• MONISHA SELVAN

Coconuts are normally de-husked manually using either a machete or a spike. Attempts made so far in the development of de-husking tools have been partially successful and ineffective in replacing manual methods. The reasons for the failure of these tools include unsatisfactory and incomplete de-husking, breakage of the coconut shell while de-husking, spoilage of coir, greater fatigue in manual methods, etc. A power operated coconut de-husker was developed to increase the de-husking efficiency and reducing the fatigue of the operator. This paper describes the design modification and performance evaluation of de-husker as well as the implication of the results obtained. The de-husker principally consists of electric motor of 1 hp 3 phase, two rollers each of diameter 520 mm length and 150 mm diameter with the thickness of 3mm, gear reducer of 5:1 ratio and V- belt pulley. The machine includes a base positioned on a supporting surface with two rollers. The rollers are forced to rotate in the opposite direction towards the center at different speeds (driving gear- 11.5 rpm and driven gear- 5.7 rpm). Penetrating spikes are formed on each roller which are arranged in a patterned array that facilitates the penetrating, gripping and shearing of the coconut husk. The time taken for de-husking a coconut was found to be 14 sec. The machine worked efficiently with dry coconut of the moisture content 25-35 %. The average capacity of the machine was 220 nuts per hour, whereas in manual method it was 150 nuts per hour.

coconut, power operated, de-husking, motor, rollers

"Fabrication of modern motorized Coconut (Cocos nucifera) De-husker to reduce the fatigue of the humans", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 4, page no.243-249, April-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1904N39.pdf

"Fabrication of modern motorized Coconut (Cocos nucifera) De-husker to reduce the fatigue of the humans", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 4, page no. pp243-249, April-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1904N39.pdf