Abstract: In order to study the breaking and chewing process of food in mouth, a chewing broken model was using discrete element method. Taking soybean as an example, the dynamic chewing process was simulated and the corresponding parameters were tested, including that between soybean and soybean, and between soybean and teeth. To verify the feasibility of the chewing model, three-dimensional models of the first upper and lower molars were established using reverse engineering. The dentiform indenter that works with the texture analyzer was developed. Test of the soybean crushing with the dentiform indenter was carried out and the forces in the crushing process were analyzed. The changes of forces in the test are in line with that in the simulation. The simulation values could be amended by the linear regression model, and the regression coefficient approached 0.956. The analyzed results show that the chewing broken model can be used to simulate the chewing process of human, providing a new method for food texture evaluation.

Key words: computer application, discrete element method, chewing broken model, chewing, reverse engineering