Effects of moisture content, loading rate, and grain orientation on fracture resistance of barley grain

Force and deformation curves of agricultural materials must be provided for the proper design of harvest - ing and processing machineries. In this research, the fracture resistance of barley grain was measured in terms of the grain rupture force and energy. In this study, 8 treatments were performed as a randomised complete block design with 10 replications. The barley grains were quasi-statically loaded in horizontal and vertical orientations with the moisture content at four levels: 7.34, 12.11, 16.82, and 21.58% dry basis, and loading rates at two levels: 5 and 10 mm/min. Based on the results obtained, the force required for initiating the grain rupture decreased from 161.97 to 93.94 N, and from 75.37 to 50.16 N, and the energy absorbed at the grain rupture increased from 36.42 to 74.70 mJ and from 27.34 to 62.65 mJ, for horizontal and vertical orientations, respectively, with the increase in the moisture content from 7.34 to 21.58% dry basis. This showed that seeds are more flexible in the horizontal orientation.