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Design and Development of Hand Operated Maize Dehusker-Sheller for Farm

Women

Article  in  Ama, Agricultural Mechanization in Asia, Africa & Latin America · June 2012

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Design and Development of Hand Operated Maize
Dehusker-Sheller for Farm Women
by
S. P. Singh Pratap Singh
Senior Scientist (FMP), Ex. Director of Research,
DRWA Sub-centre (ICAR) MPUAT
CIAE Campus, Udaipur- 313001, INDIA
Bhopal- 462 038, INDIA
[email protected]

Surendra Singh
Project Coordinator (FIM)
CIAE (ICAR)
Bhopal- 462 038, INDIA

sheller was recommended for me-

Abstract Introduction
dium farms (Ali et al., 1986) but
Maize is becoming the third ma- Normally cobs are plucked from this equipment could not reach to
jor crop of the country after rice and the standing maize crop and there- the farmers as this was operated by
wheat. Dehusking and shelling of after the maize stalk is harvested. two men workers due to high power
the maize cob are done mostly by After plucking the maize cob, it is requirement. The dehusking and
the farm women in the country. This dehusked manually and then dried shelling efficiencies were 90 and 95
operation is mostly performed by in the sunshine to reduce moisture percent, respectively, at optimum
the traditional method. To provide content to 15-21 percent (d.b.) for moisture content of 17 to 19 percent.
options for small and hill farmers, a shelling to get the grain from the These were some of the reasons for
hand operated maize dehusker-shell- cob. The activity related to removal not reaching to the farmer level. The
er has been designed, developed, of the outer sheath from the plucked estimate of population of agricultur-
fabricated and evaluated. Far m cob (called dehusking) is mostly al workers indicated the declining
women could easily operate the performed by farm women. It is trend of men workers and increasing
machine with right or left hand. The also observed that except beating trend of women workers for farm
output capacity with the machine with a stick, removal of grain from operations (Anonymous, 2006).
was about 60 kg/h at a feed rate of rest method (finger, sickle, etc.) is Thus, an attempt was made to de-
80 kg un-dehusked cob per h. The done by farm women (Singh, 2010). sign, develop and fabricate a maize
dehusking efficiency was 100 %, To mechanize this activit y for dehusker-sheller operated by farm
shelling efficiency 98.8 % and grain small and hill farmers, the pedal- women. The present paper discusses
breakage 0.3 % at a peripheral cyl- operated maize dehusker-sheller the design, development and evalu-
inder speed of 5.6 m s-1. Two farm was developed at Udaipur (Mudgal ation of such a maize dehusker-
women (one for hand cranking and et al., 1998). This machine had a sheller.
another for feeding the cob) were single octagonal cylinder, one half
required during operation of the of which was provided with rasp-
machine. Both the workers could be bars and the other with rubber strips
Methods and Materials
shifted during operation to increase to act as dehusking and shelling
the continuity in operation. units respectively. This dehusker- During the development of the

VOL.43 NO.3 2012 AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION IN ASIA, AFRICA, AND LATIN AMERICA 15
prototype of the maize dehusker- the energy requirement in the opera- cm
sheller, it was kept in mind that the tion of dehusking-shelling the un- T = torque on shaft, kg-cm
equipment suitable for farm women dehusked cobs due to less contact M = bending moment on shaft,
would automatically suit to men with cob. Based on minimum length kg-cm
workers as farm women were hav- of cob (75 mm), the number of solid Sallow = allowable stress for
ing less strength than men workers lugs in each beater was three. The mild steel shaft, 560 kg/cm 2
(Singh et al., 2006). Farm women lug spacing on each beater was 150 Torque on cylinder shaft was cal-
wear loose cloth (Saree) and are mm, thus, during rotation, a lug culated using following formula:
not accustomed with cycling. Thus, spacing of 75 mm was obtained so T = (HP × 4500) / 2 π N............(2)
they prefer such equipment that can that even the small cob having a Where,
be operated by hand. The design length up to 75 mm could be dehu- T = torque on shaft, kg-m
criteria for development of different sked and shelled with the machine. HP = horse power to be trans-
components of the hand operated The size of each square solid lug mitted, hp
maize dehusker-sheller are de- was of 320 mm width × 320 mm N = speed, rpm
scribed below: height × 460 mm length and the lug π = 3.14
Threshing System was mounted on the parallel beaters Assumption,
Of the cross-flow and axial flow at an angle of 25.760 clockwise and H P = Consider i ng ma xi mu m
threshing, the axial flow system was on remaining parallel beaters it was power that could be developed by
opted as material passed through welded in anti-clock wise directions a human being of 1 hp, as reported
the threshing zone between the at the same angle. by Wilkle (1960) and Anonymous
axial f low cylinder and concave Louverers (2010).
several times due to rearward move- Two helical louverers (one at the N = Shaft speed was taken 275
ment in a helical path, rather than feeding side and the other at the out- rpm to obtain peripheral speed of
making a single pass in the cross- let side) were provided on the beater 5.5 m s-1. Design torque was kept the
flow cylinder. This feature with the of the cylinder for easy movement same as obtained, i.e., 260.57 kg-
axial flow threshing system helps in of cobs from feeding end to outlet cm as maximum power developed
getting more retention time for un- side. Both the louverers were made by a human being was considered.
dehusked cobs during continuous in arch shape and attached from first Bending moment was calculated as-
feeding. This system consumes low solid lug of a beater to the second suming uniformly distributed load
energy because it does not make lug of another beater. Simultaneous- over a simply supported beam. Load
fine straw in comparison to spike ly other louverer was welded from was calculated on the basis of cob
tooth and rasp bar type threshers. the second lug of the third beater to weight to be fed. Cob weight of 285
Moreover, with the dehusker-sheller, the third lug of the fourth beater. g was considered. Assuming a load
there is no need of making straw so Cylinder Diameter of about two un-dehusked cobs (570
the axial flow system was opted. The cylinder diameter, including g weight), thus, 570 g load would be
Threshing Cylinder lug height, was 380 mm to achieve on cylinder. The length of circular
The threshing cylinder consisted the peripheral tip cylinder speed of MS shaft was 800 mm to accommo-
of beaters, solid lugs and louverers. about 5.5 m s-1 at hand a cranking date the width of cylinder, cylinder
Four beaters were used in the cylin- speed of 50 to 55 rpm. The large cover, bearings and 100 mm excess
der of the axial flow threshing sys- size diameter cylinder was taken shaft to provide the driven sprocket.
tem for providing sufficient space as this worked better with available Bending moment on the cylinder
to avoid carrying of un-dehusked power. Using a cotter bolt, the cyl- shaft was calculated by:
maize cobs though the periphery inder was tightened with cylinder M = (W × l2) / 4......................... (3)
of the threshing cylinder. This also shaft. Where,
helped in reducing total power re- Design of Cylinder Shaft M = bending moment on shaft,
quirement in dehusking-shelling. This was designed considering kg-m
The beater length of cylinder of the torsion combined with bending, as- W = load per metre length, kg/
axial f low maize dehusker-sheller suming uniformly distributed load m
was 0.54 m including square solid on a simple supporting beam. The l = cylinder/ main shaft length,
plates. following formula was used for cal- m
Threshing Element culating cylinder shaft diameter: Putting the value of torque, bend-
The rasp bar, spike tooth and solid (πd3 / 16) = [√ T2 + (M2 / S allow)].... ing moment and allowable shearing
lugs, square solid lugs were opted as . .............................................. (1) stress in formula 2, the diameter of
threshing element on MS angle iron Where, the cylinder shaft was about 14 mm.
beater as it also helped in reducing d = diameter of cylinder shaft, Taking 2 as factor of safety, the di-

16 AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION IN ASIA, AFRICA, AND LATIN AMERICA 2012 VOL.43 NO.3
ameter became 28 mm. length and height of conical shaped Power Transmission System
Bottom concave of Cylinder bottom cover were 525, 560 and 300 To transfer of power from a hu-
The concave clearance was de- mm, respectively. An opening on man being to the machine, a chain
cided as per the literature and the the bottom cover from the other end sprocket system was selected for
diameter of kernel (shelled cob) was of feeding was provided in half arch transmission of power to a paral-
also considered which varied from shaped above 12 mm from perfo- lel shaft; i.e., from cranking end to
16 to 37 mm. Hence, the concave rated concave for coming out dehu- cylinder shaft with moderate cen-
clearance was kept to 35 mm. The sked material from the cylinder. The tre distance. It consisted of chain,
hole size of mild steel mesh/sieve opening for husk outlet was decided sprockets, frame for mounting drive
for lower concave was about 30- based on 10 % of average size of un- sprocket, shaft for mounting drive
35 % more to the maximum length/ dehusked cob with stalk (237.6 mm). sprocket, handle and chain cover.
diameter of maize grain (12 mm) so Feeding Arrangement Selection of the chain-sprocket sys-
that grain obtained from the process The feeding arrangement of the tem was based on following criteria:
of dehusking-shelling could eas- dehusker-sheller was the ‘throw- • Maximum power developed by
ily pass through it. Thus, hole size in’ type, where whole cobs were fed human being= 1 hp
of perforated concave screen was into the machine through a hopper. • Speed of drive sprocket = 50
16 mm. The diameter of concave The feed hopper was designed for rpm
perforated sheet was 430 mm with feeding one by one cob to avoid • Required cylinder tip speed =
a depth of 185 mm. A collar of 65 over feeding which might affect the 5.5 m s-1
mm width was also provided at performance of the machine due • Dehusking-shelling cylinder di-
both ends on length side so that the to limited available power from ameter = 380 mm
concave rested on the main frame. women workers. The height of the The shaft speed of cylinder was
Six 8 mm square bars 540 mm long hopper was 330 mm to reduce the calculated using formula,
were was welded over the perforated energy requirement in dehusking- Shaft speed (m s-1) = (π D N) / 60..
concave at equal spacing of 80 mm shelling maize cobs (Johnson et ................................................... (4)
as this square member also helped al., 1969). The hopper height from Where,
in dehusking-shelling the un-dehu- ground was 1,400 mm. D = diameter, m
sked maize cob. Grain Collecting System N = speed, rpm
Cylinder Cover A trapezium shaped grain collect- Thus N became 277 rpm.
A cylindrical shaped cover was ing system was made and attached Let us take the r pm of driven
provided for the top portion of the with the opening provided in bot- sprocket = 275.
cylinder. The diameter, length and tom cover for grain after dehusking- The required velocit y ratio =
depth of top cylinder cover were shelling. A hook on both side of the (Shaft speed, rpm) / (Cranking
525, 560 and 285 mm, respectively. grain collection point was welded to speed, rpm).............................(5)
A rectang ular opening (45 m m mount a sack on the vertical collar. The required velocity ratio = 5.5
width × 50 mm height) from both The height from ground of this unit As per the availability, the num-
sides was provided for smooth run- at the grain collection point was 400 ber of teeth on the small sprocket
ning of cylinder shaft. A square mm. This unit was mounted at an (n 2) was 13. Therefore, the number
opening of 120 mm was provided angle of 250 from horizontal to al- of teeth on the larger sprocket (n1) at
on this cover from the front side to low free flow of maize grain. the cranking end was 68.
mount the hopper. The top cover Frame of Dehusker-sheller The Driving Force was Calcu-
was welded at three places using a Trapezium shaped frame was pro- lated using the Formula
hinge clamp from the back side and, vided for the maize dehusker-sheller F = (HP × 4500) / V..................(6)
at the front side, three lock clamps to provide more stability during op- V can be calculated by using for-
were attached so that it could be eration. An angle of 6.610 from top mula,
easily opened whenever required. breadth was, thus, provided at each V = (P N1 n1) / 1000...................(7)
To provide stability to top cover leg. A small wheel (120 mm diam- Where,
while in opening position, a stopper eter solid wheel) at four corners of F = driving force, kg
was welded on second hinge clamp the frame was provided to facilitate V = chain velocity, m/min
at the back side. the machine for easy movement p = chain pitch, mm
A conical shaped cover was pro- from one place to another place. The N1 = rpm of drive sprocket
vided for the bottom of the cylinder, handle height of the machine was n 1 = number of teeth on drive
which covers concave bottom sieve 600 mm. A wooden handle grip 30 sprocket
and also facilitates the grain com- mm diameter and 140 mm long was A small chain pitch of 12.5 mm
ing from the cylinder. The diameter, provided. was selected as it is usually desir-

VOL.43 NO.3 2012 AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION IN ASIA, AFRICA, AND LATIN AMERICA 17
able in chain drive to reduce surg- g = gravitational acceleration, Hence, D = 2.35 cm = Say 25 mm
ing of the chain. Centre distance 9.81 m/s2 Diameter of shaft of drive sprock-
between drive and driven sprockets K = coefficient for sag et was taken as 25 mm. A safety
was calculated based on 40 pitch of w = weight per metre of chain, cover was provided for the chain-
sprocket, i.e. 500 mm. kg sprocket to avoid any accident. As-
For finding single/duplex/triplex a = centre distance, m suming power loss of 5 % due to
chain, the formula used was, Thus, power transmission through chain-
Fu = Factor of safety × F.........(8) ΣP = 106.861 kgf sprocket and 10 % loss in stepping
Factor of safety = 8.2 as recom- Hence, up speed, the net power would be
mended [n] = Q / ΣP = 1417 / 106.861 = 85 % of maximum available power
Fu = 868.216 kg 13.26 from human being that could be
Single chain was found due to Thus, the design was safe. utilized for operating the maize
breaking load of 1417 kg. Design for diameter of shaft to dehusker-sheller.
Ac t u a l f a c t o r of s a fe t y w a s mount drive sprocket was done con- Performance of machine
checked by sidering torque only. The formula The cylinder (540 mm length) was
[n] = Q / ΣP...............................(9) used for calculating the diameter of fitted in the first prototype of hand
Where, shaft was: operated maize-dehusker-sheller.
Fu = breaking load, kg D3 = (16 × T) / (π × fs)............ (13) This prototype could accommodate
Q = breaking load of chain, kg Where, a cylinder of 725 mm length. The
[n] = actual factor of safety fs = allowable stress for mild steel prototype fitted with 540 mm cylin-
Taking the breaking load of chain shaft, 560 kg/cm 2 der was assessed and farm women
(Q) = 1417 kg and considering ac- Torque on drive sprocket shaft could successfully operated the
tual factor of safety [n] that should was calculated using equation, machine. This machine was able
be greater than allowable. HP = [2 × π × Speed of rotation to perform the intended function.
ΣP = Pt + Pc + Ps (rpm) × Torque (kg-m)] / 4500... Thereafter, the prototype of hand
Where, . ............................................ (14) operated maize dehusker-sheller
Pt = (75 × H. P) / V = 105.63 kg.... Assumption, was operated by ten farm women
. ............................................ (10) Horse power (HP) to be transmit- in standing posture for dehusking-
Pc = w v2 / g = 0.031 kgf.......... (11) ted = 1 hp shelling the un-dehusked maize
Ps = K w a = 1.2...................... (12) rpm of hand cranking shaft (N ) = cobs (Fig. 1). The average moisture
Where, 50 content of grain was measured us-
P t = tangential force due to Thus, ing standard techniques of the oven
power transmission, kgf T = 14.324 kg-m = 1,432.4 kg-cm drying method. The performance
Pc = centrifugal tension, kgf Design torque was kept the same of the machine was observed in
Ps = tension due to sagging of as obtained, i.e., 1,432.4 kg-cm as reference to dehusking, shelling and
chain, kgf maximum power developed by a hu- grain breakage. Feeding of cob was
V = chain velocity, m/s man being was considered. one by one and feeding of next cob

Fig. 1 Farm woman operating the 1st prototype of hand Fig. 2 Grain obtained (recovery) from maize cob at different feed
operated maize dehusker-sheller rates while operating maize dehusker-sheller with farm women

65
Grain recovery, kg h-1

18 AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION IN ASIA, AFRICA, AND LATIN AMERICA 2012 VOL.43 NO.3
was based on slow release of grain Fig. 4 Orthogonal view of final prototype of hand operated maize dehusker-sheller
from the grain outlet. Output of the
dehusker-sheller was calculated.
Grain obtained from maize cob at
different feed rates while operat-
ing the maize dehusker-sheller with
farm women is shown in Fig. 2.
Shelling efficiency and grain break-
age at different cylinder speeds
while operating the maize dehusker-
sheller with farm women are shown
in Fig. 3.
Based on the results obtained with
this prototype, a computer aided de-
sign was prepared for fabrication of
the final prototype of the hand oper-
ated maize dehusker-sheller. The fi-
nal machine consisted of trapezium
shaped frame, threshing cylinder
(540 mm length × 380 mm diam-
eter) with solid lugs and helical lou-
verers, hopper, power transmission
unit, transport wheels (75 mm di-
ameter and 30 mm width), etc. The
orthogonal view of the machine is
shown in Fig. 4. This machine was
fabricated as per design. The ma- 1 Trapezium shaped 9 Stopper on hinge 17 Handle assembly
frame clamp
chine was also evaluated with farm 2 Bottom cylinder cover 10 Latch assembly 18 Bolt
women (Fig. 5) to assess its per- 3 Sieve 11 Bearing block 19 Nut
formance in comparison to earlier 4 Threshing cylinder 12 Drive sprocket 20 Roller chain assembly
prototype. The data obtained from 5 Bolt 13 Circular clip 21 Safety cover assembly
the first prototype was compared 6 Washer 14 Drive sprocket 22 Bolt
with final prototype and are given assembly
in Table 1. The manufacturing cost 7 Nut 15 Key 23 Nut
of the final prototype of hand oper- 8 Top cylinder cover 16 Driven sprocket
ated maize dehusker-sheller is given assembly
in Table 2. The cost of operation of Fig. 5 Farm woman operating the final
prototype of hand operated
maize dehusker-sheller
Fig. 3 Shelling efficiency and grain breakage at different cylinder
speed while operating maize dehusker-sheller with farm women

VOL.43 NO.3 2012 AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION IN ASIA, AFRICA, AND LATIN AMERICA 19
maize dehusker-sheller per kg grain tion between impulse forces with sking efficiency was 100 % (Table
was calculated and given in Table 3. respect to cob during dehusking- 1). The shelling efficiency was 98.5
shelling process at corresponding % at cylinder speed of 5.7 m s-1 and
cylinder lengths. The graph indi- grain moisture content of 11.2 %
cated the peripheral cylinder speed with prototype-I. While it was 98.8
Results and Discussion
of 5.7 m s -1 for optimum shelling % with the final prototype at cyl-
Effect of Feed Rate on Grain Recov- efficiency with low grain breakage inder a speed of 5.6 m s-1 and grain
ery at a feed rate of about 80 kg h-1. moisture content of 10.1 %. Though,
The developed maize dehusker- there was not much difference in
sheller was evaluated by recording Comparative Performance of Pro- shelling efficiency with both proto-
the performance of the machine totypes types. It could be assessed that dried
du r i ng hand cran k i ng by far m None of un-dehusked maize cob un-dehusked maize cob might gave
women. The grain moisture content came without dehusking with outlet better shelling. The output in terms
was 11.7 + 1.16 % (d.b.). The grain in both prototypes, thus, the dehu- of grain per kg with both prototypes
recovery increased from 48 to 72
kg/h with increase in feed rates
from 71 to 95 kg/h at hand crank- Table 1 Comparative performance results of prototype-I and final prototype
while operating maize dehusker-sheller with farm women
ing speed from 51 to 60 rpm with
the developed machine (Fig. 2). The Particulars Average Values
variation in grain recovery might Prototype-I Final prototype
be due to cylinder speed and grain Maize grain/spent cob ratio 0.76
to spent cob ratio. The relationship Grain moisture content, % (d.b.) 11.7 10.1 + 0.22
between grain obtained (recovery) Peripheral cylinder tip speed, m/s 5.7 5.6
from the un-dehusked maize cob Feed rate, kg/h 83.6 79.8
during different feed rates while op- Output, kg/h 60.3 60.0
Dehusking efficiency, % 100 100
erating the maize dehusker-sheller
Shelling efficiency, % 98.5 98.8
by farm women was established
Grain breakage, % 0.8 0.3
using linear, logarithmic, power,
exponential and polynomial trends.
The higher value of coefficient of Table 2 Manufacturing cost of final prototype of hand operated
determinant (R 2) suggested a second maize dehusker-sheller
order polynomial trend. The polyno- Approximately cost, Rs.
mial trend clearly indicated at a feed Parts Weight, kg
Rate Material cost
rate of 95 kg/h, the declination in Trapezium shaped frame including frame 19.5 40/kg 780
grain recovery was observed, which of power transmission unit, kg
suggested stricting the feed rate for Cylinder (beaters, lugs and square plate), kg 20.5 60/kg 1,230
this machine to below 95 kg/h. The Cylinder shaft, kg 3.3 50/kg 165
polynomial best fit equation is given Top cylinder cover including hopper, kg 10.5 60/kg 630
in equation 15. Perforated concave including MS bar, kg 6.2 90/kg 558
y = −0.0144x2 + 3.2407x − 108.53. Bottom conical shaped cover, kg 8.25 60/kg 495
. ............................................ (15) Grain collection unit, kg 3.5 60/kg 210
The dehusking efficiency was 100 Weight of handle, kg 1.5 60/kg 90
% at all the cylinder speeds. The Sprockets, kg 1.6 16/teeth 1,296
relationship between peripheral cyl- Bearing cover with bearing, kg (4 nos.) 5.7 450/ unit 1,800
inder speed and shelling efficiency Weight of chain, kg 0.986 200/ chain 200
and grain breakage is shown in Fig. Safety cover, kg 1.201 70/kg 84
3. The shelling efficiency was in Transport wheel 4 no. 50/ piece 200
increased from 97 to 99 % with in- Nut and bolts 100
crease in peripheral speed from 5.30 Paint (primer 1 l + paint 2l) 600
to 6.24 m s-1 for the feed rates of 71 Total cost of material (A) 8,438
(say 8,450)
to 95 kg/h. The grain breakage was Manufacturing cost including labour and 50 % of A 4,225
found lowest at speed of 5.7 m s-1. overhead charges
The high grain breakage was ob- Profit 20 % of A 1,690
served at speed of 5.3 and 6.24 m s-1. Total manufacturing cost 14,365
This might have been due to varia- (say 14,500)

20 AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION IN ASIA, AFRICA, AND LATIN AMERICA 2012 VOL.43 NO.3
 was about 60 kg. The performance pable of doing the desired job. and technical feasibility of maize
results of prototype-I and final pro- dehusking and shelling. Journal of
totype were almost identical. Agricultural Engineering (ISAE),
All the farm women operated the 23(1): 71-81.
Conclusions
equipment comfortably with either A nony mou s. 20 06. Popu lat ion
left or right hands. Two farm women A hand operated axial flow maize Projections for India and States
(one for hand cranking and another dehusker-sheller operated by farm 2001-06. Report of the Technical
for feeding the cob) were required women was designed and devel- Group on Population Projections
du r i ng oper at ion of t he mai ze oped. Farm women could easily op- Constituted by the National Com-
dehusker-sheller. Both the workers erate the machine with right or left mission on Population, Govern-
could be shifted during operation to hand. The peripheral cylinder tip ment of India, New Delhi (In
increase the continuity in operation. speed of 5.6 to 5.7 m s-1 was found Project Coordinator’s, Tech. Re-
Weight of the final prototype of optimum from the grain breakage port No. CIAE/ESA/2007/346,
the hand operated maize dehusker- point of view. The output capacity CIAE, Bhopal).
sheller was 85 kg. Four small trans- with the machine was about 60 kg/ Anonymous. 2010. Horsepower-
porting wheels 75 mm diameter h at feed rate of 80 kg un-dehusked Wi k ipedia, the f ree encyclo -
were provided for ease in transport. cob/h. The dehusking efficiency was pedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/
Cost of fabricating (manufactur- 100 %, shelling efficiency 98.85 % w i k i / Ho r s e p owe r (a c c e s s e d
ing) the final prototype came to and grain breakage 0.3 % at 5.6 m 01.02.2010).
Rs.14,500/ (290 $), Table 2. The s-1 cylinder speed. Bosoi, E. S., O. V. Verniaev, I. I.
cost of getting one kg maize grain Smirnov, and E. G. Sultan-Shakh.
with hand operated maize dehusker- 1990. Theory, Construction and
sheller came to Rs.1.15 (Table 3). REFERENCES Calculations of Agricultural Ma-
The final machine was also used for chines (Volume Two). Oxonian
shelling dehusked maize cob and it Ali, U., J. Singh, A. K. Soni, and A. Press Private Limited, New Delhi,
was found that the machine is ca- K. Maheshwari. 1986. Economic 469-494p.
Johnson, W. E., M. L. Jain, M. Y.
Hamdy, and F. P. Graham. 1969.
Table 3 Cost of dehusking-shelling per kg maize grain with hand operated Characteristics and analysis of
maize dehusker-sheller corn ear failure. Transaction of
Particulars Values ASAE, 12(6): 845-848.
Price of machine (P), Rs. 14,500 Mudgal, V D., N. K. Jain, J. S. Bor-
Number of labour employed 2 dia, and P. Seth. 1998. Research
Output of machine, kg/h 60 digest: AICRP on Post Harvest
Annual use of maize dehusker-sheller, h 200 Technology (1992-97) Udaipur
Life of maize dehusker-sheller (L), yr 10 Centre. CTAE, MPUAT, Udaipur,
Salvage value (S), % 10 26-32p.
Interest rate (i), % 10 Singh, S. P. 2010. Ergonomical In-
Labour charge, Rs. /h 17 terventions in Developing Hand
A. Fixed cost Formula Operated maize dehusker-sheller
Depreciation cost using straight line (P − S) /L 1,305 for Farm Women. Un-published
method, Rs. / annum Ph. D Agricultural Engineering
Interest on investment, Rs. / yr [(P + S)/L] × 997.5 (FMPE) Thesis. CTAE, MPUAT,
(i / 100)
Udaipur.
Insurance and shelter, Rs. / annum 2 % of P 290
Singh, S. P., L. P. Gite, and N. Agar-
Total fixed cost (TFC), Rs. / annum 2,592.5
wal. 2006. Improved farm tools
Fixed cost (FC) / h, Rs. TFC/ annual use 12.96
and equipment for women work-
B. Variable cost
ers for increased productivity and
Repair and maintenance costs, Rs. / annum 30 % of cost of 4,350.0
maize dehusker- reduced drudgery. Gender, Tech-
sheller nology and Development, 10(2):
Workers charge, Rs. / annum No. × h × charge 6,800.0 229-244.
Total variable cost (TVC) / annum, Rs. 11,150.0 Wilkle, D. R. 1960. Man as a source
Variable cost (VC) / h, Rs. TVC/ annual use 55.75 of mechanical power. Ergonom-
Total cost of operation (TCO) / h, Rs. FC + VC 68.71 ics, 3(1): 1-8.
Operational cost/ kg grain, Rs. TCO/Output 1.15 ■■

VOL.43 NO.3 2012 AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION IN ASIA, AFRICA, AND LATIN AMERICA 21

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