## 1 Introduction
[PERSON] [15] investigated the bruise susceptibility of Ankara pears under different impact heights, materials, and fall orientations. Bruise susceptibility can be represented as the ratio of bruise volume to the amount of damage per unit of energy at impact [16; 17]. The author found that the maximum bruise susceptibility was determined using a wooden platform, while the minimum bruise magnitude was calculated using a rubber-based platform. Similarly, [PERSON] et al. [18] utilized FEA to predict the bruise damage of pears with different ripeness levels, including unripe, ripe, and overripe. The authors studied the impact of pear drops under different dropping heights (200 mm, 500 mm, and 1000 mm), impact surfaces (steel and wood), and drop orientations (vertical and horizontal). The results demonstrated that the minimum bruise area occurred for unripe pears that fell on a wooden surface at a 200 mm vertical distance. On the other hand, the maximum bruise area was recorded for ripe pears. This can be explained by increased chemical reactions with the increase in the ripeness level, which causes softening of the fruit tissue. In most of the tests, the bruise area was higher for steel compared to wood, as steel has an elasticity and impact effect. [PERSON] et al. [19] investigated the bruise susceptibility of kiwi fruit by developing a multiscale FEA model for the dropped fruit. Simulated drop scenarios using FEA showed that von Mises stress increases in the impact section, and higher bruise susceptibility is caused by horizontal orientation rather than vertical. The micro-mechanical changes in the tissue and cells of potato response subject to impact test were investigated by [PERSON] et al. [20] through scanning electron microscopy and FEA. Results of FEA simulations revealed that maximum stress and impact damage increase at high-impact energy. An appropriate potato tissue element size of 0.03 mm was found after conducting mesh sensitivity. Another work was conducted by [PERSON] et al. [21] to determine the impact of bruising of fresh Goji fruit through FEA and hyperspectral imaging. The authors compared the fruit's drop impact using different platform materials, heights, and angles. The authors suggested the following optimized parameters to minimize the bruise rate: 0.24-m drop height, foam board impact material, and 13.11\({}^{\circ}\) impact angle. Nylon and wood impact material platforms do not damage the fruit within a drop height range of 0.2 to 0.5 m. Bruise detection of fresh corn to impact load was studied by [PERSON] et al. [22]. FEA simulation experiments were performed for three contact platform materials, three drop heights, and three impact angles. Results revealed that the minimum bruise magnitude was reported for a neoprene impact surface, with a height of 0.6 m and an impact angle of 30 degrees. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the literature lacks energy-absorbing designs and structures for fresh produce packaging, specifically on methods that adopt FEA analysis on bruise susceptibility. More research on new packaging designs to provide better protective performance needs to be studied and developed [23]. Furthermore, the literature [24] has suggested the adoption of materials with low elastic modulus properties, such as rubber and paper cardboard, to observe softer-fruit-material impact behavior. The contribution of this work lies in the use of finite element analysis methodology to investigate pear fruit impact on various impact materials, including plastic, cardboard, wood, and rubber. Furthermore, this paper contributes by analyzing fruit impact loading using different packaging sizes and structure designs such as rigid, honeycomb, and corrugated with single and multiple layers, which was not priorly proposed in the literature. Finally, empirical models for pear bruise susceptibility for each impact material were developed through response surface methodology.