Characterization of UF-18 cacao pods using Arduino-based load compressor testing machine

<p>Bean damage is one of the primary concerns in the pod-breaking process. Studies for pod-breaking machines are ongoing to ensure that the products made from these machines are of good quality. The objective of the study is to determine the physical and mechanical characteristics of the UF-18 pod. The Arduino-based load compressor testing machine was designed and developed to characterize the UF-18 pod. It was found that the average geometric mean diameter, surface area, and sphericity index of 115.37 mm, 41,899.48 mm², and 0.6372, respectively, and with a variation of ±27.17, ±14538133.04, and ±0.00038 respectively. Furthermore, the cacao pod samples had an average dimension of 181.29 mm, 94.26 mm, 90.01 mm, and 17.44 mm measured for the length, equatorial diameter, intermediate diameter and external thickness, respectively. Different pod sizes and thicknesses require various forces ranging from 36.94 to 92.42 kg (362.38 N to 906.64 N) and time ranging from 6-11 seconds to be able to break the pods. Determining the physical and mechanical properties of cacao pods enables fabricators to design efficient machines, which lessens the force to break and the damage to the beans, thus producing quality beans.</p>