Abstract:
Physicochemical and mechanical properties of wheat
grains
can have a great impact on
the quality of the final products (bread). Therefor
e, correct selection of wheat cultivar for
specific applications seems to be crucial
.
In this study, the differences in the
physicochemical and mechanical properties (under co
mpression and impact loadings) of
ten Iranian wheat cultivars (Azar2, Alamut, Bam, Ba
har, Chamran, Shiraz, Falat, Keras
Adl, Marvdasht, and Nicknejad) were studied. Moreov
er, the relationship between these
properties was investigated. The results indicated
that the type of cultivar had significant
influences on physicochemical and mechanical proper
ties. The results of regression
analysis between physicochemical and mechanical pro
perties showed a significant
correlation between protein content and particle si
ze index (r
2
= 0.6). Moreover, the
protein content could be significantly correlated w
ith the parameters obtained from
mechanical tests (r
2
> 0.50). Among the mechanical parameters obtained f
rom
compression and impact loading, the apparent elasti
c modulus and the specific breakage
energy established maximum correlation (r
2
= 0.77 and 0.78, respectively) with the protein
content. Similarly, significant correlations were f
ound between particle size index and
mechanical parameters (r
2
>0.60). Hence, the wheat protein content and partic
le size
index, which have great impacts on quality of the f
inal product, can be estimated by a few
simple mechanical tests on the wheat kernels.
Keywords:
Compression test, Impact test, Particle size index,
Protein, Toughness.
