Determination of Some Physical and Mechanical Properties of Gmelina arborea Seed

The properties of kernels, grains and seeds are important in the development of equipment for transportation, handling and processing. Physical and mechanical properties of Gmelina arborea where experimentally determined. The moisture content of Gmelina arborea was determined as 41.30%wb. The major, minor and intermediate diameters were 18.16 ± 1.79 mm, 10.52 ± 0.93 mm and 9.40 ± 0.81 mm respectively. The geometric and arithmetic mean diameter were calculated as 12.12 ± 1.10 and 9.56 ± 0.90 mm respectively. The sphericity was 66.91%, aspect ratio, 58.19, bulk and true densities, 0.64 kg/m3 and 0.96 kg/m3 respectively. The porosity and mass of a 1000 seeds were 66.67% and 621.33g respectively. The coefficient of friction determined on four different surfaces were; on wood, 0.4 ± 0.7, on galvanized steel, 0.37 ± 0.6, on glass, 0.36 ± 0.4 and on aluminum, 0.34 ± 0.6. The angle of repose was 24.09o. The compressive test conducted on the three major axes; vertical, horizontal and transverse shows that the energy needed for cracking of the Gmelina arborea is least on the horizontal axis, 0.808 ± 0.19 kN, followed by the vertical axis, 1.496 ± 0.35 kN and then the transverse axis, 2.39 ± 0.20 kN, with corresponding stress as 1.52 ± 0.35, 2.90 ± 0.45 and 4.90 ± 0.44 MPa respectively.