Design, Development, And Performance Evaluation Of Carrot Washing And Grading Machine

Abstract

Carrot Washing And Grading, Which Is Done After Harvesting And Before Delivering To The Market, Has Been Done By Farmers In Ethiopia Using Conventional Methods That Are Too Laborious, Time Consuming, And Labor-Intensive, Resulting In Decreased Carrot Productivity And Health Problems. The Major Goal Of This Study Was To Design, Develop, And Test A Carrot Washing And Grading Machine That Was Not Utilized For Cooking Purposes After Harvesting Before Delivering To Market In Order To Solve The Concerns Mentioned Above. Based On Literature Reviews, The Pump's Power Source, Beginning Speed, And Discharge Capacity Were Set At 50w, 60rpm, And 0.036l/S, Respectively, During Design. The Bicycle Chain, Pedal, Pulleys, Belts, And Shafts Were Chosen To Transfer Human Power To The Planned Machine. Before Building, All Components Were Modeled Using Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application Software (Catia V5). The Nantey Variety Was Used To Evaluate The Machine's Performance At Two Levels Of Feeding Loads: 10kg And 15kg, As Well As Three Distinct Drum Speeds: 14rpm, 21rpm, And 28rpm. The Drum Speed And Feeding Load Were Assigned As Treatments In A Completely Randomized Design (Crd). The Data Was Collected Using Both Qualitative And Quantitative Approaches, And The Results Were Analyzed Using Spss Software At A 5% Level Of Significance. Overall, The Mean Findings For Time Required To Complete Washing And Grading Activities, Washing Efficiency, Grading Efficiency, Percentage Of Damaged Tuber, And Throughout Put Capacity Were 2.22 Minutes, 98.70 Percent, 92.23 Percent, 1.21 Percent, And 242.17 Kg/Hr, Respectively. For The Range Of The Variable Of Drum Speed Between 14-28 Rpm And For The Range Of The Variable Of Feeding Load 10-15kg, The Evaluation Findings Revealed Time Requirements Of 2 To 10.88 Minutes And Washing Efficiencies Of 84.87 To 98.70 Percent. As The Speed Rose (14 To 28 Rpm), The Grading Efficiency Increased 72.89 To 92.23 Percent, And The Feeding Load Increased From 10 To 15kg. The Carrot Washing And Grading Machine Require No Formal Education To Use And Maintain, And It Was Built With Locally Sourced Materials. This Equipment Cost Birr 16363.52 Per Unit, Which Is A Low Price That Most Ethiopian Farmers Can Afford.