Physical Properties of Egg Shells

EGG SHELL strength has been measured by compression, impact and puncture, but only compression lends itself to the development of a non-destructive measurement of shell strength. If a linear relationship exists between compression force and the induced deformation of the shell, and if the slope of this line is related to force applied at failure of the shell, then a non-destructive test could be developed. The deformation under non-destructive forces would be used to predict the force at failure. Brooks and Hale (1955) studied this relationship and found that deformation under force applied parallel to the major axis was correlated with force at failure by a r value of −0.71. They demonstrated that differences of deformation within eggs was too small to account for differences between eggs and that shape exerted a small influence on this criterion while egg weight had no effect. They also observed that the relationship …