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TEMJournal.Volume10,Issue1,Pages171‐176,ISSN2217‐8309,DOI:10.18421/TEM101-21,February2021.
TEMJournal–Volume10/Number1/2021. 171
Express Methods and Procedures for
Determination of the Main Egg Quality Indicators
Jakhfer Alikhanov
1
, Aidar Moldazhanov
1
, Akmaral Kulmakhambetova
1
,
Zhandos Shynybay
1
, Stanislav M. Penchev
2
, Tsvetelina D. Georgieva
2
,
Plamen I. Daskalov
2
1Department of Energy Saving and Automation, Kazakh National Agrarian University,
8 Abay str. Almaty, Kazakhstan
2Department of Automatics and Mechatronics, University of Ruse, 8 Studentska str., Ruse, 7017, Bulgaria
Abstract – The article considers the methods,
procedures and results of experimental studies of the
main egg quality indicators. The offered express
methods and the automated installation provide
definition of the weight, the form and density of egg.
Based on the results of experimental studies of egg
parameters, the express method of determining the
volume of the egg through the area of the longitudinal
section and the small diameter of the egg is
substantiated. The express method for density
determination by direct mass measurement and
volume calculation gives minimal absolute error and
provides a six time increase in performance, compared
to the direct method.
Keywords – egg, weight, shape, volume, density,
express method.
1. Introduction
In accordance with the standard, the main
qualitative indicators of the hatching egg are weight,
shape and density [1].
The weight of eggs generally varies from 45 to 75
g and above. The relationship between egg weight
DOI:10.18421/TEM101-21
https://doi.org/10.18421/TEM101-21
Correspondingauthor:Plamen I. Daskalov,
UniversityofRuse,Bulgaria.
Email:daskalov@uni‐ruse.bg
Received:24September2020.
Revised:21January2021.
Accepted:28January2021.
Published:27February2021.
©2021JakhferAlikhanov et al; published by
UIKTEN. This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs 4.0
License.
The article is published with Open Access at
www.temjournal.com
and its nutritional value and its price is found [1], [2].
The weight of the egg is determined by scales or
weighing mechanisms of egg sorting machines [1].
The productivity of mass determination using
electronic scales is about 715 eggs / h.
The egg vulnerability depends on the shape of the
egg [2]. Thus, it was found that irregularly shaped
eggs are more prone to damage.
The shape is determined by the value of the shape
index (IF), calculated as the ratio of the small
diameter of the egg to the large, expressed as a
percentage:
К1
∙ 100% (1)
The value of the shape index depends on the breed
of chickens: for egg direction K1 is between 73 and
80%, for chickens of meat direction K1 is between
76 and 80%. The productivity of the shape index
determination using a mechanical measuring
instrument (IM-1 indeximeter) is 800-1000
measurements per hour [3].
The shape of the egg can be determined through
the shape factor (K2), which gives a more objective
assessment of the shape [4]:
К2
(2)
where, L is the perimeter of the longitudinal section
of the egg, mm; S is the area of the longitudinal
section of the egg, mm2.
The density of the egg characterizes its freshness
and the thickness of the shell, thus being an integral
indicator of the quality of both hatching and
marketable eggs. Fresh whole egg has a density of
1,085 - 1,1 gr/cm3 and more. Hatching eggs should
have the following density: for hens of egg direction
of productivity - 1,08 gr/cm3, for meat hens - 1,075
gr/cm3. Low-density eggs reduce hatchability by up
to 17%. The average density of an egg is defined as
the ratio of the value of the volume to the weight of
the egg. During storage, the density of eggs
TEMJournal.Volume10,Issue1,Pages171‐176,ISSN2217‐8309,DOI:10.18421/TEM101‐21,February2021.
172TEMJournal–Volume10/Number1/2021.
decreases. By the value of density, it is possible to
determine the quality of the egg and its shelf life.
The volume of the egg is experimentally
determined by the volume of water displaced.
Theoretically, it is possible to calculate the
approximate volume of an egg from its geometric
parameters according to the formulas proposed by a
number of authors [2], [5].
Egg density is determined by two methods. The
first method is to determine the volume of the egg by
immersing it in a container of water, where the
volume of the displaced water determines the volume
of the egg. Then the egg is weighed on a scale, and
its density is calculated. The second method requires
immersion in salt solutions with different
concentrations. The density of the egg depends on
the concentration of the solution, where the egg is in
steady state. Both methods allow egg density
determination without breaking it, as a result of
which they are used in practice. Some studies have
found a high correlation between shell thickness and
egg density [7].
The main indicators of eggs vary depending on the
breed, age and health of chickens, as well as under
the influence of feeding rations and housing
conditions. To obtain competitive products, it is
necessary to conduct regular quality control of eggs.
The instruments and devices used in the egg quality
control laboratory have low productivity and
accuracy. At present, mechanical devices are
increasingly being replaced by automated and robotic
systems.
Korean scientist Hyeon proposed the use of
machine vision to determine the quality of the egg by
the size of the air chamber of the egg [8], Figure 1.
Figure 1. Determination of the eggs quality by the size
of the air chamber using machine vision
The essence of the method is that the egg is placed
in a dark room, where a camera is installed, which
photographs the end side of the egg, illuminated by a
halogen lamp. After that, the received image is
transferred to a computer where measurements of
small diameter of egg and the size of an air chamber
of egg are made. Next, the proportionality coefficient
is calculated and based on this, a decision is made on
the egg freshness.
Indonesian scientist J Siswantoro proposes a
method for determination of egg volume, based on
the values of area, perimeter, small and large size of
eggs, obtained from an egg 2D image and a neural
network, Figure 2.
Figure 2. Device for determination of egg volume using
a neural network
The values of the geometric parameters of the egg
(area, perimeter, diameters) are used as a network
input, then the volume of the egg is calculated [9].
The results of similar studies to determine the
volume of the egg using a vision system that
measures the small diameter and the area of the
longitudinal section, integrated with an artificial
neural network, are given in [10].
To study the geometric parameters of the egg a
stationary automated installation "Technical vision
system - Egg" is developed in the Kazakh National
Agrarian University [4]. The block diagram of the
automated installation "STZ - Egg" is shown in
Figure 3. The program "STZ - Egg" is registered in
the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan
as an object of copyright (Certificate №0610 from
03.03.18).
Obj ect Camera Computer Monitor
Figure 3. Block diagram of the automated installation
"STZ - Egg"
The test object (egg) is installed on the work
surface within the capture area of the camera. After
that the camera captures the image of the work
surface and transmits it to the computer. The
program analyzes the image of the egg and the
obtained egg parameters are displayed on the monitor
[4]. This setting allows determination of the large (D)
and small (d) diameters, area (S) and perimeter (L) of
the longitudinal section of the eggs from different
chicken breeds.
As a software development environment for
automated installation, the LabVIEW graphical
TEMJournal.Volume10,Issue1,Pages171‐176,ISSN2217‐8309,DOI:10.18421/TEM101‐21,February2021.
TEMJournal–Volume10/Number1/2021.173
environment was used, which allows programming
of various virtual instruments in a visual form and
speed up of the software development process. The
LabVIEW software development environment
consists of two windows: a block diagram describing
the program's logic and a front panel describing the
program's interface. The interface of the program
"STZ - Egg" is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Interface of the program "STZ - Egg"
1. The main menu. Contains functions for closing
the program, starting the program, minimizing
the program window.
2. The Start button starts the camera and the
program.
3. The calibration button enables or disables device
calibration.
4. Program performance indicator (RUN) and
progress indicator.
5. Indicator for the calibration accuracy.
6. Analyzed object image window.
7. Data table.
8. Area indicators.
9. Indicators of geometric parameters show the
current values of large and small diameters, area,
perimeter, shape index and shape coefficient.
10. Permissible range of form factor change.
11. The exit button provides the general exit from
system.
12. Database storage path. Specifies the location
where the data of the studied objects will be
stored.
13. Delay controller. The value entered here defines
the time interval in seconds, required to
determine the parameters of one egg.
14. The shape coefficient indicators show that the
shape of the egg conforms to the standard.
The program operation algorithm includes cycles
of camera initialization, program start and stop,
calibration, image capture and analysis, database
formation and additional windows for program
management [4].
2. Materials and Methods
Based on previous research, the relation between
egg weight and its geometrical parameters is
established. Using the value of the egg longitudinal
section area, the weight is determined indirectly by
the following equation:
𝑚
0,0399 ⋅ 𝑆 15,166 (3)
where, mk is the indirect value of the egg weight; S is
the area of the egg longitudinal section;
Experimental verification of the algorithm and the
program "STZ - Egg" on an automated installation
showed that the duration of one cycle of
measurements and classification of eggs was not
more than 20 milliseconds.
The values of large and small egg diameters are
almost equal to the one, measured with an electronic
caliper. The duration of measuring the size of one
egg by manual method is 13.6 seconds, while on an
automated installation, with manual feeding and
removal of eggs, is three seconds. The automated
installation provides an increase in productivity of
the labor, spent on measurement of geometrical
parameters of eggs, with around 4,5 times. In
addition, quantitative information about the area,
perimeter and shape of the egg is obtained. Such
information is not possible to be obtained by manual
measurement.
An experiment was performed, in order to acquire
the duration of egg processing from the moment of
the object capturing by the camera till the moment of
obtaining its geometrical parameters. Figure 5 shows
the results of the egg size and shape determination
and the duration of the individual processing
procedures.
Figure 5. Duration of the procedures for determination
of the parameters of one egg
The time spent on determination of the parameters
of one egg was 14,130 ms.: to capture the image with
a camera - 1,000 ms., to calibrate - 0.520 ms., to
detect and determine the geometric parameters of the
object - 7,824 ms., to calculate the coefficient and
index of the form - 0,289 ms., to record data in MS
TEMJournal.Volume10,Issue1,Pages171‐176,ISSN2217‐8309,DOI:10.18421/TEM101‐21,February2021.
174TEMJournal–Volume10/Number1/2021.
Excel - 1.41 ms., output data to the screen - 2,219
ms.
In order to justify and select methods for eggs
volume and density determination, an experiment
was performed using 80 chicken eggs of the cross
"Loman White" with different weights [11].
The research was conducted in two stages. At the
first stage, the egg weight, its small and large
diameters and volume were measured by existing
measuring instruments. Electronic scales DX-240h
were used to measure the weight with an accuracy of
0.01 g. Measurements of egg diameters were
performed using a caliper with an accuracy of 0.1
mm. The volume of eggs was determined according
to Archimedes' law using a volumetric flask with a
division value of 0.1 cm3 filled with water [12].
Procedures for determining egg weight and volume
are shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Determination of egg weight and volume by
the direct method.
At the second stage, studies of the dimensional
characteristics of eggs were carried out on a
stationary automated installation. After that, the
volume of each egg was calculated, according to the
known formulas.
According to the Donald Hoyt formula [12], [6]:
𝑉
𝑘⋅𝐷⋅𝑑
(4)
where, D is the large diameter, d is the small
diameter, k is the volume coefficient equal to 0.509.
A more accurate value of the volume coefficient is
equal to k = 0.512.
The second method for calculating the volume is
represented by the Simpson formula, which calculate
the volume of an ellipsoid [5]:
𝑉
0.523 ⋅ 𝐷 ⋅ 𝑑
(5)
The third method is the calculation of volume by
known weight [6]:
mV
m
913.0 (6)
where, m is the weight of the egg.
The automated installation "STZ - Egg" provides
the possibility of additional measurement of the area
and perimeter of the egg using a computer vision
system. Using the values of the area and perimeter,
we propose a number of new formulas for indirect
assessment of the volume.
The first formula uses the area of the longitudinal
section [12]:
𝑉
𝐾𝑠∙𝑆
√𝑆, mm3 (7)
where, Ks is the correction factor of the area, S is the
area of the longitudinal section of the egg.
The second method use the perimeter and the
longitudinal section area:
𝑉
𝐾𝑝∙𝑆∙𝑃, mm3 (8)
where Kp is the perimeter correction factor, P is the
perimeter of the longitudinal section of the egg.
The third method use the longitudinal section area
and the small diameter:
𝑉
𝐾𝑠𝑑∙𝑆∙𝑑, mm3 (9)
where Ksd is the correction factor for the area and
the small diameter, S is the area of the longitudinal
section of the egg, d is the small diameter of the egg.
3. Research and Analysis Results
The values of the correction factors: Ks = 0.028;
Kp = 0.0018; Ksd = 0.641 are determined by
statistical processing of the eggs experimental data.
Considering the obtained average values of the
correction coefficients and the presented above
traditional methods for calculating the volume, its
values are calculated both using traditional
instruments, as well as automated installation. The
volume measured by the direct method is taken as a
standard. Egg volume is most accurately determined
by the formula using the correction factor for area
and small diameter, since the average value of the
absolute error is 0.14 cm3. As for the known
formulas, the most accurate volume values were
obtained by using the Hoyt formula with a correction
factor k = 0.512. The absolute error in the
determination of the volume was 0.55 cm3. To
confirm the reliability of the method of indirect
determination of egg volume, a verification test was
conducted on a sample of 10 eggs. The average error
of the calculated volume value compared to the
measured value was 0.361 cm3. The values of the
absolute error vary in the range between 0.05 cm3
and 0.70 cm3 [11].
Sixty chicken eggs of the cross "Loman White" of
various weights, stored for no more than 3 days, were
taken to be examined.
The experiment was carried out in several stages.
First, all eggs were weighed on a laboratory scale
DX-240 with an accuracy of 0.01 g.
After that, the volume of the egg was determined.
Egg volume was determined using a volumetric flask
with a division value of 0.1 cm3 by the direct method
TEMJournal.Volume10,Issue1,Pages171‐176,ISSN2217‐8309,DOI:10.18421/TEM101‐21,February2021.
TEMJournal–Volume10/Number1/2021.175
according to Archimedes' law. The density of eggs
was determined by the direct method in saline
solutions of various densities in the range from 1.07
to 1.10 g/cm3 with a division interval of 0.00025
g/cm3. The density of the solution was measured
using a hydrometer.
By sequentially immersing the eggs in salt
solutions of different densities, the density of each
egg is determined. The geometric parameters of the
eggs (S, L, D, d) were determined on a stationary
automated installation using the “STZ-egg” program.
To determine the volume in an indirect way, the
following formula was used:
𝑉 0.641 ⋅ 𝑆 ⋅ 𝑑, cm3 (10)
where, Vsd - egg volume; S is the area of the
longitudinal section of the egg; d is the small
diameter of the egg.
According to the weight and volume calculations
results, the density values are determined by two
methods:
a) using the experimentally measured weight and
egg volume calculated by formula (9):
𝜌
, gr/cm3 (11)
The time to determine the indirect density values
of 60 eggs using a scale and a stationary automated
installation was 15 minutes. The productivity of the
density determination process by this method is 240
eggs per hour.
b) through the volume of the egg measured by the
direct method and the indirect value of the
weight calculated by the formula (3):
𝜌
, gr/cm3 (12)
The time spent on determining the density of 60
eggs in a direct way, considering the time spent on
preparing the solutions, was 90 minutes. The
productivity of the direct density determination
process in saline solutions is 40 eggs per hour.
The experimental results of egg quality indicators
were processed by variation statistics methods, using
the Statistica 12 software and are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Results of experimental studies of egg quality indicators
Parameter Number of experiments Mean value Min Max Range Variance Error
М, g. 60 64,19 54,62 78,00 23,380 5,471 0,706
V, cm3 60 59,24 50,10 71,80 21,700 5,130 0,662
ρ, g/cm3 60 1,08 1,07 1,10 0,030 0,006 0,001
Mk,g. 60 64,69 56,10 77,25 21,150 4,698 0,606
Vsd, cm3 60 58,4 50,57 72,22 21,648 5,174 0,668
ρv, g/cm3 60 1,09 1,07 1,12 0,050 0,010 0,001
ρm, g/cm3 60 1,09 1,05 1,13 0,080 0,022 0,003
ρ-ρv, g/cm3 60 0,02 0,00 0,04 0,040 0,009 0,001
ρ-ρm, g/cm3 60 0,03 0,00 0,06 0,060 0,012 0,002
4. Conclusion
1. The main indicators of an egg, which determine
its incubation and commercial qualities are
weight, shape and density. The existing technical
approaches for determination of the shape and
density have low productivity. The automated
installation "STZ - Egg" provides determination
of small and large diameters, area and perimeter
of the longitudinal section of the egg, followed
by the calculation of the index and egg shape
coefficient with high productivity and sufficient
accuracy. The automated installation provides a
30-fold increase in productivity, when measuring
the geometric parameters of eggs.
2. The comparison of experimental data for manual
determination of eggs volume using a volumetric
flask and the data, obtained by calculation using
three known formulas, shows that Hoyt's formula
for volume calculation with a correction factor of
0.512 gives the most accurate volume values.
The calculation error using this method is on
average 0.55 cm3.
3. The investigation of the indirect method for
determination of the volume of an egg using the
proposed new formula, which takes into account
the longitudinal section area and the small
diameter of the egg, was carried out. The results
show that using correction factor of 0.641, the
absolute error in volume determination by the
indirect method, in comparison with manual
measurements, does not exceed 0.36 cm3. This
confirms the possibility of using this method to
calculate the values of the egg volume.
4. The experiment, carried out to determine the
density of 60 eggs by two methods, showed that
the indirect method for determination of the
density by directly measuring the weight and
calculating the volume, as a product of the area
and the small diameter with a correction factor
TEMJournal.Volume10,Issue1,Pages171‐176,ISSN2217‐8309,DOI:10.18421/TEM101‐21,February2021.
176TEMJournal–Volume10/Number1/2021.
equal to 0.641, provides a 6-fold increase in
productivity, compared to the direct method and
the method for calculation of the density using
formula (12). The results of comparing the
calculated density values showed, that the
average absolute error in the density
determination by the proposed indirect method is
0.02 g/cm3 in comparison with the direct method.
5. The proposed express methods and procedures
for determination of the main indicators of eggs
quality, after additional research and
determination of the values of the coefficients in
formulas (3, 10), can also be used to determine
the quality indicators of fruits and vegetables
(apples, pears, apricots, potato tubers, tomatoes,
onions, etc.).
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