Gierz Łukasz, Kruszelnicka Weronika, Łykowski Wiktor, Steike Mikołaj, Wichliński Michał, Estrada Quirino, Przybył Krzysztof
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Machine Design, Poznan University of Technology, Piotrowo 3, 60-965 Poznan, Poland.
Department of Renewable Energy Sources Engineering and Technical systems, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Al. Prof. S. Kaliskiego 7, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Materials (Basel). 2025 Jan 7;18(2):222. doi: 10.3390/ma18020222.
The strength and energy of processed biological materials depend, among others, on their properties. Despite the numerous studies available, the relationship between the internal structure of corn grains and their mechanical properties has not yet been explained. Hence, the aim of the work is to explore the relationship between the internal composition of maize kernels and its mechanical properties by studying the impact of the maize seed coat thickness on its breakage susceptibility. To achieve the assumed goal, selected physical properties (length, width, and thickness) of corn grains were distinguished, and a static compression test was carried out on the Insight 50 kN testing machine (MTS Systems Corporation, Eden Prairie, MN, USA) with a test system for experimental verification of the compression behavior of biological materials. Furthermore, after the compression test, the thickness of the seed coat was measured using a laboratory microscope. It was found that there is a correlation between the thickness of the maize seed coat and force, deformation, and mass-specific energy at the bioyield point. The presented data constitute a foundation for the development of a mechanistic breakage model considering the variable strength properties of the seed coat and endosperm as the structural elements of kernels. Further research should be focused on the determination of the strength properties under dynamic conditions and revealing the relationship between the loading rate, strength properties, and internal structure for several maize varieties, which better reflect the ranges of variability in the real nature of mechanical processing.
加工后的生物材料的强度和能量尤其取决于它们的特性。尽管已有大量研究，但玉米粒的内部结构与其机械性能之间的关系尚未得到解释。因此，这项工作的目的是通过研究玉米种皮厚度对其破碎敏感性的影响，来探索玉米粒的内部组成与其机械性能之间的关系。为实现既定目标，区分了玉米粒的选定物理特性（长度、宽度和厚度），并在美国明尼苏达州伊甸草原市的MTS系统公司的Insight 50 kN试验机上进行了静态压缩试验，该试验机配有用于对生物材料压缩行为进行实验验证的测试系统。此外，在压缩试验后，使用实验室显微镜测量了种皮的厚度。研究发现，玉米种皮的厚度与生物屈服点处的力、变形和质量比能量之间存在相关性。所呈现的数据为建立一个机械破碎模型奠定了基础，该模型考虑了种皮和胚乳作为玉米粒结构元素的可变强度特性。进一步的研究应集中在动态条件下强度特性的测定，以及揭示几个玉米品种的加载速率、强度特性和内部结构之间的关系，这将更好地反映机械加工实际情况中的变异性范围。
