The Effect of Padding Foam on the Compression Characteristics of Some Agglomerated Food Powders

Selected padding foam was used to reduce attrition in agglomerated food powders. This is a widely used strategy in fruits and vegetables during harvesting and processing to minimize impact damage. The objective of this research was to determine the padding effect on some agglomerated food powders when plastic foams of different thicknesses were added in the powder bed at different positions while conducting confined uniaxial compression tests. The padding effect was evaluated by two proposed indices: padding index and padding efficiency. The former index was based on the force-deformation behavior of the compression process, while the latter was based on weight comparisons of agglomerates retaining their original particle size with or without the use of padding foams. The padding thickness and positions significantly affect the force-deformation relationships for both agglomerates: instant coffee and instant milk. The padding effect, in terms of padding efficiency and padding index, was more obvious when the padding material was put at the top of the powder bed. The padding efficient index is more useful, in the cases under consideration, than the other index, because it should be more sensitive in depicting attrition.