Lecture 2 - Physical Properties of AB Materials

Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
ABE 106- Properties of AB Materials

1st Semester 2023-2024
2022-2023
Engr.
Engr.
Philip
Philip
Donald
Donald
C. Sanchez,
C. Sanchez,
MSc.,
MSc.
AAE.
Physical Properties of
Agricultural and Biological (AB)
Materials
(Structural and Geometrical Properties)
Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

2022-2023
Engr.
Engr.
Philip
Philip
Donald
Donald
C. Sanchez,
C. Sanchez,
MSc.,
MSc.
AAE.
OBJECTIVES
❑ To study the physical properties of foods and agricultural products;
❑ To explore the significance of these properties with respect to the

following applications, and
❑ Solve problems related to this property.

2022-2023
Engr.
Engr.
Philip
Philip
Donald
Donald
C. Sanchez,
C. Sanchez,
MSc.,
MSc.
AAE.
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. know the different physical properties of agricultural and

biological materials (structural and geometrical);
2. explain and perform the measurement methods related to the
physical properties, and
3. relate the physical properties of food and agricultural materials to
process design and quality control.

2022-2023
Engr.
Engr.
Philip
Philip
Donald
Donald
C. Sanchez,
C. Sanchez,
MSc.,
MSc.
AAE.
Background
➢ Physical Properties: size, shape, volume, density, and porosity.
▪ Rapid and accurate determinations of physical properties are needed in

processing agricultural materials.
▪ It is important to investigate the physical attributes of foods/agricultural

materials to gain insights on how they affect the quality and shelf-life.
▪ Physical properties are normally important in many food materials

handling and processing operations.

2022-2023
Engr.
Engr.
Philip
Philip
Donald
Donald
C. Sanchez,
C. Sanchez,
MSc.,
MSc.
AAE.
Background
▪ Size and shape are important physical attributes of foods that are used in screening,
grading, and quality control of foods.
▪ 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.
▪ 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.

Engr. Philip Donald C. Sanchez, MSc., AAE.
Application of Physical Properties

SIZE
▪ 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.
▪ Easy to specify size for regular particles,

but for irregular particles the term size
must be arbitrarily specified.
▪ Size of the particulate foods is also critical,

e.g. particle size of powdered milk.
SIZE: Measurement Methods

• Particle sizes are expressed in different
units depending on the size range
involved.
▪ Coarse particles: millimeter
▪ Fine particles: screen size (sieve)
▪ Very fine particles: micrometers or
nanometers.
▪ Ultrafine particles: area per unit mass
(square meter/grams)
Measurement Instrument- Micrometer


Size can be determined using the projected area
method. Three characteristic dimensions are
defined:
1. Major diameter, which is the longest

dimension of the maximum projected area;
2. Intermediate diameter, which is the minimum

diameter of the maximum projected area or the
maximum diameter of the minimum projected area;
and Length, width, and thickness terms are
commonly used that correspond to major,
3. Minor diameter, which is the shortest dimension intermediate, and minor diameters,
respectively.
of the minimum projected area.
Length, width, and thickness terms are commonly used that correspond to major, intermediate, and minor diameters,
respectively.

SHAPE
▪ The shape of a food material is usually ▪ Accordingly, sphericity is the

expressed in terms of its sphericity and ratio of volume of solid to the
aspect ratio. volume of a sphere that has a
diameter equal to the major
▪ Sphericity is an important parameter used diameter of the object so that it
in fluid flow and heat and mass transfer can circumscribe the solid sample.
calculations.
▪ Sphericity or shape factor can be defined

in different ways.

SHAPE: Measurement Methods 3

1 Since all the three perpendicular sections of 4
the triaxial ellipsoid are ellipses, and if the
major, intermediate, and minor diameters are
2a, 2b, and 2c, respectively, then the volume of
the triaxial ellipsoid can be determined as:
2

SHAPE: Measurement Methods
Sphericity is also defined as the ratio of

surface area of a sphere having the same
volume as the object to the actual surface
area of the object (McCabe, Smith, &
Harriot, 1993)


Sample Problem 3
Calculate the sphericity of a

cylindrical object of diameter 1.0 cm
and height 1.7 cm. 4
1
5
2


Certain parameters are important for
The aspect ratio (Ra) is another term
the design of conveyors for particulate
used to express the shape of a material.
foods, such as radius of curvature,
It is calculated using the length (a) and
roundness, and angle of repose.
the width (b) of the sample as
Radius of curvature is important to
(Maduako & Faborode, 1990):
determine how easily the object will
roll.


Roundness is a measure of the
For smaller objects of relatively
sharpness of the corners of the solid.
uniform shape, the radius of curvature
Several methods are available for
can be calculated using the major
estimating roundness. The most
diameter and either the minor or
commonly used ones are given below
intermediate diameter.
(Mohsenin, 1970):

Sample Problem
The major diameter (L) and the average of the minor
and major diameters (H) of barley are measured as 8.76
mm and 2.83 mm, respectively. Calculate the minimum
and maximum radii of curvature for the barley.

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION

▪ The range of particle
size in foods depends
on the cell structure
and the degree of
processing.
▪ The hardness of grain

is a significant factor in
the particle size
distribution of flour.

Particles can be separated into fractions by using

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION one of the following methods:
▪ Air elutriation method: the velocity of an air stream is adjusted so that particles
measuring less than a given diameter are suspended
▪ Settling, sedimentation, and centrifugation method: the particles are separated

from the fluid bycan
Particles gravitational
be separated intoforces
fractionsacting on of
by using one the
theparticles. The particles can be
following methods:
solid particles or liquid drops.
▪ Screening: This is a unit operation in which various sizes of solid particles are
separated into two or more fractions by passing over screen(s). A dispersing
agent may be added to improve sieving characteristics. Screens: square-size
opening; meshes per square inch; the smallest mesh size the larger screen opening.
VOLUME Volume of solids can be determined by

using the following methods:
▪ Volume is defined as the amount of three-
dimensional space occupied by an object, ▪ Volume can be calculated from the
usually expressed in units that are the cubes characteristic dimensions in the case of
of length i.e. cm3, in3, m3 or liquid measure; objects with regular shape.
liters or gallons . SI unit is m3.
▪ Volumes of solids can be determined
▪ Volume is an important quality attribute in the experimentally by liquid, gas, or solid
food industry and is inversely correlated with displacement methods.
texture.
▪ Volume can be measured by the image
processing method.

VOLUME: Measurement Methods

▪ Liquid Displacement Method:
If the solid sample does not absorb
liquid very fast, the liquid displacement
method can be used to measure its
volume. In this method, volume of food
materials can be measured by
pycnometers (specific gravity bottles) or
graduated cylinders.


▪ Direct Measurement Method:
✓ The volume of a sample can be measured by direct
measurement of volume of the liquid displaced by
using a graduated cylinder or burette.
✓ The difference between the initial volume of liquid in
a graduated cylinder and the volume of liquid with
immersed material gives us the volume of the
material.
✓ That is, the increase in volume after addition of solid
sample is equal to the solid volume.

VOLUME: Measurement Methods ✓ The most commonly used

gases are helium and
▪ Gas Displacement Method: nitrogen.
✓ Volumes of particulate solids and materials with
irregular shape can be determined by displacement of ✓ The pycnometer consists of
gas or air in pycnometer (Karathanos & Saravacos, two airtight chambers of
1993). nearly equal volumes, V1
and V2, that are connected
with small-diameter tubing
is used in gas displacement
measurement.
Lecture 2:
3: Physical Properties of AB Materials
VOLUME: Measurement Methods ▪ Gas Displacement Method:

✓ The material to be measured is placed
in the second chamber.
✓ The exhaust valve (valve 3) and the
valve between the two chambers
(valve 2) are closed.
✓ The inlet valve (valve 1) is opened
and the gas is supplied to the first
chamber until the gauge pressure is
increased up to a suitable value (e.g.,
700–1000 Pa).
✓ Then, the inlet valve is closed and the
equilibrium pressure is recorded.
Assuming that the gas behaves
ideally:
Lecture 2:

▪ Solid Displacement Method:
✓ The volume of irregular solids can also be measured
by sand, glass bead, or seed displacement method.
✓ Rapeseeds are commonly used for determination of

volume of baked products such as bread. In the
rapeseed method, first the bulk density of rapeseeds is
determined by filling a glass container of known
volume uniformly with rapeseeds through tapping
and smoothing the surface with a ruler.
✓ The volume of the sample is calculated as follows:
Lecture 2:
DENSITY Density can be calculated after measuring

the mass and volume of the object because it
▪ Quality of food materials can be assessed by is defined as the mass per unit volume. In
measuring their densities. the SI system, the unit of density is kg/m3.
▪ Density data of foods are required in separation ▪ In most of the engineering problems,
processes, such as centrifugation and solids and liquids are assumed to be
sedimentation and in pneumatic and hydraulic incompressible, that is, the density is
transport of powders and particulates. hardly affected by moderate changes in
temperature and pressure.
▪ In addition, measuring the density of liquid is
required to determine the power required for ▪ Gases are compressible and their densities
pumping. are affected by changes in temperature
and pressure.
Lecture 2:
DENSITY: Measurement Methods

▪ The density of liquids can be determined by
using a pycnometer.
▪ Liquid density can also be measured by

placing a hydrometer in a beaker filled with
the liquid sample.
▪ The density of liquid is calculated from the

ratio of weight of the hydrometer to the
volume of the displaced liquid (Manual
Method):
Lecture 2:

▪ True density (ρT ) is the density of a pure substance or a composite
material calculated from the densities of its components considering
conservation of mass and volume.
▪ Bulk density (ρb) is the density of a material when packed or

stacked in bulk. Bulk density of particulate solids is measured by
allowing the sample to pour into a container of known dimensions.
▪ Apparent density (ρa) 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. Apparent
density of irregularly shaped samples may be determined by solid
or liquid displacement methods.
Lecture 2:

▪ The density of food materials depends on
▪ If the densities and volume or mass fractions of temperature and the temperature
constituents are known, density can be determined dependence of densities of major food
from: components [pure water, carbohydrate
(CHO), protein, fat, ash and ice] has been
presented by Choi and Okos (1986) as
follows:
Lecture 2:
Lecture 2:
Sample Problem
Calculate the true density of spinach
at 20◦C having the composition given
in the tables 1.4.1 and 1.4.2,
respectively.
Solution:
Lecture 2:
Sample Problem
Calculate the true density of spinach
at 20◦C having the composition given
in the tables 1.4.1 and 1.4.2,
respectively.
Answer:
Lecture 2:
POROSITY
▪ It is the measure of void space between the
materials.
▪ Porosity (ε) is the percentage of the total volume

occupied by the air
▪ Total volume = Volume occupied by particle/sample

+ Volume occupied by air
Lecture 2:
POROSITY: Measurement Methods

Methods to determine porosity:
❑ Direct method – porosity is determined from the

difference of bulk volume of a piece of porous
material and its volume after destruction of all
voids means of compression.
❑ Optical method – porosity is determined from

microscopic view of a section of the porous
medium.
❑ Density method - In this method, porosity is

calculated from the measured densities
Lecture 2:
Sample Problem
Note: The samples are

stacked in bulk. Thus, the
total porosity should be
calculated by considering
both enclosed air space
within the cherry and void
volume between the
cherries.
Lecture 2:
Sample Problem
Solution: ▪ Using the formula for
solid porosity.
▪ Apparent porosity, which is the

ratio of total enclosed air space
or void volume to the total
volume.
▪ But, no value for solid porosity.
Lecture 2:
Sample Problem
Solution:
▪ Then, total porosity is:
▪ Bulk porosity, which includes
the void volume outside the
individual cherries when stacked
as bulk, is:
Lecture 2:

Lecture 2 - Physical Properties of AB Materials

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Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

ABE 106- Properties of AB Materials

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

❑ To study the physical properties of foods and agricultural products;

❑ To explore the significance of these properties with respect to the

❑ Solve problems related to this property.

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. know the different physical properties of agricultural and

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

➢ Physical Properties: size, shape, volume, density, and porosity.

▪ Rapid and accurate determinations of physical properties are needed in

▪ It is important to investigate the physical attributes of foods/agricultural

▪ Physical properties are normally important in many food materials

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

Application of Physical Properties

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

▪ an important physical attribute of foods

▪ Easy to specify size for regular particles,

▪ Size of the particulate foods is also critical,

SIZE: Measurement Methods

Measurement Instrument- Micrometer

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

SIZE: Measurement Methods

1. Major diameter, which is the longest

2. Intermediate diameter, which is the minimum

SIZE: Measurement Methods

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

▪ The shape of a food material is usually ▪ Accordingly, sphericity is the

▪ Sphericity or shape factor can be defined

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

SHAPE: Measurement Methods 3

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

SHAPE: Measurement Methods

Sphericity is also defined as the ratio of

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

SHAPE: Measurement Methods

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

Calculate the sphericity of a

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

SHAPE: Measurement Methods

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

SHAPE: Measurement Methods

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION

▪ The hardness of grain

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

Particles can be separated into fractions by using

▪ Settling, sedimentation, and centrifugation method: the particles are separated

VOLUME Volume of solids can be determined by

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

VOLUME: Measurement Methods

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

VOLUME: Measurement Methods

Lecture 2: Physical Properties of AB Materials

VOLUME: Measurement Methods ✓ The most commonly used

VOLUME: Measurement Methods ▪ Gas Displacement Method:

VOLUME: Measurement Methods

✓ Rapeseeds are commonly used for determination of

✓ The volume of the sample is calculated as follows:

DENSITY Density can be calculated after measuring