Abstract

Bamboo weevil larva has excellent performance on cutting plant fiber. From quantitative analysis of the mandible incisor profile of bamboo weevil larva, it was found that the primary cutting edge of incisor is close to a standard circular arc, which is helpful for improving the cutting efficiency of mandible incisor. Inspired from the geometrical characteristics of the bamboo weevil larva's incisor, a new bionic mincing blade was designed and manufactured. The experimental results of chopping equal Chinese cabbages showed that, when the rotational speed was 1400 rpm, the mincing energy consumption of bionic blade was 12.8% lower than conventional blade and the chopping efficiency of bionic blade was 12.5% higher. Meanwhile, the mincing capacity of bionic blade was 36 kg·h⁻¹, which was 1.5 times of that of the conventional blade, 24 kg·h⁻¹. The material weight loss rate was 11.2 % lower than that of conventional blade. The qualification rate of the minced cabbage chopped by bionic blade was 93.3%, which was higher than the 85.7% of conventional blade. Therefore, the bionic blade could obviously promote the quality of product and the working efficiency of mincing machine. These results would provide guidance for designing cutting component of vegetable choppers, succulence cutter and other food processing machines.