Physical and mechanical properties of unripe Nipah banana fruit (Musa acuminata balbisiana)

This paper describes the properties determined to acquire physical and mechanical properties of unripe Nipah banana. In Malaysia, most of the banana chips processing companies use a variety from Nipah Banana,also known as Musa acuminata balbisiana a triploid hybrid banana cultivar. The physical (diameter, weight and peel thickness on edge and side) and mechanical properties (penetration and compression test) of Nipah Banana variety were determined through five consecutive days to evaluate its behaviour throughout its ripening period. The average diameter is 38.78±5.77 mm x 29.25±4.92 mm. The average thickness of peel at the edge and side are 5.3±0.93 mm and 3.65±1.01 mm respectively. The average weight of the Nipah banana variety is 77.85±28.61 g. Penetration force through 5 ripening days was found to decrease from 7.53N to 6.59 N (top position), 7.59N to 6.40N (middle position) and 8.31N to 6.43N (bottom position). The compressive force decreases through 3 days from 1704 N to 1630 N with the sudden increase in day 4 to 1380 Using the following properties accumulated, the machine components specification can be obtained which are the blade force required to slit the banana peel, the thickness of the blade needed for the slitting of banana peel, the roller force to hold the banana in place and the peeler size

Design, development and performance evaluation of green nipah banana (Musa acuminata x balbisiana colla ABB group) peeling tool for small scale industry

Peeling is one of the processes in the making of banana chips. In the current Malaysian industry, the peeling process is still done using the manual method, which uses hand and kitchen knife. The weakness of using manual peeling is that it requires knife-handling skills to prevent pulp from being damaged, time-consuming, and unsafe. Therefore, the study aims to develop a banana peeling tool that successfully removes the skin of green Nipah banana in a shorter time and with minimal pulp loss. In banana chips processing, bananas under certain conditions are essential as they will affect the texture for drying and frying. The fruit needs to be stiff and starchy; thus, certain properties during its ripening period need to be evaluated to examine the suitable ripening days to process the bananas. The study involves several properties evaluated, such as the physicochemical and mechanical, throughout its ripening days. Based on the result, the green Nipah banana's colour and mechanical properties were correlated with ripening days. The colour of the peel also gradually changes from dark green to lighter green and yellow tint. As for proximate analysis, only crude fibre and crude protein correlate with ripening days. Crude fibre increases by 52.69 % on the upper bunch and 52.12 % for the lower bunch from day 1 to day 5, while crude protein decreases by 61.11 % for the upper bunch and 93.55 % for the lower bunch from day 1 to 5. Total soluble solids (TSS) and fructose also correlate with ripening days. TSS increases throughout its ripening days when the fructose decreases. TSS on the upper bunch increases by 36.73 % on the upper bunch, while the lower bunch decreases to 41.67% on day 3 and increases back by 38.23 % to day 5. Firmness, adhesiveness, and penetration force decrease while compression force increases throughout its ripening days. Firmness decreases by 12.04 %, 21.25 %, and 9.18 % for top, middle and bottom finger positions respectively for upper bunch position. As for the lower bunch, firmness decreases by 11.15 %, 9.09 % and 20.60% for top, middle and bottom, respectively. Adhesiveness decreases by 26.72 %, 37.85 % and 36.26 % for top, middle and bottom finger positions respectively for upper bunch position. As for the lower bunch, adhesiveness decreases by 57.50 %, 64.68 % and 63.94 % for top, middle and bottom, respectively. Penetration force decreases by 13.15 %, 12.14 % and 27.92 % for top, middle and bottom finger positions respectively for upper bunch position. As for the lower bunch, penetration force decreases by 15.65 %, 14.61 % and 13.15 % for top, middle and bottom, respectively. Compression force increases by 64.06 %, 44.43 % and 60.75 % for top, middle and bottom finger positions respectively for upper bunch position. For the lower bunch, compression increases by 129.62 % and 46.22 % for top and middle finger position respectively while the bottom remains constant The development of the peeling tool started with design considerations from a morphology chart, and then several conceptual designs were generated. After that, a matrix decision was made to evaluate the best design and assembly parts for fabrication was discussed in this study. A peeling tool was designed and developed as an alternative to the current manual method. The final design was developed by improving the first design. The weakness of the first design is that the force needed for the peeling process is high and takes longer peeling time as the user needs to use one hand to hold the banana while the other hand to push between the skin and pulp of the banana for banana skin removal. Performance of the peeling tool was obtained from its peeling time, pulp loss, force and deformation analysis. The peeling tool is tested to increase the peeling rate by 60% with less than 1.9% peel loss. Minimal deformation was obtained from the Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis. Besides, the maximum force on the tool was smaller than the yield force of the material; thus, the material is suitable for the application of fruit peeling

Mass modelling and effects of fruit position on firmness and adhesiveness of banana variety Nipah

Fruits including banana are susceptible to damage especially during transportation. Nipah banana, also known as Musa acuminata balbisiana, has irregular shape and is short in length. This paper focuses on the physical and mechanical properties of Nipah banana. Mathematical models were developed to predict the mass of banana fruit based on the physical properties. Changes during ripening period in terms of the firmness and adhesiveness of Nipah banana were investigated at room temperature (25 °C) for three different positions in a finger. Peak positive and negative force was taken as firmness and adhesiveness, respectively. Results showed that the multiple regression modelling based on three dimensions had the highest R2 value. Values of firmness and adhesiveness decreased with the ripening days due to starch degradation and accumulation of soluble sugars. A similar trend was observed on the firmness for all three positions

Some physical properties of mature green Nipah and Nangka banana fruit

Physical properties of fruits and vegetables are important as it is used as a grading measurement for packaging and safe transportation. The postharvest losses of fruits are mainly due to its mechanical damage during transport and handling. Banana for example, has various varieties with different shapes and sizes. Therefore this study was conducted to assess some physical properties of mature green Nipah and Nangka banana fruit. Properties obtained were weight of whole fruit, peel and pulp, dimensions, surface area and projected area. The average weight, length and diameter of Nangka is higher than that of Nipah (p<0.05). Peel thickness of Nipah is higher than Nangka. The volume (Vellip), projected area (Pellip) and surface area (Sellip), Nangka possess higher value than Nipah