Experimental Research on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of the Tussah Cocoon for Leaf-Stripping Machine Development

The physical parameters and mechanical properties of the tussah cocoon are of vital importance for the design of a tussah cocoon leaf stripper. In this paper, the freshly harvested tussah cocoons wrapped with fresh leaves (TCFL) and the plucked and dried tussah cocoons (TCDL) were taken as research objects. The physical parameters and mechanical properties of the tussah cocoon with wrapped leaves, leafless tussah cocoons, tussah cocoon shells, tussah pupae, cocoon handle, and oak leaves were measured. The experiment showed that firstly, the radial deformation of the cocoon shell of the tussah cocoon should be controlled to be within 1.05 mm and the axial deformation to be within 1.6 mm. The pressure on the fresh leaf cocoon shell and the dry leaf cocoon shell cannot exceed 14.54 ± 3.16 N and 32.43 ± 7.04 N, respectively. Secondly, when the oak leaves are peeled off, the tensile force on the fresh leaves and dry leaves should be greater than 5.05 ± 3.63 N and 3.35 ± 1.85 N, respectively. Finally, the cocoon stalk can have a negative impact on the leaf-stripping process. These results can provide theoretical support for the design of a tussah leaf stripper to avoid damaging the cocoon shell and tussah pupa during the leaf stripping process.