SELECTED MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND BRUISE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF NECTARINE FRUIT

This research was conducted to evaluate some mechanical properties and bruise susceptibility of nectarine (Prunus persica variety). Compression and impact tests were conducted to determine the mechanical properties and the bruise susceptibility depends on the direct mechanical damaging of nectarine fruit. Compression tests were carried out by using a compression test device at 1 mm min(-1) load velocity. Deformation, bioyield point force, deformation energy, and Poisson's ratio were determined using compression tests data. Absorbed energy, bruise volume, and bruise susceptibility were determined by impact tests. Impact tests of nectarine were conducted by using a pendulum with a 50-cm arm length. These tests were carried out at two directions of nectarine, namely, impact from the bottom side and its cheek side and three drop heights (30, 40, and 50 cm) to obtain different impact energy levels. In addition to these data, dimensional properties, such as length, width, and mass, were also measured.