Physical, thermal, and mechanical properties of bael fruit

The physical, thermal, and mechanical properties of bael fruit were discussed in this paper. The properties of bael fruit were studied in term of its dimensional, gravimetric, frictional properties, and color values, whereas thermal properties were evaluated by determining the glass transition temperature of bael fruit pulp powder. The effect of the direction of orientation and temperature treatment on the mechanical properties of bael fruit were studied. The sphericity of bael fruit is considered to be spherical. The average length, width, and thickness of bael fruit were 8.92, 8.22, and 7.95 cm, respectively. The bulk density, true density, and porosity were found to be 0.470, 1.067, and 55.96 g/cm(3), respectively. The specific heat of bael fruit pulp was 3.2512 kJ/kg degrees K. The glass transition temperature of the pulp powder was 277.15 degrees K, with a specific heat of 0.429 J/g degrees K. The orientation of bael fruit along the thickness required minimum rupture force than orientation along the length and width. The minimum rupture force required to puncture bael fruit along its thickness was 431.14 KN for freezing treatment. The results obtained from this study would help in manufacturing the handling and processing machineries for the commercial production of bael fruit products. Practical Applications Bael is an underprocessed indigenous fruit despite its high nutritional and medicinal properties. Knowledge about the physical, thermal, and mechanical properties of bael fruit will encourage researchers to develop and modernize the design of equipment used for sorting, grading, puncturing, pulping, conveying, packaging, transporting, and storing of fruits.