Physical and Mechanical Properties of Almond (Prunus dulcis l. cv. 7Shahrood)

Abstract

Knowledge of physical properties of agricultural products is necessary for design and fabrication of post-harvest processing machineries. In this study, the physical and mechanical properties of an Iranian almond variety (Prunus dulcis l. cv. 7Shahrood) in three forms of green, unshelled and shelled kernels are measured. The properties measured included mass, moisture content, arithmetic and geometric mean diameter, surface area, sphericity, shape index, bulk and true density, porosity, angle of repose, static coefficient of friction, and rolling angle. Static coefficient of friction and rolling angle were measured on wood, rubber and galvanized steel surfaces. Moisture content, geometric and arithmetic mean diameter, surface area, sphericity and angle of repose decreased, while shape index, true density and porosity increased in comparisons of green/unshelled, green/shelled and unshelled/shelled almond. Green almond has the maximum moisture content, geometric and arithmetic mean diameters, surface area and sphericity while shelled almond has the minimum value for these parameters. Shape index is highest in shelled almond and lowest in green almond. Angle of repose for green almond is the highest and for shelled almond is the lowest. Angle of static friction and rolling angle is highest on rubber surface. The lowest rolling angle is on wood surface for all forms of almond. The lowest angle of static friction is on wood surface for green almond and on galvanized steel surface for unshelled and shelled almond. True and bulk densities are the highest for the shelled and unshelled kernels and the lowest for the green and shelled kernels, respectively.