PERFORMANCE OF A MODIFIED PULSE SHELLER UNDER SELECTED MACHINE FACTORS
Publication Date : 01/02/2017
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Abstract :
Pulse sheller was designed with a view to shelling different varieties of leguminous crops such as groundnut, cowpea, among others. The size of the existing machine was modified resulting in the re-design of virtually all components for pulse shelling. The sieve was initially designed with round holes which were suitable for cowpea shelling but not groundnut and an oval shape was redesigned for its shelling. The clearance adjuster was also modified to facilitate shelling of different crops varieties. The performance was evaluated using a local groundnut variety - “Bahaushiya”. A combination of four cylinder speed levels; 130, 140, 150 and 160 rpm and three concave clearances; 19, 21 and 23 mm, were used for the performance evaluation of the modified pulse shelling machine. The effects of some selected machine factors; cylinder speed and concave clearance, were assessed statistically in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and Least Significant Difference (LSD) was employed to assess the effects of parameter levels. The optimum performance of the modified machine using groundnut crop was found at a cylinder speed of 160 rpm and a 21 mm concave clearance. These gave an output capacity, shelling efficiency, cleaning efficiency, scatter loss and damaged grains of 232.85 kg/h, 94.45, 96.95, 5.82 and 17.44 % respectively. The cylinder speed was found to have positive linear trends with the all performance indices at various concave clearances except grains damage. The results revealed that cylinder speeds significantly affected all the performance indices except output capacity while concave clearances have no significant effect on output capacity and shelling efficiency
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