Cottonseed Rupture from Static Energy and Impact

Velocity
I. W. Kirk and H. E. McLeod
Assoc. MEMBER ASAE

HETHER cottonseed is to be used

for planting or as a raw material
for any one of many products, sound,
high-quality seed is necessary. Rupture
of the seed coats may cause seed potentially of the highest quality to become almost worthless. There are points
throughout many of the cotton-handling
and processing o p e r a t i o n s that may
cause mechanical damage to the seed.
Collins ( 2 ) * states that mechanical
injury from improper handling practices that result in seed-coat rupture
may adversely affect germination, particularly strength of germination. Seedcoat rupture permits a rise in the free
fatty acid content of cottonseed. The
fatty acid content is a matter of importance in seed deterioration from the
standpoint of seed for planting purposes. Rusca (9) states that the relationship between free fatty acid content and cottonseed germination is that
seed with high free fatty acid content
has low germination and seed with low
free fatty acid content has high germination. Simpson (11) found that cottonseed failed to germinate when seed
lots contained more than 1.8 percent
free fatty acid. An increase in free,
fatty acid content of cottonseed increases the amount of soap stock produced as a by-product, which in turn
reduces the quantity of high-quality oil
refined during commercial processing.
A study of cottonseed and seed-cotton handling and processing systems reveals that there are two general conditions by which cottonseed may be damaged. The seed coat may be ruptured
by a static force or by an impact force.
The latter is the more prevalent of the
two and occurs in conveyance systems
when a seed moving at high velocity
strikes a rigid object. Impact may also
occur in cleaning systems when a rigid
object, moving at a high velocity relative to the seed, strikes a seed. Some
Paper prepared for publication in the TRANSACTIONS of the ASAE. Approved for publication by the Director of the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station as Technical Contribution No. 609.
The authorsI. W. KIRK and H. E. McLEOD
-are agricultural engineer, AERD, ARS, USDA,
Auburn University, Auburn, Ala. (formerly graduate student, Clemson University); and formerly
associate professor of agricultural engineering,
Clemson University.
* Numbers in parentheses refer to the appended references.
Author's Note: The research study on which
this paper is based was made possible by a fellowship grant provided by the National Cotton
Council of America and was conducted under
the facilities of the South Carolina Agricultural
Experiment Station.

1967

TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASAE

FIG. 1 Seed-loading frame for static rupture tests.

knowledge of the physical properties of
a cottonseed that may be related to
these types of seed damage is needed
so steps may be taken to reduce or
eliminate the damage. This investigation was initiated to (a) determine the
rupture force, deformation, and energy
absorption of cottonseed for static loading conditions at different seed moisture contents, (b) determine the relationship between seed impact velocity
and percent seed-coat rupture at different seed moisture contents, and (c)
relate impact velocity to impact energy
absorption and relate impact energy
absorption to static energy absorption.
PROCEDURE

Cottonseed for the Tests

The cottonseed used in all the tests
were from cotton which had been
stored in a wire basket since the 1958
harvest season. Tests were conducted
in July and August 1960. The cotton
was roller ginned and the seed were
collected for the tests. No visual difference was noted in the amount of
linters left on the seed as compared to
conventional saw-ginned upland cottonseed. The seed were conditioned at
a temperature of 70 F and 65 percent
relative humidity for a period of not
less than 10 days.
Each seed was visually examined for
previous damage. Those that had been
cracked or damaged in any way were

discarded. The remaining seed were

divided into 100-seed lots to be selected at random for the various tests.
The moisture content of the seed
after the ten-day conditioning treatment was approximately 10 percent.
This was chosen as one of the moisture
levels for the tests. A moisture content lower than 10 percent and one
higher were also desired. The lower
moisture content (6 percent) was obtained by placing the conditioned seed
in an oven for 15 minutes at a temperature of 190 F. The higher moisture
content (14 percent) was obtained by
placing the conditioned seed in a chamber for ten hours where the temperature was from 82 to 92 F. and the
relative humidity was 98 percent. The
dominant effect of the conditioning humidities and temperatures was a change
in seed moisture content. The possible
additional effects of the conditioning
treatments on seed coat strength were
not considered in this study.
Static Rupture Tests
A seed load frame (Fig. 1) was designed so that a compressive force could
be applied to an individual seed. The
loading frame was equipped with two
strain-gage transducers: a force transducer and a deformation transducer.
Two Brush amplifiers, type RD 5612
00, and a Brush dual-channel, recording
oscillograph, type RD 2322 00, were
used as amplification and recording instruments for the signals from the transducers. The force transducer was calibrated for load (oscillograph-pen deflection) and the deformation transducer was calibrated for deformation
(oscillograph-pen deflection). With this
equipment, a continuous recording of
force applied and the corresponding
seed deformation could be obtained for
each seed tested.
Static rupture tests were made on
cottonseed at dry-basis moisture contents of 6, 10, and 14 percent. Twentyfive seed were randomly selected from
a 100-seed lot from each m o i s t u r e
group. Each s e e d w a s individually
placed in the seed loading frame and
was slowly loaded until the seed coat
ruptured. Rupture was usually indicated
by a noticeable cracking sound and
could be easily distinguished on the oscillograph chart. A continuous recording of applied force and seed deformation was made for each seed tested.
217

3000
4000
5000
6000
SEED VELOCITY, FEET PER MINUTE

FORCE, POUNDS

FIG. 2 Curves indicating general relationship between forces

applied and the deformation of cottonseed at three moisture
contents.

FIG. 4 Average percent cottonseed rupture due to seed impact

at various velocities.

Ten points of corresponding force and calibration of seed velocity for various
deformation between the no-load point pressure-gage readings was determined
and the rupture point were taken from from the distance between seed images
the chart for each seed. These points and the time between flashes of the
were plotted on force - d e f o r m a t i o n light source. With these calibrations,
charts. T y p i c a l f o r c e - deformation an air velocity or a seed velocity could
curves for the three moisture contents be estimated from any pressure-gage
are shown in Fig. 2. The area under reading.
each force deformation curve to the
Cottonseed were subjected to direct
rupture point was planimetered to obtain the energy absorption of each seed. impact on a steel plate to determine
the resulting percent of seed rupture at
seed velocities of 3,000, 4,000, 5,000
Impact Rupture Tests
6,000 and 8,000 fpm. Three replicaA pneumatic apparatus was designed
tions were made at each of the three
to accelerate a single seed to a given
moisture contents (6, 10, and 14 pervelocity and impact it against a flat
cent) used in the static rupture tests.
steel plate. The apparatus (Fig. 3)
A replication was made up of 500 seed,
consisted of an air-pressure regulator
100 seed at each indicated velocity. A
and gage, a seed-drop chamber, a blowlot of 100 seed was placed in the drop
pipe and an impact cage. The blowchamber. The pressure regulator was
pipe was a y2-in. brass pipe 12 ft long.
then set to give the desired seed velocThe blowpipe was connected to an air
ity. Each seed was pushed into the
line from an air compressor. An airblowpipe through the opening in the
pressure regulator with the pressure
bottom of the drop chamber where it
gage on the outlet was used to regulate
entered the airstream and was accelair flow through the pipe. The system
erated to the desired velocity as it
was under pressure at the pipe inlet
passed through the blowpipe. The seed
so it was necessary to use an airtight
struck the steel plate in the impact
chamber in order to drop the seed into
cage as they emerged from the blowthe airstream. The drop chamber was
pipe and were collected from the imdesigned so that one seed at a time
pact cage after each 100-seed run. The
could be made to enter the air stream.
percent of seed coat rupture was then
The seed were made to impact against
determined by a visual examination of
a flat steel plate placed perpendicular
each seed in the 100-seed group. The
to the direction of seed travel and one
seed were evaluated for rupture, withinch from the end of the blowpipe. A
cage was placed around the plate and
the free end of the pipe so that the
seed could be recovered and examined.
The blowpipe was first calibrated for
air velocity (pressure-gage reading).
A full-range calibration was made with
a precision air-velocity meter. Stroboscope pictures of seed after they left
the blowpipe outlet were used to obtain a calibration of seed velocity. A
stroboscope with an auxiliary high-intensity light source was used in conjunction with a 35-mm camera to take
multiple time exposures of a seed moving against a fixed scale. A full-range FIG. 3 Seed blower for impact rupture
tests.
218

out additional treatment, immediately

after they were subjected to impact. A
seed was considered ruptured if a crack
could be found in the seed coat.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Static Rupture Tests

Averages were taken for the rupture
force, deformation, and energy absorption for each moisture content. These
values are presented in Table 1.
TABLE 1. AVERAGE STATIC RUPTURE
FORCE, DEFORMATION, AND ENERGY
ABSORPTION FOR COTTONSEED
Moisture
,-,
Forc
Deformation, , E n e x g y
content*,
S
inches
absorption,
r^^
pounds
inch- poun as
18.845
0.06028
0.714
10
15.589
0,07513
0.696
14
12.853
0.09926
0.691
* Dry-basis moisture content.

It may be seen from Table 1 that

the rupture force and deformation vary
considerably w i t h m o i s t u r e content.
This was first noticed while the tests
were being conducted. It was evident
from the oscillograph trace of force and
deformation that, for high moisture content, the rupture force was low and the
rupture deformation h i g h . F o r low
moisture content, the rupture force was
high and the rupture deformation low.
Even though there was considerable
variation in the rupture force and deformation, the mean energy absorption
at each moisture content was essentially
the same. The coefficient of variation
for energy absorption ranged from 0.41
to 0.49. The effect of moisture content
was very small; however, the trend was
to lower energy absorption at higher
moisture contents.
Impact Rupture Tests
The average percent seed rupture
for each velocity at the three moisture
contents is presented in Table 2. The
percent seed rupture was found to be
independent of moisture content within the sensitivity of the test and the
range of moisture contents and veloci-

TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASAE

1967

where
R = percent seed rupture
S = seed velocity, feet per minute.
The percent seed rupture at any seed
velocity may be estimated with this
equation. However, it must be kept
in mind that the equation is valid only
over the range of velocities tested in
this investigation.
All of the indicated velocities have
been seed velocities and not air velocities. Any application of the results of
this investigation would ultimately have
to be made on the basis of air velocity.
The relationship between air velocity
and seed velocity for the test system
was: seed velocity = 0.71 air velocity.
However, the authors do not suggest
that this relationship would apply to
a c o m m e r c i a l pneumatic-conveyance
system.
TABLE 2. AVERAGE PERCENT COTTONSEED RUPTURE DUE TO DIRECT IMPACT
FOR FIVE SEED VELOCITIES AND
THREE MOISTURE CONTENTS
(Each entry represents an average for 300 seed)
Seed
velocity,
fpm
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
8,000

Dry-basis seed moisture content,

percent
6
10
14
0.67
2.00
1.00
3.00
2.00
3.67
8.00
8.33
6.00
18.67
15.00
17.33
58.00
52.33
57.33

top
90

:
-

80

70

PERCENT SEED RUPTURE

60

"

50

4 . 7 7 X lO'^VELOCITY, FEET PER MINUTE} 4 ' 3 ' ,

/
/
\

40

30

/ -

EACH POINT REPRESENTS

AVERAGE FOR 9 0 0 SEED.

20

RCEN

ties tested. The average percent seed

rupture due to impact velocity for all
the tests was 1.22, 2.89, 7.44, 17.00,
and 55.55 for seed velocities of 3,000,
4,000, 5,000, 6,000, and 8,000 rpm,
respectively. Fig. 4 is a graphical presentation of percent seed rupture versus
seed velocity.
An effort was made to establish an
algebraic relationship between percent
seed rupture and impact velocity. The
average percent seed rupture, for all
the tests, at each velocity was plotted
on a logarithmic chart as shown in Fig.
5. The points formed a line indicating
a relationship of the type Y = cX n . The
equation of the graphically fitted line,
the relationship between percent seed
rupture and seed velocity, was found
to be:
4.77 X 10 - 1 6 S 4.38
R

/
/

QL

iu'10

5 98

1
UJ

./
1
2

1
3

1, . J, , 1 ._L_J
4
9
f
7 8

L_iJ
9 10

SEED VELOCITY, THOUSAND FEET PER MINUTE

FIG. 5 Logarithmic relationship of percent cottonseed rupture and seed-impact

velocity.
cottonseed if the assumption is made
that the energy absorption of the steel
plate is negligible. This is a reasonable
assumption from a consideration of the
relative properties of the two materials.
The impact is partially elastic, so the
cottonseed rebounds and releases part
of the absorbed energy. Even though
part of the energy is given up, the total
energy absorbed upon impact is the
important consideration from the standpoint of impact energy required for
rupture.
Rearrangement of the basic equation
gives:
v = (2Ek/m)%

The average weight of a single cottonseed of the type used in these tests
was 0.11 grams at a dry-basis moisture
content of 10 percent. The average
Velocity-Energy Absorption Analysis
static energy absorption for cottonseed
The energy absorption of a cotton- at a dry-basis moisture content of 10
seed upon impact was not experiment- percent was 0.696 in-.lb. Substitution
ally measured in this investigation. A of these values into the equation gives
theoretical analysis of the relationship a velocity of 7,460 fpm. This velocity
between impact velocity and impact produces the same amount of energy
as the mean energy absorption capacity
energy absorption is presented below.
The kinetic energy of a body moving of the cottonseed at 10 percent dryin coplanar translation may be deter- basis moisture content.
mined by the basic dynamic relationThe preceding analysis was made
ship, E k = ta2, where Ek is the ki- with a mean seed weight and a mean
netic energy of the body, m is the mass energy absorption capacity. Such an
of the body, and v is the velocity of the analysis would be expected to give a
body.
velocity that would rupture the "averDuring the instant of impact, the age" seed. A mean rupture velocity
total kinetic energy is absorbed by the could not be determined from the test
1967

TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASAE

data because 100 percent seed rupture

was not obtained. However, the velocity at the median rupture percent (50
percent) should be reasonably close to
the mean in a distribution such as the
one obtained for percent rupture versus
seed velocity. It can be seen from Fig.
4 that the indicated velocity of 7,460
fpm is only about 250 fpm away from
the velocity at the median rupture percent. This indicates that a static energy
absorption distribution could possibly
be used to predict a velocity percent
rupture curve. However, further tests
and a more complete analysis would be
necessary to substantiate the preceding
statement.
Conclusions
The following conclusions are valid
within the range of moisture content
and impact velocity used in this investigation:
1 The force to rupture cottonseed
and the resulting seed deformation under static loading were quite variable
with moisture content. However, the
total energy absorption to rupture was
approximately constant (0.70 in.-lb).
2 The percent seed-coat rupture of
cottonseed due to impact at a given
seed velocity was independent of seed
moisture content and could be estimated by the equation:
R = 4.77 X 10 ~ 1 6 S 4 3 8
where
R = percent seed rupture
S = seed velocity in feet per minute.
3 It was indicated that a static energy-absorption distribution curve could
be used to estimate percent seed-coat
rupture for given impact velocities.
References
1 Bennett, C. A. Cottonseed handling with
small air pipes. USDA Cir 768 (revised), 1953.
2 Collins, E. R. A fresh look at Tarheel cotton. Typewritten report. North Carolina State
College extension service, ca. 1959.
3 Creswell, C. F . Composition of cottonseed.
USDA Bui 948, 1921.
4 Eyes for industry . . . stroboscopic techniques. 9th ed. Cambridge, Mass., General Radio
Co., 1957.
5 Franks, G. N. and Oglesby, J. C , Jr. Handling cotton planting-seed at cotton gins. USDA
Production Research Report 7, 1957.
6 Johnson, T. J. Cotton ginner's handbook.
Biytheviiie, Ark. Arkansas-Missouri Cotton Ginners Assn., Inc., 1955.
7 Kirk, Ivan W. Static energy and impact
velocity requirements for cottonseed rupture. Unpublished M.S. thesis. Clemson, S.C. Clemson
University Library, 1961.
8 Pearson, N. L. Relation of seed-coat structure to rupture in ginning. Journal of Agricultural
Research 58:865-873, 1935.
9 Rusca, Ralph A. and Gerdes, Francis L. Effects of artificially drying seed cotton on certain
quality elements of cottonseed storage. USDA
Cir. 651, 1942.
10 Saunders, De Alton. Ginning as a factor
in cottonseed deterioration. USDA Bui. 288, 1915.
11 Simpson, D. M. Factors affecting the longevity of cottonseed. Journal of Agricultural Research 64:407-419, 1942.
12 Weisbach, Julius. Mechanics of engineering
theoretical mechanics. New York. D. Van Nostrand Co., 1889.

219