Physical and mechanical properties of three varieties of cucumber: A mathematical modeling

Abstract

The current investigation was devoted to determining some properties, such as physical dimensions, surface area, sphericity, density, stiffness, and terminal velocity of cucumber. For this purpose, different cultivars of cucumber which commonly consumed in Iran, namely, Nagin, Shahab, and Shahin were selected. Also, in order to propose a new model for the terminal velocity of cucumber, a dimensionless model was established. The obtained results showed that varieties of Shahab, Shahin, and Nagin had an average length of 163.4, 118.97, and 133.89 mm, respectively. Corresponding values for average diameter for varieties mentioned earlier were measured as 26.99, 57.811, and 27.59 mm, respectively. Moreover, the density determined from the measurement of mass and volume for Shahab, Shahin, and Nagin varieties were calculated as 956, 1042, and 990 kg m −3 , respectively, while the compressive and shear bio-yield point of them were reported as 628.38 and 74.094, 505.11 and 89.33, and 652.2 and 64.79 N, respectively. Additionally, the assessment of the dimensionless model, regarding the coefficient, mean relative deviation, and root means the square error of comparison between predicted and measured terminal velocity were 0.9, 0.15, and 0.013, respectively. Therefore, the obtained characteristics may be useful in the design of different unit operations of post-harvesting technologies. Practical applicationsMeasurement of physical properties of different common cucumber fruits can be accounted for as a useful tool to design the post-harvesting unit operations. Therefore, the proposed mathematical model for the description of the terminal velocity of cucumber could be approached in pickle production units. Also, the obtained properties are usable in hydro transport and sorting of the fruit.

Modelling of Mechanical Properties of Fresh and Stored Fruit of Large Cranberry Using Multiple Linear Regression and Machine Learning

“…The first is based on experimental data (empirical), and the second is based on the physical nature of the phenomenon (theoretical). Since empirical modelling is more precise and easier to develop [23], this approach is becoming increasingly popular. Various methods and techniques are employed for empirical modelling in the food industry, including artificial intelligence techniques such as artificial neural networks (ANNs) and support vector machines (SVMs).…”

Mathematical Modelling of the Mechanical Properties of Four Varieties of Brine Pickles Using Neural Networks

“…In the era of dynamic agricultural development, understanding the mechanical properties of plant material is extremely important. In the fruit and vegetable processing industry, an important role is played by fast and effective methods enabling the assessment of the potential of plants from the viewpoint of their further processing (Moradi et al, 2020). The quality of the raw material is determined during all stages of growth from the selection of the appropriate farming conditions to effective harvesting.…”

“…Mathematical modelling includes two types of models: empirical (based on experimental data) and theoretical (based on the equations governing the phenomena). Compared with theoretical models, empirical models are considered to be easier to develop and more accurate (Moradi et al, 2020). There have been many applications of empirical modelling in the food industry reported in prior literature.…”

“…There have been many applications of empirical modelling in the food industry reported in prior literature. A dimensionless method was used for the modelling of the physical and mechanical properties of cucumbers (Moradi et al, 2020), the terminal velocity of cantaloupe (Moradi et al, 2019) and the convective drying of tuberous crop (Sandoval-Torres et al, 2017). One of the very interesting techniques useful for empirical modelling is artificial neural networks (ANN).…”

Engineering and bio‐chemical properties of asparagus roots (Asparagus racemosus L.)

“…The chemical properties of asparagus are also crucial for the knowledge of the medicinal component of asparagus. Therefore, copious researchers investigated the different characteristics of agricultural produce such as dates, caper (Lorestani et al, 2012), belleric myrobalan (Pathak et al, 2020), persimmons (Subbarao & Vivek, 2017), pepper berries (Azman et al, 2020), kinnow mandarin (Mahawar et al, 2019), cucumber (Moradi et al, 2020), and sohiong (Vivek et al, 2018).…”