DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF AN IMPROVED MOTORIZED GROUNDNUT

SHELLER

BY

BUTU MUHAMMAD MALLAM

U15ME2005

SUPERVISOR: ENGR M. A. ADAMU

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF

ENGINEEERING (B.Eng) IN MECHANICAL ENGINNEERING

SEPT, 2019

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Groundnut (arachis hypogaea) is a species in the legume family. It contains 47-49% oil and 27-

28% protein and is a rich source of mineral and vitamins. It grows simply on soils that are well

drained, loosely textured and well supplied with calcium, potassium and phosphorus. Over 90

countries worldwide grow groundnut. Tushar walke et al [2009]. Developing countries

constitute 98% of the global area and 94% of the global production of this crop. The production

of groundnut is concentrated on Asia and Africa (55% and 38% of the global area and 69% and

26% of the global production respectively).Ganesh Gohate et al [2008] .Shelling is the removal

of grains from their pod or cub either by rubbing or impact action or any of these methods. The

most widely used method of shelling which is popular in northern part of Nigeria is the method

of crushing or pressing the pod between the thumb and the finger to break off the pods and

release the seed. This method has efficiency and has high demand of energy as well as time

consuming. In addition, the output per man hours is as low as 2.5kg of groundnut. (Taru et

al.2008)

Groundnuts are a high value crop that can be marketed with little processing but are extremely

versatile and can be used in a wide range of products. The oil can be used for cooking, they can

be used as a shortening or as a base for confectioneries and they can be used to make peanut

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butter. There are two types of groundnut, a bush and a runner. Hybrids of the two varieties have

been developed and are commercially available

The groundnut plants are annually harvested by being pulled or dug up. This is usually called

‘lifting’. There are various designs of equipment available to assist in lifting groundnuts. The

Industrial Development Centre (IDC) originally developed a groundnut lifter at Maidururi for the

savannah area of Northern Nigeria and later adapted for local manufacture for the ITDG project

in Magoye in Zambia.

This is the process of removing groundnuts in-shell from the haulm after lifting and, usually,

drying. This is normally done by hand and is a tedious and time consuming operation. The pods

are removed by picking or flailing.

Groundnuts are attacked by; the Bean leaf roller (Lamprosema indicata),Leafminern

(Stornopteryx subsecivella), Long-horned grasshopper(Phaneroptera furcifera), Cotton

leafhopper ( Empoasca biguttula),grasshopper ( Atractomorpha psittacina), June beetles

( Leucopholis irrorala), and Tiger moth caterpillar (Dasychira mendosa) amongst others

Oil contains high amounts of energy and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) and essential fatty

acids. The oil content of the kernels is between 45% and55%. The peanuts are prepared for the

oil extraction process by being shelled and cleaned. Oil production requires some type of press

with which to extract the oil form the groundnuts and filtering equipment. ITDG has developed a

simple manual screw press that would be suitable for extracting oil from peanuts, as well as

many other agricultural crops. There are quite a number of presses of very similar design, they

are simple to make, except for the screw which would have to be machined. (Food and

Agricultural Organization FOA)

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1.2 Statement of Problem

Abubakar and Abdulkadir (2012) reported that, traditional method of shelling groundnut has

proved to be inefficient, time consuming, laborious, and low output. Due to the lack of an

efficient motorized machine to shell groundnut, small scale farmers generally depend upon

manual shelling. These are time consuming operations and do not match the shelling

requirements within a limited period of time. Manual processing is still the norm in Nigeria

despite the drudgery and time wastage involved. The search for more efficient and cost effective

way of shelling raised the demand for the modification of groundnut shelling machine.

groundnut sheller was developed in 1985 and the design was based on the properties of the then

variety known as Ex-Dakar. The performance of the sheller was optimum with output capacity of

200 kg/h as reported by IAR (1987)

1.3 Aim and Objectives

The aim of this work is to design and construct an improved motorized groundnut sheller. The

objectives of this work are to;

i. Carryout design, analysis and calculation of the machine

ii. to construct the machine

iii. to carry out performance evaluation of the machine

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1.4 Scope

The design is based on how to modify and redesign the shelling unit to increase the shelling

efficiency of the motorized groundnut sheller using local available materials

1.5 Justification

Groundnut and cowpea are of great economic benefit to mankind. Therefore, developing the

groundnut Sheller will help to bridge the overtime disparity in its performance improvements

and subsequent modifications. It will provide an avenue for improving groundnut and cowpea

productivity, reduction of drudgery on such processes, and subsidize the cost of procuring

groundnut and cowpea shelling machinery by the farmers. It will also help to increase the

number of viable machines available for shelling of groundnut, cowpea and other related crops.

Drudgery is generally conceived as physical and mental strain, fatigue, monotony and hardships

experienced while doing a job.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Food Processing

Food processing is a way to improve their digestibility and enhance their appeal to the consumer.

Processing serves to extend the availability of foods, beyond the area of season of production,

this stability supplies and increasing food security of national and household level. (Ani et al,

2013)

Groundnut Sheller machine is used to remove the hand shell of groundnut and get red skin

peanut kernels automatically. The shelled peanut can be applied to ground oil production line.

Groundnut shelling machine is versatile in shelling not only groundnuts bit other oil seeds like

almonds, sunflower seed. It proper height makes it easy for the operator to feeds groundnut seed.

(Ibrahim et al., 2010)

2.2 Groundnut Characteristics

The main groundnut characteristics are their structure, physical and mechanical properties like

cracking stress variety coefficient of friction moisture content, size dimension and angle of

repose. Physical properties of seeds in machine design are recognized as important parameters to

6
be determined along with machine parameters. They are useful in sorting out many of the

problems associated with machine design in analysis of the behavior of products during

agricultural processing. Dimension such as geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter,

aspect ratio and sphericity describe the size and shape of the seed which influence its behavior

such as flow ability (Amoah, 2012).

2.3 Variety of Groundnuts

Studies on groundnut physical properties of various varieties have been carried out and their

research examination of some physical of Egyptian groundnut varieties yielded result in table

below.

Table 2.1 Physical Properties of Egyptian Groundnut

Kernel solid density (g/cm3) Shell solid density (g/cm3) Kernel bulk density (g/cm3) Shell bulk density (g/cm3) Angle of repose Coefficient of friction
0 . 8 8 - 0 . 9 3 0.27-0.30 0 . 5 4 - 0 . 5 9 0 - 0 6 6 - 0 . 0 7 2 2 9 0 0.23-0.76
Source: Akcah et al., (2006).

Akcah et al., (2006) determined the size of groundnut by measuring their principal acid

dimension. The mean, major, intermediate and minor diameters of kernels were found to be

8.54mm, 6.93mm and 3.55mm respectively. Angle of repose of kernels on wooden surface was

found to be 170 characteristics of two groundnut varieties used in an experiment had average

measurement is give in table below.

Table 2.2 Physical Properties of Two Groundnut Varieties

V a r i e t y Pod diameter (mm) Pod length (mm) Kernel diameter (mm) Kernel weight (g) Moisture content of pod at shelling (%)
Mampinta 1 2 . 6 3 1 . 9 7 . 8 1 . 4 1 2 - 2 2
Chines e 1 1 . 6 2 6 . 3 7 . 5 1 . 8 1 2 - 2 8

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Source: Gital et al., (2013)

A study by Gital et a; (2006) on the physical characteristic of groundnut varieties developed by

the international crops research ,institute for the semi and tropics (KRISAT) in Egypt yielded

results as shown in table bello above.

2.4 Moisture Content

Moisture content of seed refers to the quantity of water contained in the seed (Amoach, 2002).

According to armitage and wontner (2008), too moist cercals and oil seeds can be subtracting to

mould growth and mycotoxin production, mite infestation and sprouting.

Conversely, overdried grain before or during storage can result in splitting and cracking, low

quantity and wastage in energy utilization. As such moisture content of grain is one of the most

important parameters considered kilen deciding the quantity and prize of grain at the stage of

harvesting, storage, processing and marketing (Rai et al., 2008).

Gital et al., (2003) showed that shelling efficiency increased with decreased in moisture content

for all groundnut varieties studied. Gamol et al., (2009) found that increase in moisture content

lead to an increase in the major, minor and intermediate diameters of groundnut kernel. Result

from experiments for Bambara nuts indicated that moisture content had higher effect on

performance than feed rate. Thus, percentage seed damage increases with increase in moisture

content while shelling efficiency decreases with increase in moisture content (Atiku et al.,

20004). Nyaranga het al., (2007) gave a portable explanation of the effect, that as the moisture

content increases the efficiency decreases since the pods become friable, tending to a higher

percentage of unshelled groundnuts.

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The value of optimum content for shelling varies across researchers. Gital et al., (2003), and

Akcali et al., (2006) gave a figure of 5% while Nyananga et al., (2007) and Adedeji and Ayhebor

(2002) proposed 13% and 10-15% respectively (unless specified all moisture content are

expressed on a wet basis). Moisture conditioning can be carried out to obtain different desired

levels of moisture content. The formula employed in the process according to Gamal et al.,

(2009) is as follows;

Q = w i−¿ ¿ 2.1
where,

Q = mass of water to be added (kg)

wi = initial mass of the sample (kg)

mi = initial moisture content of the sample (%)

mf = final or desired moisture content of the sample

2.5 Feed Rate

Nyaanga et al., (2007) determined that feed rate increased with concave clearance. This was

explained by the fact that the bigger the opening in the diameter chambers the more pods that can

be shelled per revolution. Trials on a manual Sheller showed that in both rubber tyre and wood

paddle shellers. Feed rate of between 50-100kg/hr at an average of 75rpm does not significantly

affect shelling performance (chinsuwan, 1983). According to Amodu (2002), energy

consumption in soya bean and cowpeas threshing is directly proportional to feed rate and tip

cylinder speed irrespective of concave clearance in the case of castor oil, shelling capacity, here

referred to as mass flow rate was found to increase with increase in cylinder speed (Balami et al.,

2012).

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The determination of influence of groundnut feed rate on power consumption, shelling efficiency

and kernel damage will be part of the research work.

2.6 Classification of Shelling Machine Based On Power Source

Gore et al (1990) classified shelling machines depending on their power source in to:

. Manually operated shellers

Motorized shelling machine or power operated

2.6.1 Manually Operated Sheller

In developing countries like Nigeria, manual groundnut shelling is still the normal method

despite the drudgery and time wastage involved. The manual shelling process is achieved by

applying pressure to remove the cover of the groundnut. In some cases, groundnut is packed in a

sack and pressure is applied by beating the sack on a stone or any hard surfaces.

Pinson and walker, (1984) describe three types of manually operated sheller

(a) Semi-rotary type Sheller.

(b) Hand-operated Sheller with shelling cylinder which was rotated by hand, and

(c) Foot operated Sheller.

2.6.2 Motorized Groundnut Shelling Machine

Motorized groundnut machine is similar to various milling and grinding machine which are used

for the crushing of crop grains in to finer particles and are mostly used domestically to facilitate

10
or ease means of consumptions. The machine can either be powered by diesel engine or

electricity when electric motor is being connected to it.In that case, efficiency of shelling will be

increased and cost of labor will also be less

2.7 Classification Groundnut Shelling Machine Based On Shelling Action

Based on shelling action, the groundnut shellers could be classified in to;

(i) Reciprocating type

(ii) Continues or rotary sheller

2.8 History of Groundnut Processing Techniques

Cultivated groundnut belongs to genus Arachis in sub tribe Stylosanthinae of

tribeAeschynomenea of family Leguminosae. It is a self-pollinated, tropical annual legume. At

locations where bee activity is high, some cross-pollination can occur. Cultivated groundnut has

two subspecies, hypogaea and fastigiata, which in turn have two botanical varieties (var

hypogaea and var aequatoriana). Each of these botanical varieties have different plants, pod

and seed characteristics. However, most of the commercially cultivated varieties belongs to the

hypogaea (common name/market type: Virginia or runner), fastigiata (Valencia), and vulgaris

(Spanish) botanical variety groups. The characteristics of these three botanical varieties are

described below.

The Variety Hypogaea has no floral axes or branches on main stem; alternating pairs of

vegetative and reproductive axes on branches (alternate branching), inflorescence simple

vegetative branches moderate to profuse; primary branches longer than main stem, growth habit

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spreading, intermediate, or erect, usually two seeds per pod, pod beak not very prominent; seed

size medium (runner market type) to large (Virginia market type), taste colour generally tan

(red, white, purple, or variegated also exist), cured seed dormancy moderate and maturity

medium to late. The Variety of Fastigiata has Floral axes on main stem, irregular pattern

of vegetative and productive branches with reproductive branches predominating on

branches (sequential branching), inflorescence usually simple, vegetative branches sparse,

primary branches shorter than main stem, growth habit upright, two to four seeds per pod, pod

beak absent, slight, or prominent; seed size small to medium, testa color tan, red, white,

yellow, purple, or variegated and cured seeddormancy little. The Variety of Vulgarishas floral

axes on main stem; irregular pattern of vegetative and productive branches with reproductive

branches predominating, primary branches shorter than main stem; growth habit upright, mostly

two seeds per pod (three seeds are rare), beak may or may not be present; seed size small to

medium, test a color tan, red, white, or purple, cured seed dormancy limited. (Acharya k.t.1990)

2.8.1 Origin and Uses of Groundnut

It has been reported that South America was the place from where cultivation of groundnut

originated and spread to Brazil, Southern Bolivia and North-western Argentina. Groundnut was

introduced by the Portuguese from Brazil to West Africa and then to south-western India in the

16th century. Almost every part of groundnut is of commercial value.

2.8.2 Groundnut Oil

The groundnut oil has several uses but it is mainlyused as cooking oil. It is used in many

preparations, like soap making, fuel, cosmetics, shaving cream, leather dressings, furniture

cream, lubricants, etc. Groundnut oil is also used in making vanaspati ghee and in fatty acids

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manufacturing. It is also used as a medium of preservation for preparation of pickles, chutney,

etc. The groundnut oil is used in making different types of medicated ointments, plasters, syrups

and medicated emulsion. It is also used to make various food preparations like butter, milk,

candy and chocolate, chutney, groundnut pack, laddu, barfi (chukii), etc.

2.8.3 Kernel

Whole kernels are used for table purpose by frying, soaking, roasting and boiling and in different

types of nankeens. Roasted groundnut is the most popular way of eating. Kernels are also used as

a spice in vegetables and as sprouts for salad.

2.8.4 Groundnut Cake

It is a good feed for animals and poultry due to its nutritive value and palatability.

2.8.5 Ground Shell

Groundnut shell has great potential for commercial use. It is used as a fuel, filler in cattle feed,

hard particleboard, cork substitute, activated carbon, etc.

2.8.6 Groundnut Straw

It is mainly used as animal feed and fuel and in preparation of compost. The green leaves and

stems of plants are used as animal feed. The shells of pods obtained during threshing are also

used as cattle feed. Subba rao. et.al (1909)

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 Table 2.2 Food Value Of Groundnut

C o n t e n t P e r c e n t a g e

P r o t e i n 2 5 . 2 0

O i l 4 8 . 2 0

S t a r c h 1 1 . 5 0

S o l u b l e s u g a r 4 . 5 0

C r u d f i b e r 2 . 1 0

M o i s t u r e 6 . 0 0

Source; peanut in local and global food system report, dept of anthropology university of georgia

2.9 Climatic Requirements for Groundnut Crop

Groundnut is essentially a tropical plant. It requires a long and warm growing season. The most

favorable climatic conditions for groundnuts are a well-distributed rainfall of at least 50

centimeters during growing season, abundance of sunshine and relatively warm temperature. It

seems that plant will grow best when the mean temperature is 21°C to 26.5°C. Lower

temperatures are not suitable for its proper development. During the ripening period, it requires

about a month of warm, dry weather. Gitau et al (1956)

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2.10 Water Management in Groundnut Production

Being a rainy-season crop, groundnut does not require irrigation. However, if dry spell occurs,

irrigation may become necessary. One irrigation should be given at the pod development stage.

The field should be well drained. In the southern part of the country where groundnut is grown in

rabi season too, three to four irrigations are necessary. The first irrigation is given at the start of

flowering and the subsequent irrigations whenever required during the fruiting period to

encourage peg penetration and pod development. The last irrigation before harvesting facilitates

the full recovery of pods from the soil. (FOA 2008)

2.11 Importance of Groundnut

Groundnut is called as the ‘king’ of oilseeds. It is one of the most important food and cash crops

of our country. While being a valuable source of all the nutrients, it is a low-priced commodity.

Groundnut is also called as wonder nut and poor men’s cashew nut. The groundnut is particularly

valued for its protein content (26%). On equal weight basis (Kg for Kg), groundnuts contain

more protein than meat and about two and a half times more than eggs. In addition to protein,

groundnuts are a good source of calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc and boron. The groundnuts also

contain vitamin ‘E’ and small amounts of vitamin ‘B’ complex. High in calories, 5.6 calories nut

-1 (calorific value of 567). Being an oil seed crop, it contains 40 to 49% of oil.

Source;(groundnut,india central oilseed committee)

2.12 Concave Clearance

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A decrease in concave clearance leads to an increase in shelling efficiency and kernel damage.

While this general trend was observed by all researchers on the subject, their value for concave

clearance for optimum shelling were different.Nyaanga et al.(2007) observed that the efficiency

of the sheller increases from 73.6% at concave clearance of 20mm to a peak of 73.8% at 30mm

then decrease to 73.2% at 40mm.less damage could be obtained with larger clearance but

shelling efficiency would be substantially decreased .The same conclusion were reached by

Rostami et al.(2009) who observed that shelling efficiency decreased as clearance increased and

damage rapidly decreased as clearance increased from 8 to 12mm and gradually decreased from

12 to 20mm.

2.13 Type of Sieve

There are two types of sieves in common use, namely; the wire mesh sieve and the slotted grate

sieve. The sieve size is chosen depending on the size of groundnuts to be shelled. The wire mesh

size used in the experiments for manual shellers in Thailand was 11 mm by 11 mm (Chinsuwan,

1983). In the development of a groundnut sheller with a capacity of 35 kg/h, a concave made of

round steel bars of 5 mm diameter was employed (Park et al. , 1990). Helmy et al. (2007)

concluded that the performance of the wire mesh sieve was better than the slotted grate

2.14 Type of Shelling Blades

Groundnut pods are shelled when they get embedded in the space between shelling blades and

the concave sieve where they are acted upon by shearing, impact or frictional forces either singly

or in combination with each other. The characteristics of the blades that most likely affect

shelling performance include; their material type,shape and the number mounted on the cylinder.

Helmy et al. (2007) found out that the shelling efficiency, using rubber covered drum was less

16
than that of both steel and wooden drum. For shellers utilizing paddles, kernel damage due to

wood paddles was found to be substantially less than that due to rubber covered paddles, while

the difference in shelling efficiency was relatively small (Chinsuwan, 1983). Gitau et al. (2013)

determined that shelling efficiency was higher in steel rod beater shellers than wooden beater

shellers.

2.15 Review of Related Works

Kittichai (1984) developed a power-operated groundnut shelling machine. The author found that

the best performance of the machine was achieved at 20mm clearance and shelling bar speed of

180rpm. At these parameters the machine capacity, shelling efficiency and percentage of

breakage were 210.5kg-kernels/h, 98% and 5.3%, respectively. The power consumption of the

machine ranged from 1.0 to 1.1kW. Gore et al. (1990) classified the groundnut shelling

machineries, depending on their power sources, into manually operated and power -operated.

Based on shelling action, the machines could be classified into reciprocating type and continuous

or rotary type. The manually operated groundnut shelling machineries could be classified into

three subclasses such as (a) semi rotary type, (b) hand-operated type with shelling cylinder which

was rotated by hand, and(c) foot operated type. Abou El-Kheir and Shoukr (1993) studied the

effect of some operating parameters of shelling machine and natural properties of crop material

on shelling efficiency. The increase in number of drum beaters from 4 to 8 increased the number

of hits per unit time and increased shelling efficiency from 74 to 80.6% at drum speed of 1.83m/s

17
and from 87 to 92.5% at drum speed of 4.58m/s, shelling efficiency using rubber drum, was less

than that of both steel and wooden drum. Singh (1993) tested two types of concave in manual

shelling machine, the first was wire mesh concave and the second was slotted grate. Shelling

capacity with wire mesh concave was higher (86kg/h) compared to that of slotted grate (60kg/h).

This is due to increased opening area. For wire mesh concave the shelling efficiency ranged

from 83 to 89% compared to the slotted type, which ranged from 82 to 84%. Also, the

percentage of breakage ranged from 3.7 to 6.7% and from 8.4 to 12.6% for wire mesh and

slotted grate respectively.Younis et al. (1997) developed a peanut shelling machine. Results

of the machine evaluation indicated that breakage was reduced from 57 to 54%, cleaning

efficiency increased from 67 to about 96%, decreased from 57 to about 4% in comparison with

the initial performance of the shelling machine. Helmy (2001)designed, built and evaluated a

reciprocating shelling machine to study the effects of some operating parameters on

shelling peanut from the pods. The author concluded that, the peanut shelling efficiency was

95.44% at about 17.12% moisture content on dry basis, when the speed, the clearance and

feed rate were 1.4m/s, 18mm and 80kg/h respectively. Dauda (2001) designed, constructed and

evaluated the performance of a manually operated cowpea thresher for small scale farmers in

Northern Nigeria. Results obtained gave a threshing efficiency of 85.9, 84.6 and 84.1% for

Kanannado, Borno Brown and Aloka local respectively. Seed damage was 1.8, 2.3 and

1.9% for Kanannado, Borno Brown and Aloka local, respectively. Winnowing efficiency at

372 rpm fan speed was 92.75, 92.5 and 92.35% for Kanannado, Borno Brown and Aloka local

respectively. Throughput capacity was 95.4, 93.5 and 92.8 kg/h for Kanannado, Borno

Brown and Aloka Local, respectively. Mulleriyawa (2008) reported a star product called

“Mahaweli Agro Multi Thresher”, a highly versatile machine which threshes, and cleans grains

18
in one operation. The machine can be used for a variety of crops such as green gram, black

gram, cowpea and soybean. It can also thresh corn by changing the drum.

CHAPTER THREE

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 MATERIALS AND METHOD

3.1 Description of the Groundnut Shelling Machine

Various components will put together in the fabrication of this machine. These parts are: the
frame, hopper, shelling chamber and delivery chute

Hopper
Sheller
Sieve
Grain O
Bearing Frame

Pulley
Shaft
Belt
Electric
Motor
Motor
Pulley

Schematic of Grou

Fig 3.1

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3.2 Part of The Shelling Machine

3.2.1 Feed Hopper

Feed hopper (fig 3.1) is a unit of the sheller in which unshelled groundnut kernels are fed in to

the shelling chamber, thereby regulating the amounts of groundnut kernels during the shelling

operation, hopper slant sides are at an inclination of kernel’s repose angle to prevent kernels

from piping

3.2.2 Driving Mechanism (Shaft)

The shaft (fig 3.1) will be mounted horizontally passing through the center of the drum and will

be supported by sliding contact bearing at each edge for easy operation. Belt drive will be use to

drive the shaft because of less noise and easy operation

3.2.3 Shelling Unit

The shelling unit (fig 3.1) which housed the vanes where the shelling occurred.it consists of

spikes which will be used to increase the impact force

3.2.4 Support Frame

Support frame (fig 3.1) provide support and rigidity needed to keepthe different part of the

machine in position

3.2.5 Delivery Chute

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Delivery chute (fig 3.1) is the outlet, through which the mixture of kernels and chaffs are

discharged out of the machine .Similar to the hopper ,angle of repose of the shelled kernels will

be consider in the inclination of the delivery chute to enable free flow of the selled kernels and

chaff out of the machine.

3.3 Working Principle of the Machine

Groundnut sheller is operated based on the shearing action. Firstly the inputs i.e. the

groundnut are fed to the machine through the hopper. Then groundnuts come in contact with

the two components, one is semicircular net and another is roll shaft. Semicircular net is a

stationary member while the roll shaft is rotating member. When the groundnut comes in

contact with these two members then the shearing action takes place here. Due to

shearing action (crushing) the groundnuts gets shelled and divided into two parts. i.e. in the

peanut and outer shell of the groundnuts. There clearance is provided between the net and roll

shaft. The clearance provided is depends upon the size of the groundnuts which is to be shelled.

After shelling the groundnut, the peanut and shells of the groundnut gets dropped from the

semicircular net, in downward direction. Due to more weight, the peanuts gets moved downward

and collected in the delivery ( Gibau et al.2007)

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 Hopper
Sheller
Sieve
Grain Outlet
Bearing Frame
Pulley
Shaft
Belt
Electric
Motor
Motor
Pulley

Schematic of Groundn

3.4 Design Considerations

3.4.1 Average Thickness of Groundnut

An average thickness of 10mm of groundnut shell was observed and adopted as a minimum

concave clearance between the screen mesh and the roller shaft (American Eurasia agric and

environmental sci 2009)

23
3.4.2 Concave Grate (Holes)

The concave grate holes were of different opening based on the size of the peanut. For this the

holes were of rectangular opening with rounded corners of 25mmx15mm.However the sieves

were fitted in the frame as concave

3.4.3 Volume of Hopper

The feed hopper design and its orientation were designed based on angle of repose of the pods

for selected crop .It was designed at a height 180mm and width of 137mm .The bottom faces of

front and back were inclined at an angle of 38° and 43° respectively

Area and the volume of the hopper is given by the expression outline by Sanjay (2010) as

A=WL 3.1

V =L × H ×W 3.2

Where W =¿is the width (mm)

L=¿ lenght (mm)

H=¿ height (mm)

3.4.4 Volume of Cylindrical Shelling Unit

The shelling drum is a cylindrical container that houses the roller shaft and semicircular screen

mesh, and a mild sheet of 1mm thickness and density of 7700kg/m was selected for the design

(Gitau et al 2012). its volume was calculated using the expressions outline by sanjay 2010 as

V =π (R 2−r 2 ) L 3.3

24
And mass as ρ ×V 3.4

Where V =¿ is the volume of the cylinder

R=¿ Radius of the outer diameter

r =¿ Radius of the inner diameter

L=¿ is the length of the cylinder

ρ=¿ density of the material

3.4.5 Capacity of The Machine

3.10 Shaft Diameter

Shaft diameter will be determined by applying the equivalent twisting moment formula

3
T e =√ ¿¿ = π d 3.5
16

Where;

Te = equivalent twisting moment

Me = equivalent bending moment

Mmax = maximum bending moment on shaft

Ttorq = torque acting on the shaft

And

25
 Ttorq = (T1 + T2)R 3.6

T1= tension in the tight side of the belt

T2 = tension on the belt slack side

R = radius of the pulley

3.11 Power Required for Shelling

The power required for shelling groundnut /cowpea pods as reported by Abubakar

and Abdulkadir (2012) is expressed as follows;

li
P=W K K F C log e 3.7
lf

Where: P=¿ Power (W)

F c ¿Crushing strength of groundnut 50N

K k = Kick‟s constant 1.2

W =¿Average weight of unshelled groundnut (1.11g)

l i = Average length of unshelled groundnut (20.83mm)

l f = Average length of shelled groundnut (11.08mm)

Source; (physical properties of groundnut S.J food engineering 2009)

3.12 Determination of Cylinder Shaft Torsional Moment

26
Hall and Hallowenko, (1982) gave torsional moment as;

60 P
Mt = 3.8
2 πN

3.13 Power Transmission Parameters

(i) Pulley Diameters and Speed Ratio Relationship:

The pulleys diameter will have determined using the expression outlined by Sanjay (2010) as;

N1D1¿N2D2 3.9

Where; N1=speed of the larger pulley

D1=diameter of the larger pulley

N2=speed of the smaller pulley

D2=diameter of the smaller pulley

The size and the speed of the one pulley were determined as prime mover pulley (

D p=100 mm N p =390 rpm¿ and cylinder shaft pulley ( D c =300 mm N p=130rpm )

(ii) Belt Length

The effective belt length was selected using the relationship outline by sanjay (2010) as,

π
Lb= ( D 1 + D 2 ) +¿ ¿ 3.10
2

Where D1=¿ Diameter of the driver pulley (mm)

27
 D2=¿ Diameter of driven pulley (mm)

x=¿ Centre distance between the driver and driven pulley (mm)

The machine design required a set one pulley as prime mover and cylinder shaft pulley

(iii) Centre Distance

The center to center distance between the driver and driven pulleys was estimated using the

expression given by Khurmi and Gupta (2007) as

D 2 < x <3 ¿ + D2) 3.11

(iv) Angle of Contact of Belt

The angle of contact of the belt with the smaller pulley was determined using the expression

outline by Sanjay (2010) as,

θ=180−2 sin −1 ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ 3.12

where θ=¿Angle of contact of (° ¿

r 1=¿Radius of the driver pulley (mm)

r 2=¿¿ Radius of the driven pulley (mm)

(iv) Belt Speed

Belt speed was estimated using the expression given by Khurmi and Gupta (2007) as,

πDN
V= 3.13
60

28
Where, V =¿Belt speed(m/s)

N=¿Drive speed (rpm)

D=¿Diameter of drive pulley (mm)

(V) Bearing Rubbing Velocity

Bearing rubbing velocity was estimated using the expression outline by by Khurmi and Gupta

(2007) as,

π ds N
V= 3.14
60

Where V =¿ rubbing velocity (m/s)

d s =¿ diameter of the shaft (mm)

N=¿ speed of the pulley (rpm)

(vi) heat generated in the bearing

The heat generated in the bearing was estimated using the expression outline by by Khurmi and

Gupta (2007) as,

Q g=¿μFV ¿ 3.15

Where μ=¿ is the coefficient of friction (0.3)

F=¿ total weight on shaft (N)

V =¿ rubbing velocity (m/s)

29
3.14 Concave Radius

The radius of curvature was estimated using the expression given by Dango etal (2006) as,

r c =r d +h p + c c 3.16

Where r c =¿Concave radius (mm)

r d =¿Radius of the cylinder drum (mm)

h p =¿Peg height above the drum (mm)

c c =¿ Concave clearance (mm)

3.16 Grain Delivery Chute

The grain outlet was designed and positioned beneath the shelling chamber it has a rectangular

shape inclined at an angle of 11.98°

30
3.2 Design Calculations

S/N Initial Data Calculation Result

1 F c =¿ 150N Energy required to shell groundnut \

k c ¿ 1.2 from eqn 3.7

l f ¿ 20.83 mm li P=412.46 w
P=W K k F c log e
lf

l i=11.08 mm
20.83
¿ 10.89×1.2 ×50 × log e
11.08
W =1.11 g

2 L=180 mm Area of the hopper

W =180 mm from eqn 3.1 A=0.025 m2

A=WL ¿ 180 ×137

3 L=180 mm Volume of hopper

H=137 mm From eqn 3.2 V =4.43 ×10−3 m3

W =180 mm V =L ×W × H

¿ 180 ×137 ×180

4 L=390 mm Volume of shelling drum

R=75 mm From eqn 3.3 V =1.092 ×10−3 m 3

31
 r =73 mm V =π ( R ¿ ¿ 2−r 2 ) L ¿

¿ π (0.0752−0.0732)×0.39

5 ρ=7700 kg m−3 Mass of shelling drum

V =6.892×10−3 m from eqn 3.4 M =8 kg

M =ρv

¿ 7700 × 1.092× 10−3 m 3

6 M =53 kg Total weight on the shaft

g=9.81 ms−2 from eqn 3.5 F=78.48 N

F=Mg=8 × 9.81

7 D=300 mm Belt speed (cylinder) V =2.04 m/s

N=130 rpm from eqn 3.13

πDN
V=
60

π (0.3) ×130
¿
60

8 r 1=150 mm Angle of contact of belt

r 2=50 mm From eqn 3.12 θ=141°

x=300 mm

32
 r 1−¿ r
θ=180−2 sin−1 2
¿
x

150−50
¿ 180−2sin−1
300

9 D 1=¿300 mm ¿ Length of belt

D 2=¿100 mm ¿ from eqn 3.9 l b=¿1260 mm ¿

x=300 mm L π
b=¿ ¿¿
2

π 300−100
¿ (300+100) +2 ×300
2 4 ×300

r d =75 mm Concave radius

10 h p =7 mm from eqn 3.16 r c =105 mm

c c =23 mm r c =r d +h p + c c

¿ 75+7+23

V mbis the vertical Bending moment of the shaft

bending moment
of the shaft V mb=283.59 Nmm
11 H mb is the
horizontal
H mb=236.3 Nmm
bending moment
V mb ×550=78.48× 300
of the shaft

Taking moment about y

H mb ×550=78.48× 250

33
 V mb=283.59 Nmm Total bending moment of the shaft M b=369.13 Nmm

12 H mb=236.3 Nmm M b= √ ¿ ¿ ¿

√¿

Cylinder shaft torsional moment

P=373 w From eqn 3.8
60 P
13 Mt= M t =27.4 Nm
2 πN
N=130 rpm

60× 373
¿
2 π 130

14
M t =27.4 Nm Shaft diameter

M b=0.36913 Nm From eqn 3.4 d s =0.020 m

K t =1.5 16 ¿ 20 mm
d 3s = √¿ ¿ ¿
πτ

K b =2.0
16
¿ √¿ ¿
π × 40 ×106
τ =40 ×10 6 N m−2
Rubbing velocity between the shaft and
N=130 rpm bearing
πd N
15 From eqn 3.14 V = s
60
V =0.102m/ s
π × 0.015× 130
¿
60

Q g=15.9 J
Heat generated in the bearing
V =0.102m−2 From eqn 3.15 Qq =μFV
16

34
 μ=0.3 ¿ 0.3 ×519.93 ×0.102

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Method of Testing

The machine will be test using a four separate experimental samples of 100 groundnut seed will

be poured in to the hopper while the machine is running. after each group passed through the

machine, the output will be analyzed by physically counting the shell, unshelled,partially

shelled ,broken or shattered groundnut ,the sum of the shelled and shattered groundnuts makes

up the shelling efficiency

Test Shelled Unshelled Partially Shattered % Shelled

35
4

36
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