Mass modeling of Belleric Myrobalan and its physical characterization in relation to post-harvest processing and...

The present research was inducted to assess the physical properties of Terminalia bellerica fruit which is commonly known as belleric myrobalan. The research includes dimensional properties, gravimetric properties, and frictional properties of the T. bellerica. These properties form an important base for the designing of machine or equipment; those are used in the post-harvest operations. The reported average value for the dimensions of the fruit were 26.80 mm, 20.85 mm, 20.85 mm as long dimensional axis, intermediate dimensional axis, and short dimensional axis respectively. The arithmetic mean diameter, equivalent mean diameter, and geometric mean diameter were calculated as 22.54 mm, 22.32 mm, and 22.31 mm respectively. The sphericity was found to be 0.83 while the aspect ratio was 0.78. In the gravimetric properties, true density and the bulk density for the dried fruit of T. bellerica was found to be 0.63 g/cm³ and 0.57 g/cm³ respectively. In the frictional properties, static coefficient of friction was found to be highest on the mild steel and plywood sheet (0.25) and lowest was on the stainless steel sheet (0.19). The angle of repose was found to be 33.96°. Along with the physical properties of the fruit, mass modeling was done for which the fruits were categorized into 3 categories based on their weight. Each category of fruit showed the different significance level and regression factor in every model namely linear, quadratic, power, and S-curve. The quadratic model showed highest level of significance for all the dimensions, area and volume in the small and large mass group while power model was the best fit in the medium mass group. It was concluded that the quadratic model in the small and large mass group while power model in the medium mass group are recommended as best fit and can be used for the design considerations of any post-harvest machine or equipment.