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Tropicana Test Data |
| The following test data was compiled by TROPICANA who used our ¾" NoBruze padding to line large citrus accumulator bins including baffles, side walls at the end of the baffles, the floor and part of the rear exit wall. NoBruze padding reduced impact forces by 70-80% and kept impact forces below the bruise threshold for citrus (150g's) on drops up to 3.5 feet. TROPICANA has also reported excellent wear characteristics after a full year of use. |
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| Fig. 1 This is a drop test conducted by TROPICANA comparing the difference in maximum accelerations between a NoBruze padded surface and an unpadded surface for drop heights ranging from .5 to 4 feet. The NoBruze padded surface significantly reduced the maximum acceleration allowing the citrus to drop 3.5' without bruising. |
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| Fig. 2 Another drop test by TROPICANA comparing the difference in velocity change between a NoBruze padded surface and an unpadded surface for drop heights ranging from .5 to 4 feet. The NoBruze padded surface has much higher velocity change rates than the unpadded surface proving it to be a good cushioning material. |
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Citrus Board of South Australia |
| The CITRUS BOARD OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA also tested NoBruze Padding and in a newsletter to their members had this to say about it: "We don't make a habit of product promotion but, with a view to minimizing fruit injury, we conducted tests with our Instrumented Sphere. We dropped the Sphere five times from a height of 250mm onto a totally supported belt. The impacts measured ranged between 335 g's and 478 g's. We then dropped the Sphere onto a 19mm thick piece of NoBruze from the same height. The impacts ranged from 57-60 g's. This trial clearly indicates what can be achieved using this product." |
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| Fig. 3 A trial of Instrumented Sphere (IS) drop tests done by the Citrus Board of South Australia showing 10 impacts of the sphere dropped at a height of 250mm on an unpadded surface and then the sphere dropped on a 19mm thick piece of NoBruze. The results clearly indicate how using NoBruze reduces impact forces. |
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Apple Grower Test |
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| Fig. 4 Using the IS100 Impact Monitoring System, (IZZY), an Apple grower did a series of drop tests using various materials. The results show that NoBruze was clearly the best at reducing impact forces. A "Golden" apple will show bruises when impact forces exceed 30 g's and a "Red" will show bruises when an impact force exceeds 40 g's. With NoBruze, greater drop heights can be achieved without the fear of bruise damage. |
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Agricultural Engineering Institute/Lincoln Technologies - New Zealand |
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| Fig. 5 Drop tests done by LINCOLN TECHNOLOGY to examine the Energy Recovery Ratio of materials, show their ability to absorb impact energy. The lower the ratio, the more impact energy the material can absorb. Of the five padding materials tested, NoBruze has by far the best impact energy absorbing characteristics. |
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| Fig. 6 For the wear test, LINCOLN TECHNOLOGY subjected five materials to an impact directed at the same point. The "Time of Initial Wear" is the point when the surface of the material first shows signs of wear. The "Time to Significant Wear" is the point when the material is reduced to ¾ of its initial thickness. NoBruze clearly has the greatest life expectancy of any of the materials. Note that this test is an accelerated wear test and simulates what would be several years of normal use. |
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| Fig. 7 LINCOLN TECHNOLOGY also did some drop tests to show the energies required to "bottom out" cushioning materials. This can also be defined as the maximum amount of energy that the material can absorb from an impact. As shown, the ½" NoBruze material has the best energy absorbing characteristics by far of all the materials. |
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| Fig. 8 This drop test was conducted by LINCOLN TECHNOLOGY using an Instrumented Sphere (a device about the same size and weight of an apple). In the above graph, the steeper the curve (closer to the Y-axis), the better the energy absorbing characteristics of the Padding. An impact can be characterized by its peak acceleration and by the velocity change. Acceleration is measured in g's (the force of the Earth's gravity is 1 g) and the velocity change is the difference between the initial velocity of the object and its velocity after impact in the opposite direction. So an impact with low peak acceleration and a high velocity change is the best suited to prevent damage to an object. The above chart shows NoBruze to have the steepest curve and therefore it would best protect an object upon impact. |
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Washington State |
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| Fig. 9 This test was done by WASHINGTON STATE to measure the mechanical hysteresis of a material, which is the damping capacity, or the ability of a material to dissipate strain energy as heat. Hysteresis depends directly on deformation and force and a lower value means the material has a better cushioning ability. As seen above, NoBruze has the best cushioning ability of all the materials listed. |
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| Fig. 10 WASHINGTON STATE also measured the equilibrium modulus, Ee, and spring constant, Ke, of cushioning materials by means of a stress relaxation test at 4mm of deformation. The equilibrium modulus Ee = stress in equilibrium state/strain and the spring constant Ke = force in equilibrium state/deformation. Low values of each are characteristics of good cushioning materials. NoBruze has the lowest values of all the materials. |
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University of Maine |
| The following tests were conducted by the UNIVERSITY OF MAINE under a grant from the USDA Potato Marketing Improvement Fund. All data was duplicated and verified by USDA-ARS at MICHIGAN STATE. |
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| Fig. 11 This graph was done by the UNIVERSITY OF MAINE and is similar to fig. 8 except that it shows Drop Height as a function of Peak Acceleration rather than Velocity Change as a function of Peak Acceleration. The graph shows that at 150g (the bruise threshold for potatoes), the drop height using NoBruze is the greatest of all three materials. This value is roughly 840mm or 33 in. |
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| Fig. 12 Another test done by the UNIVERSITY OF MAINE that is also very similar to the one done by Lincoln Technology fig. 8. The results are the same showing that NoBruze has the steepest curve and therefore the best impact protection characteristics. The 150 g's mark is the bruise threshold for potatoes. |
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Peach/Pear Grower Test |
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| Fig. 13 This is a drop test done by a peach/pear grower using an instrumented sphere measuring 134g and 2-3/8"dia. The sphere was dropped from heights of 1, 5, 10, 15 and 30 cm onto a plain steel surface and then a surface covered with ¾" thick NoBruze. This graph is very similar to that of fig. 8 and demonstrates the significant cushioning effects of NoBruze. |
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Blueberry Grower |
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| Fig. 14 A blueberry grower did a comparison study between a padded harvester and a non-padded harvester. The results show that a harvester padded with NoBruze reduced the amount of bruised berries by almost half. |
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Tomato Grower |
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| Fig. 15 Field testing done by CALGENE, a tomato grower, showed that the use of NoBruze padding applied to field lugs during harvesting significantly reduced the bruise damage to the tomatoes. At maturity levels 3, 4 and 5 combined, the reduction of severe bruising is about 75%. This correlates to a substantial increase in tomato quality and grower income. |
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