DURING MECHANICAL harvesting, sugarcane stalks are normally chopped into
billets of 150–250 mm length. The deformation behaviour and resulting damage
due to billeting is largely unknown, but there is significant evidence that the
losses of fibre and juice are in the order of 3–8%. With a greater understanding
of the mechanisms present during this cutting process, improvements to the
billeting system can be suggested and validated. A set of dynamic laboratory
experiments on the wedge slicing of sugarcane stalks against a stationary anvil
were carried out during this study. The knife-stalk interaction was studied for a
number of different cutting parameters including knife sharpness, cutting speed,
cutting angle, variety of cane, inclusion of trash and the thickness of the cane
and trash mat. The tests showed that the angle between knife and stalk during the
cut was a major factor in the quality of the cut. The remaining factors had
varying affects on the cutting process and trends were observed for most of
these. The tests provided valuable insight into the mechanisms present during
the knife slicing of sugarcane and triggers were identified for the damage
classifications of juice expulsion and stalk splitting.