A Noncontact Ultrasound Approach for Mechanical Property Determination of Cheeses

: Noncontact ultrasound parameters, such as velocity and attenuation coefficient, were directly measured using air instability compensation transducers and correlated with Young's modulus, hardness, and toughness of different types of cheeses. Ultrasound velocity was highly correlated with the mechanical properties of cheeses whereas no significant relationship between the ultrasound energy attenuation coefficient and the mechanical properties were shown. The noncontact ultrasound technique demonstrated excellent performance for thickness measurement of cheeses with an accuracy of 99.98% (standard error = 0.089 mm). Results indicated that noncontact air instability compensation ultrasound technique has a good potential for nondestructive and accurate measurement of ultrasound parameters, thickness, and mechanical properties of food materials.