Development and Performance Evaluation of a Hand Operated Maize Sheller

Authors : Muyıwa OKUSANYA, Francis AGBONGİABAN

Pages : 1-14

Doi:10.46592/turkager.1178281

View : 57 | Download : 67

Publication Date : 2023-06-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Maize is a popular food crop of the world. After harvest, maize is shelled traditionally by small holders of farms. This method has not proved to be effective due to drudgery attached, kernel breakage and poor shelling capacity. Over time, motorized shellers have been introduced to address the challenges faced by processors; they have not gained widely adoption due to unaffordable cost of owning one. There is the need to design a cost effective and eco-friendly solution that will suit the need of subsistence farmers in the industry. This work focuses on development of a hand-operated maize sheller. A major component is the lever arm fitted to a ball bearing to transfer rotational motion to stripping chute. The machine uses the principle of abrasion to shell maize. Model insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(Y=54.92+ 0.248 X1-2.68 X2 ± 1.187); obtained from evaluation reveals that shelling capacity is a function of two predictors, speed insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(X1); and moisture content insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(X2);. For every unit increase in cranking speed at a particular moisture content insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(23.2%, 18.5% or 14%); shelling capacity increases considerably. When the experiment is run at much lower moisture content insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(18.5%); shelling capacity increases significantly. The machine reached highest shelling capacity insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(60 kg h-1.); at lowest moisture content insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(14%); and highest speed insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(120 rpm);. The machine was developed at affordable cost of $61. Shelling efficiency is also a function of speed and moisture content at which it is processed. For this condition, maximum shelling efficiency is achieved at lowest moisture content possible insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(14%); and terminal speed of 80 rpm. Mechanical damage resulted when the speed and moisture content are inconsiderably high. The machine is suitable for use by small and medium scale processors; it can efficiently replace the manual shelling methods as it is affordable, less stressful and easy to maintain.
Keywords : Crank, Stripping chute, Sheller, Multivariate data, Shelling capacity