Investigating indentation as a means of evaluating the constitutive properties of biological materials

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Processed foods are wonderfully complex materials where the microstructures created during the various heat, mass and momentum transfer events of food process operations determine the properties of the food. Unravelling this complexity is the key to accurately predicting the quality of novel and conventional foods, and to developing successful nutrient loading strategies for the creation of healthy functional foods. The research of this Discovery grant is focused on studying two important food materials and characterizing their elastic and time-dependent behaviour. Computational techniques will be used to cope with the complexity that time-dependent behaviour adds to analyses of the indentation process of these materials. [Indentation is a technique where a probe is inserted into the surface of a material and the mechanical behaviour of the material is assessed through measurement of force on the probe as it is displaced into the material. It is an ideal method for examining the fragile structures of soft materials such as foods because it circumvents potentially destructive sample preparation procedures, yet it can be used to determine fundamental mechanical properties.] By understanding how to back-extract fundamental mechanical properties from indentation tests, the research will enable indentation to be developed as a simple rapid tool for evaluations of the mechanical properties of biological materials. In addition, a systematic evaluation of the mechanical behaviour of two important classes of food materials possessing a network structure can potentially uncover novel physical phenomena, and so lead to the development of new biological constitutive models. Insights gained from these models on how food quality can be optimized during processing will allow processors to formulate healthier foods that retain the quality attributes of conventional foods, and thereby reduce the incidence of diet-related disease in Canada.