The problem of vibration measurement has assumed increasing importance in recent years for different aspects. In the first phase of this study an analysis of vibrations by means of contact accelerometers was carried out to study a tree shaking machine used in the mechanical harvesting of olives. Then a kinematic analysis of motion with a contactless method was carried out on a belt transmission system equipped with three pulleys: a high speed camera was used, able to capture up to 500 frames per second thus to follow the position of any moving point of the mechanical system under investigation. Vibrations were acquired detecting the positions during time of a marker fixed on the belt. The proposed method made it possible to analyse the mechanism and verify both known behaviours and neglected aspects in the usual kinematic analysis carried out using acceleration measurements. © (2013) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only

The aim of the current work is to give a contribution to the study of the drying process of tomatoes through the synergy of the hot air and microwave technologies. The drying of tomatoes is a process commonly used to preserve the product and to prolong its shelf-life. In this paper, four experimental tests on the product under study, were carried out. Then, different drying diagrams were developed and analyzed taking into account the conventional air system, the microwave system and the simultaneous use of hot air and microwaves. The drying tests were carried out using the “Cencara” tomatoes type.