Module 2.

Physical Properties of AB Materials

Ruel G. Peneyra
Associate Professor IV
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Preliminaries
• Source Material
Wilhelm, Luther R., Dwayne A. Suter, and Gerald H. Brusewitz. 2004. Physical
Properties of Food Materials. Chapter 2 in Food & Process Engineering
Technology, 23-52. St. Joseph, Michigan: ASAE. © American Society of
Agricultural Engineers. (Rev. Aug. 2005.)

Students may use other references as support materials.

Introduction
• Nature of AB Materials
• Mainly biological in origin
• Irregular shape
• Heterogeneous structure and composition
• Properties can be altered by processing, chemical reactions, moisture and respiration

• Physical properties describe the unique, characteristic way a food material

responds to physical treatments involving mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical,
sonic, and electromagnetic processes.
• Any attribute affecting the processing and handling of AB materials can be defined
as engineering property of that material.
Physical Properties: 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.
• It is easy to specify size for regular particles, but for irregular particles
the term size must be arbitrarily specified.
• Ultimate use will dictate which physical characteristic properly
represents size.
Representation of Size
• The size and shape of a raw food material can vary widely.
• The variation in shape of a product may require additional parameters to define its size.
• The size of spherical particles like peas or cantaloupes is easily defined by a single characteristic such as its
diameter.
• The size of non-spherical objects like wheat kernels, bananas, pears, or potatoes may be described by
multiple length measurements.
• The longest diameter (major) and shortest diameter (minor) will adequately describe the size of an
ellipsoidal object such as grain kernel or potato. The two dimensions are usually measured perpendicular to
one another.
• The size of pear-shaped objects such as pears, carrots, or beets can be expressed by diameter or
circumference of the largest part and an overall length in the direction of the stem.
• The size of irregular-shaped materials like bananas, okra, or squash requires more extensive considerations.
• Size of a carrot may be expressed only in length or in diameter of its large end.
• Size may be indicated by weight since it is so easily determined by simply placing on a scale. Thus, the
physical property size is actually related or correlated to the property weight.
• In practice, there is often a compromise between ease or cost of measurement and usefulness or value of
that property in the market channel.
Size Determination
• dimensional measurement
• projected area method
• graphical methods
• electronic inspection systems
 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  
3. Minor  diameter,  which  is  the  shortest  dimension  of
 the  minimum projected  area.  
Length,  width,  and  thickness  terms  are  commonly  used
 that  correspond  to  major,  intermediate,  and  minor Triaxial ellipsoid: Dmax, Dinter and Dmin ,
diameters,  respectively.  
In a triaxial ellipsoid, all three perpendicular
sections are ellipses, then;
Dmax = 2a
Dinter = 2b
Dmin = 2c
Projected Area Method

*Mean Projected Cross

Sectional Area, Fm
Ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
1 F2 F3
Fm
3
Where F {1,2,3} are projects areas in the x, y and z planes)

*important parameter in the design of sizing machine

Dimensional Measurement
• Vernier Caliper

• Micrometer Caliper
Graphical Methods

• Tracing the projection using graphing paper

• Fitting to geometric shape
Reading: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00288233.1976.10420988
Electronic Inspection
• 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 (Moreda et al., 2009):
• 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.
• Three-dimensional (3-D) machine vision systems such as multi spectral and hyperspectral 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.
Dimensions of
Food Materials
Physical Dimension: Shape
• 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.
Shapes of AB Materials based on Charted Standard
Geometrical Forms Moshenin, 1980

Shape           Description Examples Shape           Description Examples

sapota, cherry tomato, Inverted ovate-broad at
Round Approaching Spheroid Obovate Mango, papaya
pea apex
Flattened at the stem rice, wheat, pointed
Oblate orange, pumpkin Elliptical Approaching ellipsoid
end and apex guard etc
Vertical diameter some apple varieties, Having both hand squared
Truncate capsicum
Oblong greater than horizontal capsicum, brinjal, rice, or flattened
diameter wheat
One half larger than the
Unequal mango
Tapered towered the ladies finger, carrot, other
Conic
apex reddish
In cross section, sides are
Ribbed: plantain, ladies finger
Egg shaped & broad at more or less angular
Ovate Brinjal, apple and guava.
stem end
Horizontal section orange, apple, guava
Regular
Axis connecting stem some apple varieties, approaches a circle etc
Oblique
and apex slated tomato.
Horizontal section depart mango, ladies finger,
Irregular
materially from a circle capsicum etc.
Objective Measurement Indices for Shape
• Roundness:  Roundness is a measure of
sharpness of the corners of the solid

Mean

Mean
 Objective Measurement Indices for Shape
• Roundness:  Roundness is a measure of sharpness of the corners of the solid

r
fffff
Roundness Ratio 
R
R = mean radius of the object
r   = radius of curvature of the sharpest corner
 Objective Measurement Indices for Shape
• Sphericity:  the degree to which an object resembles a
sphere. The geometric foundation of the concept of
sphericity rests upon the isoperimetric property of a sphere.
 Objective Measurement Indices for Shape
• Sphericity:  the degree to which an object resembles a sphere. The geometric foundation of the
concept of sphericity rests upon the isoperimetric property of a sphere.
@ A D
ffffff
Sphericity   e
Dc
De = diameter of a sphere whose volume is identical to that of the object
Dc = diameter of the circumscribing sphere.
ww
w
w
ww
w
ww
w
w
ww
w
ww
w
ww
w where: b
6G
s3 fffffff
c
De  G @mass weight
 b
 @density volumetric weight
c
Objective Measurement Indices for Shape
• other expressions for Sphericity []
Assuming that the volume of the solid is equal to
the volume of a triaxial ellipsoid (Ve) with intercepts
a, b, c and that the volume of the circumscribed
sphere (Vc) is defined by the longest intercept of
ellipsoid (a), the degree of sphericity can also be
expressed.
H I 1fff
1fff
4ffff 3 1fff
F VffffffG3
L abc M
fffffffffffffff F abc G 3
  e L 3 M  ffffffff
V c J 4ffffa 3 K a
3
a= longest intercept
b = longest intercept normal to a
c = longest intercept normal to a and b
Objective Measurement Indices for Shape
• Sphericity [other expressions]

As 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)

where
Dp = equivalent diameter or nominal diameter of the particle (m),
Sp = surface area of one particle (m2),
Vp = volume of one particle (m3).

Note: The equivalent diameter is sometimes defined as the diameter of a sphere having the same volume as the
particle. However, for fine granular materials, it is difficult to determine the exact volume and surface area of a
particle. Therefore, equivalent diameter is usually taken to be the nominal size based on screen analysis or
microscopic examination in granular materials. The surface area is found from adsorption measurements or from
the pressure drop in a bed of particles.
Objective Measurement Indices for Shape
• Sphericity [other expressions]
In general, diameters may be specified for any equidimensional particle. Particles that are not
equidimensional, that is, longer in one direction than in others, are often characterized by the
second longest major dimension. For example, for needlelike particles, equivalent diameter refers to
the thickness of the particles, not their length.
In a sample of uniform particles of diameter Dp,
the number of particles in the sample is:
 Objective Measurement Indices for Shape
• Sphericity [other expressions]
Bayram Equation [2005]

In Bayram equation, equivalent diameter for irregular shape material is accepted as the average dimension.
Differences between average diameter and measured dimensions are determined by the sum of square of differences.
When this difference is divided by the square of product of the average diameter and number of measurements, it
gives a fraction for the approach of the slope to an equivalent sphere, which is sphericity.

Sphericity value in Bayram close to zero is considered as spherical

Previous equations resulting to value close to zero resembles spherical shape.
Objective Measurement Indices for Shape
• Sphericity [other expressions]
Bayram Sphericity values
of some AB materials
Objective Measurement Indices for Shape
• Sphericity [other expressions]
Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio (Ra) is another term used to express the shape of a material. It is calculated
using the length (a) and the width (b) of the sample as (Maduako & Faborode, 1990):
Physical Properties - Volume
Volume is 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.

• Expression of Volume

• Solid volume (Vs ) is the volume of the solid material (including water) excluding any interior pores that are filled
with air. It can be determined by the gas displacement method in which the gas is capable of penetrating all open
pores up to the diameter of the gas molecule.
• Apparent volume (Vapp) is the volume of a substance including all pores within the material (internal pores).
Apparent volume of regular geometries can be calculated using the characteristic dimensions. Apparent volume of
irregularly shaped samples may be determined by solid or liquid displacement methods.
• Bulk volume (Vbulk) is the volume of a material when packed or stacked in bulk. It includes all the pores enclosed
within the material (internal pores) and also the void volume outside the boundary of individual particles when
stacked in bulk (external pores).
Physical Properties - Volume
Boundary Volume
Boundary volume is the volume of a material considering the geometric
boundary. A material’s volume can be measured by buoyancy force;
liquid, gas, or solid displacement; or gas adsorption; it can also be
estimated from the material’s geometric dimensions.

Pore Volume
Pore volume is the volume of the voids or air inside a material.
Resemblance to geometric bodies
• Prolate spheroid which is formed • Oblate spheroid is formed when an
when an ellipse rotates about its ellipse rotates about its minor axis.
major axis. A prolate spheroid is An oblate spheroid is a rotationally
a spheroid in which the polar axis symmetric ellipsoid having a polar
is greater than the equatorial axis shorter than the diameter of
diameter.  e.g. lemon, lime, grape the equatorial circle whose plane
bisects it. e.g. grape fruit, pumpkin
Resemblance to geometric bodies
• Right circular cone or cylinders is
formed when a frustum rotates
about its axis e.g. carrot and
cucumber.
Volume [V] and Surface Area [A] Formula

a = semi major axis of the ellipse

b = semi minor axis of the ellipse

r1 = radius of base

r2 = radius of top (apex)
h = altitude
Volume [V] and Surface Area [A] Formula
Interrelations between major dimensions
• provides an idea of the shape of the object

• for grain
• Length : width =Slenderness ratio
• Width: length = aspect ratio

• for fruit in terms of major diameter, minor diameter and length

• Ellipsoid ratio = Major diameter: minor diameter
• Aspect ratio= length: major diameter
Volume and Mean Area, Fm
• The mean projected area (Fm) can be expressed in terms of volume
by the expression:

2fff
F m  KV 3

where:
K = empirical constant, 1.21 for sphere
V = volume

Sphericity can be expressed also in terms of K value.

Closer to 1.21 means more spherical shape
Measuring Volume
Volume of solids can be determined by using the following methods:
1. Volume can be calculated from the characteristic dimensions in the case
of objects with regular shape.
2. Volumes of solids can be determined experimentally by liquid, gas, or
solid displacement methods.
3. Volume can be measured by the image processing method. An image
processing method has been recently developed to measure volume of
ellipsoidal agricultural products such as eggs, lemons, limes, and
peaches (Sabliov, Boldor, Keener, & Farkas, 2002).

more of these in the Laboratory Class…

Surface Area
• An important parameter in technological processes
• The surface areas of fruits may be determined by
• Direct measurement
• Calculation or from plots based on an easily measurable linear dimension
(diameter) or by a quadratic dimension (cross-sectional area), or on weight

Direct Measurement: the fruit is peeled in narrow strips and the areas of

individual strips are summed and taken as the surface area of the fruit.
Special tool: Planimeter
Advance Technique: Image processing or Machine vision
Surface Area
Direct Measurement 

• A frequently used method is the projection method, which uses

photographs or projected images to obtain an outline of the object.
Once the object outline is obtained, segments can be defined by
drawing parallel lines and calculating the area enclosed in each
segment.
• Another method involves tracing an object. The area enclosed in the
tracing may be determined by the use of a planimeter, development
of segments as defined above, or other methods.
Surface Area
Direct Measurement 
Specific Surface by the Coating Method: The specific area of a number of
grains may be determined by coating the grains with a single layer of metal
powder and measuring the change in weight. A control group, consisting of
geometric shapes of known surface area and of a density close to the grain
being tested, is run through the coating process with the grain. A factor
representing the coating weight per unit surface area for the control group is
used to calculate the surface area of the grain. The bulk volume of the grain
sample is measured and entered into the calculation of specific surface along
with the calculated surface area.
Surface Area
• If the shape of a fruit is sufficiently similar to a
rotational ellipsoid (e.g., as for certain kinds of
plum), then the surface area [A] is computed as

a = semi major axis of the ellipse

b = semi minor axis of the ellipse

r1 = radius of base

r2 = radius of top (apex)
h = altitude
Surface Area
Calculation or Plotting Method
The surface areas of fruits are determined most frequently on the basis of their
measured diameter or weight. Knowing the diameter or weight of a fruit, its surface
area may be calculated using empirical equations, or read from an appropriate plot
Surface Area
Plotting Method

Sample Plot
Surface Area
Plotting Method

Sample Plot
Density
• Density (ρ ) of a material is the amount of that material occupying a certain space and is
expressed in units of mass per unit volume.
• Materials consisting of particles or grains with interstitial air spaces have different values of
particle density and bulk density.
• Materials without internal air spaces, such as fluids and solids, have equal particle and bulk
density.
• Particle density/true density is the mass divided by the volume of the particle alone. Density of
solid material constituting the true volume occupied by the material, excluding any interior pores
that are filled with air (blind and through pores).
• Bulk density is the mass of a group of individual particles divided by the space occupied by the
entire mass, including the air space. Bulk density (ρ ) is the density of a material when packed or
B

stacked in bulk. The bulk density of packed materials depends on the geometry, size, and surface
properties of individual particles (Lewis, 1987).
Mass of material
@A fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
Density  
Volume of material
 Porosity
• Porosity indicates the volume fraction of void space or air in a
material and is defined as:
@A Bulk Density
fffffffffffffffffffffffffff
Porosity   1 @
True Density

Porosity is the percentage of air between the particles compared to a unit volume
of particles. Porosity allows gases, such as air, and liquids to flow through a mass of
particles referred to as a packed bed in drying and distillation operations. Beds with
low porosity (low percentage air space) are more resistant to fluid flow and thus are
more difficult to dry, heat, or cool. With high porosity, air flows easily through the
bed, drying is fast, and the power required by fans and pumps is low.
Porosity
Porosity
Porosity
Porosity
Measuring Porosity
• Direct Method
• Optical Method
• Density Method
• Gas pycnometer method
• Using porosimeters
Assignment
Instruction: Select a partner for this exercise:

• Make a report and Powerpoint presentation about the measurement techniques in determining
• Volume
• Density
• Surface area
• Porosity
• Make a report and Powerpoint presentation about the prediction methods in determining
• Density
• Surface Area
• Porosity

Useful links: http://repository.ottimmo.ac.id/42/1/Engineering%20Properties%20of%20Foods.pdf