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Singapore Journal of Scientific Research

Year: 2011 | Volume: 1 | Issue: 3 | Page No.: 253-263
DOI: 10.17311/sjsres.2011.253.263
Moisture-dependent Engineering Properties of Water Hyacinth Parts
R.M. Davies and U.S. Mohammed

Abstract: The moisture dependent engineering properties of water hyacinth are not only important for the designing of different processing machines but also to provide the database relevant to handling process operations of the plant. Some engineering properties of water hyacinth parts (Leave, Stalk and Root) were investigated as a function of moisture content in the range of 8 to 52% w.b. These properties includes: Dimensions, mass, true and bulk densities, porosity, static and dynamic coefficients of friction and terminal velocity as a function of moisture content were determined using to standard methods. All experiments were replicated at least ten times. The SPSS software (version 11.5) and Microsoft excel (2003) were used for analysis of variance. The mean range of variation for three different parts of water hyacinth was about 0.048 to 0.074 g cm-3 for bulk density, 0.406 to 0.997 g cm-3 for particle density and 69.6 to 91.6% for porosity. The static and dynamic coefficient of friction of water hyacinth parts on four surfaces namely, glass, rubber, plywood and fibreglass were studied. The observed values for terminal velocity, coefficient of static and dynamic friction for the three different parts of the water hyacinth were statistical important at 5% probability levels for all the studied moisture contents. These findings could therefore, be used in designing and manufacturing of separators, conveyors and as well as estimating the quantity and the pressure on the bins of storage structures.

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How to cite this article
R.M. Davies and U.S. Mohammed, 2011. Moisture-dependent Engineering Properties of Water Hyacinth Parts. Singapore Journal of Scientific Research, 1: 253-263.

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