Betel nut (Areca Catechu Linn.), also known as areca nut, has
applications as human and animal medicine and is used in the
paint and leather industries (Niamhom and Jarimopas, 2005).
Thailand in 2003 exported US$ 13.7mof over-mature betel nut
(Niamhom et al., 2006).
In order to make use of the dry betel nut, the nut fruit has
firstly to be dehusked into a nut. Fig. 1 depicts the structure of
the dry over-mature betel nut fruit. As can be seen, it
comprises of a nut firmly attached to a husk on the side that is
closest to the stem, while a gap exists on the other side
because of the separation of the nut from the husk as a result
of loss of moisture.
The mechanical properties of the areca nut in relation to
dehusking were studied by Balasubramanian and Panwar
(1986). They have found that lateral shear with a rubbing action
might be suitable for dehusking the fruit. They have further