harvesting quality of sugarcane harvesters. Thus, it is important to investigate the tensile properties of sugarcane stalks and leaves. The selected test factors were leaf moisture content and sheath diameter, and the stalk-leaf connecting force was selected as test index. The tests were conducted with two moisture content levels of 15% and 20%, and three sheath diameters of 22, 26, and 30 mm. The stress-strain curves of stalks and leaves were plotted to show how the tensile force varied during the tensile test. The results showed that there was a strong linear correlation between the stalk-leaf connecting force and diameter of leaf sheath, and the connecting force also increased with the increasing moisture content. In addition, leaf tensile forces in longitudinal direction were much larger than in transverse direction. Two-way ANOVA revealed that both of the moisture contents (A) and sheath diameters (B) had significant effects on the stalk-leaf connecting force (p < 0.01), however, the interaction between A and B was not significant (p > 0.1). This study provides a theoretical reference for the design and improvement of crop dividers of sugarcane harvester. Keywords: Moisture content, Sheath diameter, Stalk-leaf connecting force, Sugarcane leaves, Universal testing machine, Tensile properties.