Cereal Chem 63:139-142   |  VIEW ARTICLE
Comparison of Eight Devices for Measuring Breakage Susceptibility of Shelled Corn.

S. A. Watson and F. L. Herum. Copyright 1986 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Eight instruments developed for evaluating breakage susceptibility of corn under commercial conditions were compared in several collaborative studies. Six of the devices subjected the shelled corn to impact against a hard surface, which is thought to most closely simulate the damaging stresses that occur in commercial handling of corn. The kernels were subjected to impact velocities of 18-31 m/sec. The Stein breakage tester (SBT) and an SBT modified by increasing the impeller diameter by 24% subjected the kernels to a combination of impact and abrasion. Screening the corn samples passed through the impact deviced indicated 41-68% more broken material with a 6.35-mm sieve (1 6/64-in.) than a 4.76-mm sieve (12/64-in.), whereas discharge from the standard SBT showed only an 8% increase, indicating a significant defference in types of breakage produced. The best precision, indicated by low coefficients of variability, was shown in all tests by the device developed at the University of Wisconsin. It had the fastest throughput time (600 g/min) and a sturdy and patentable design. This device was selected for further study and development.