Deformation and fracture of mammalian protein based gels

MARINA CZERNER; LAURA A. FASCE; PATRICIA M. FRONTINI

Ghent

Congreso; 5th PMI CONFERENCE; 2012

Through this work the mechanical properties of commercial mammalian protein based gels displaying different Bloom values are assessed. Deformation behavior is investigated through uniaxial compression tests. A non-linear elastic constitutive relationship is used to describe the gelatin gels deformation behavior. Fracture properties are characterized by means of fracture toughness, Gc, which represents the energy per unit area necessary to fracture the material. Gc is measured here using Wire Cutting technique. Differences in the behavior of the studied gelatin gels are discussed. The effect of adding two modifier agents in gel formulation in mechanical parameters is evaluated.