Design, Structural Validation And Performance Evaluation Of A Pedal-operated Groundnut Shelling Machine For Small-scale Agricultural Processing

• Author(s):

  Nayan Sandeep Bora1 | Ajaykumar Ugale

• Keywords:

  Groundnut Shelling; Pedal-operated Machine; Agricultural Mechanization; Finite Element Analysis; Chain Drive; Shelling Efficiency; Small-scale Processing.

• Abstract:

  Groundnut Shelling Is An Essential Post-harvest Operation That Converts Dried Pods Into Marketable Kernels, But Small Farmers Commonly Depend On Hand Shelling Or Costly Powered Machines. This Study Presents The Design, Fabrication, Structural Validation And Experimental Evaluation Of A Revised Pedal-operated Groundnut Shelling Machine Developed As A Low-cost Intermediate Technology For Rural And Small-scale Users. The Machine Consists Of A Hopper-fed Rotary Drum, Stationary Perforated Concave, Chain-and-sprocket Transmission, 25 Mm Main Shaft, Welded Mild-steel Frame, Pedal Crank, Fan-assisted Separation Unit And Collection Arrangement. Human Power Is Transmitted Through The Pedal Crank To The Shelling Shaft; The Drum-concave Pair Cracks Pods By Rubbing And Compression, While The Outlet And Fan Arrangement Separate Lighter Shells From Heavier Kernels. Design Calculations Were Performed For Pedal Torque, Power, Chain Drive Ratio, Shaft Stress And Drum Peripheral Speed. Structural Safety Was Verified Through Finite-element/static Simulation Of The Frame, Shaft, Shelling Drum, Pedal Crank, Bearing Bracket And Complete Assembly. The Maximum Equivalent Stress In The Full Assembly Was 93.6 MPa, Which Is Below The 250 MPa Yield Reference, And The Corresponding Factor Of Safety Was 2.67. Experimental Trials For 1-10 Kg Batches Showed Shelling Efficiency Between 89.2% And 91.3%, Cleaning Efficiency Between 84.5% And 86.2%, And Mechanical Damage Between 4.3% And 5.4%. The Results Confirm That The Pedal-operated Configuration Can Reduce Drudgery, Avoid Electricity Dependence And Deliver Acceptable Shelling Performance When Speed, Feed Rate And Concave Clearance Are Controlled.

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Other Details

• Paper id:

  IJSARTV12I6105595

• Published in:

  Volume: 12 Issue: 6 June 2026

• Publication Date:

  2026-06-02

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