Chapter 1

Introduction to Engineering Properties of AB Materials

Overview

In the study of properties of AB materials, we often need to define the different

engineering properties of agricultural and biological materials and explain the
importance of engineering properties of agricultural and biological materials to
agricultural processing and identify different methods in determining or measuring
these properties. This chapter is primarily concerned with the introduction of
engineering properties of AB materials, its importance and significance and the
properties of AB materials.

CHAPTER CONTENTS
1.1 Importance and Significance

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the module, you can:

1. Define the different engineering properties of agricultural and biological

materials.
2. Understand and explain the importance and significance of engineering
properties of agricultural and biological materials.
3. Identify the properties of AB materials.
Lesson 1

Introduction to Engineering Properties of AB Materials

A. Specific Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, you can:

1. Define the different engineering properties of agricultural and biological

materials.
2. Understand and explain the importance and significance of engineering
properties of agricultural and biological materials.
3. Identify the properties of AB materials.

B. Time allotment: 5 hours

C. Pre Test

Hello learner! Before we begin with our discussion, please try to answer the
following test. Don’t worry about your performance. This test aims to assess your prior
knowledge on the topic and your score will not be recorded.

Directions. Match column A with column B. Write your answers on the space provided
before each number.
 D. Discussion

1.1 Introduction to Engineering Properties of AB Materials

Engineering properties are the properties which are useful and necessary in the
design and operation of equipment employed in the field of agricultural processing.
They are also useful for design and development of other farm machinery. Operations
such as cleaning, grading, drying, dehydration, storage, milling, handling and
transportation, thermal processing of foods are among the important operations in
agricultural processing. In these operations while handling of grains and other
commodities the properties which play and important role are physical, mechanical,
frictional, rheological, aero and hydrodynamic, electrical and optical properties of the
bio materials. Basic information on these properties are of great importance and help
for the engineers, food scientists and processors towards efficient process and
equipment development. An attempt has been made to describe some of the engineering
properties usually encountered in post production handling of agricultural crops.

Properties and characteristics of agricultural materials in relation to their Processing

and handling methods. Physical, mechanical, rheological, thermal, electrical and
chemical properties. Introduction to agricultural product processing, Ambient
temperature processing Materials cleaning, sorting and grading techniques. Size
reduction and mixing, Processing by application of heat. Handling methods. Storage
requirement of agricultural products.

A knowledge of these properties should constitute important and essential engineering

data in design of machines, structures, processes and controls; in analyzing and
determining the efficiency of a machine or an operation; in developing new consumer
products of plant or animal origins; and evaluating and retaining the quality of the final
product. Such basic information sould be of value not only to engineers but also to food
scientists and processors, plant and animal breeders, and other scientists who may
exploit these properties and find new uses.

1.2 Properties of AB Materials

Physical properties

The physical properties such as size, shape, surface area, volume, density,
porosity, colour and appearance are important in designing particular equipment or
determining the behaviour of the product for its handling.
Various types of cleaning grading and separation equipment are designed on the
basis of physical properties of seeds such as size, shape, specific gravity, surface
roughness, colour etc. For designing an air screen grain cleaner, the shape and size of
the grain determine the shape and size of screen openings, angle of inclination and
vibration amplitude and frequency of screens. The density of the grains decides the size
of screening surface. The frontal area and related diameters and density are essential for
determination of terminal velocity of the grain. Terminal velocity is necessary to decide
about the winnowing velocity of air blast for separation of lighter materials in air screen
grain cleaners.
The shape of product is an important parameter which affects conveying
characteristics of solid materials by air or water. The shape is also considered in
calculation of various cooling and heating loads of food materials.
The frontal area and the related diameters are essential for determination of
terminal velocity Reynold’s number and drag coefficient. The density and specific
gravity are needed for calculating the thermal diffusivity in heart transfer operations, in
determining Reynold’s number, in pneumatic and hydraulic handling of the agricultural
materials.
The surface characteristics, colour and appearance are exploited for selective
separation and storage of fruits and vegetables.
Some of the important physical properties are described below.
Lesson 2

Physical Characteristics

A. Specific Learning Outcomes

Properties and Characteristics of Agricultural Materials

Physical Properties of Agricultural Products:

When physical properties of grains, seeds, fruits and vegetables, eggs, forage, and fibers
are studied by considering either bulk or individual units of the material, it is important
to have an accurate estimate of shape, size, volume, specific gravity, surface area and
other physical characteristics which may be considered as engineering parameters for
that product. Table 3.1 is presented to show the application of several of the physical
characteristics of potato and stones which have been utilized in design of the separating
mechanisms. In this chapter methods for determination of such physical characteristics
as shape, size, volume, specific gravity, bulk density and surface area are discussed.

When studying physical properties of Agricultural products by considering either bulk

or individual units of the material it is important to have an accurate estimate of these
properties which may be considered as engineering parameters for that product.

2.1 Size

Size is defined as the weight and/or dimension (length, width or diameter) of one unit of a
commodity. For semi spherical commodities, two diameters are often considered: the stem-apical
(or polar) diameter and the equatorial diameter.
Methods of measurement

Weighing scales - for direct measurement of the weight of a sample. This is the simplest method
of determining the size of an object.

Measuring aids - for direct measurement of the major dimensions of an object such as length,
width and/or diameter. These tools include rulers, calipers, and templates where different size
classifications are depicted.

Correlation of weight with major dimensions - a mathematical relationship between an object's

weight and its major dimensions can be derived using statistical analysis. In simple terms, this
implies that heavier objects have correspondingly larger dimensions. A sufficiently large number
of samples are needed to ensure a thorough sampling.

Machine vision - use of computers equipped with cameras that can automatically measure the
major dimensions of an object and calculate its weight using the de rived relationship as
described above (refer to Section 4.3 for more details).

Applications

As a basis for classifying produce - major dimensions of an object are often used as indicators of
maturity, or as the basis of pricing. These dimensions are commonly the length and/or diameter
of the object. Pummelo, tomato and onion, for example, are classified based on their diameter,
while for carrot, young cob corn, eggplant, rose and chrysanthemum, size is based on length of
the commodity.

The size of a commodity can affect its marketability: Carabao' mango fruits that are extra large
(>350 g) are not normally within the acceptable size range of the buyer.

Alpas (2002) developed an experimental system for sizing Carabao' mango through machine
vision (see Section 4.3 for more details) by measuring major dimensions of the fruit. The system
was able to process one fruit in 0.3 sec with an accuracy of 99%.

For Cavendish' banana, a caliper is used for measuring fruit size. The diameter of the middle
finger of the second hand of a bunch is used as an indicator of harvest maturity for export (see
Chapter 6).

As a basis for package design- fiberboard cartons with a 5-kg capacity used for exporting
Carabao' mango to Japan have partitions that can accommodate 16 large, 20 medium, or 24 small
fruits. The size of each fruit compartment is based on the diameter of the fruit, while depth of the
carton is based on the length of the stem apical axis.

SHAPE

Shape can be defined as the general outline or profile of a commodity.

Methods of determination - many methods of describing the shape of an object have been
developed. Some of the most common are given below.

Charted standards - a tracing of the outline of a sample is compared to standard shapes

published by relevant agencies, such as government standards offices, after extensive
consultations with industry stakeholders. This method is simple but very subjective and results
can vary among different observers (Mohsenin 1986).

Comparison with geometric shapes - commodities come in an infinite variety of shapes that can
be approximated by regular geometric objects and their various combinations. Fig. 4-1 gives
some examples of commodities and their approximate shapes. Those with irregular shapes, on
the other hand, can be described as combinations of regular objects. e.g., the shape of 'Manila'
and 'Carabao' mango can be described as a combination of ellipses, cones and cylinders
(Guzman-Estrada et al. 1996).

Shape descriptors - descriptors are simply combinations of size parameters such as minimum and
maximum diameters or radii, length and width. Size parameters may be measured using rulers,
calipers or by machine vision system. The different descriptors are then used, individually or in
combination, to distinguish between different classes of a commodity, e.g, misshapen and
acceptable fruit. Only a few examples are given below; for more details, refer to Du and Sun
(2004).

 Roundness - is a measure of the sharpness of corners of an object, as shown in Fig. 4-2. A

"round" commodity may not be perfectly round, and may have an abrupt change in shape
in some portions, resulting in "corners". The roundness ratio is expressed as the ratio
between the radius of a particular corner and the radius of a circumscribed circle around
the object (r/R from Fig. 4-2) (Mohsenin 1986).
 Sphericity - is a measure of how close an object approximates a sphere of the same
volume. It is ex. pressed as the ratio between the geometric mean diameter over the
largest diameter of the object. Geometric mean diameter is calculated as the cube root of
the product of three major dimensions: (a) major and (b) minor diameters of the object
when viewed from above, and the (c) stem-apical diameter (Mohsenin 1986). Table 4-1
gives the average measurements of different dimensions of 30 young coconut samples at
two stages of maturity. The dimensions A to H are shown in Fig. 4-3.

Using dimensions G (as both major and minor diameters) and H (stem-apical diameter),
young coconut has an average sphericity of about 90%.
 Fig. 4-1. Different commodities and their approximate geometric shapes.

Description of some shape:

In defining the shape some dimensional parameters of the object must be measured.
These parameters include Major minor and intermediate diameters and projected area.
In this method tracings of longitudinal and lateral cross sections of the material can be
compared with the shapes listed on a charted standard. Description of some shape and
its measurement is given below:
Roundness of an object is a measure of the sharpness of the corners of the solid. Several
methods have been proposed for estimating roundness. Roundness is calculated as
Ap
Roundness= where
Ac

Ap = Largest projected area of object in natural rest position

Ac = Area of smallest circumscribing circle
Roundness can also be computed as:
❑r
Roundness= where
NR
r = radius of curvature
R = radius of the largest inscribed circle
N = Total number of corners summed in numerator
Then roundness ratio is computed as
r
Roundness ratio= where : r is the radius of the curvature of the sharpest corner.
R

Sphericity concept rests upon the isoperimetric property of a sphere which is a round
solid figure similar in shape to a ball. Sphericity expresses the shape character of the
solid relative to that of a sphere of the same volume. Sphericity of an object is defined
using the following relationship:

di
sphericity= where :di is the diameter of the largest inscribed circle
dc
dc is diameter of the smallest circumscribed circle
Sphericity is also defined based on axial dimensions as follows:
1
geometric diameter (abc )
sphericity= = 3
major diameter
a
Where a,b and c are the major, intermediate and minor diameter of the object.
Fig. 4-2. Measuring roundness of a fruit sample (1) using the shape descriptor r/R, where
R is the radius of a circumscribed circle round the sample (2) and r is the radius of the
corner of interest (3).

Automation of the shape descriptors method is made possible using machine vision systems. A
computer captures an image of the commodity, calculates the appropriate descriptors, determines
its classification, and carries out the appropriate action.

Applications

As a maturity index - angularity of banana fingers is a common indicator of maturity. When

immature, the cross-section of a banana finger shows several prominent angles. These angles
gradually disappear as the fruit matures, reducing the angularity of the fruit (see Chapter 6).

As basis of design of equipment - fruits that are round (e.g., citrus) can be separated into
different sizes using a mechanical sizer with rotating perforated drums. An example of this type
of sizer is given in Chapter 14.

As basis for grading - buyers can reject a commodity due to its shape. Philippine exporters reject
"Carabao' mangoes that are deformed or are too round or elongated. 'Solo' papaya is also rejected
ifit is too rounded. Misshapen tomatoes are culled out in local markets and may be sold at a
lower price.

VOLUME

Volume is the space occupied by one unit of a commodity, expressed in terms of cubic meters
(m3) or cubic centimeters (cm3).

Table 4-1. Physical characterization of young coconuta

Maturity
Dimension 6-7 months after flowering 7-8 months after flowering
b
Mean SD Mean SD
A 4.01 0.84 4.63 0.66
 B 10.62 0.83 9.92 0.50

C 3.15 0.38 2.62 0.58

D 2.13 0.39 2.04 0.42

E 10.31 0.79 10.77 0.52

F 2.43 0.46 2.24 0.41

G 14.70 0.82 15.00 0.59

H 17.58 0.84 16.95 1.03

a
Refer to Fig 4-3 for dimensions of young coconut that were measured.
b
SD - standard deviation

Methods of measurement

Water displacement method - for objects that sink in water, the setup shown in Fig. 4-4a is used.
The object to be measured is immersed in a graduated cylinder or a flask, forcing water to be
displaced or to overflow into a receiver. The volume of the displaced water in the receiver or the
change in the water level in the graduated cylinder is equivalent to the volume of the object.

Fig. 4-3. Measured dimensions of young coconut.

Weighing in air and water for objects that float in water, the setup shown in Fig. 4-4h is used.
The weight of the sample in air is first measured on a weighing scale, and then pushed under
water with a rod. The reading of the scale when the sample is under water minus the combined
weight of container and watrer is the weight of displaced water. Weight of displaced water
divided by density of pure water (1g cm-3) gives the volume of the object.

Correlation with major dimensions - mathematical relationships between volume and major
dimensions of an object can also be derived, as described previously for size determination.
Resemblance to geometric bodies - the volume of a commodity may be estimated from
mathematical formulas for geometric bodies with similar shape. as discussed previously for
shape measurement (refer to Mohsenin (1986) for more details).

Capacitance between concentric spheres - capacitance is defined as the property of a material

that determines the amount of electrical charge the material can store. Capacitance between two
concentric spheres is affected by the radius of the inner sphere through a known mathematical
relationship.

Applications

Design of equipment - for example, the volume of a mango fruit must be known in order to
determine the dimensions of a hot water tank needed for disease control. The tank must have
enough freeboard (space above the water level) so that water does not overflow when the fruit is
submerged.

Sorting und nondestructive testing of fruit - capacitance was used to develop an automated
Sorter lor Parnassus Queen’ watermelon. An external tunnel acts as the outer sphere. while the
sample to be measured is Considered as the inner sphere (Fig, 4-5). The volume of the object is
estimated by applying current at I MHz to the 1wo spheres and measuring the capacitance
between them with a precision meter. The sorter was able to cull out hollow fruit and estimate
the level of soluble solid content non-destructively (Kato 1997).

Density, specific gravity and volume:

Density and specific gravity of food material play an important role in design of storage
bins, conveying equipment, separation equipment etc. Density can be bulk density or
unit density. Bulk density (kg/m3) is obtained by weighing a known volume of the
product. While a unit density is obtained by measuring the volume and weight of a unit
product. Specific gravity also known as relative density is the ratio of density of a
substance to the density of a standard substance at the same temperature and pressure.
For liquids and solids the standard substance is water while for gasses it is air. Specific
gravity of a product is obtained by the use of a specific gravity balance. Using this
balance the product is weighed in air and in water. Then the specific gravity is computed
as follows:
If the solid is heavier than water:

specific gravity =
[ weight ∈air
weight ∈air−weight ∈water ]
If the solid is lighter than water a sinker of a known weight is attached to the product
and specific gravity is determined as:
specific gravity =
[ ( W a ) object
( W a−W w ) both−( W a−W w ) sin ker ]
Where Wa is weight in air and Ww is weight in water.
Specific gravity can also be determine using specific gravity gradient tube: this
technique is based on observing the level at which a test specimen sinks in a liquid
column exhibiting a density gradient. The specimen must be impervious to the liquid in
the column until the liquid and test specimen have reached equilibrium and a reading is
obtained.
Pycno-meter method (which is a standardized vessel for determining specific gravity). It
involves a standard container of accurately defined volume used to determine the
specific gravity of solids and liquids.
Radiation method: This method uses a radioactive source. A radiation detector
measured the amount of radiation coming through the product. The radiation decreases
with increase in product density.

Volume (m3) of larger objects such as fruits and root crops can be determined using the
platform scale. Using this method the product is first weighed in air and submerged in
to water and the weight of displaced water and the weight of the product in water is
determined then the volume is measured as follows:

Weight of displaced water ( g)

Volume ( m ) =
3
g
Weight density of water ( 3 )
m
Or
Weight ∈air−Weight ∈water
Volume=
Weight density of water

For some agricultural products volume can be calculated using the geometrical
measurements as given below:
4 2
Volume= (ab )
3

2.3 Surface Area of AB Materials

Surface Area:
The knowledge of surface area (m 2) of some parts of plant such as leaf area, surface area of fruits
is important to plant scientists as well as engineers. Surface area of a product is important in
designing a conveying equipment, cleaning and separation equipment. Some of the methods used
for measuring surface area are:
- contact printing the surface on a light sensitive paper and measuring the area by a
planimeter
- tracing the area on a graph paper and counting the squares
- use of a photographic projector -light interception method and
 - use of an air flow planimeter which measure the area as a function of the surface
obstruction to flow of air. This is a fast and reliable method.
Fruit surface area can be measured by peeling the fruit in a narrow strips and using a planimeter
to measure the area and sum of the stripes is taken as accurate surface area.
The following relationship can also be used to determine surface area of spheroid bodies using
the geometrical measurements.

2 ab −1
S=2b + 2 sin e where e=¿ ¿
e

2.4 Porosity of AB Materials

Porosity: Porosity is the percent void space in a product. This property is needed in air
flow and heat flow studies. Porosity of granular and unconsolidated materials is
measured using a devices which is specifically designed for that purpose. However,
porosity which is also referred to as packing factor PF may be calculated from the
following relationship:

Solid density of particle−density of packing

PF=
Solid density of particles

Density of packing may be found by weighing a given volume of packed particles

Moisture content: Moisture content of a product is the amount of water present in that
product. When studying engineering properties of agricultural products it is important
to indicate the moisture content at which it is being studied. Moisture content affects
other engineering properties. Moisture content of agricultural products can be
measured using different methods. However, the oven method of determining moisture
content is used very frequently. Using this method a known weight the product is dried
in an oven for a given period of time and given temperature and weighed. The moisture
content is then computed as follows:

W i−W f
Moisture content on wet basis MC wb = (%)
Wf

W i−W f
Moisture content on dry basis MC wb = where: Wi is the initial weight of the
Wf
product before drying while Wf is the final weight of the product after drying. The wet
base and dry base moisture content are related by the following equations:
MC wb =MC db /(1+ MC db )
MC db=MC wb /(1+ MC wb )