Design of a Dual Operated Cassava Chipper

Abstract

Size reduction of agricultural products is an essential requirement for their processing and transportation. This research designed and fabricated a manually operated and motorised cassava chipping machine, which is adaptable to the local farmers at the cottage level. The design was carried out by empirically computing the threshold force required for cutting the cassava tubers, with a prior knowledge of the length (350 mm) and thickness (1.5 mm) of the cutting blades as influencing indexes. Also, the capacity of the machine was evaluated using six different cutting forces above and below the cutting threshold force (68.99 N). The results show that the cutting force increased exponentially with the length and diameter of the tuber. Also, less force was required to chip cassava tuber with longer length and shorter diameter probably due to the presence of inner and central crack defects, which is capable of forming easy crack initiation points with the slightest blade effort. The size of the electric motor required was a single phase 1 hp (4500 rpm), which is capable of powering the machine to an approximate capacity of 225 kg/h and comparable to the required human effort. The machine was also found effective in chipping cassava tuber to average size of 30 mm.

Keywords

• Chipper,Performance,Design,Cassava

References

1. [1] Cock, J., ‘‘Cassava, New Potential for a neglected Crop”. West View, p 191, 1985.
2. [2] Ray, R. C. and Sivakumar, P. S., ‘‘Traditional and novel fermented foods and beverages from tropical root and tuber crops-review”, International Journal of Food Science and Technology 44: (2009), 1073-1087.
3. [3] Ilori, O. O. and Adetan, D. A., ‘‘A Study of the Radial Compressive Cracking Force of Two Cassava Varieties”, Journal of Food Science and Engineering, 3, (2013), 541-549.
4. [4] Davies, A.M. , Olatunji, M.O., and Burubai, W., ‘‘A survey of cassava processing machinery in Oyo State”, World Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 4 (3), (2008), 337-340.
5. [5] Olukunle, O.J., Ogunlowo, A.S., Sanni, L., ‘‘The search for an effective cassava peeler”, The West Indian Journal of Engineering, 32 (1&2), (2010), 42-47.
6. [6] Odigboh, E.U., ‘‘Cassava Peeling Machine: Development, Design and Construction”, Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, (21) 4, (1976), 361-369.
7. [7] Onwueme, I.C. (1982): The tropical tuber crops.1st Published by English Language Book Society and John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, U K, pg 189-191.
8. [8] Heydari, I., Alemzadeh and M. Vossoughi, ‘‘Influence of glycerol and clay contents on biodegradability of corn starch nanocomposites, IJE Transactions” B: Applications vol. 27, no. 2 (February 2014) 203-214.

9. [9] Kolawole, O.P., ‘‘Evaluation of cassava tuber resistance to deformation”, Global Advanced Research Journal of Food Science and Technology, 1 (3), (2012), 39-43.
10. [10] Prasanth, I.S., Ravishankar, D.V., and M.M., Hussain, ‘‘Analysis of milling process parameters and their influence on GFRP composites”A: Basics vol. 30, no. 7 (July 2017), 1007-1013.
11. [11] Quoilin, S. and et al., “Techno-economic survey of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems”, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 22, (2013), 168-186.
12. [12] Shigyly, (1980): Machine Design McGraw Hill Publications. p112.
13. [13] Surya, D., Harsoprayitoo, S. et al. (2009): Geothermal Energy update: geothermal energy development and utilization in Indonesia, Proceeding WGC 2010, Bali- Indones.
14. [14] McCormick, E. J., and Sanders, S.M. (1982): Human Factors in Engineering Design. Fifth edition.