Evaluating and modeling physiological tissue texture of mango immersed in water by using ultrasonics.
Hurng HuaangYouh, Lu FuMing, Ay Chyung
Author Affiliation: Department of Biomechatronic Engineering, National Chiayi University, 300, University Road, Chiayi 600, Taiwan.
International Agricultural Engineering Journal 16 : 1-13
Abstract : The immersion ultrasonic testing technology was used to establish quantitative relations between ultrasonic diagnostic indices and physiological properties of mango fruits. Pulse-echo ultrasonic testing of submerged mango fleshes indicated that the ultrasound waveforms changed as they propagated through the different fruit texture. The relationship between ultrasound attenuation and physiological properties of ripening mango was analyzed in this study. The Fisher Z transformation procedure was used to estimate the characteristics of a population with ultrasound attenuation and physiological parameters. Ultrasound attenuation subject to other parameters is analyzed with regression analysis. As validated by experiments, disordered fruits usually have a higher density and attenuate ultrasound more than healthy fruits. This work found that the correlations of ultrasound attenuation with the density and Young's modulus of fruit exhibit linear and nonlinear relationships, respectively. Experimental results show that a healthy flesh has less ultrasound attenuation, higher SSC (soluble solids content)/acid ratio, and higher Young's modulus in comparison with a disordered one.