Development of a Compression Test Rig for Evaluation of Mechanical Properties Related to Design for Containerization and Transportation of Fruits

Relevant literatures necessary for design of testing equipment for mechanical properties of biological materials are reviewed. A digitized compression testing system has been developed to evaluate the mechanical properties of agricultural produce fruits in Nigeria. The designed equipment performed satisfactorily by estimating precisely some basic mechanical properties like Poisson's ratio, elastic modulus, bioyield strength, ultimate load, fracture load and elastic limit of tested materials. The system consists of the top platen, the lower platen, the moving platen, the Support Column, the threaded shaft, the arm, the digital linear scale and the digital load scale and has the ability to instantaneously evaluate both load and displacement from where the mechanical properties