DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND PERFORMANCE

ANALYSIS OF A MAIZE THRESHER FOR RURAL

DWELLER
J.N. Nwakairea, B.O. Ugwuishiwub, C.J. Ohagwuc
Department of Agric. & Bioresources Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka,
Nigeria
a
Email: [email protected]
b
Email: [email protected]
c
Email: [email protected]

Abstract
The processing of agricultural product into quality forms not only prolongs the
useful life of these products but also increases the net profit farmers make
from such products. In this work, emphasis was place on demand led design
which involved understanding the need of the farmer and designing an
appropriate sys- tem that meets that need. The objectives of the work were to
design, construct, and evaluate a low cost maize sheller for rural farmers in
Nigeria. The methods used involved the collection of farmers opinion on their
sheller needs, selecting appropriate materials, and utilization of theories of
failure that enable the deter- mination of allowable shear stress on the bearing
supports. The communication methods used were an interactive sessions with
farmers especially the women and children, in other to determine their shelling
problems. Comparison was made between the human performance index for
shelling and the machine performance index. The human mechanical efficiency,
through-put capacity and grain handing capacity are 45%, 26.67kg/hr and
21.1kg/hr at a biomaterial test weight of 20kg with actual shelled weight of
15.8kg at a shelling time 45 minutes. For machine in- dices, through-put capacity
and the grain handing capacity of the sheller are 86%, 119.76kg/hr and
109.99kg/hr respectively. The price difference shows a drastic reduction in the
purchase price of maize thresher by N 32,500.00 ( 216.67), which represent
56.52% price reduction. Market days were also used as an opportunity to show
the farmers and agro-processors the advantage of using the maize sheller.
Keywords: thresher, performance Analysis, design, rural dweller

1. Introduction and protein, alcoholic beverages, food sweet-

eners and, more recently, fuel [1]. In Africa,
Maize, the American Indian word for corn, maize has become a staple food crop that are
means literally that which sustains life. It is, known to the poorest family. It is used in
after wheat and rice, the most important ce- vari- ous forms to alleviate hunger, and such
real grain in the world, providing nutrients forms include pap or ogi, maize flour, and
for humans and animals and serving as a etc. It is because of the importance place of
basic raw material for the production of maize that its processing and preservation to
starch, oil an op-

Nigerian Journal of Technology Vol. 30, No. 2, June 2011.

50 J.N. NWAKIRE, B.O. UGWUISHIWU and C.J. OHAGWU
timum condition must be analyzed. The ma- 2. Literature Review
jor steps involved in the processing of maize
are harvesting, drying, de-husking, shelling, Maize shelling a post harvest operation,
storing, and milling. For the rural farmers to is the removal of maize seeds from the cob.
maximize profit from their maize, appropri- This operation can be carried out in the
ate technology that suites their needs must be field or at the storage environment. Maize
used. The processing of agricultural products shelling, therefore is an important step to-
like maize into quality forms not only prolongs wards the processing of maize to its various
the useful life of theses products, but finished products like flour. The different
increases the net profit farmers make from methods of maize shelling can be categorized
mechaniza- tion technologies such products. based on various mechanization technology
One of the most important processing used. These includes: hand-tool-technology,
operations done to bring out the quality of animal technology, and engine power
maize is shelling or threshing of maize. technol- ogy [2]. Hand technology involves
the use of hand tools in shelling, while as
observed an- imals were used in threshing on
1.1. Statement of the problem
the field by marching on the maize. Engine
Traditional shelling methods do not sup- powered tech- nology involves the use of
port large-scale shelling of maize, especially mechanical assis- tance in threshing or
for commercial purposes. Locally in Nige- shelling the maize. Some examples were
ria, the region that is the highest producer seen in [3], the maize sheller that was design
of maize is the northern part of the country and constructed in Nigeria. To facilitate
it was observed that most shelling of maize speedy shelling of maize in order to reduce
was done by hand shelling. Hand shelling post harvest deterioration, mechan- ical
take a lot of time, even with some hand oper- shellers are recommended, because hand-
ated simple tools. It was also observed in the shelling methods cannot support commercial-
study area, Nasarawa State, most mechanical ized shelling.
shellers were designed for multi-grain thresh- An average moisture content of 15% to 18%
ing or shelling, which causes great damage for maize that was to be threshed or shelled
to the maize seeds besides breaking the cob was reported by [4]. Moisture content seri-
to pieces. The available shellers locally, were ously affects the threshability of maize. An-
equipped with rotating threshing drum with other factor that affect the threshability of
beaters or teeth, which cause damages to the maize in a mechanized system is the size of the
seed. Besides, the cost of purchasing such maize cob. The mechanical shellers need to be
shellers were high for the poor rural farmer, adjusted to the various sizes of cobs. Accord-
and therefore necessitated the design of low- ing to [5] the various sizes of maize cob ranges
cost system that will be affordable and also from 50mm to 85mm depending on variety.
increase threshing efficiency but reduce dam- There are also engineering design factor that
age done to the seed. affect the design of mechanical shellers. These
factors are the design of the power transmis-
1.2. Objectives of the work sion shaft, selection of the prime mover, type
of pulley, appropriate belt design, key and
The specific objectives of the work were se- lection of appropriate bearings support.
to design, construct, and test a low-cost According to [6], the power delivered by a
maize sheller, to evaluate the efficiency of shaft is given by
the maize sheller, and to use the maize P =F×V (1)
sheller in es- tablishing an agro-processing
−1
centre for rural farmers. Where P = power (Nms ), F = Force of
threshing (N), and V = velocity (m/s).

Nigerian Journal of Vol. 30, No. 2. June

 A Maize Thresher for Rural 5
Force required to thresh the maize is given
by by belt is given by P = (T1 − T2)V , but
F = mω2r (2) V (velocity) = (πDN )/60. Also T1/T2 =
exp(µθ csc β), where β is the grove semi-angle,
Where F is force required to thresh maize, θ is the angle of lap, α is the angle of con-
m is mass of threshing bars, ω is the angu- tact at the smaller pulley, and µ is the coef-
lar velocity of shaft. The angular velocity ω ficient of friction. According to [9], the µ of
is determined by the equation 2πN/60, where friction for rubber belt on cast iron or steel
N is the speed of threshing which is in operating on dry surface is µ = 0.3. The an-
revolu- tions per minute. The power gle of lap for open V-belt drive is given as
delivered by the shaft is Fωr. The θ = (180−2α)×π/180 rad. Also sin α(r2r1)/x,
appropriate electric motor is determined or where x = distance between pulleys, r1 =
selected when the total power requirement radius of smaller pulley, and r2 is radius of
for threshing in determined at an appropriate bigger pulley. The length of pulley is given
threshing speed. According to [4] the as L = 2x + (π/2XD + d) + (D − d)2/4x.
threshing speed that will give very low me- The minimum shaft diameter is determined
chanical damage, but high threshing output is using the [10] code equation which states that
within the range of 300 - 650 revolutions per d3 = [16/(πSs)]×[(kbMb)2+(ktMt)2]1/2, where
minute. The relationship between the driven
pulley speed and the speed of the prime d is the diameter of shaft, Mt is the overall tor-
mover is as [7]; sional moment, Mb is the bending moment
Kb is the combined shock and fatigue factor
N1D1 = N2D2 (3)
ap- plied to bending moment, Kt is the
where N1 is speed of the driver, N2 is combined shock and fatigue factor applied to
speed of the driven, D1 is the diameter of the torsional moment, Ss is the allowable shear
driver pulley, and D2 is the diameter of the stress. Ac- cording to [10], the Kb and Kt
driven pulley. The weight of the pulley on factors when shock is applied suddenly to a
the shaft is given as m = ρv, where m is the rotating shaft is
mass of the pulley, ρ is the density of the 1.5 to 2.0 and 1.0 to 1.5 respectively. For shaft
pulley and v is the volume of the pulley. without key-way and with key-way, the
Weight is mass multiplied by acceleration due allow- able stress (Ss) is 55 MN/m2 and
to gravity (g). The Wp (weight of pulley) = ρ 40MN/m2 respectively. The bearing is
× (πd2/4) × lp × g, where d is diameter of selected based on the load carrying capacity,
pulley, lp is the length of pulley. life expectancy, and reliability in line with
Appropriate belt selection will assist in ef- [11]). The thresh- ing force is either by
fective power transmission. A belt provides impact loading as seen in cylindrical beaters,
a convenient mean of transferring power or shearing force as seen in hand-threshing.
from one shaft to another. The effective pull The shelling machine is tested to deter-
on a belt is given by T = T1 − T2, where T1 is mine its effective use with respect to the
ten- sion on tight-side, and T2 is tension on work to be done. For Agricultural Machines,
slack slide. Ts (torque on shaft) is F × r, its performance according to [2], it evalu-
ated base on the throughput capacity, effec-
where F is total force of threshing, which is
tive throughput capacity and it mechanical
equal to the total torque requirement of the
efficiency. The throughput capacity (Tp) is
sys- tem., therefore, Ts = T ×r, Tm (motor
given as Tp = WT /tT in kg/hr, where Wt is
torque) to total weight of material handled, which in-
= T × r where Ts = Tm. Note that Pm (power cludes threshed and unthreshed, and tt is the
of motor) = ωTm, thus, the effective pull T is total time taken in handling the materials.
T = Pm/(ωr), and MT (Torsional moment) The effective throughput capacity is the ratio
= (T1 − T2)r1. of actual weight of grains handled that was
not
According to [8], the power transmitted

Nigerian Journal of Vol. 30, No. 2. June

 5 J.N. NWAKIRE, B.O. UGWUISHIWU and C.J.
damaged to the effective time of operation. spikes that simulates the tangential force ap-
plied tot eh surface of the maize, supporting
Tpe = Wa/te (4) frame-work, a threshing wall that has groves
where the falling maize rotates, and an ad-
where Tpe is the effective throughput justable spring, that allows the threshing wall
adjust to the different sizes of maize. It also
capacity, had a container for storage besides the
Wa is the actual weight of grain handled in kg, thresh- ing cylinder and hopper. The shaft
and ta is the effective operating time in hour. length was 5900mm while the shaft diameter
The efficiency in %, η is the percentage of is 60mm. The angular velocity (ω) is 73
the ratio of the total weight of grain actually rad/sec, with a maximum available threshing
han- dled (output), Wa(kg) to the total force of 501.2N at the tip of spikes. The
weight of grain to be handled (input), torque developed at the spike is 36.45Nm.
Wt(kg). The power delivered at the threshing spikes
is 2.92kW, which means that a prime mover
η = Wa/Wt (5) power of 4 or 5hp was used. The prime
mover was a 4hp Yamaha combustion
engine. Figures 1-4 at the ap- pendix shows
3. Materials and Methods the completed maize thresher and other view
of the thresher parts.
3.1. Design considerations
The methods used were in three phases, 3.3. Performance analysis
the first phase involved the collection of ru- The throughput capacity, the actual
ral farmer sheller needs and other problems throughput capacity and the mechanic effi-
associated with agricultural operation. The ciency was determine using the equation
second stage was the design of an appropri- men- tion earlier in the work. 200kg of
ate system to meet their needs, and finally to unthreshed maize was measured using a
communicate results to the farmers and weighing scale. A local farmer was used to
deter- mine whether their problem was load the cob three at a time into the
solved. The uniqueness of this design is that hopper. The time taking to load and finish
it works on a different principle of threshing. threshing the 200kg was read. The total
The earlier mentioned design by [3], worked weight of thresh grains was determined. The
on the prin- ciple of impact force, while this total weight of the broken or damaged grain
design works on the principle of abrasion; was determined, and the weight of the cob
an application of force tangentially on a was also taken. The per- centage mechanical
surface. On the field determination of damage was determined. Comparison was
farmer shelling capac- ity was determined. between human performance index and the
Comparison was made on the time take to machine performance index.
shell the quantity of maize harvested per
farmer and the time taken be- fore 3.4. Information communication
deterioration sets in. it was observed also strategy
that appropriate technology for storage was
not available including pesticides to handle Experts from the federal Polytechnic
weevil attack. Pesticides were purchased Nasarawa Nigeria were invited to access the
with the help of local administrators, who performance of the machine and
was told of he need in the community. communicate to the surrounding rural
community. The ma- chine was taken to
3.2. Design calculations nearby farms with large hectare of maize, in
order to thresh their maize. The thresher was
The average threshing plate speed is 450 also taken to mar- kets during market days
rpm. This maize sheller comprises of a hop- for people to see the
per design to take three maize cobs lying on its
vertical axis ZY plane, a threshing plate with

Nigerian Journal of Vol. 30, No. 2. June

 A Maize Thresher for Rural 5
machine in operation. Rich politicians were
met to finance the building of agricultural 5. Conclusion
processing centres in the nearby farm settle- From the result above, it is clear that the
ments, about 5 of them. Agricultural exten- machine was designed successfully. The actual
sion workers were called to facilitate throughput capacity of 109.99kg/hr was far
informa- tion dissemination. The existence of better than the human actual throughput ca-
the maize thresher and its price regime was pacity which was determined to be
announced at local radio station and the 21.1kg/hr. The net present value of the
television sta- tion of the state showed thresher which is N25,000 or 166.66 was
pictures of the maize sheller. attractive to the farmers who said that
available threshers in the market was about
4. Results N55,000 to N60,000 or
366.66 to 400. The price difference shows
The human mechanical efficiency was de- a drastic reduction in the purchase price of
termined to be 45% at the biomaterial test maize thresher by N 32,500.00 or 216.67,
weight of 20kg with actually shelted grain which represent 56.52% price reduction. The
weight of 15.8kg. The human throughput ca- number replaceable parts was low when
pacity was 26.67kg/hr and actual grain han- com- pared to most threshers available in the
dling capacity of 21.1kg/hr at a shelling time mar- ket. The machine has an estimated
of 45mnutes or 0.75hr. This result is base on useful life of ten years. The threshing
the spot assessment of shelling done by five se- capacity of the maize sheller was such that
lected farmers from different farm it handled the threshing needs of the farmers
settlement, although this efficiency will drop within re- quired time and zero drudgery.
due to in- crease druggery. The efficiency Thus farm- ers had more time for other
and through- put capacities of were 86% and activities with good strength. Both the
119.76kg/hr respectively. When further farmers and the agro processing centers not
evaluation was carried to determine the only reduced their cost of threshing maize
actual grain through- put capacity based on per bag but created more wealth for
actual weight of grain threshed but not themselves.
broken the capacity was 109.99kg/hr. The The Agro-processing centres established
result showed that the shel- ter was effective. helped many farmers to process their agri-
Effectiveness communication tools used cultural products in market acceptable from
yielded result with people bringing the maize which gave rise to added value to the market
for threshing, farmers organized themselves prices at which the farmers sold them. More
in groups to purchase the machine which research should be done to identify the many
locally was built at a cost of twenty-five needs of the rural farmers, so that experts
thousand naira (N25,000) or one hundred can design system and proffer solution that
and sixty- six dollars, sixty six cents meets their needs.
( 166.66). The five farm settlement
identified were given five shellers each with
other machines for cassava grating, and References
milling. These were donated by the local 1. FAO., (1992). Maize in human nutri-
government council and a senator. More tion. FAO Food and Nutrition Series, No.
sheller have being constructed and given out. 25. Food and Agriculture Organization,
Other states are making requests. In 2009 www.fao.org.
Polytechnics fair held in Kano Nigeria, the
sheller took the second position in the cat- 2. Onwualu, A.P., Akubuo, C.O., and
egory of processing machinery. Ahaneku, I.E. (2006). Fundamental of
Engineering for Agriculture. Immaculate
Publications Limited Enugu Nigeria.

Nigerian Journal of Vol. 30, No. 2. June

5 J.N. NWAKIRE, B.O. UGWUISHIWU and C.J.
3. Abdulkadir, B.H., Mattew, S.A., Olufemi,
A.O., and Ikechukwu, C.U. (2009). The
Design and construction of maize threshing
Machine. Assumption University Journal
of Technology, 12(3) pg. 199 - 206.
4. Fashina, A.B. and Abdulahi, H. (1994). Per-
formance evaluation of a locally developed
direct-power-take off driven maize thresher.
Journal of Agricultural Technology, NBTE,
Vol. 2(1), 1-5.
5. Joshi, H.C. (1981). Design and selection of
thresher parameters and components. Jour-
nal of Agricultural Mech. In Asia, Africa
and Latin America; Vol. 12(2), 61-70. Figure 1: A pictorial view of the finished maize thresher.
6. Shigley, J.E (1986). Mechanical Engineering
Design. S.I (metric) ed. McGraw-Hill, New
York, USA.
7. William, L.A., (1953). Mechanical Power
Transmission Manual Conover - Mast
Publ. New York. NY, USA.
8. Hannah, J.; and Stephens, R.C. (1970). Me-
chanics of machines: elementary theory and
example. Edward Arnold, London, England.
9. Ogunwede, O.I. (2003). Design and
Construction of Plastic Crushing Machine.
PGD thesis, Department of Mechanical En-
gineering, Federal University of Technology Figure 2: An orthographic view of the thresher.
(FUT) Mina, Nigeria.
10. ASME, (1995). Design of Transmission
Shafting. American Society of Mechanical
Engineering, New York, NY USA
11. PSG Tech. (1989). Design data. Faculty of
mech. Enginering, Poolamedu. Sathanku-
lan Govindsany Naidu College of Technol-
ogy (PSG Tech.) DV Printers, Coimbatore,
India.
Figure 3: An orthographic view of the thresher power shaft.
Appendix

Figure 4: An orthographic view of the pulley.

Nigerian Journal of Vol. 30, No. 2. June