Date

4-2009

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering

Major Course

Major in Agricultural and Bio-Process Engineering

College

College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Arnold R. Elepaño

Committee Member

Kevin F. Yaptengco, Edgardo V. Casas

Abstract

The study tested and evaluated the performance of the AMDP Root Crop Washer- Peeler designed and fabricated at the Engineering Shop under the Institute of Agricultural Engineering. Cassava materials were used as root samples. Three independent parameters, namely, the quantity (25, 50 and 75kg), drum speed (40, 50 and 60 rpm) and operating time (5, 10 and 15 minutes) were used to analyze the response parameters for this experiment which were peeling efficiency, cleaning efficiency, washing-peeling capacity, parenchyma recovery, cortex recovery, mechanical damage, noise level, and power consumption. The design experiment was based on Box-Behnken three-level fractional factorial three-parameter experiment. The experimental results showed that the washer-peeler had peeling efficiency, cleaning efficiency, washing-peeling capacity, parenchyma recovery, cortex recovery, mechanical damage, noise level, and power consumption ranging from 45.6 – 95.4%, 87.6 – 94.4%, 46.8 – 792.0 kg/h, 41.3 – 82.5%, 53.2 – 82.2%, 19.0 – 61.2%, 90 – 94 db, and 804.1 – 860.2 W, respectively. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that quantity significantly affected peeling and cleaning efficiency at 95% confidence and showed highly significant effects on all the other response parameters. Drum speed, on the other hand, failed to significantly affect the peeling efficiency but significantly affected the remaining response parameters at 95% confidence except for parenchyma recovery and noise level which showed significance at 99% confidence. In addition, operating time showed significant effect on peeling efficiency, noise level and power consumption at 95% confidence, and on all the other responses at 99% confidence. The variation in the responses was assumed to be due to effects in the independent factors, with random error accounting for the remaining variation. Optimum conditions within the limits of independent parameters tested indicated a quantity of 75 kg, drum speed of 50 rpm and an operating time of 5 minutes. At these conditions, the predicted values for the peeling efficiency, cleaning efficiency, washing- peeling capacity, parenchyma recovery, cortex recovery, mechanical damage, noise level and power consumption were 77.4%, 89.7%, 762.1 kg/h, 81.1%, 84.4%, 18.2%, 91.3 db and 833.7 W, respectively. These values obtained a desirability value of 71 %.

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

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