Republic of the Philippines

University of Southern Mindanao

Kabacan, Cotabato
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Student code: 16 Yr./Prog./Section: 3BSABE-A _

Laboratory No. 2B
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GRAINS

The physical characteristics of the different commodity plays a major role when it
comes to packaging and machine design either for processing or sorting of the
commodity. Those physical characteristics of the different commodity gives us an idea
on the proper way of storing them, packing them and most especially, it gives us an
idea on how to design the proper machine that could be used in the processing of the
commodities.

Grains are smaller commodities which are packed in bulk and are often sold per
kilo. Some example of grains are rice grains, mung beans, corn kernels, sorghum and
many more. They have the same physical characteristics to larger commodities, except
that the angle of repose and their thousand seed mass is also measured. The angle of
repose of grains is an important factor when designing a tool or machine which may
involve the consideration of friction. The angle of repose tell us when would the
commodity will start to move or roll over so that we can design a machine according to
the angle of repose of the given commodity. The thousand seed mass of a grain is
measured to find the average mass of a thousand grain which is significant especially in
the estimation of the mass of a thousand seed or the number of grain in a specific mass.
The particle density of grains are also measured differently compared to larger
commodities, since its size is so small that when place in water, there would be no
significant difference in the volume of water.
 METHODOLOGY

In this laboratory, we define the size of the commodity, find their geometric and
arithmetic mean, solve for its frontal area, define its shape and solve for its roundness,
roundness ratio and sphericity. We also determine the angle of repose of each grain,
their thousand seed mass, surface area and overall shape. There are only two(2) types
of grains used in this laboratory the rice grains and mung beans, and only five(5)
samples are taken from each type of grain.

In defining the size of the commodity, we used paper, pencil, ballpen and a ruler.
We first measure the major diameter of each grain by placing the grain in its rest
position in the paper then we draw the smallest circle that can fit our grain inside. Then
using a ruler, we measure the diameter of the smallest circumscribing circle. We repeat
the process on the other side of the grains to measure its minor and intermediate
diameter. In calculating the geometric and arithmetic mean of the commodities, we used
the data we obtained from the minor, major, and intermediate diameters of our grains
and then we used the formula provided in the module 2 of the Properties of AB
Materials. In calculating the frontal area of the grains, we used the result we obtained
from geometric mean and used the formula provided in the module 2 of the Properties
of AB Materials.

In defining the shape of the grains, we define its roundness by drawing the
projection of each product in the natural rest position and drew the smallest
circumscribing on the projection drawn and calculated the roundness using the formula
on how to solve for the roundness given in the module. We then solve for each grains
roundness ratio by using the data on the mean radius of the object represented by R
and r is the radius of curvature of the sharpest corner and calculated using the formula
on how to solve for the roundness ratio given in the module. In measuring the sphericity
of the grains, we drew the projection of each product in the natural rest position and
drew largest inscribed circle and the smallest circumscribed circle on the projection
drawn in, and calculated the sphericity using the formula given in the module.
 In the determination of the angle of repose, we first place our plywood on a flat
surface. Then we slowly place our grains in the middle of the plywood, forming a conical
shape. We then tilt our plywood until the grains starts to slide down or roll over, once the
grains started to move, that was when we measure the angle. We measure the angle of
each grain twice, one for parallel direction and the other for the perpendicular direction.
In the determination of the thousand seed mass, we count five(5) one thousand grains
in each type of grain then we weigh each thousand of grain and we took its average. In
determining the surface area of the grains, we used two different methods. For the rice
grains, we peeled off the rice husk, then in a gridded paper, we glued the rice husk and
counted the number of squares covered by the material. For the mung beans, we used
a paper to cover the mung bean and we cut the excess paper, then we projected the
paper that we used to cover the mung bean in the gridded paper and we counted the
number of squares covered by the paper. We measured the dimension of one square
and compute the area. The surface area will be determined by multiplying the number of
squares covered by the peel to the area per squares. As to the determination of the
overall shape of the grains, we used the description of the shape as a guide to identify
the overall shape of the grains.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1. Shape, geometric and arithmetic mean diameter, frontal area, roundness, and
sphericity of certain grain.
Grain Mean Diameter Frontal Area Roundness Sphericity
� �� ��
Geometric Arithmetic (��)� r/R S = ��
� �=
��
Rice grain 4.3936 mm 5.4467 mm 15.1611 ��2 0.0667 0.1 0.2547

Mung bean 2.8960 mm 3.0667 mm 6.5870 ��2 0.6665 0.36 0.81572

Table 2. Angle of repose, Thousand Seed Mass, Surface area and shape commodity.

Grain Angle of Repose TSM Surface Area Shape

Parallel Perpendicular
Rice grain 15° 14° 27.4 g 1.94 ��2 Elliptical
Mung bean 5° 7° 68.6 g 4.74 ��2 Round

Table 3. Particle Density and Bulk Density of Grains

Particle Density Bulk Density

Rice grains 1.154 kg/�3 596.873 kg/�3

Mung bean 1.443 kg/�3 779.371 kg/�3

Table 1 shows the geometric and arithmetic mean diameter of the rice grains and
mung bean. It also shows the frontal area, roundness and sphericity of the two grains.
The result showed that the geometric and arithmetic mean diameter, as well as the
frontal area of the rice grains are greater than the mung beans. However, on the
roundness and sphericity, the result showed that the mung beans are approaching a
circular and spherical shape while the rice grains are from from being round and
spherical.
 Table 2 shows the result of the angle of repose of each grain, as well as the
thousand seed mass, surface area and the overall shape of each grain. The mass of
commodity actually have a significant effect on the angle of repose, the heavier the
commodity, the higher its angle of repose, however on this laboratory, the TSM of the
mung beans are greater compared to the rice but the angle of repose of the mung
beans is smaller compared to the angle of repose of the rice. Although the mass of the
object has an effect on its angle of repose, it is also worth noting the shape and the
surface of the mung beans and the rice. The rice are elliptical in shape and has a rough
surface which only means that it has a higher friction coefficient compared to the mung
beans which has a shape that approaches to a sphere and a smooth surface. Also, in
the study conducted by A. Kumar, J.P. Sinha, S.J. Kale and N. Patel on the physical
properties of basmati varieties of paddy and the study conducted by Y. Tekin, N. Izli, E.
Isik and H. Unal on the Geometric and Mechanical Properties of Mung Bean (Vigna
Radiata L.) Grain: Effect of Moisture, it shows that we have the same outcome, although
the mung beans have a greater TSM, the rice paddy still have a higher angle of repose.
The table 3 shows the particle density and bulk density of the rice grains and mung
beans. Base on the result, the particle and bulk density of the mung beans are greater
compared to that of the rice grains, which is also similar to the result of the published
literature by the authors that are mentioned above.

In the study of A. Kumar, J.P. Sinha, S.J. Kale and N. Patel on the physical
properties of basmati varieties of paddy, the result they got on the thousand seed mass
almost have no significant difference on the result that we got. However, the angle of
repose that we got is significantly different compared to their result. The difference may
have been brought by the fact that the paddy that we used is different compared to
theirs. In the study of Y. Tekin, N. Izli, E. Isik and H. Unal on the Geometric and
Mechanical Properties of Mung Bean (Vigna Radiata L.) Grain: Effect of Moisture, it
shows that the geometric and arithmetic mean of the mung beans are different. The
difference may have been brought by the type of variety that we used. The sphericity of
our result is also different from theirs, based on our result it shows that our mung beans
approaches more into a spherical shape compared to theirs. The thousand seed mass
of the mung beans that we use also exceed theirs, however, our angle of repose is
significantly different from theirs. The significant difference may have been due to the
process of how we take the angle of repose.

CONCLUSION

The physical characteristics of the grains which plays a major role in the machine
design for storing and processing varies directly on the its type as well as to its variety.
Base on the result, we can conclude that when designing for the storage and machines
for processing of the smaller commodities such as the grains, it is important to take into
consideration the shape of the commodity and not only its mass due to its significant
effect on the angle of repose of the commodity, because as the grain approaches a
round and spherical shape, the smaller its angle of repose. The surface of the object
and ramp should also be considered since it can also contribute on the friction
coefficient of the commodity.

THINGS TO PONDER

1. Why do you think roundness and sphericity are important in handling and processing
of grains?

The roundness and sphericity are important in handling and processing of grains
because it has an effect on the angle of repose of the grains which is one of the
important factors to be considered when designing a storage or miller for the grains.

2. Under real life situations would you think angle of repose are useful?

Under real life situations, I think that the angle of repose is useful especially when
designing a storage or miller for the grains. If the design of the storage and millers are
only based on the pull of the gravity of the earth, without considering the angle of
repose, the storage would be in inefficient since every material or commodity already
have a frictional factor. Hence if the angle of repose is not considered, when the
storage is opened, all of its content will either spill or will not come out.

3. Under what situation do you think:

a. ) A high angle of repose is an advantage?

If a commodity has a high angle of repose, meaning that it has a greater friction
coefficient or it maybe have a rough surface. A high angle of repose is an advantage to
grains or any commodity which has an higher frictional factor or that its shape is not
approaching into a round or spherical shape since it will help to accelerate the velocity
of the commodity.

b. ) A high angle of repose in a disadvantage?

A high angle of repose can also be a disadvantage especially, when the grains or
commodity already have a small friction coefficient and the surface of the platform is
also smooth. It becomes a disadvantage because it would be difficult to control the
amount of commodity that will slide into the ramp which may lead for the commodities to
be stuck on the outlet of the ramp.

4. How your results in angle of repose differ from established literature?

The result that we got in the angle of repose is significantly different compared to
the established literature. We got a smaller angle of repose compared to that of the
published literature.

REFERENCES:

Unal, H., Isik, E., Izli, N., & Tekin, Y. (2008, July). Geometric and Mechanical properties of Mung
Bean(Vigna Radiata L.) Grain: Effect of Moisture [Review of Geometric and Mechanical
properties of Mung Bean(Vigna Radiata L.) Grain: Effect of Moisture]. ResearchGate.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233060697_Geometric_and_Mechanical_Properties_o
f_Mung_Bean_Vigna_Radiata_L_Grain_Effect_of_Moisture

Patel, N., Kale, S. J., Sinha, J. P., & Kumar, A. (2013, December). Physical Properties of
Basmati Varieties of Paddy [Review of Physical Properties of Basmati Varieties of Paddy].
ResearchGate.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291074200_Physical_Properties_of_Basmati_Varietie
s_of_Paddy#pf6
 DOCUMENTATION

a.) Counting of 5 separate one thousand seed b.) Taking the angle of repose
each type of grains

c.) Preparing the weighing scale to measure d.) Weighing each thousand seed to get the
the mass of each thousand seed thousand seed mass
d.) Discussing on how to solve for the physical e.) Preparing the projected drawing of the
properties of the grains grains for the measurement of mean diameter

f.) Creating a conical shape using the grains as g.) Separating the samples from each type of
a preparation to find the angle of repose. grain
h.) Measuring the mean diameters i.) Pouring the rice grains on the water to
measure the particle density

j.) Secured sample with their data k.) Measuring the height of the cylinder