School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengineering (SFTNB)

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Browsing School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengineering (SFTNB) by Subject "Agricultural mechanisation"
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    Field ploughing performance evaluation of the Mulimi multi-purpose vehicle
    (Makerere University, 2019-06) Mutesasira, Sam
    In 2015, a Mulimi Multi-purpose vehicle (MMPV) was developed by the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE) at Makerere University in partnership with the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University to mechanize smallholder farms. Success was recorded, however technical and performance information was not documented to guide decision making to enhance the technology adoption. This study evaluated ploughing performance of MMPV to analyze ploughing depth and width, fuel consumption and ploughing field capacity in sandy clay and sandy clay loam soil types. Mechanical analysis was based on the hydrometer method, the USDA soil particle classification standard scheme and soil textual triangle were used to textually classify soil. The MMPV hitched with a disc plough was operated through 5 plots each measuring 50 m by 5 m separated by 2.5 m with a 5 m headland in each soil type. Using a tape measure ploughing furrow depth attained by MMPV (n = 5) averaged at 98.5 mm (s = 9.6) in sandy clay and 136.8 mm (s = 23.6) in sandy clay loam soil, and was significantly different (P < 0.05). The MMPV ploughing width (n = 5) in sandy clay averaged at 706 mm (s = 3.5) while in sandy clay loam was 609 mm (s = 1.9). Mulimi multi-purpose vehicle finished one (1) ha in 49.4 hours with actual field capacity of 0.02 ha/h in both soil types. It was also noted that more than 90% of total time was idle time spent at headlands and during inevitable plough setting adjustments. Mulimi multi-purpose vehicle fuel consumption averaged at 16.3 l/ha in sandy clay and 8.9 l/ha in sandy clay loam. These results indicated adequate ploughing performance values required by smallholder farming, thus availing an opportunity of adequately mechanizing ploughing operation and making informed decisions.
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    Performance evaluation and optimization of the maize shelling operation of the multi-purpose farm vehicle
    (Makerere University, 2018-12) Nsubuga, Denis
    In Uganda, maize post-harvest losses stand at 30% due to poor drying, poor storage and poor shelling techniques amongst other challenges of which shelling stands out as the biggest challenge. Hence the multi-purpose vehicle with a maize shelling operation was developed. On testing the vehicle with the Agricultural Engineering and Appropriate Technology Research Institute (AEATRI) maize sheller at a shelling speed of 870 rpm and 13 % moisture content, the output capacity was 608 below the expected 1,000 . The shelling efficiency was 97. % but the grain damage percentage of 8.43 % higher than acceptable 2 %. The cleaning efficiency was 18.40 % much lower than 98.00 % recommended. The main objective of the study therefore was to evaluate and optimize the multi-purpose farm vehicle maize shelling operation. Basing on the evaluation results, a modified maize sheller was designed and tested using standard procedures. A factorial experiment with shelling speed and moisture content as the main effects at 3 levels for different performance indices was conducted to further evaluate the sheller. Analysis of Variance was done using R-studio and a cost-benefit analysis was also conducted to determine the economic feasibility of the modified sheller. At 870 rpm and 13 % moisture content, the modified sheller had an improved output capacity of 1,581 5.67 , shelling efficiency of 98.0 0.38 %, cleaning efficiency of 98.3 0.17 %, and grain damage of 0.75 0.13 %. For all the treatment combinations, moisture content and shelling speed significantly affected the output capacity, shelling efficiency, cleaning efficiency and grain damage percentage (p<0.05) but moisture content did not significantly affect cleaning efficiency (p>0.05).The payback period of modified maize sheller was 1 year (11 working months) with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.33.