Determination of some physical and mechanical properties of soybean and maize in relation to planter design

Maize and soybeans are agricultural materials that serve as food to both man and livestock and also serve as by-product used in manufacturing industries. The knowledge of some physical and mechanical properties of these seeds is important tool for designing agricultural machines and equipment for planting, harvesting, processing, packaging and storage. Some of the properties determined include size, geometric mean diameter, surface area, bulk volume, bulk density, true density, porosity, sphericity, angle of repose, coefficient of friction, rupture force and rupture energy. The mean values measured and recorded for the length, width, thickness, geometric mean diameter, surface area, bulk volume, bulk density, true density, porosity and sphericity of maize and soybean were 1.043 cm, 0.883 cm, 0.405 cm, 0.716 cm, 1.621cm2, 29.200 ml, 1.169 g/ml, 1.369 g/ml, 14.599% and 0.693; 0.737 cm, 0.627 cm, 0.468 cm, 0.600 cm, 1.135 cm2, 16.6 ml, 1.071 g/ml, 1.0865 g/ml, 1.397% and 0.814 respectively. The mean angle of repose and coefficient of friction over stainless steel, galvanized steel, mild steel and plywood for maize and soybean were 38.6° and 0.805, 36.7° and 0.746, 38.28° and 0.794 and 34.75° and 0.702; 53.91° and 1.407, 51.67° and 1.293, 48.33° and 1.1425 and 47.67° and 1.110 respectively. The rupture forces on the major, intermediate and minor axis for maize and soybean were measured and recorded to be 175.296 N,156.550 N and 328.488 N; 52.562 N, 40.504N and 0 N respectively. The properties determined relevant to the design of the components of a planter such as the hopper, the seed plate and the delivery tube. It also helps in the selection of materials to use and to know the amount of force a material can withstand before rupture occurs

Evaluation of Reliability of Prototype Tractor – Mounted Cocoyam (Xanthosoma spp.) Harvester

An elevator digger type harvester for cocoyam (Xanthosoma spp.) was designed and fabricated at the Federal University of Technology, Akure using locally available materials. The harvester prototype is tractor – mounted and powered from the tractor Power – take – off shaft (P.T.O).  Field tests were conducted to evaluate the effect of different levels of operational parameters on the reliability of the implement. The operational parameters were forward speed (v), rake angle (α) and web speed (n). The harvester was operated at the forward speeds of 2, 4 and 6 km/h, rake angles of 15˚, 20˚ and 25˚ and web speeds of 540, 1000 rpm. These combinations were tested on a factorial basis employing a split - split plot design with three replications. The indices of reliability of the implement investigated were material failure to machine parts, clogging and machine adjustment. Cocoyam cormels were harvested from 10m long rows of crops on clay loam soil with a spacing of 0.8m x 0.6m according to each treatment. The soil moisture content during field experimentation was 9.46 ± 1.02%, and bulk density was 1.18 ± 0.22 g/cm3.  The field tests revealed that machine performance was limited by delays due to clogging and machine adjustments and a high percentage of tuber damage (55%). The analysis of variance performed on the descriptive statistics for machine performance variables obtained showed that the results are significant for only Machine adjustments at P < 0.01.  Keywords: Reliability, Breakdown, Web, Clogging, Material failure, Failure rate, Mean time before failure, Nigeri

Sustaining World Food Security with Improved Cassava Processing Technology: The Nigeria Experience

Cassava is a very important food crop that is capable of providing food security. However, a lot of problems prevent the development and use of modern equipment for its production. Most of the cassava produced still comes from peasant farmers who depend on manual tools for their field operations and these farmers have made Nigeria the world’s largest producer of the crop. An increase in production of cassava to sustain the world food security needs improved machinery to allow its continuous cultivation and processing. Reasons for the low success recorded in the mechanization of cassava harvesting and processing were traced, and the attempts that have been made in the recent past by various engineers in Nigeria researching towards achieving mechanized harvesting and processing of cassava are well explained. The machinery required for cassava production in Africa, the development of new machines, and the need for more research and development in harvesting and processing machineries, which can reduce poverty worldwide and make food available and accessible for all, are also discussed. Research efforts made and the challenges facing the engineers, farmers, scientists and food processors towards achieving mechanical harvesting and processing of cassava are presented. Breeding a cassava variety with a regular shape for easy mechanization is one solution that could help the engineers worldwide

THE DESIGN, FABRICATION AND PRELIMINARY TESTING OF AN INDIGENOUS SINGLE SCREW EXTRUDER

Developing countries including Nigeria have become dumping grounds of unserviceable and broken down imported machineries because of poor adaptation. Detailed study and design of machines to suit local conditions will prevent poor adaptation of imported machines and high initial costs. In this study, a single screw starch extruder was designed, fabricated and tested using locally available materials. The extruder is the dry type and it has 27.12 kg/s capacity, a compression ratio of 4.5: 1 and is powered by a 5.5 kW electric motor. It consists of a hopper, feeding screw, extruder screw rotating in a barrel and variable die, all made of stainless steel. A unit of the machine costs N 470, 390.00.00 as at April 2015. When used to process cassava flour, a maximum temperature of 114°C was attained through viscous dissipation, up to an actual screw speed of 98.96 rpm (1.65 Hz) and extruder efficiency of 64%. Barrel temperature varied directly with extrusion time in a polynomial trend while actual extruder screw speed and efficiency varied inversely with extrusion time and it is best fitted with a polynomial trend

Sustaining World Food Security with Improved Cassava Processing Technology: The Nigeria Experience

Cassava is a very important food crop that is capable of providing food security. However, a lot of problems prevent the development and use of modern equipment for its production. Most of the cassava produced still comes from peasant farmers who depend on manual tools for their field operations and these farmers have made Nigeria the world’s largest producer of the crop. An increase in production of cassava to sustain the world food security needs improved machinery to allow its continuous cultivation and processing. Reasons for the low success recorded in the mechanization of cassava harvesting and processing were traced, and the attempts that have been made in the recent past by various engineers in Nigeria researching towards achieving mechanized harvesting and processing of cassava are well explained. The machinery required for cassava production in Africa, the development of new machines, and the need for more research and development in harvesting and processing machineries, which can reduce poverty worldwide and make food available and accessible for all, are also discussed. Research efforts made and the challenges facing the engineers, farmers, scientists and food processors towards achieving mechanical harvesting and processing of cassava are presented. Breeding a cassava variety with a regular shape for easy mechanization is one solution that could help the engineers worldwide.cassava; mechanization; food security