Numerical calculation of sugarcane crushing process based on Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics

Understanding the dynamic crushing process of sugarcane is very important to improve the juice extraction rate. In this work, we prove the feasibility of using the Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics method to simulate the sugarcane crushing process and explore the milling mechanism and the effects of crushing technological parameters on sugarcane stress. The numerical experiments indicate that the stress and deformation of the milled mixture of sugarcane reach the peak at the maximum opening ratio and the X–direction speed of the milled mixture in contact with the roller is more than that of the internal milled mixture. When the roller diameter, roller speed, and compression ratio of the milled mixture are 1060 mm, 5 rpm, and 3, the maximum stress and speed of the milled mixture are 1.857 MPa and 453.6 mm/s. The stress is related to the compression ratio (1.5–3.5) and roller diameter (940–1060 mm) within a certain range, but is independent of roller speed (4–6 rpm). The study on milling mechanism and sensitivity analysis of parameters can provide a reference for optimizing technological parameters and extraction rate. Our approach may be used to study the large displacement and deformation of objects. [Display omitted] •Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics method used to simulate the milling process.•Sugarcane milling mechanism was described by numerical calculation.•Results on effects of crushing technological parameters on the sugarcane stress.