CHAPTER - ONE

1. Introduction to Engineering Properties of Biological Materials

1.1 Introduction:

Engineering properties are useful in the design and operation of equipment in the field of
agricultural processing. In farm machinery, these properties are useful for development and
design. These engineering properties are physical, mechanical, frictional, rheological, aero and
hydrodynamic, electrical, and optical properties. For example, frictional properties such as angle
of repose and coefficient of friction are important in designing storage bins, conveyors, forage
harvesters, etc. The angle of repose is used for the characterization of the bulk of particulate
foods such as seeds, grains, flours, grits, and fruits. The angle of repose of granular materials is
relevant in various applications of science and engineering, such as sedimentology,
geomorphology, hydraulic, and chemical engineering. It can be used in the descriptions of the
initial motion of sediment grains and sediment transport process, and the investigations of bank
stability, riprap protection, and reservoir sediment removal. In the field of agriculture, angle of
repose is widely used especially in designing and dimensioning silos, tanks, hoppers, and
bunkers to determine the capacity and required volume of the stored and transported seeds,
wheat, rice, flour, etc. That’s why it is very essential to study frictional properties and other
properties in engineering.

Biological materials especially those that are consumed as food or feed undergo various unit
operations right from the pre-harvest to post-harvest processing, primary, secondary and tertiary
processing, formulation, preservation, packaging, storage distribution, retailing, domestic
storage and finally consumption. Scientists and engineers need to know and understand the
characteristics of the material to be processed, preserved and consumed to solve the problems
while designing and selecting the means and modes of preservation, packaging, processing,
storage, marketing, and consumption. Each of these unit operations has unique characteristics
and needs special tools and equipment. Designing and selecting such tools and equipment
require information regarding various properties.

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 1.2 Classification of Engineering Properties of Biological Materials

Any attribute affecting the processing or handling of biological material can be defined as an
engineering property. They are divided into the following categories:

Physical properties (Structural and Geometric properties):-Shape, size, volume, surface

area, density and porosity which is necessary for the design of various separating,
handling, storing and drying systems of agricultural product.
Chemical properties: This focus on chemical compositions and moisture content, the
knowledge of the composition of biomaterials is useful for estimating densities and
thermal properties.
Mechanical properties (strength properties): focus on strength properties and testing
such as compressive strength and deformation.
Rheological properties: Focus on food texture and rheological characterization,
knowledge of rheological properties of various food systems is important in the design
of flow processes for quality control, in predicting flow processes for quality control, in
predicting storage, and understanding and designing texture.
Frictional properties: coefficient of friction, angle of internal friction and angle of
repose. The angle of repose and coefficient of friction is important in designing
equipment for solid flow and storage structures. The angle of internal friction between
seed and wall in the prediction of seed pressure on walls. The coefficient of friction is
also important in designing storage bins, hoppers, chutes, screw conveyors, forage
harvesters and threshers.
Aerodynamic and hydrodynamic properties: Terminal velocity and drag coefficient
of agricultural products are important in designing air /hydro conveying systems and
separation equipment. Air is often used as a carrier for transporting or separating the
desirable products, therefore terminal velocity and drag coefficient are needed for air
conveying and pneumatic separation of materials.
Thermal properties: These properties are involved in almost every food processing
operation. Such as specific heat, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity.
Knowledge of these properties helps in designing thermal processes and calculating
thermal load for canning, sterilization, pasteurization, cooking and many other
processes.

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 Electromagnetic properties: Dielectric constant, dielectric loss factor and penetration
depth. Dielectric properties are important in determining the interaction between the
food material being processed and the electromagnetic energy. Useful in designing and
controlling thermal processing and moisture content determination.

These properties can alter material handling, storage and food processing methods and can
cause desirable or sometimes undesirable changes in nutrient profiles, texture, color, taste,
aroma and other quality attributes.

1.3 Applications of Engineering Properties of Biological Materials

This deals with the application of various engineering properties like physical, frictional,
aerodynamic, thermal, optical, dielectric, electrical, acoustic, rheological and textural properties
in the harvesting, post-harvest handling, processing, storage and how it affects consumer’s
perception of food quality and safety.

In engineering selection and design of food processes and equipment requires knowledge of the
properties of food materials. These properties have great importance in the simulation and
design of food processes and computer-aided process engineering. Their influence is even
greater in problems of conceptual design, in which a wrong estimation of a property can lead to
an infeasible design plan. Not only knowledge of properties aids in engineering design and
control but also gives information about the product quality, its acceptability by the consumer of

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different groups and its behavior post-production, during storage, during consumption and post-
consumption.

Physical properties like size, shape, density and porosity have great implications in deciding
the equipment for screening, separation, handling and storage of materials, they also come in
handy in calculating the heat transfer and mass diffusion rates. Frictional properties are useful
in designing discharge and conveying devices; whereas, aerodynamic and hydrodynamic
properties are useful in designing spouted beds, fluidized bed dryers, aspirators and pneumatic
conveying systems. Knowledge of thermal properties aids in designing thermal processes and
calculating thermal load for canning, retorting, sterilization, pasteurization, blanching, cooking
and extrusion process. Electric and dielectric properties can be useful in designing and
controlling thermal processing and moisture content determination. Optical properties are used
widely in deciding the quality of food thus aiding in sorting, grading, contamination detection
and food composition determination. Acoustic properties are also useful in determining non-
destructive quality determination and pretreatment for various thermal processes and plant
material extraction. Rheological properties give information on how the product will behave in
different systems and how a consumer is going to be affected. It is useful in designing new
products and product constituents, its stability and storability under different conditions. Since
the viscosity of the material is affected by temperature and most importantly the constituent of
the material; it has a direct implication on the acceptability, storability and quality of the
product.

The food consumption pattern is affected by cultural practices, climate and in many cases
personal choice. Food is considered a means for psychological and emotional fulfillment and
its relation to divinity is not exaggerated as a basic requirement for any life to exist. The
information about consumers’ preferences is relevant for the food industry both for
modifying/improving the product according to these preferences and for the development of
new products. Besides, knowledge about customers’ age, gender, demographics, etc. is itself
relevant: indeed, an important area for strategic product development is the identification of
possible consumer segments and the evaluation of the influence of their characteristics on
liking patterns and on the uncertainty in the choice. The quality characteristics are often
judged by instrumental methods of measurement and by a sensory panel, where trained
personnel act as a human instruments.

Food laws and safety regulations are essential to provide the consumer with food that is safe to

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consume and cater to the needs of various sections. Allergenicity of some naturally occurring
chemicals from plant and animal sources, host metabolism, microbial contamination, non-
biological contamination such as glass, metal pieces, and chemicals entering into the food
chain from various steps of processing also pose a great risk to human safety and well-being.

Dielectric properties play a major role in determining the interaction between the food material
being processed and electromagnetic energy. The degree of heating of a food material subjected
to microwave or radio frequency processing is strongly influenced by the dielectric properties of
the food. Dielectric heating or volumetric heating occurs due to polarization and ionization of
molecules, which are effectively used in drying, sterilization, pasteurization and other thermal
processing operations. Dielectric properties consist of dielectric constant (ε′) and dielectric loss
factor (ε″). Dielectric constant is a measure of the ability of a material to store electromagnetic
energy whereas dielectric loss factor is a measure of the ability of a material to convert
electromagnetic energy to heat. Loss tangent (tan δ), a parameter used to describe how well a
product absorbs microwave energy, is the ratio of ε″ to ε′. A product with a higher loss tangent
will heat faster under microwave field as compared to a product with a lower loss tangent.

Acoustic properties of biomaterial describes how the biological cell reacts to sound waves,
which carry enough energy through photons and capable of bring change in the product.
Acoustic properties are long been used in medical diagnosis; its’ use in food processing and in
detecting the imperfections in agro commodities is gaining momentum. Moreover, the effect of
high intensity sound waves on living cell also are being explored and effectively used in
homogenizing liquid sample, extraction of plant materials and as pretreatment for drying and
dehydration process. Ultrasound is the sound that is above the threshold of the human ear
(above 18 kHz). Ultrasound is generated with either piezoelectric or magnetostrictive
transducers that create high-energy vibrations. These vibrations are amplified and transferred to
a sonotrode or probe, which is in direct contact with the fluid. Some known applications of high
power ultrasound in agro- processing include: extraction (release of plant material),
emulsification, homogenization, crystallization (formation of smaller ice crystals in freezing),
filtration, separation, viscosity alteration, defoaming, a pretreatment for drying and extrusion.
Ultrasound inactivates enzymes and bacteria by breaking the cell membranes due to the
violence of cavitation and due to the formation of free radicals and hence used for pasteurization
and blanching.

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Some of electrical properties which are importance in agro-processing are electrical
conductance, resistance, impedance. Electrical conductance or capacitance has been used for
determining the moisture content of grain. Electrostatic separation of grains is also used for
separating grains, based on the ability of the grain to hold electrostatic charge. Electrical
conductivity of the grain decides the ability of the material to hold electrostatic charge. Recently
ohmic heating has been in use for drying, pasteurization, blanching and other thermal
processing of foods, based on resistance heating. Ohmic processing, sometimes described as
resistive heating, consists of passing mains alternating current directly through a conductive
food, which in turn leads to heat generation. Because heating accompanies the current; heat
distribution throughout the product is far more rapid and even, which in turn can result in better
flavor retention and particulate integrity compared to conventional processes. The efficiency of
ohmic heating is dependent on the conductive nature of the food to be processed and hence
knowledge of the conductivity of the food as a whole and its components is essential in
designing a successful heating process.

CHAPTER – TWO

2. Physical Properties of Biological Materials

Physical properties such as: Size, Shape, Roundness, Sphercity, Volume Density (Bulk Density,
Solid Density, Porosity, Shrinkage, Color and Appearance and Moisture Content are important
in designing particular equipment or determining the behavior of the product for its handling,
processing and distribution. They are very important in many designs of agricultural product
/materials handling and processing operations. Size, shape, sphericity, volume, surface area,
density, and porosity are important physical characteristics of many food materials in handling
and processing operations

 Size, shape and density: Fruits and vegetables grading, food materials quality evaluation.
 Bulk density: for storage and transportation.
 Shape factor and surface area: heating and cooling process-to predict the freezing and
thawing rate.
 Porosity: for shrinking mechanism during drying agricultural product. Porosity indicates
the volume fraction of void space or air space inside a material. Volume determination is
relative to the amount of internal (or closed) or external (or open) pores present in the

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 food structure. Therefore, like density, different forms of porosity are also used in food
processing studies, namely open pore, closed pore, apparent, bulk, and total porosities.
 Shrinkage is the reduction in volume or geometric dimensions during processing. Two
types of shrinkage—isotropic and anisotropic—are usually observed in the case of food
materials. Isotropic shrinkage is described as the uniform shrinkage of the materials
under all geometric dimensions, whereas anisotropic (or non-uniform) shrinkage
develops in different geometric dimensions. The former is common in fruits and
vegetables while the latter is known in animal tissue, such as in fish. Shrinkage occurs as
a result of moisture loss (during drying), ice formation (during freezing), and formation
of pores (by drying, puffing, extrusion, and frying).

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 parameter for the product.

Shape and size are required to describe an object satisfactorily. These are important physical
attributes of biological materials that are used in screening, grading, and quality control of agro-
commodities. They are also important in fluid flow and heat and mass transfer calculations, like
drying, dehydration, pneumatic separation, screening etc. The shape and size of the materials
can be determined by graphical methods, dimensional measurement, projected area method,
electronic inspection systems.

2.1 Particle size

Size is an important physical attribute of foods used in screening solids to separate foreign
materials, grading of fruits and vegetables, and evaluating the quality of food materials. In fluid
flow, and heat and mass transfer calculations, it is necessary to know the size of the sample.
Size of the particulate foods is also critical that affects the viscosity, dispensability and stability
of the product. In the context of postharvest operations, agro-produce size determination is
important for several reasons (Moreda et al., 2009)

 It allows the sorting of fresh market various agro produces into size groups. This is helps
in assigning market and price differentials of large and small produce, to match
consumer preferences and to allow pattern packing. Pattern packing provides better

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 protection of the produce, utilizes the volume in the shipping container, owing to the
higher packing density that can be achieved with commodities of homogeneous sizes in
comparison to that of jumble packing.
 Size determinations is mandatory for modern or on-line fruit/ vegetables/ grain/spices
density sorting, for which two size-related parameters, volume and weight, are required.
 Size measurement is important for determining surface area. The latter is also use for
quantifying the microbial population on the surface of a foodstuff, for assessing the rates
of heat, water vapor and gas transfer, or for estimating the throughput of peeling
operations.
 Fruit size can provide useful information for suitable working of some internal quality
(IQ) sensors.
 Grading of agro produce into size groups is often necessary in the food industry, to meet
the requirements of some primary and secondary processing machines, or to assign
process differentials of large and small produce.
 Shape features can be measured independently or by combining size measurements.
Hence, the determination of agro commodity size parameters allows simple shape
sorting.
 Produce can be sized according to different physical parameters, such as diameter,
length, weight, volume, circumference, projected area, or any combination of these. It is
easy to specify size for regular particles in terms of their major dimensions like length,
width and thickness or major and minor diameter, but for irregular particles the term size
must be arbitrarily specified.

2.1.1 Methods of measurement of size:

a) Projected area method

Size can be determined using the projected area method. In this method, three characteristic
dimensions are defined:

 Major diameter, which is the longest dimension of the maximum projected area.
 Intermediate diameter, which is the minimum diameter of the maximum projected area
or the maximum diameter of the minimum projected area.
 Minor diameter, which is the shortest dimension of the minimum projected area.

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Length, width, and thickness terms are commonly used that correspond to major, intermediate,
and minor diameters, respectively

Triaxial ellipsoid: Dmax, Dinter and Dmin , In a triaxial ellipsoid, all three
perpendicular sections are
ellipses, then;

Dmax = 2a
Dinter = 2b
Dmin = 2c

Figure 3.1 Size determinations by projected area method

b) Micrometer and verner calliper measurement:

The dimensions can be measured using a micro meter or calliper, grain shape tester. The micro
meter is a simple instrument used to measure distances between surfaces. Most micrometres
have a frame, anvil, spindle, sleeve, thimble, and ratchet stop. They are used to measure the
outside diameters, inside diameters, the distance between parallel surfaces, and the depth of
holes. The vernier caliper can measure the length, width, height, and depth of objects and the
inner and outer diameter of the ring. The main parts of verner are i) Outside jaws: used to
measure external diameter or width of an object. ii) Inside jaws: used to measure internal
diameter of an object. iii) Depth probe: used to measure depths of an object or a hole. iv) Main
scale: gives measurements in mm. v) Vernier gives measurements up to one decimal places in
mm. vi) Retainer: used to block movable part to allow the easy transferring a measurement.

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 Fig. Micro meter

Fig. Vernier calliper

c) Electronic system:
Various electronic systems are employed to sort agro commodities through off-line or on-line
inspection. This saves labor cost and eliminates human error. Some of the commercial and non-
commercial systems used for agro produce sorting are as follows:

 Systems based on measurement of the volume of the gap between the fruit and the outer
casing of embracing gauge equipment.
 Systems that calculate fruit size by measuring the distance between a radiation source
and the fruit contour, where this distance is computed from the time of flight of the
propagated waves.
 Systems that rely on the obstruction of light barriers or blockade of light
 Two-dimensional (2-D) machine vision systems such as digital images received by web
cameras, CCD cameras.

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  Three-dimensional (3-D) machine vision systems such as multi spectral and hyper
spectral imaging system.
 Other systems. This group includes systems based on internal images, such as computed
tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray, ultrasound techniques
as well as some other approaches not included in the other groups.

2.2 Size and shape

From physical properties of biological materials size and shape are used in designing air screen
and grain cleaner. It is necessary to determine:

 Shape and size of screen openings

 Angle of inclination and vibration
 Amplitude and frequency of screens

The shape affects conveying characteristics of solids or liquids. The shape is considered in
calculation of cooling or heating load of food materials The Surface characteristics such as color
and appearance are used:

 As a selective separation and storage of fruits and vegetables.

 As grading factor of products

Shape describes the object in terms of a geometrical body. Shape is also important in heat and
mass transfer calculations, screening solids to separate foreign materials, grading of fruits and
vegetables, and evaluating the quality of food materials. The shape of a food material is usually
expressed in terms of its sphericity, aspect ratio, ellipsoid ratio and slenderness ratio. Some of
the shapes and their descriptions are given below in table.

Table 3.1: shape and description of various agro commodities

Shape Description Examples

Round Approaching spheroid Sapota, cherry tomato, pea

Oblate Flattened at the stem end and apex Orange, pumpkin

Vertical diameter greater than horizontal Some apple varieties, capsicum, brinjal,
Oblong
diameter rice, wheat

Conic Tapered towered the apex Ladies finger, carrot, reddish

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Ovate Egg shaped & broad at stem end Brinjal, apple and guava.

Oblique Axis connecting stem and apex slated Some apple varieties, tomato.

Obovate Inverted ovate-broad at apex Mango, papaya

Elliptical Approaching ellipsoid Rice, wheat, pointed guard etc

Truncate Having both hand squared or flattened Capsicum

Unequal One half larger than the other Mango

In cross section, sides are more or less

Ribbed: Plantain, ladies finger
angular

Regular Horizontal section approaches a circle Orange, apple, guava etc

Horizontal section dearth materially from

Irregular Mango, ladies finger, capsicum etc.
a circle

Roundness and sphercity measured to describe the shape and size of agricultural materials.

 Roundness: measure of sharpness of solid materials

 The most accepted method for determining roundness of irregular particles are
the following:

Roundness is a measure of the sharpness the solid material.

Where,

Ap = is the largest projected area of the particle, when it is in natural rest position

Ac = Area of smallest circumscribing circle, which will be obtained either by projection or

tracing

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The Roundness can be also measured

∑ ⁄

Where r = summation of radius of curvature, N = Total number of corners summed, R =

radius of maximum inscribed circle

Where r = Radius of curvature of the sharpest corner, R = Mean radius of the particle

Sphericity: indicates how the shape of an object deviates from a sphere. It is defined from the
volume, surface area, or geometric dimensions of an object. Sphericity of material can be
expressed using three dimensionally using diameter or three dimensions viz. Length, width and
height or thickness. Sphericity and shape factors are also needed in heat and mass transfer
calculations.

 It may expressed as the ratio of the diameter of a sphere of the same volume as
that of material (De) and

 The diameter of the smallest circumscribing sphere or the longest diameter of

material (Dc)

2.3 Density and Specific Gravity

Volume, density and specific gravity of food materials and agricultural products play an

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important role in many applications i.e. drying, storing, design of storage of mechanical
compressing of ensilage, separation of undesirable material, determining the purity of seeds,
separation and grinding maturity evaluations, for example texture and softer of fruits estimation
of products, where their density increases with maturity. Volume, which affects consumer
acceptance, can be calculated from the measured dimensions or by using various methods such
as liquid, gas, or solid displacement methods and image processing. Volume measurement
methods can also be used for measuring the density of solids. Volume/density can be expressed
in different forms such as solid, apparent, and bulk volume/density depending on pores.
Porosity is a physical property characterizing the texture and the quality of dry and intermediate
moisture foods. Total porosity of particulate materials includes the voids within and among the
particles. Porosity can be determined from the difference between bulk volume of a piece of
porous material and its volume after destruction of all voids by compression, optical methods,
density methods, or by using a pycnometer or porosimeter. Surface area measurement is
required to estimate the pesticide application or weeding and other similar agricultural practices
through image vision system. Surface area measurement can be done with planimeter, coating
method, peeling method, and by image analysis.

Density and Specific Gravity is important:

 To calculate diffusivity in heat transfer

 To determine Reynolds numbers in pneumatic and hydraulic transportation of the
material
 To separate the product from undesirable material
 To predict physical and chemical structure of materials
 To determine the storage and load under storage structure

Volume is a space inside object or material. It is also defined as the amount of three-
dimensional space occupied by an object, usually expressed in units that are the cubes of linear
units, such as cubic inches and cubic centimeters, or in units of liquid measure, such as gallons
and liters. In the SI system, the unit of volume is m3.

Density is one of the most important mechanical properties and so is widely used in process
calculations. It is defined as mass per unit volume:

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i. True Density – True density (ρT) is the density of a pure substance or a composite
material calculated from its components’ densities considering conservation of mass
and volume. Density of solid material constituting the true volume of that occupied by
the material, excluding any interior pores that are filled with air (blind and through
pores).

ii. Material Density – Material density (ρm) is the density measured when a material has
been thoroughly broken into pieces small enough to guarantee that no closed pores
remain.
iii. Particle Density – Particle density (ρp) is the density of a particle, which includes the
volume of all closed pores but not the externally connected pores. In this case, the
particle is not modified structurally, as in the case of material density.
iv. Bulk Density – Bulk density (ρB) is the density of a material when packed or stacked in
bulk. The bulk density of packed materials depends on the geometry, size, and surface
properties of individual particles. It is determined by dividing the material volume
inclusive of voids to weight of product. There are two kinds of voids, voids between
particles and void within particles. The bulk density is an important in packaging
requirement and is often 2-20% of true density
v. Apparent Density: Apparent density (ρapp) is the density of a substance including all
pores within the material (internal pores). Apparent density of regular geometries can be
determined from the volume calculated using the characteristic dimensions and mass
measured.
Specific Gravity
Specific Gravity or relative gravity is a dimensionless quantity that is defined as the ratio of the
density of a substance to the density of the water at a specified temperature and is expressed as

It is common to use the density of water at 4 oC as a reference point as water at this point has
the highest density of 1000 kg/m3.

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The Volume, Density and specific Gravity can be determined:

Weight of displaced water, kg

2.4 Porosity and Moisture Content

Porosity: is described as the void space between the food material or the volume not occupied
by the solid material. Porosity: (inter granular space)

 It is the measure of void space between the materials.

 It is defined on the percentage of volume of inter grain space to the total volume of grain
bulk.

Porosity depends on-

 Shape
 Dimension/Size
 Roughness of grain surface

 The interparticle porosity may be defined

Moisture Content: The amount of moisture content in a food grain is expressed on basis of the
weight of water present in the grain and usually given in percent or decimal.

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  Moisture content is designated by two methods:

a) Wet-basis moisture content (Wb)

b) Dry-basis moisture content (Db)

Wet-basis moisture content: The amount of water in the grain as a percent of the total grain
weight. Wet basis moisture content (Wb) may be determined by the following expression:

( )

( )

Converting Moisture Content:

Conversion of dry-basis moisture content to wet-basis moisture content, expressed as a

percentage:

( )

Conversion of wet-basis moisture content to dry-basis moisture content, expressed as a

percentage:

( )

Loss of weight during drying

When grain is accepted by merchants at a moisture content level higher than that contracted, the
weight loss due to drying can be calculated by the following formula in order to arrive the real
value.

* ( )+
( )

Where: W1 = Weight of undried grain,(kg), W2 = Weight of dried grain, (kg), M1 = Moisture

content of undried grain, (%), M2 = Moisture content of dried grain, (%)

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2.5 Application of physical properties in agricultural products

The knowledge of some important physical properties such as shape, size, volume, surface area,
thousand-grain weights, density, and porosity of different grains is necessary for the design of
various separating, handling, storing and drying systems. The function of many types of
machines is influenced decisively by the size and shape of the fruit participating. The size and
shape are, for instance, important in their electrostatic separation from undesirable materials and
in the development of sizing and grading machinery. Bulk density, true density, and porosity
(the ratio of intergranular space to the total space occupied by the grain) can be useful in sizing
grain hoppers and storage facilities; they can also affect the rate of heat and mass transfer of
moisture during aeration and drying processes; Density is used to separate materials with
different densities or specific gravities. Separation of properly matured peas can be separated
from the immature and infected ones by water flotation methods. Grain bed with low porosity
will have greater resistance to water vapor escape during the drying process, which may lead to
higher power to drive the aeration fans. Cereal grain densities have interest in breakage
susceptibility and hardness studies. For instance, bulk density values for raw and parboiled
paddy have practical applications in the calculation of thermal properties in heat transfer
problems, in determining Reynolds number in the pneumatic handling of the material, and in
separating the product from undesirable materials. It plays an important role in other
applications that include the design of silos and storage bins and the maturity and quality of
paddy, which are essential to grain marketing. The resistance of bulk grain to airflow is in part a
function of the porosity and the kernel size.

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Sample Problem

1. You are supplied with two bags of maize each weighing 1.0tonne. One bag has maize of
25% dry basis and the other contains maize of 25% wet basis. Which bag contains more dry
matter? Show your calculations.
Solution a) 1tonne of maize = 1000kg
i) Mwb= Mw/ Mwp Mw/1000 = 0.25 Mw = 250kg; Mdm= 750kg
ii) Mdb= Mw/(Mwp – Mw) ; Mw/1000 – Mw) = 0.25 Mw = 250 – 0.25M Mw;
Mdm= 750kg Mw = 200kg; Mdm= 800kg
 The bag of 25% dry basis contains more dry matter.

b) For storage, two bags of maize in (b) are dried to moisture content of 13% wet basis.
How much water or moisture will each loose? Show all calculations.
For the first bag, Mw = 0.13 750 + Mw Mw = 97.5 + 0.13M Mw; Mw = 112.07kg
Water lost = 250 – 112.07 = 137.93kg
For the second bag, Mw = 0.13 800 + Mw Mw = 104+ 0.13M Mw; Mw = 119.54kg Water
lost = 200 – 119.54 = 80.46kg
2. A biscuit factory obtained maize from two sources (20 tonnes each), one has 12% moisture
content (mc) dry basis and the other 12% mc wet basis. Which one has more dry matter?
Justify your answer with calculations.

(b) In (i) above, the company paid N60000.00 per tonne for the maize at 12% mc dry basis.
How much should a tonne cost at 12% mc wet basis. If the materials has to be dried to 5% mc
dry basis, what quantity of water will be lost from the material from each source per tonne.

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Exercise

3. In Food Complex Industry, 8000 ton of durum wheat at 19% moisture content (Wb) was
dried to 14% moisture content (Wb).Calculate:

a). Amount of water removed during drying

b). Weight of wheat after drying

c). If a ton of wheat costs Birr12000 calculate the amount of Birr lost after drying

d). Calculate amount of Birr lost per ton after drying.

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 CHAPTER -THREE

3 Mechanical and Frictional Properties of Biological Materials

3.1 Mechanical Properties of Biological Materials

Mechanical properties may be defined as those which affect the behavior of agricultural
material under the applied force. The mechanical properties such as; hardness, compressive
strength, impact and shear resistance, the rheological properties and affect the various
operations of agricultural processing. These data or properties are useful for application in
designing equipment for:

 Milling (hammer, roller, burr, ball)

 Handling (vertical, horizontal, gravitational)

 Storage (bin, silo, terminal silos)

 Transportation (truck, train, ship)

 Food processing (in general)

The mechanical damage of grains causes; reduction of germination, increase chance for insect
and pest infestation, affect the quality of final product. The hardness of the grain affects the
milling characteristics. The impact and shear resistance are important for size reduction.

3.1.1 Size reduction of solid

In all type of size reduction there are three types of forces used:

 Compression forces: are used to fracture friable or crystalline foods.

 Impact force: are used for fine grinding of softer foods.

 Shearing (attrition) force: the extent of size reduction, the energy expended and the
amount of heat generated in the food depend on: the time that food is subjected to the
forces.
Other factors which influence the energy input are the moisture content and heat sensitivity of
the food and fineness of the product. Combined impact and shearing forces are necessary for
fibrous foods. In most size reduction equipment, all three forces are presented; when stress

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(force) applied to a food the resulting internal strain is first absorbed. It causes deformation on
the tissue.

If the strain does not exceed a certain critical level named the elastic stress limit (E), the tissue
return to its original shape when stress is removed. Then the stored energy is released as heat
(elastic region O-E). However, when the strain within localized area, exceeds the elastic stress
limit, the food is permanently deformed or ruptured.

If the stress is continued, the strain reaches a yield point (Y). Above yield point the food begins
to flow (region of ductility Y-B). Finally, the breaking stress is exceeded at breaking point (B)
and the food fractures along the line of weakness. Part of the stored energy is then released as
sound and heat. When no line of weakness remains, it requires new additional energy.

The amount of energy required to fracture a food is determined by its hardness and tendency to
crack which in turn depends on structure of the food. The fewer the lines of weakness in a food,

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the higher is energy input needed to cause fracture. Harder foods absorb more energy and
consequently require a greater energy input to create fractures.

Compression Test

 Uniaxial compression is a popular testing method of Agri. materials

 Agricultural products trimmed into precise shape for specimen for calculation of normal
stresses and apparent modulus of elasticity.

 Fruits and vegetables cut into cylindrical.

 Grains and seeds trimmed into rectangle or cube.

 Soft food/cheese cut into cylinder, (cork borer)

 The product specimen placed in a cell load of compression tester such as universal test
machine

Deformation Test

 Tensile loading (force related to tension)

 Bending loading (force related to bending )

 Torsion loading (force related to shape twist)

3.1.2 Mechanical damage to fruits, vegetables, grains and seeds

The main concept discussed under mechanical damage of agricultural product is:

 To show why agricultural materials could be damaged during handling and processing
 To investigate the relationship between sensory texture attributes and damage
susceptibility.
 To investigate the effect of different types of loading (static - dynamic) on mechanical
damage.
Damage to fruits, vegetables, grains and seeds during harvest and handling can decrease the
value of these commodities. The damage increases their susceptibility to deterioration during
storage. About 70% losses occur during storage (insects, moulds, metabolism activity etc...).
Damage can also occur; when fruit, vegetables and grain seeds are in pile or storage containers,
Statics forces are applied to them they interact to each other. As a result of impact loads or shear

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stress during contact with hard surface of machineries or storage container, damage due to
fracture or bruise of seeds will take place

Static Forces

The force of interaction among fruits and vegetables placed in large storage bins can cause the
vegetables to be flattened at point of contact. Since the force is applied over a long of periods of
time and since fruits and vegetables behave as viscoelastic solid, creeps also occur.

Co-efficient of static friction, the apparatus used for the determination of co-efficient of static
friction (μ) in the study consisted of a frictionless pulley fitted on a frame, a bottomless
cylindrical container, a loading pan and test surfaces. The bottomless container was placed on
the test surface, filled with onion seeds of known weight and weights were added on the loading
pan until the container began to slide. The weight of the onion seed and the weights added on
the loading pan represented normal force (N) and lateral force (F), respectively. The co-efficient
of static friction was calculated as given below.

( )

Where, F- Lateral force, and N- Normal force. The experiment was performed on different test
surfaces like plywood, galvanised iron, mild steel and stainless steel. Each time, the experiment
was conducted thrice and the average value was determined and recorded as co-efficient of
friction.

Grain Storage

In bins and shipping containers, only a portion of a surface of individual fruits, vegetables,
seeds and grains are in contact. By contact stress theory, it is possible to determine the force at
contact point. This requires several assumptions: the particles are assumed to be spherical with
uniform diameter d, the contact is assumed to be inelastic which has the following two
implications:

 The particles do not deform appreciably and the distance between particles does
not change.
 The interparticle forces act at the point of contact.

The particles are assumed to be arranged in rhombic stacking model as shown in following fig.
The individual particles are in contact along a line which makes an angle  with the horizontal.
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Impact Force

 When two solid objects collide, their kinetic energy is converted into forces which cause
deformation.

 When an elastic solid is compressed, it tends to expand so as to return to its original

shape.

Thus, the energy used to compress the object is recovered as the kinetic energy of the object
which bounces back from the collision

In the model, the angle  is dependent on N, the number of particles per unit volume, and d, the
characteristic diameter of the particle. A solid mass of m moving at velocity of v has a
momentum equal to mv. During impact, the change in momentum is equal to the area under
force-time curve for impact. If an elasticity solid of mass m is moving at a velocity v1 prior to
impact and velocity of v2 after impact and if F(t) is the force at the surface of impact between
t1 and t2 , the times of the beginning and end of impact, respectively, then:

mv1 - m v2 =∫ ( )

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The above equation combined with Hertz Equation to give the equations for the time of impact t
and the maximum force developed during the collision.

For collision of two spheres, with radii R1 and R2 and masses m1 and m 2 and a relative velocity
V the maximum force developed on the area of contact

Damage to grains and seeds:

Mechanical harvesting and handling of grains and seeds subjects them to impact, abrasive and
compressive forces which can reduce the structure integrity. If the grain is to be used as seed,
the embryo can be damaged to extent that they produce smaller seedlings

Mechanical damage: failure of materials

Impacts cause internal cracks in seeds

 Cracking and bruising of fruits during harvest and handling

 Chewing of foods

�Negative effects of damage:

 Decrease commercial value

 Increases susceptibility to deterioration during storage

�Failure also related to texture perception, e.g., crispiness and chewiness

Described by formation of breaks and cracks (engineering materials) or cell rupture (fruits and
vegetables)

Failure criteria:

Stress or strain state at which the material undergoes

 Structural failure

 Must predict occurrence of failure under any type of loading,

 Torsion

 Uni-, bi- and triaxial compression / tension

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Static friction: The friction may be defined as the frictional forces acting between surfaces of
contact oat rest with respect to each other.

Kinetic friction: It may be defined as the friction forces existing between the surfaces in
relative motion. If F is the force of friction and W is the force normal to the surface of contact,
then the coefficient of friction ‘f’ is given by the relationship

The coefficient of friction may also be given as the tangent of the angle of the inclined
surface upon which the friction force tangential to the surface and the component of the weight
normal to the surfaces are acting.

3.2 Frictional Properties of Biological Materials

Frictional properties such as angle of repose and coefficient of friction are important in
designing equipment for solid flow and storage structures and the angle of internal friction
between seed and wall in the prediction of seed pressure on walls. The coefficient of static
friction plays also an important role in transports (load and unload) of goods and storage
facilities. It is important in filling flat storage facility when grain is not piled at a uniform bed
depth but rather is peaked. Coefficient of friction is important in designing storage of bins,
hoppers, chutes, screw conveyors, forage harvesters, and threshers. The material generally
moves or slides in direct contact with trough, casing, and other components of the machine. The
various parameters affect the power requirement to drive the machine. The frictional losses are
one of the factors, which must be overcome by providing additional power to the machine.

3.1.1 Angle of Repose

The angle of repose is the angle between the base and the slope of the cone formed on a free
vertical fall of the granular material to a horizontal plane. The size, shape, moisture content and
orientation of the grains affect the angle of repose.

Angle of repose is another important physical property used for characterization of the bulk of
particulate foods such as seeds, grains, flours, grits, and fruits. When granular solids are piled
on a flat surface, the sides of the pile are at a definite reproducible angle with the horizontal
leveled surface. This angle is called the angle of repose of the material. The angle of repose is
important for the design of processing, storage, and conveying systems of particulate materials.

27 | P a g e Prepared By Mr. Bishaw G. (MSc.) 2022/23

When the grains are smooth and rounded, the angle of repose is low. For very fine and sticky
materials the angle of repose is high. Materials with low angle of repose are highly flowable and
can be transported using gravitational force or a little energy.

Why do we need to determine the angle of repose of agricultural materials?

Agricultural materials after harvesting need some handling technique, others need storage and
other need processing all these can’t be done easily without the use of machine. In designing a
machine that will handle, store and process agricultural materials we need the properties of this
materials be it physical, chemical and even biological. One of the physical properties that need
to be determined is the angle of repose. Angle of repose is necessary in the design of hoppers
used for processing, also in the design of dryers.

Objective(s) of the Experiment

The objective of this experiment is to determine the angle of repose of some selected
agricultural produce.

Equipment’s and materials needed

1. Equipment and Materials Needed for Improvised Crude Method:

 Selected agricultural produce

 An open ended can
 A ruler

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2. Materials Needed for Standard Experimental Procedure in Determination of Angle of Repose
of Agricultural Materials:

 Selected agricultural produce to be determined

 Fowler and Wyatt apparatus

Procedures

1. Procedures for Improvised Crude Method

 Fill the empty open ended can with the selected agricultural produce
 Slightly remove the can
 Take the diameter and height of the heap formed.
 Calculate the radius by dividing the diameter by 2

2. Procedures for Standard Experimental Procedure in Determination of Angle of Repose of

Agricultural Materials

 The apparatus is filled with granular solids whose angle of repose is to be determined.
 The solid is allowed to escape from the box leaving a free standing cone of solid on the
circular platform.
 With the aid of the meter rule in the box, the indicated heights were measured and the
angle of repose θr can be obtained from the geometry of cone from Eq. 2 below:

Results and Calculations

1. Improvised Crude Method

The angle of repose is calculated with the mathematical formulae (equation 1) below:

2. Standard Experimental Procedure in Determination of Angle of Repose of Agricultural

Materials. The angle of repose is calculated with the mathematical formulae (equation 2) below:

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Where: Hc = height of cone from datum; Hp = height of platform; Hc – Hp = height of cone of
solids; Dp = diameter of circular platform.

Discussion and Conclusion

The angle of repose determined can be used in design of bins, hoppers and storage structures.

Powder flowability characterization: angle of repose

The angle of repose is used as an indicator of the flowability of bulk solids such as powders or
granulates. It is a quick method that allows getting an idea of the flowability of granular
materials. It's actually important to highlight that there are different angles of repose, depending
on the methodology that has been used to measure it. The most common method is to have the
material poured freely through a funnel, the material forming a heap. But it is also possible to
measure an angle by sliding the material on a plate, using a revolving cylinder, or leaving the
powder flow out of a smaller container through a hole. The lower the angle of repose, the more
flowable is a material.

Figure: Different methods for measuring the angle of repose of powders and granulates

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The determination of the angle of repose of a granular material can only be done through an
actual experience. The methodology considered here is the most common, the external funnel
method, done by pouring a certain quantity of solid from a funnel and measuring the angle of
the heap of material formed.

To be noted that even for this funnel method, there are also some variations in methodology.
For example, the funnel can be fixed or can be slowly moved up. A specified height of the heap
can be the parameter to stop the experience, or it can be the diameter of the heap formed. If the
angle of repose method is used within a lab to characterize the flowability of different
components, it is important to choose one protocol and keep it for all measurement.

The formula to calculate the angle of repose is the following:

Angle of repose = arctan(h/r)

With h: height of the heap (mm) and r: radius of the heap (mm)

Interpretation and relation to flowability of angle of repose

The main application of the angle of repose is to assess the flowability of a granular material
(powder, pellets...). The flowability of bulk solids is estimated by 1st measuring the angle of
repose, then referring to the angle of repose table below to determine in which class is the
powder studied:

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Flowability expected Angle of repose

Excellent / Very Free Flow 25-30

Good / Free Flow 31-35
Fair (discharging aid may not be required) 36-40
Passable 41-45
Poor Flow / Cohesive (active discharging aid required) 46-55
Very Poor Flow / Very Cohesive 56-65
Approximatively no flow > 66
Table 1: angle of repose table

3.3 Application of Frictional properties in agricultural products

Frictional properties such as angle of repose and coefficient of friction are important in
designing equipment for solid flow and storage structures and the angle of internal friction
between seed and wall in the prediction of seed pressure on walls. The coefficient of static
friction plays also an important role in transports (load and unload) of goods and storage
facilities. It is important in filling flat storage facility when grain is not piled at a uniform bed
depth but rather is peaked. The coefficient of friction is important in designing storage bins,
hoppers, chutes, screw conveyors, forage harvesters, and threshers. The material generally
moves or slides in direct contact with trough, casing, and other components of the machine. The
various parameters affect the power requirement to drive the machine. The frictional losses are
one of the factors, which must be overcome by providing additional power to the machine.
Hence, knowledge of the coefficient of friction of agricultural materials is necessary.

32 | P a g e Prepared By Mr. Bishaw G. (MSc.) 2022/23