Maize production in the world

Since last one decade, area under maize cultivation is continuously increasing to meet the
raising demand in the world. Maize ranks first in the world cereal production which accounts
38% of the total grain production with 868 million tonnes from 168 million hectare whereas
30% of wheat (691 million tonnes) and 20% of rice (461 million tonnes) (Anon., 2011).
United States has the lion‟s share of 43% of the total world production followed by China
(19%), EU-27 (6%) and Brazil (7%) account to 75% of the total global production. India
stands sixth in terms of production with 2.4% to the total world maize production from 8.5
million hectare with 5% share in world harvested area (Anon., 2013a).

Engineering Properties of Maize

Engineering properties are useful and necessary in the design and operation of various
equipment employed for agricultural operations. The present investigation involves maize
dehusking, shelling and cleaning of grain. The engineering properties of four maize varieties
(viz., Mahyco (Hero 550), Hema hybrid variety, Ganga Kaveri (GK-3090) and CP818)
considered for the development of maize dehusker cum sheller and presented below. Basic
information on these properties are of great importance and help towards the development of
equipment or the machine. The development of dehusker cum sheller for maize cobs requires
the knowledge of engineering properties such as physical (shape and size, roundness,
sphericity, surface area, bulk density and true density), aerodynamic (terminal velocity) and
frictional (angle of repose and coefficient of friction) properties of maize grains.

3.1.1 Physical properties of the maize

The methods followed for determining the physical properties of maize were to decide
dimensions of the different machine components, dimensions of the maize cob and grains,
test weight, sphericity, surface area, moisture content, bulk density, true density and grain to
dry matter ratio were determined as per the standard procedure.

3.1.1.1 Dimensions of the maize cob and grains

For all the four varieties of the maize cobs, 20 randomly picked cobs were selected for the
study. The length of un-dehusked cob (mm), stalk length (mm), weight of un-dehusked cob
(g), linear dimensions of maize grains (mm), number of grain lines in cob, number of grains
in one line of the cob, minimum diameter of cob without grains (mm), maximum diameter of
cob without grains (mm), average length of shelled cob (mm), diameter of undehusked cob
(mm) and shape were determined using digital vernier caliper and weighing balance with an
accuracy of 0.01 mm and 0.01 g, respectively (Tarighi et al., 2011).

3.1.1.2 Roundness

Roundness is a measure of the sharpness of the corners of the solid. Several methods have
been proposed for estimating the roundness. The maize grains (10 numbers) were projected
on a graph paper and traced. The roundness was calculated using the following formula
(Jayan and Kumar, 2004)

𝐴𝑝
Roundness =
𝐴𝑐

Where,

Ap = Largest projected area of maize grains in natural rest position, mm2

Ac = Area of smallest circumscribing circle, mm2

Moisture content of grains

The moisture content of maize grains was determined by oven drying method. The grain
samples were kept for 24 hours at 105 °C temperature in oven according to IS code 7052-
1973 and moisture content was calculated accordingly.

(𝑊1− 𝑊2)
Moisture content of grains = (𝑊1− X 100%
𝑊3)

Where,

W1 = Weight of the wet sample, g

W2 = Weight of the dry sample, g

W3 = Weight of the tray, g

Design and development of power operated maize dehusker cum sheller

During the development of power operated maize dehusker cum sheller, it was kept in mind
that the equipment should be suitable for small, marginal and medium farmers for capacity in
between 200 to 800 kg h-1. The methodology and procedure adopted in development of
different components of maize dehusker cum sheller are presented in this section under
following subsections.

Working Principle of the Machine Design

Threshing Unit

The threshing unit for this design is composed of two metallic discs mechanically attached to
the secondary shaft and rotating against a rigid spiked metallic surface. The discs are
connected facing each other and rotate as block and their surfaces is to be of grooves and rasp
bars so as to provide a rough contact on the maize cob against the spiked rigid metallic
surface. Hence this forced friction results to the threshing of maize kernels from the cob.
Below the discs, a collector and pot metallic member is to be fitted and is designed also to
incline towards its central longitudinal axis where an opening is allowed for grain collection
as the cobs pass over the member surface towards the exit where they are collected. The grain
is to be collected below the machine.

The uniqueness of this design is that it works on a different principle of threshing. As

compared to other designs which work on the principle of impact force, this design works on
the principle of abrasion; an application of force tangentially on a surface. The machine is to
be operated by applying force to rotate the spiked disc plate. The rotation of the specked disk
plate provides an angular velocity that is translated to the toothed gearing system. The driven
gear is fixed on the primary shaft hence the resultant velocity of the driven gear generates
power on this shaft. As the shaft rotates, the flywheel mounted on its far end provided an
angular momentum which adds more power to that generated along the length of the shaft.
This total power is transmitted to the secondary shaft via the gear drive hence providing
rotary motion of the beater discs which pull and shell the maize cobs by friction and shearing
action against the spiked cast iron projections on either side of the thresher bar. The empty
cobs will pass out through the cobs outlet opening and are thrown out by the force of rotation
of the shelling discs, and then grain will spread through the grain outlet (collector and port)

General formulas and specifications of the machine

element

Gear and gear shaft load due to gear

The loads on the shaft caused by gear contact forces are determined by;

 N1, N2; the teeth numbers of the gears mounted on shafts 1 (connected to the handle)
and shaft 2 (the primary shaft).
 R1, R2; the gear radii of the driver and driven components
 ω1,ω2 and v1, v2; the velocities of the driver and driven gears (linear and angular)
 Gear ratio λ=N1/N2
 Torque T1= λ T2
 Speed ω2 = λ ω1
 Tangential force, Ft = T1/R1= T2/R2
The driver and driven toothed gearing system in this design project is meant to minimize the
effect of slipping which would otherwise reduce the velocity ratio of the system.

The motion and power transmitted by gears is kinematically equivalent to that transmitted by
friction wheels or discs as described by the following figure;

For two toothed gears mounted on shafts, having sufficient rough surfaces and pressing
againstveach other, a little consideration will show that when wheel A is rotated by a rotating
shaft, it will rotate the wheel B in the opposite direction as shown in the figure above. The
teeth minimize slipping and for as long as the tangential force, P exerted by the wheel A does
not exceed the maximum frictional resistance between the two wheels, the wheel B will be
rotated by wheel A.

The relationship in the speed of the driver and driven gears of the spur gearing system is
given by

N1. T1 = N2. T2

Where N1 and N2 are the speeds of the driver and follower gears where as T1 and T2 are
their respective number of teeth. This design incorporates a gear system where the driver and
the driven gears have a teeth ratio A:B with the speed of the driven being A/B times that of
the driver wheel.
For this design, the toothed gearing is the aspect of the drive train that determines the relation
between the cadence, the rate at which the crank handle and the rate at which the driven gear
turn. A spur gear system with the driver having 42 teeth and the driven freewheel cog
gearhaving 13 teeth is recommended. This combination would result to a gear ratio of 3.23.

However, any other gear combination that would allow a gear ratio above 3 is adoptable.

The driven freewheel cog gear is chosen on the basis of having a freewheel mechanism which
basically is a design consideration to allow for coasting. The gear works using internal
planetary or epicyclic gearing which alters the speed of the hub casing and the wheel itself,
relative to the speed of the driving gear.

Advantages of the gear drive

1. It transmits exact velocity ratio

2. It has a high efficiency
3. It has reliable service.
4. It has compact layout
5. It may be used to transmit large power.

Disadvantages

1. The manufacture of gears requires special tools and equipment.

2. The error in cutting teeth may cause vibrations and noise during operation.

The metallic gears with cut teeth are commercially obtainable in cast iron, steel and bronze.
For the purpose of this design, the choice of cast iron as gear material for the system is
preferable compared to the steel one majorly because of cost effectiveness.

Hopper Design

The hopper is designed to be fed in a vertical position only. The material to be used for the
construction is mild steel sheet metal, which is readily available in the market at affordable
costs. The hopper has the shape of a frustum of a pyramid truncated at the top, with top and
bottom having rectangular forms. This is illustrated by the following diagram.
From the principle of similar triangles, for triangles PMG and POC with M and O being the

centres of EFGH and ABCD respectively:

PM/MG = PO/OC, or PM = PO x MG/OC.

Then the volume of the hopper is given by:

Vhopper = [(Area of Base) x height]/3

= [(AB x BC) x h – (EH x HG) x x]/3, (8)

where,

h- overall height

x – height of the truncated top

The Main Frame

The main frame supports the entire weight of the machine. The total weights carried by the
main

frame are:

 weight of the hopper and housing;

 weight of the threshing chamber;
 the collector and pot; and
 the bearings, gears and Chains.
The two design factors considered in determining the material required for the frame are
weight

and strength. In this design work, angle steel bar of 1.5mm ” by 1.5mm ” and 2mm thickness
is to used to give the required rigidity.

Shaft Design

A shaft is a rotating or stationary member, usually of circular cross-section having such

elementsas gears, pulleys, flywheels, cranks, sprockets and other power transmission
elements mounted on it Shigley (1986).

The design presented in this paper comprises of two shafts; the primary and the secondary
shaft.

The primary shaft is to be fitted to the spur gear system on one end and to a flywheel on the
other end. The secondary shaft is designed to have threshing discs attached to it (by welding)
and parallel to the primary one with a chain drive mounted to connect the two. Both shafts are
solid shafts of ductile material and circular cross-section designed to be supported on
bearings.

Shaft design consists primarily of the determination of the correct shaft diameter to ensure
satisfactory strength and rigidity when the shaft is transmitting power under various operating
and loading conditions.

For this design a shaft of diameter 40mm and length 730mm shall best serve the interests of
achieving the overall machine width and also lower the costs of materials that would be
required if the machine is to be constructed. Preferably, such a shaft should have a key way
and with the specified dimensions it will serve best in both cases of the shaft requirement
since this design incorporates two shafts. The key way is a design consideration meant to
firmly hold in place the flywheel to be mounted as well as the driven gear.

3.3.5.1 Proportion of a Key

For a good result, the width of a key is made one-quarter the diameter of the shaft. The
thickness of a key for equal strength of the key in failure by shearing of the key, and
compression on the key may be determined by the corresponding allowable stresses in shear
and compressions.

The length of the key can be calculated as L = πd/2 = 1.57d.

The forces on the top and bottom of the key resist tipping of the key, and the force, F,
between the side of the key and the key way in the hub is due to the resisting torque, T ':

T ' = Fd/2 = FL/π,

where:

- T ' = resisting torque;

- F = resisting force;
- d = diameter of shaft;
- L = length of key.

Bearing Selection

Bearing must be selected based on its load carrying capacity, life expectancy and reliability
(PSG Tech 1989). The relationship between the basic rating life, the basic dynamic rating and
the bearing load is:

C = [L/L10]1/KP, or C/P = [L/L10]1/K, that is; (10)

[C/P]K = L/L10, or L10 = [C/P]K/L.

But L = 60n/106 million revolutions, therefore, L10 = (106/60n) x [C/P]K,

where:

- L10 = life of bearing for 90% survival at one million revolutions;

- L = required life of bearing in million revolutions (mr);
- n = rotational speed (rev/min);
- C = basic dynamic load rating (N);
- P = equivalent dynamic bearing load (N);
- K = exponent for life equation with:
 - K = 3 for ball bearing;

K = 10/3 for roller bearing.

Also, P = radial load + axial load,

P = (XFr + YFa),

where:

- X = radial load factor for the bearing;

- Y = axial load factor for the bearing;
- Fr = actual radial bearing load (N);
- Fa = actual axial bearing load (N).

Table 1 below shows the recommended life value in operation. It is assumed that this
machine will be designed to operate for 8 hours per day intermittently and whose breakdown
will have serious consequences.

The bearing life in operating hours is chosen to be 8,000 as illustrated by the table below;

Flywheel Fitting

The flywheel to be fit in this design is meant to retain the momentum established by the gear
system as the primary shaft rotates and in turn rotating the secondary shaft via the chain drive
such that even when the operator stops the cranking cycles, the grooved-rasped discs at the
threshing unit are still in motion and maize threshing progresses. In general, the flywheel disc
is fit to provide continuous energy when the energy source is discontinuous. In such cases,
the flywheel stores energy when torque is applied by the energy source and it releases stored
energy when the energy source is not applying torque to it. The energy is stored in the rotor
as kinetic energy, or more specifically, rotational energy given by the following equation:

Where:
 - ω is the angular velocity, and
- is the moment of inertia of the mass about the center of rotation.
- I = πd4/64, for a cylindrical shaft (PSG Tech 1989).

The flywheel to be used in this design is one made of mild steel and which conforms to the
following specification; mass-14kg, external diameter D-360mm, internal diameter d-41mm.
This is illustrated by the following figure;

Shear Stress

The shear stress on the shaft is determined by the formula below (Black and Adams 1968):

τ = (16T)/(πd3)

where: τ = Shear stress N/m2;

Lateral Rigidity

The lateral rigidity of a shaft is based upon the permissible lateral deflection for proper
bearing operation, accurate machine tool performance, shaft alignment etc. Amount of
deflection can also be calculated by two successive integrals of the formula:

d2y/dx2 = (Mb)/(EI)

where:

Mb = bending moment N/m2;

E = Modulus 'of elasticity (N/m2) ;

I = Moment of inertia (m4).

Torsional Rigidity

Torsional rigidity of a shaft is based on permissible angle of twist. The amount of twist
permissible depends upon the particular application and varies from 0.3 degree/m for a
machine tools shaft to about 3 degree/m for line shafting as given by:

θ = (584 MTL)/(Gd4)

where:

- θ = angle of twist (degree);

- L = length of shaft (m);
- MT = torsional moment (Nm);
- G = Torsional modulus of rigidity (N/m2);
- d = diameter of shaft (m).

Bending Stress

According to Hall et al. (1988), for bending load, bending stress (tension or compression) is:

Sb = Mbr/I

Hence,

Sb = (32Mb)/(πd 3),

where:

- Sb = bending stress;
- Mb = bending moment;
- d = shaft diameter;
- I = moment of inertia

Also, I = πd4/64, for a cylindrical shaft (PSG Tech 1989).

Torsional Stress

According to Black and Adams (1968), torsional stress is determined using

τxy = MT r/J

But J = πd4/32, hence, τxy = (16MT)/(πd3),

where:

- τxy = Torsional stress N/m2;

- MT = torsional moment;
- r = radius of shaft;
- J = Polar moment of area;
- d = diameter of shaft.

Determination of Threshing Torque

The torque, T, is given by:

T=Fxr

where:

F = available centripetal force;

r = threshing radius

Determination of the Power Delivered By primary Shaft

Power, P = work done per second:

P = (work done)/time = (force x distance)/time = force x velocity.

velocity = ωr,

where:
 - ω = angular velocity;
- r = radius.
- Therefore, power = Fωr

Determination of Torsional Moment, MT

The torsional moment, MT, is given by

MT = 9,550 x KW/N,

where:

- KW = power delivered;
- N = revolutions per minute.

Force in the beater discs required for threshing

The beater discs whose surfaces are designed with alternating rasp bars and grooves, and
which are attached to the secondary shaft extending to the threshing chamber, rotate with the
shaft, giving rise to centripetal force:

F = m ω2 r

where:

- F = centripetal force;
- m = mass of discs;
- ω = angular velocity;
- r = max disc radius.

Determination of Angular Velocity, ω

The angular velocity, ω, is given by:

ω = 2πN/60,

where: N = speed of the shaft in r.p.m.

The Radius, r, of the Threshing Arm

The radius, r, of the threshing arm increases along the length of the shaft and also decreases
towards the other end of the shaft, where:

r = radius of threshing arm and it is given as

rmax = 0.045m (assumed),

rmin = 0.035m (assumed), so that

centripetal force at rmax (F) = mω2rmax,

centripetal force at rmin (F) = mω2rmin.

Calculation of the Shearing Force and Bending Moment of

the Shaft at Different Sections of the Shaft

Here: S.F. = upward forces – downward forces;

- B.M = forces x perpendicular distances.