FACTORS AFFECTING FRACTURE PROPERTIES OF SHORT-DOUGH BISCUITS

Fracture properties of short-dough biscuits were determined in three-p oint bending tests. Biscuits exhibited an essentially elastic behaviou r and fractured at small strain. Span length did not influence the par ameters measured, in accordance with theory. Biscuits fractured with t he bottom side upwards had slightly higher fracture stress and fractur e strain than those in the inverted position. Presumably, air cells at the bottom side acted as sites of stress concentration. Fracture stra in was strain-rate dependent over the range studied possibly due to lo cal plastic deformation. Reducing the fat content increased the fractu re stress of the biscuits, which indicates that the method provides a useful tool for discriminating among short-dough biscuits of various c omposition.