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Design and Development of Maize Dehusker cum Sheller: A Technology for

Northern Transition Zone of Karnataka, India

Article in Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India) Series A · February 2018

DOI: 10.1007/s40030-018-0281-z

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Design and Development of Maize
Dehusker cum Sheller: A Technology for
Northern Transition Zone of Karnataka,
India

Rudragouda Chilur & Sushilendra

Kumar

Journal of The Institution of

Engineers (India): Series A
Civil, Architectural, Environmental and
Agricultural Engineering

ISSN 2250-2149

J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A

DOI 10.1007/s40030-018-0281-z

1 23
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 Author's personal copy
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40030-018-0281-z

ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION

Design and Development of Maize Dehusker cum Sheller:

A Technology for Northern Transition Zone of Karnataka, India
Rudragouda Chilur1 • Sushilendra Kumar2

Received: 2 June 2017 / Accepted: 4 February 2018

Ó The Institution of Engineers (India) 2018

Abstract The Maize (Zea mays L.) crop is one of the most Introduction
important cereal in agricultural production systems of
Northern Transition Zone (Hyderabad-Karnataka region) in The agricultural production systems in India are based
India. These Hyderabad Karnataka farmers (small-med- upon mixed farming, which has two major enterprises are
ium) are lack of economic technologies with maize crops and livestock. Farmers mix these two enterprises to
dehusking and shelling, which fulfils the two major needs diversify the use of their resources for maximizing family
as crops and as livestock in farming. The portable medium income [1]. As per study of Directorate of Maize Research,
size (600 kg/h capacity) electric motor (2.23 kW) operated livestock production is contributing 7% to National GDP
Maize Dehusker cum Sheller (MDS) was designed to and a source of employment and ultimate livelihood for
resolve the issue by considering engineering properties of 70% of the population in rural areas. In other hand, climate
maize. The developed trapezium shaped MDS machine change presents a major risk to long term food security as it
having overall dimensions (length 9 (top and bot- may decline wheat and maize yields by 5–10% by 2050
tom) 9 height) of 1200 9 (500 and 610) 9 810 mm. The (ICAR Vision-2050). So, the care is need to be taken for
selected operational parameters viz, cylinder peripheral maize crop yield and livestock [2]. Since, maize is one of
speed (7.1 m/s), concave clearance (25 mm) and feed rate the important staple food as well as grown across all the
(600 kg/h) were studied for machine-performance and states, it ranks third in production (24.17 mt) and fifth in
seed-quality parameters. The performance of machine area (9.06 m-ha) during 2013–14 [3]. In India maize is
under these parameters showed the dehusking efficiency of grown in all the seasons, of which nearly 90% during
99.56%, shelling efficiency of 98.01%, cleaning efficiency Kharif, 7–8% during Rabi and 1–2% during Summer [4].
of 99.11%, total loss of 3.63% machine capacity of Karnataka state is the second largest maize producing
527.11 kg/kW-h and germination percentage of 98.93%. (4.1 mt) state contributing to 17% of total country pro-
Overall machine performance was found satisfactory for duction (24.17 mt) after Andhra Pradesh.
maize dehusking cum shelling operation as well as to In farming, mechanization is viewed as package of
produce the maize grains for seeding purpose. technologies to proper crop management to be a profited. It
is reported level of mechanization in harvesting and
Keywords Maize properties  Maize dehusking shelling  threshing is below 20% [4]. Traditionally, dehusking and
Thresher design shelling of maize are carried out by manually which
involves a lot of drudgery [5–8]. The grains were detached
from dried dehusked cobs by manual or mechanical devi-
& Rudragouda Chilur ces, which is known as shelling. The output of manual
[email protected]
separation reported to be 30 kg/h with shelling efficiency
1
Agricultural Mechanization Division, ICAR-Central Institute of 80% and grain damage of 8.3% [9]. It was also reported
of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, India that the per cent recovery of grain from maize cob in
2
College of Agricultural Engineering, University of manual shelling was 78.4% [10]. Thus, this operation is
Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka, India highly labour intensive and more drudgery in addition to

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losses of grain in terms of quantity and quality. The

capacity of manually operated equipment varied from 27 to
150 kg h-1 which is suitable for marginal farmers, whereas
1000–1800 kg h-1 for engine operated and more than
2000 kg h-1 for tractor operated equipment are suitable for
large farmers. The available equipment are suits only for
certain group of farmers (marginal and large farmers),
while in the country, about 80.3% of farmers are marginal
and small group cultivating 36% of the area [7]. So, there is
a genuine need for developing a power operated maize
dehusker cum sheller of capacity ranging from 400 to
800 kg h-1 suitable for small and medium farmers with
higher level of dehusking and shelling efficiency. Keeping
the above factors in view, present study was undertaken on
development and evaluation of Maize Dehusker cum
Sheller (MDS) of Northern Transitions Zone of Karnataka.

Materials and Methods

Fig. 1 Different dimensions of un-dehusked cob, grain and shelled
cob used in study. 1. Stalk length, 2. Length of un-dehusked cob, 3.
The engineering properties of maize and the details of Diameter of un-dehusked maize cob, 4. Husk/sheath, 5. Minimum
procedure adopted for design, development, performance diameter of cob without grains, 6. Maximum diameter of cob without
evaluation and optimizing operating parameters of MDS grains, 7. Length of the shelled maize cob
have been presented in this chapter. This work carried out
in College of Agricultural Engineering, Raichur. The lon- Aerodynamic Property
gitude and latitude of the study location is 77°190 46.6712E
and 16°110 53.4862N. The most essential aerodynamic property: terminal veloc-
ity; in agricultural products air-conveying systems, sepa-
Engineering Properties of Maize ration and cleaning equipment design requires terminal
velocity information of components involved. In present
The present investigation involves maize dehusking, shel- study, the terminal velocity was measured using a
ling and cleaning of grain form foreign matter. To suit mechanically controlled air stream column, over which
locality, most growing four maize varieties’ (viz. Mahyco samples (maize-grains and husk) were dropped against to
(Hero 550), Hema hybrid variety, Ganga Kaveri (GK- this air stream column from the top whereas other end
3090) and CP818) cobs, gains and husk properties (phys- supplies air from air-pump and this air-stream measured by
ical, aero-dynamical and frictional) studied. Since this digital anemometer having a least count of 0.1 m/s. The
basic information is important and help towards the sample blown-up air-stream velocity in column to suspend
development of equipment [11–14], the 20 randomly the material is considered as terminal velocity of that
selected maize from all selected four varieties were sample material. The Material Other Than Grain (MOG)
selected for the study. The different linear measurements of coming to separation and cleaning unit after feed passing
maize-cob, grain, and husk were measured from digital through threshing drum was taken for study [16, 17].
Vernier caliper and weighed by balance with an accuracy
of 0.01 mm and 0.01 g, respectively. These different Frictional Properties
properties were shown in Fig. 1.
The frictional properties such as angle of repose and
Physical Properties of the Maize coefficient of friction are considered in designing of hop-
pers, pneumatic conveying systems and cleaning separation
Using linear measurements, various physical properties of unit. For measuring the angle of repose, a rectangular box
maize were determined [14] to decide dimensions of the filled with grains was kept horizontal. The grains were then
different machine component viz. roundness [13, 15], allowed to fall on a horizontal circular disc kept below the
geometric mean diameter, surface area [16, 19]. Bulk box. The flow of grains was stopped after the grains were
density [17], test weight and grain to straw ratio were fully heaped on the disc. The coefficient of friction was
determined as per the standard procedure [17]. used to determine the angle at which hopper, collecting

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tray and chute must be positioned to achieve consistent tooth for cereals and desired feed capacity
flow of materials [18]. (q = 0.167 kg s-1). The following relation (Eq. 2) was
used [23].
Design and Development of Power Operated Maize q ¼ qp z ð2Þ
Dehusker cum Sheller
where qp = Permissible feed rate per tooth/spike (0.0026–
Dehusking cum Shelling Cylinder 0.04 kg s-1 per tooth for ear head to whole crop feed).
z ¼ Number of lugs required
Principle of working: The axial flow system was adopted
in the present design to pass un-dehusked maize-cobs Since, the operation planned for dehusking as well as
through clearance zone between cylinder and sieve [called shelling, the ‘qp’ was assumed as 0.0038 kg s-1 per tooth
as Concave Clearance (C)]. Due to the rotation of cylinder 0:167 ¼ 0:0038 z; z ¼ 43:94  44
with peripheral helical-pathed squared-lugs arrangement,
Based on length of cob (Fig. 1), eight (8 beaters
un-dehusked maize-cobs bears several movements, rather
assumed previously) rows of solid lugs was arranged in
than making undisturbed pass in a cross flow cylinder. This
along axis of cylinder. The four rows of 6 lugs-beater and
helps in getting more retention time during continuous
four rows of 5 lugs-beater were arranged staggered (zig
feeding of cobs [20–22]. The angled impacts form lugs
zag) in alternative rows to makes 44 lugs (4 row 9 6
with heavy abrasion due to cylinder rotation leads to
lugs ? 4 row 9 5 lugs = 44 lugs). The lug centre to
tearing of husk as well as removal of grains takes place.
centre distance in row along axis was kept as 190 mm
(Fig. 2) for create helical-flow towards cob-outlet from
Cylinder Design
inlet side, which is more than average length of un-
dehusked cob (190 mm). The size of each square solid lug
During the development of power operated MDS, it was
was of 6 mm thick 9 25 mm width 9 42 mm height. Due
kept in mind that the equipment should be suitable for
to zig-zag arrangement, lug spacing of 95 mm is obtained
small, marginal and medium farmers for capacity in
during rotation, which leads to impacts with abrasion to
between 200 and 800 kg h-1. The diameter, length, and
cobs. In each row of six lugs, first and last lugs were
peripheral velocity of threshing cylinder were deciding
mounted parallel to axis of rotation on the cylinder outer
factors for threshing capacity [21, 29]. Hence, the length of
surface, where as other lugs were placed at an angle of 45°
cylinder (lc) of axial flow maize dehusker cum sheller was
in clockwise. The schematic view of the cylinder with lugs
calculated by existing relation [23] i.e. using following
positions were shown in the Fig. 2.
equation (Eq. 1).
Hence, the actual cylinder drum diameter except lugs
q ¼ q0 l c M ð1Þ height on circular surface of the drum was found from
where q = Desired feed rate to be assumed for developing Eq. 3;
maize dehusker cum sheller, kg s-1; q0 = Permissible feed
rate as per standard recommendations by
-1 -1
[23] = 0.0216 kg s m for cereals; lc = Length of
cylinder, m; M = Number of beating bars/rows (for cereals
M = 4–8).
The feed rate (q) was taken as 0.167 kg s-1 for feeding
cobs continuously based on requirement. Permissible feed
rate (q0) was taken as 0.0216 kg s-1 m-1 length of the
cylinder as per standard recommendations. Number of
beaters (M) for making cylinder was taken as eight, as the
recommended values for the cereals threshers were 4–8
[21, 23]. Thus, the cylinder length (lc) was found 0.96 m
(by using Eq. 1), on safer side it was kept as 1000 mm. The
diameter of cylinder (Dc) including lugs height was kept
250 mm to achieve the designed peripheral tip speed of
cylinder in this prototype. The number of lugs required (z)
was calculated by considering a permissible feed rate per Fig. 2 Isometric view of the dehusking cum shelling cylinder

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Table 1 Engineering properties of the maize seeds

Properties Average values of varieties SD Mean
Hero 550 Hema variety GK 3090 CP 818

Physical properties
Roundness 0.24 0.32 0.30 0.28 0.03 0.28
Geometric mean diameter (mm) 7.64 7.10 8.04 8.00 0.43 7.69
2
Surface area (mm ) 198.89 182.04 226.06 229.67 22.71 209.17
Bulk density (g cm-3) 0.78 0.77 0.73 0.69 0.04 0.74
Test weight (1000 grain) (g) 317.60 314.83 224.13 249.77 46.96 276.58
Grain straw ratio 3.16 2.88 3.85 3.29 0.41 3.30
Aerodynamic property
Terminal velocity (m/s)
Huska 1.26 1.18 1.12 1.22 0.06 1.20
Grainb 14.56 15.08 15.22 15.60 0.43 15.12
Frictional properties
Angle of repose of grains (°) 21.16 23.24 22.89 23.73 1.12 22.76
Coefficient of friction of maize seeds over surface of
Seeds 0.29 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.02 0.31
Plywood 0.36 0.33 0.39 0.32 0.03 0.35
MS sheet 0.42 0.46 0.44 0.45 0.02 0.44
Wood 0.49 0.48 0.53 0.51 0.02 0.50
a
The husk and chaffed straw coming to separation and cleaning unit after passing through threshing drum was took for study
b
The grains moisture content during study was 11–13.51% (w. b.)

¼ ðCylinder diameter; mmÞ maize-grain linear measurements (Fig. 1)] made of gal-
 ðLug height; mm  2Þ; ¼ 250  ð42  2Þ vanised iron having 1.5 mm thickness and length of were
ð3Þ 1020 mm. To provide provision for adjustment of the
¼ 166 mm ð 6:5 inch diameter ðouterÞ
concave clearance, the threaded bolts were placed on flat
hallow cylinder drum is usedÞ (31.75 mm width 9 6.35 mm thick 9 75.4 mm length),
this was welded over main frame angle vertically. So, the
Concave Assembly
overall dimensions of the concave were found to be
1020 mm length 9 155 mm radius. The concave clear-
Concave is the component which provides space for
ances (C) were optimized based on performance; since
dehusking and shelling of maize and is located at bottom
provision is given to adjust the C.
side of the cylinder. It consists of three halves circular bend
(25.4 mm width and 6.3 mm thick spaced at 500 mm along
cylinder length of 1020 mm) MS flats support, square rods
(10 mm 9 10 mm for 1020 mm) placed along axis and
two MS flat at both top surface as a reinforcement to
increase the strength of frame. The square rods of length
were welded over inner side of the flat by making four
equal sections along the cylinder rotation axis to increase
disturbance. In order to detach the grains and husk over the
cob, the size of the square rod size was selected based on
the arithmetic and geometric mean diameter of the maize
grains i.e. 8.15 and 7.69 mm (Table 1). The whole concave
was supported on top four corner bolts (fully threaded
12.7 mm diameter). The schematic view of the concave
assembly is shown in Fig. 3. The bottom of the concave
was provided with sieve size of 12 mm perforated holes
(based on maximum arithmetic diameter [Table 1) and Fig. 3 The line diagram of concave threshing cylinder

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Top Cover, Hopper and Cob-Outlet Assembly Selection of Prime Mover

Half circled cylindrical shape of MS sheet (1080 mm It is evident from the literature that, there exist a definite
length 9 160 mm diameter 9 1.5 mm thick) top cover relationship between feed rate, cylinder peripheral speed
was used with selected ‘throw-in’ type feeding hopper to and power requirement for dehusking and shelling of maize
feed cobs by gravity flow. The hopper height from the crop. The power requirement increases with the increase in
ground level was 1400 mm. The hopper had rectangular the feed rate and cylinder peripheral speed [24–26]. It has
opening of 250 mm in length and 350 mm wide was pro- been observed from literature that, for a feed rate of above
vided with perpendicular to cylinder axis and 10 mm offset 1000 kg h-1, the cylinder peripheral speed varied in
to side of threshing cylinder axis was provided. The feed between 8 and 9.1 m/s while it was 5.5–8 m/s for a feed
hopper opening was placed away from the rotational axis rate in between 300 and 1000 kg h-1 [13, 25]. Since, the
of drum, which helps to self-suctioning of cobs without any design of MDS was carried out suitable (for marginal,
assistance [14, 20]. small and medium farmers) for the Feed Rate(F)s in
A square opening of 250 mm width and extended in between 400 and 800 kg/h, the Cylinder Peripheral
curved shape horizontally about 200 mm from outer sur- Speed(S)s between 6.2 and 7.6 m/s at 20–35 mm Concave
face provided as an outlet of dehusked and shelled cobs and Clearance(C)s were selected for optimize its performance.
husk (called as cob outlet). This outlet was provided on To determine/select a suitable size of prime mover, the
same side of blower outlet tray to keep the operator away trials were conducted in laboratory immediately after the
from the dust and other threshed plant mass coming out development of MDS cylinder and concave assembly. The
from the outlet. The top cover was horizontally on the main studies revealed that, the maximum power consumption of
frame with nut and bolt arrangement so that it could be 1160 W was observed for a feed rate 800 kg/h at 7.6 m/s
easily opened whenever required. The schematic view of cylinder peripheral speed. Considering the losses in the
the top cover and hopper with outlet is shown in Fig. 4. power transmission system, initial loads and sudden loads
on system, a three phase 2.23 kW, 950 rated rpm electric
Grain Collecting and Cleaning Unit motor was selected as prime mover (make: Kirloskar,
model: TEFC-306D-370).
The grain collecting tray was developed based on the
frictional properties of the grains with grains and MS sheet. Blower
The two-half circular shaped MS sheet of 400 mm length
were provided at bottom of concave assembly at 35° The requirement of the air discharge through a blower can
inclined manner (called as grain collecting unit) along be estimated in terms of velocity of air (V), depth of air
cylinder axis for collecting grains from either side of stream cleaning (Dair) and width over which air is required
cylinder to centre after dehusking and shelling. The grain for cleaning (W). Therefore, actual air flow rate (QA) can
collecting unit conveys uncleaned grain and MOG to be estimated as mentioned (Eq. 4) by [27]. The threshers’
cleaning unit i.e. other inclined open rectangular unit blower was generally of straight blade-type [7].
(350 mm width 9 100 mm height 9 600 mm length), QA ¼ V Dair W ð4Þ
which was mounted at an angle of 35° from ground surface
placed below and across the cylinder axis. The engineering properties study [14] showed that
terminal velocity of the husk and grains were 1.2 and
15.12 m/s respectively. On other side, [23] recommended
1.77 m/s air velocity (V, m/s) at exit portion of the chaff
outlet for cereals. Therefore, actual air flow rate (QA)
required (1.77 9 0.1 9 0.35) was 0.062 m3 s-1 (Eq. 4).
Since, the efficiency of the blowers can be considered [21]
as 30%, the theoretical discharge (QT) estimated as
0.206 m3 s-1. On other hand, the theoretical discharge of
the blower can be obtained by Eq. 5.
Q T ¼ p d1 b1 v1
ð5Þ
Q T ¼ p d2 b2 v2

Fig. 4 The isometric view of top cover, hopper and cob-outlet

where b1 and b2 are the width of blades at diameter d1 and
assembly d2 of the impeller and v1 and v2 are tangential components

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of absolute velocities. The v2 can be approximated as 20% Power Transmission System

of the peripheral velocity of the impeller tip for the design
[27]. Therefore, V-belt and pulley drive system was selected for power
0:2p d2 Nb transmission (of B-cross section) as this system works
v2 ¼ ð6Þ satisfactorily at linear speed from less than 0.5 m/s up to
60
20 m/s. The selection of the pulley and belts were made
Where Nb is the speed of the impeller shaft in rpm. based on following criteria. To system is designed for
The diameter of the impeller (d2) obtained from the maximum peripheral speed of cylinder 8 m/s. The rota-
balancing the equations (Eqs. 5 and 6). For operating speed tional speed of the cylinder (N, rpm) was calculated using
of the blower (Nb = 950 rpm), theoretical discharge (QT) Cylinder Peripheral Speed (S) (8 m/s) and diameter of
of 0.206 m3 s-1 with 0.35 m width of the blower (b2), cylinder (Dc = 0.25 m);
diameter of impeller was calculated.
S
QT 0:2  p  d2  Nb N= ; ¼ 611:07 ðsay 611 rpmÞ;
i:e:; ¼ ; d2 ¼ 0:13 m Dxp
p  d2  b2 60 So; Velocity ratio ð950=611Þ is 1:55:
The diameter of rotating blades was taken 1.7 times of
The diameter of the pulley (d2) on cylinder shaft was
calculated d2 value. So, 220 mm as outer diameter of
determined using velocity ratio and selected driver pulley
impeller was taken to keep the air velocity between
on motor shaft (i.e. d1 = 101.60).
terminal velocity of grains and terminal velocity of MOG.
The blower shaft of 25 mm diameter was placed to hold d2 ¼ Velocity ratio  d1 ; d2 ¼ 1:55  101:6
blades. The four straight blades of 75 mm in width and ¼ 157:48 mm
290 mm in length with converging casing section at
Hence, a pulley of 165.1 mm size was selected and
outside were designed. The outer casing for blower
provided on the cylinder shaft as per availability.
(250 mm diameter 9 300 mm length) was fabricated
With consideration of distance between pulleys, power
using 18-gauge MS sheet in spiral shape. The overall
transmission and speed ratio, an open V-belt (B cross
dimensions of the blower are as shown in Fig. 5.
section) drive was selected for power transmission [28].
The density, cross sectional area and allowable tensile
Main Frame
stress (r) were chosen as 1000 kg m-3, 143.7 mm2 and
2.5 MPa. The 143.7 9 10-6 m2 cross section area with
For supporting threshing assembly and power transmission
unit length having one kg m-3 (From Data Book [20]) and
unit, a trapezium shaped frame was fabricated of 1200 mm
mass of the belt equals to 0.143 kg/m. The centrifugal
(bottom length) and 800 mm (bottom width) made of
tension of the belt (Tc) calculated by diameter of selected
35 mm 9 35 mm 9 5 mm angle iron. Correspondingly,
pulley on motor shaft (Dmp = 101.6 mm) with motor
the main frame top length was same as bottom length and
speed of 950 rpm.
top width was 500 mm and. The same size of MS angle
iron was welded across all the members to make it as rigid Tc ¼ m v2 ; N ð7Þ
frame. The main frame extended to accommodate the
Here v = Velocity of the belt (m/s) = (p Dmp N)/
blower assembly by adding two more legs support to main
60 = 6.5 m/s.
frame and this was helped to control the vibration.
So, Tc = 0.143 9 9.81 9 6.52 = 59.26 N
Maximum tension in the belt ðTÞ;


¼ r cross sectional area of belt, mm2 ð8Þ

where r = Allowable tensile stress, N mm-2 (taken from

B-type V-belt from Hand Book [20])



T ¼ 2:5 106 143:75  106 ¼ 359:37 N

Therefore, Tension in tight side of the belt

ðT1 Þ ¼ T  Tc ¼ 300:11 N ð9Þ
From the Fig. 6, the angle of lap (h in radians) was
Fig. 5 Isometric view of the blower used in maize dehusker cum calculated by diameter of driver (motor shaft mounted) and
sheller
driven (cylinder shaft mounted) pulleys i.e.

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1041.9 mm. Since, S need to be optimized after

performance evaluation, belt length varies as per that.

Cylinder Shaft

The force acting on cylinder shaft; vertical forces applied

by left-flywheel, dehusking cum shelling cylinder, right-
flywheel and pulley are represented at the point E, C to D,
Fig. 6 Dimensions considered for design of the pulleys for power F and G, respectively in Fig. 7. The weight of the flywheel
transmission to threshing cylinder and blower from motor at both side of the cylinder was found to be 40 N. The point
C to D considered as uniformly distributed load on the
shaft i.e. 400 N over the 1000 mm length of the cylinder.
O2 M1 r2  r1 d2  d1 203:2  101:6 The force applied at the point G calculated by:
sina ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼
O 1 M2 x 2x 2  470
WG ¼ T1 þ T2 þ Weight of the pulley
¼ 0:108; a ¼ 6:2
where T1 and T2 are Tensions at tight side and slack side
where a = Angle of contact/non-contact beyond/before the
i.e. 300.11 and 15.60 N respectively. The weight of the
half circle plain of bigger/smaller pulley; r2 and r1 = Ra-
pulley was found that 15 N (or 1.5 kg). So, the force
dius of larger and smaller pulley; x = Centre to centre
applied at the point G (= 300.1 ? 15.6 ? 15) is 330.6 N.
distance of smaller(driver) and larger(driven) pulley.
The reaction forces developed on shaft at either support
Hence, Angle of lap on smaller pulley (i.e. pulley on
points of shaft (points A and B) were calculated by using
motor shaft), hl = 180 - (2a) = 167.6°; or 2.93 rad.
equation [14, 20].
Angle of lap on larger pulley (i.e. pulley on cylinder
shaft), hs = 180 ? (2a) = 192.4°; or 3.36 rad. The total upward force ¼ Total downward force
For design, the smaller pulley contact angle (hs) was RA þ RB ¼ 40 þ ð0:4  1000Þ þ 40 ð13Þ
taken to calculate lowest possible tensions transmission. þ 330:6; RA ¼ 810:6  RB
To find tension at slack side (T2), a groove angle (2b) of
Considering at point A in Fig. 7,
35° pulley with 0.25 co-efficient of friction (lpb) between
LHS moments on shaft = RHS moments on shaft
pulley and belt was considered [28]. The relation among
those were;  ð40  90Þ ¼ ðRB  1100Þ
 
T1  ð0:4  1000Þ 550  ð40  1190Þ  ð330:6 1270Þ
2:303log ¼ lpb  hs  cosec ðb=2Þ ð10Þ
T2 RB ¼ 621:7 N
Hence T2 = 15.60 N. So, putting RB (reaction at point B) value in the above
The power transmitted per belt at 8 m/s with T1 and T2 Eq. 13, we get RA = 810.6 - 621.7 = 188.9 N
tensions were 2.24 kW; The share force and bending moment diagram is shown
Therefore, number of V-belts required to transfer power in Fig. 7 and tabulated below.
to cylinder pulley from motor is:
¼ ðMax: power transmittable=Total power per beltÞ Twisting and bending force values at different points on cylinder-
2:24 shaft were;
¼ ¼ 0:98  1
2:28
Share force, N Bending moments, N-mm
ð11Þ
FG = ? 330.6 MG = ? 0
So, single V-belt was selected for power transmission.
FF = ? 370.6 MF = - 26,448
The length of the belt (L) to cylinder shaft was calculated as:
FB = - 251.1 MB = - 59,802
ðr 2  r 1 Þ2 FD = - 251.1 MD = - 47,247
L ¼ pðr2  r1 Þ þ 2x þ ð12Þ
x FC = ? 148.9 MC = ? 3853
Since, pulleys spaced (x) at 470 mm distance, radius of FA = ? 40 MA = - 3600
driven (r2) and driver (r1) pulley were 82.55 and 50.8 mm FE = - 40 ME = ? 0
respectively, the length of the belt (L) would be MP = ? 31,566.92

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Fig. 7 Shear force and bending moment diagram for threshing end plate and lugs); Point E and F: Vertical weight of flywheel; Pont
cylinder shaft. Point A and B: Vertical support; Point C to D: G: Maximum vertical load from pulley during operation (Belt tension,
uniformly distributed load by threshing unit assembly (cylinder drum, weight of pulley)

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The possibility of bending moment occurs at A, P and B, on MS angles with provision to slide for desired tension on
where the shared force changes the sign. To know the shear the belt. In between motor and MS angle frame, a wooden
force moment at a point P, let x be the difference between plank of 20 mm thick and 185 mm length was placed to
C and P in geometry of the Fig. 7. Then x will be; absorb the vibration offered by the motor during the
148:9 x operation. The assembly of above discussed components’
¼ ; x ¼ 372:25 mm pictorial view during performance evaluation is shown in
251:1 1000  x
¼ Distance between the C and P: the Fig. 8.

So, the distance between the P and D (1000–372.25) was Performance Evaluation of Maize Dehusker cum Sheller
627.75 mm. So, bending moment at the point P (Mp) was
found as 31,566.92 N-mm. Hence, the maximum bending Performance evaluation of designed power operated maize
moment (MB = - 59,802 N-mm) was at the right-side dehusker cum sheller was carried out at Agricultural
support point of shaft was considered for design of shaft Research Station, Siraguppa sub-campus of UAS, Raichur
diameter. with commonly grown variety maize variety (CP-818) in
accordance with procedure and guidelines prescribed by
Design of Shaft Against Twisting Moment
the standard code IS: 7051–1973 and IS: 6284–1985 for
cereals [30]. In Pre-test observations, the moisture content
Design for diameter of the cylinder shaft to sustain twisting
and grain to straw ratio were observed as 11.25% and 3.75.
moment (or torque (T)) offered by pulleys and maize-cob
A three-phase wattmeter having capacity range of
was taken in consideration (Bansal and Kumar 2009).
0–4200 W (make: Nippen Electrical Instruments Com-
Since the less force offered from desired Feeding Rate (F)
pany, Mumbai, India; product ID: NT Class 1.0) was used
was 0.167 kg/s, its neglected. The diameter of the shaft was
for test at no-load and load to know the power consumption
determined by following equation;
of MDS.
T s During the test at load, the machine-performance eval-
¼ ð14Þ
J r uated at different levels of independent operational
where T = Twisting moment (or torque) acting upon the parameters viz. Cylinder Peripheral Speed (S, m/s)
shaft, N-m; J = Polar moment of inertia of solid shaft (S1 = 6.2, S2 = 6.6, S3 = 7.1, S4 = 7.6), Concave Clear-
about its axis, m4 (i.e. p(dcs)4/32); s = Torsional shear ance (C, mm) (C1 = 20, C2 = 25, C3 = 30, C4 = 35) and
stress (42 MPa taken for mild steel, Khurmi and Gupta Feed Rate (F, kg/h) (F1 = 400, F2 = 600, F3 = 800) were
2005); r = Distance from neutral axis to the outer most selected. The optimization study shows that machine per-
fibre = dcs/2. formance at cylinder peripheral speed of 7.1 m/s with
The maximum possible torque (T) offered from selected concave clearance of 25 mm at feed rate of 600 kg/h. The
2.23 kW motor for 950 rpm was 36,420.5 N-mm. Putting data study was done by asymmetric factorial experiment
T value in Eq. 14, we get dcs as 16.4 mm. with completely randomized design was used for statistical
analysis with Design Expert package licenced to UAS,
Design of Shaft Against Bending Moment

Due the highest possible bending moment

(MB = 59,802 N-mm taken from bending moment dia-
gram in the Fig. 7), inertia of shaft (I = p d4cs/64 m4),
sustainable bending stress (rb = 100 N-mm from [29])
and distance from neutral axis to the outer-most fibre
(y = d/2), the 18.2 mm shaft diameter was found out by
given relation (Eq. 15);
M rb
¼ ð15Þ
I y
.
From above considerations and non-availability of the
designed shaft diameter, the 1.6 times of 18.2 mm was
selected for cylinder shaft (30 mm). To accommodate
pulleys and flywheel, the total length of 1040 mm MS shaft Fig. 8 The view of the evaluation setup of maize dehusker cum
is used. The electric motor was placed within main frame sheller

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Raichur. The standardising data with non-dominated Results and Discussion

numerical optimization technique.
As per IS standard, each trial of 25 kg sample fed and Engineering Properties Used for Design MDS
output samples collected for 60 s form all outlets sepa-
rately. The total grain input per unit time (Gin) were cal- The oval flattened shape of maize grains was observed for
culated by summing clean grains, broken grains and all the varieties and other aspects of measurements (Fig. 1)
unthreshed grains collected over per unit time from all were shown in Fig. 9. The maize properties’ average (avg.)
outlets. The Dehusking Efficiency was found by ratio of and standard deviation (SD) values were drawn at moisture
number of dehusked cobs to the total number of cobs used. content of 12.5% (w.b.) prior to experiment. The average
Similarly, Shelling Efficiency (SE) is alternative to fraction length of the shelled maize cob was 141.53 mm and having
of unthreshed grain [i.e. 100 - (% of unthreshed grains)]. deviation of 15.43 mm, which helpful to decide minimum
The unthreshed grain percentage is the ratio of unthreshed width of cob-outlet as well as lug spacing over threshing
grains per unit time from all outlets to Gin. Total losses cylinder. Similarly, difference in minimum and maximum
were the sum of the percentage of broken grains, unthre- diameter of cob without grains was observed as
shed grains and blower loss. Where, broken grain per- (27.64 - 21.53) 6.11 mm with maximum SD of
centage is the ratio of the quantity of broken grain from all ± 2.86 mm. This is key factor for keeping the optimal CC
outlets per unit time to Gin and blower loss is the fraction of towards cob-outlet, this must be more than the minimum
summed amount of sound and broken grains come out at diameter of cob without grains. Number of grains in line
chaff outlet of cleaning sieve tray to Gin [31]. The watt- and number of lines was counted which were having
meter used to determine the power consumption at idle and average of 38 and 15 numbers, respectively. Among the
load condition of MDS for particular F for unit time to four varieties, the number of grains in one line of cob was
determine the Input capacity per kW-h(Ci). The Ci calcu- maximum in CP 818 (41 numbers) while it was minimum
lated by relation (Eq. 16) shown below. [36 numbers] in Hero 550. The averaged three orthogonal
Amount of material fed; kg dimensions viz. length, width and thickness of grains were
Ci ¼
Time taken for feeding,h  Average wattmeter reading, kW found as 10.99, 8.18 and 5.15 mm with deviation of 0.82,
ð16Þ 0.76 and 0.75 mm, respectively, which helps in deciding
the sieve hole diameter and axial variable CC for threshing
Germination percentage of seeds was determined by the operation. The weight of un-dehusked cob was found
standard germination test using Paper towel method as maximum (228.23 g) in CP 818, while it was minimum
prescribed by International Seed Testing Association (193.32 g) in Hero 550. Which, helps in deciding load on
(ISTA). The total germination counts (on the fourth day hopper. The maximum stalk length was observed in GK
and seventh day for I and II counts) were made on normal 3090 (32.78 mm) and a minimum of 29.09 mm was
healthy seedlings from a sample of fifty seeds in three observed in Hema variety whereas mean value was found
replications and germination percentage was calculated by to be 30.94 mm with deviation of 13.41 mm. The diameter
the ratio of number of grains were germinated at the end of of un-dehusked maize cob was maximum (54.98 mm) in
II count to total number of seeds used in test [32, 33]. case of GK 3090 variety followed by CP 818 (54.21 mm),
For safe storage of seeds and proper germination, the pro- Hema variety (51.82 mm) while it was minimum in Hero
tection of embryo is important by intact seed-coat. Therefore 550 variety (50.21 mm). The mean value found to be
seed-coat damage identified by standard ferric chloride test 53.88 mm with 4.37 mm deviation. The mean length of
[33]. In this method, 20% of ferric chloride solution (20 g of dehusked cob was found to be 179.36 mm with deviation
FeCl3 in 100 ml distilled water) was prepared in 250 ml beaker of 29.56 mm.
and 100 seeds were soaked for 15 min in beaker. The seeds The Table 1 shows that, physical, aero dynamical and
were observed in electronic microscope and images were frictional properties of maize. The roundness of maize
acquired using Leica Application Suit, (Version 2.1.0 (Build grain varied from 0.24 to 0.32 for Hema and Hero 550
97) made by Leica Microsystems, Switzerland). The brown/- varieties of the maize, this is measure for flow character-
dark coloured crack lines/patches over seed-coat were identi- istics of grains in concave and over sieve. The
fied as mechanically damaged (since they can’t be used as 7.1–8.04 mm geometric mean diameter with 0.43 mm SD
seeding purpose and not capable for longer storage) and the among all the varieties. Which was considered in deciding
fraction of coloured to total seeds used in test were represented sieve hole diameter. Due to the more geometric diameter in
as Seed-coat damage percentage (Dc). CP 818, the maximum surface area of 229.67 mm2 was
observed. The mean bulk density of all the maize varieties
was found to be 0.74 g cm-3. The test weight of the maize

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Fig. 9 Clustered bar

chart showing the average
values of different properties of
selected varieties

grain (1000 no.) was noticed in case of Hero 550 Performance of Developed MDS
(317.60 g) and a minimum of 224.13 g for GK 3090
variety. The aerodynamic property study indicates that, the The power operated MDS operated at 7.1 m/s cylinder
grain terminal velocity (15.12 m/s) was 15 times more to peripheral speed at concave clearance of 25 mm with
husk terminal velocity (1.2 m/s). The designed blower was feeding undehusked maize cobs at rate of 600 kg/h. The
examined for actual air velocity availability, which was different machine and seed quality performance results
found 13.56 m/s of air stream velocity i.e. not more than shown in Table 2. The dehusking, shelling and cleaning
15.12 m/s. The maximum angle of repose for maize grains efficiencies were found above 98% with high germination
was found in CP 818 (23.7°) and was minimum in Hero percentage of 98% with seed coat damage of 3.03%. The
550 variety 21.16°. The maximum coefficient of friction of performance aspects are in agreement with other threshers
maize grain on MS sheet was found in Hema variety as reviewed in [34]. The total production cost comprises
(0.46°) and the minimum coefficient of friction was the cost involved in raw materials (MS angles, MS flat, MS
recorded in Hero 550 (0.42) with a deviation of 0.02°. In square rod, MS flywheel, Pedestal bearing, Nut and bolts,
the present design, 35° angle selected for tray to separating Shaft, Pulley, V-belts, Sieve, Electric motor, Paint, Weld-
seeds from MOG. The higher mean coefficient of friction ing rods etc.), electricity and man-power was found to be
of grains was found over wood (0.50) followed by MS Rs. 34,500. The payback period (Investment/net annual
sheet (0.44), plywood (0.35) and grains (0.31). For easy return = Rs. 34,500/Rs. 46,064) for the developed MDS
flow of grains over the surface, the plywood is recom- was found to be 0.74 year by considering eight years of life
mended, followed by MS sheet and wood. time.

Table 2 The performance aspects of maize dehusker cum sheller and economic aspects
Machine performance aspects Seed-quality performance aspects

Dehusking efficiency (%) 99.56 Broken grains (%) 1.05

Shelling efficiency (%) 98.01
Cleaning efficiency (%) 99.11 Germination (%) 98.93
Blower loss (%) 1.76
Total losses (%) 3.63 Seed-coat damage (%) 3.03
Input capacity (kg kW-h-1) 527.11
Initial cost of machine: Rs. 34,500
Cost of operation for hiring: Rs. 5 per quintals
Payback period: 0.74 year (185 h)

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Conclusions 5. S.P. Singh, Ergonomical interventions in developing hand oper-

ated maize dehusker-sheller for farm women, Ph. D. (Ag. Engg.)
Thesis, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Tech-
The developed maize dehusker cum sheller for producing nology, Udaipur, Rajasthan, 2010
quality seeds was satisfied for desired capacity to suit small 6. A.B. Hassan, M.S. Abolarin, O.A. Olugboji, Design and con-
and medium farmers in Northern Transition Zone of Kar- struction of maize threshing machine. Assumpt. Univ. J. Technol.
12(3), 199–206 (2009)
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