Mechanical Behaviour and Split Resistance of Chestnut under Compressive Loading

The mechanical properties of four varieties of chestnut (namely; Albayrak, Altınay, Ünal and 554-14) were determined in terms of average rupture force, deformation, rupture energy and firmness. Samples at various moisture contents were compressed by parallel plate along the X, Y and Z axes. Physical characteristics of the chestnut such as dimensions, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, volume and surface area were determined. The results showed that the rupture force, deformation and rupture energy values generally increase with increasing moisture content. The differences in firmness with moisture content are not statistically significant in the all orientations. The maximum rupture energy values at all moisture levels as well as all varieties were obtained for chestnut loaded along either the X or Y axes. The results of the experiments indicated that, the lowest rupture energy value to split the shell of nuts was required along the Z axis.