ABSTRACT

This study examined the biomaterials and aerodynamic properties of all Bambara nut species grown in Nigeria. Various species of Bambara nut seeds were sourced from local markets in Nigeria. The aerodynamic experiment ofthe Bambara nuts was carried out in the Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering laboratory of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike. The biomaterial experiment was carried out in Chemistry Department Laboratory of the College of Pure and Applied Sciences, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. The physical properties of the Bambara nuts were determined through experiment while the terminal velocity and drag coefficient were calculated. The physical properties result showed that the brown Bambara specie had the maximum length (14.067cm), width (11.812cm) and mass of (1.202g) while the black Bambara specie had the maximum thickness (10.974 cm). The cream Bambara specie has the maximum height of72.645cm. The cream Bambara species had the highest terminal velocity of 19.18m/s while the terminal velocity ofthe black Bambara species was 18.24m/s. The brown colored Bambara species had terminal velocity of 18.99 m/s while the mixed Bambara species had terminal velocity of 18.31 m/s. The percentage absorbance ofthe biomaterials in the Bambara species showed that the mixed colored Bambara species had highest percentage absorbance of 12 mgAAeq while the black Bambara specie had the lowest percentage absorbance of 6 mgAAeq. The correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.6354 indicated the significant relationship between the mass and terminal velocity. The maximum drag coefficient value was obtained from the cream Bambara specie with value of 0.000324. The results indicated that the aerodynamic properties of cream Bambara species was better than the other Bambara species. These properties are essential in order to provide necessary data needed in the design ofequipment for Bambara nut processing