COMPRESSIVE FAILURE PATTERNS OF SOME JUICY FRUITS

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Compressive tests of cylindrical specimens of mangos, melons, papayas, pineapples and watermelons were performed using an Instron Universal Testing Machine. The compressive failure occurred in various patterns which were characteristic of the different types of fruits. The failure patterns themselves tended to change as ripeness progressed. The compression test was accompanied by weight losses due to liquid extraction. These losses could reach the order of 35–70% depending on the fruit and its maturity stage. For most fruits, as ripeness progressed, the shape of the force‐deformation curve also changed showing smaller deformation prior to failure and the appearance of a distinct phase in which the liquid expression was probably the dominant factor. The apparent strength of the specimens, calculated on the basis of the original cross‐sectional area, was a function of the specimen diameter. The latter, in the case of watermelons, could also affect the general shape of the force‐deformation curve.