The Research of Distribution Pattern of Rubber Tree Bark Thickness based on Needle Puncture Detection and Dynamic Analysis

Globally, the natural rubber cultivation industry faces a widespread shortage of skilled rubber tappers.Replacing tappers with machines has thus become a crucial research and development focus.The precise measurement and estimation of rubber tree bark thickness play a pivotal role in mechanized rubber tapping, with needle puncture detection serving as a cost-effectiveness method.By microstructural analysis of puncture cross-sections, the needle puncture detection process can be deconstructed into three dynamic phases: pre-puncture, compression, and penetration, and the probe undergoes bending deformation in the compression phase.To simultaneously achieve high detection accuracy and minimize tree damage, a novel nonlinear dynamic variational equation was innovatively developed, enabling high-precision numerical characterization of probe.Through integrated numerical simulations and experimental validation, the optimal probe parameters were determined as follows: 316L stainless steel material with geometric dimensions of 0.25 mm radius and 25 mm length.Analysis of detection data revealed that the bark thickness-to-breast-height diameter ratio at various vertical positions exhibits insensitivity to breast-height diameter but demonstrates a statistically significant linear negative correlation with increasing vertical height.This empirical relationship provides a theoretical foundation for precision parameter optimization in mechanized rubber tapping.