Objective
The quality of fruit such as tomatoes can be reduced substantially by mechanical damage e.g. by poor handling during and post-harvesting. Damage manifested at the whole fruit or macro-scale is caused by failure of cells at the micro-scale, although cells in different tissues (meso-scale) react differently to external forces. Not much is known about how the mechanics of tomatoes across the scales can be correlated and how external forces cause damage to single cells internally. Therefore, the scientific aim of this Fellowship is to model the multi-scale mechanics of tomatoes to provide a tool for investigating internal damage to tomatoes caused by external forces during handling and processing.
The first step will be to investigate the multi-scale anatomy of tomatoes. The multi-scale mechanical behavior of tomatoes, their component tissues, and the cells within those tissues will then be characterized. Such anatomical and mechanical data have never been determined fully for one fruit at one time and therefore existing data cannot be used to develop multi-scale mechanical models. The third step will be to develop and validate a multi-scale finite element model using a novel, user-defined 3D cell element type that will allowing all scales to be represented in a single model. Finally, internal mechanical damage to tomatoes caused by externally applied forces in compression tests of whole fruit will be simulated.
This Fellowship will provide a valuable tool for investigating mechanical damage to tomatoes caused by external forces during handling and processing. Besides its scientific value, this project will have an impact of the economic efficiency of the European Union. It will be the basis for long-term collaborations between the University of Birmingham, UK and Henan Polytechnic University, China.
The Fellow will undertake a broad range of outreach activities, including to schools and industrial and academic colleagues.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine anatomy and morphology
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture horticulture fruit growing
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IIF
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
454003 JIAO ZUO
China
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.