research paper - ijerst · optimization and the prediction of the whole-kernel ... (fs1 and fs2) on...

11

This article can be downloaded from http://www.ijerst.com/currentissue.php

Int. J. Engg. Res. & Sci. & Tech. 2016 Yun-Fei Fu et al., 2016

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON INFLUENCES OFPARAMETERS OF ADAPTIVE CASHEW SHELLING

CUTTER ON SHELLING PERFORMANCE

The study involves the performance evaluation of the adaptive cashew shelling cutter, which isused to produce kernels of cashew nuts by removing shells (pericarp), under different designparameters (i.e., the distance between upper and lower cutters, the pre-pressure caused by thespring, and the velocity of the scraper). In particular, the adaptive cashew shelling cutter has apair of the cutters connected with springs so as to fit various sizes of cashew nuts. Before theshelling test, the pre-shelling treatments of cashew nuts are carried out under the combinationof the steaming time of 20 minutes, steaming temperature of 115 °C, and the drying time of 36hours. During the shelling test, each group of the shelling test consumes 150 cashew nuts, andeach group of the shelling test is repeated five times. The overall results show that to get themaximum number of whole kernels, the distance between upper and lower cutters should be8.5 mm, the velocity of the scraper should be 0.36 m/s, and the pre-pressure caused by springshould be 170 N. With the rise in the pre-pressure caused by the spring, the number of thewhole kernels obtained by hand declines, while the number of the whole kernels obtained byhand witnesses an opposite tendency with the rise in the distance between upper and lowercutters. Particularly, when the velocity of the scraper is 0.48 m/s, the number of the wholekernels obtained by hand achieves the highest point.

Keywords: Adaptive cashew shelling cutter, Whole kernel rate, Pre-shelling treatment, Shellingperformance, Shelling test platform

INTRODUCTIONCashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) nutoriginated from South American countries (e.g.,Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru) (Aliyu andAwopetu, 2007). Nowadays, cashew nuts havealready become an extremely important tropical1 Agricultural Product Processing Research Institute at Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Zhanjiang524001, China.

Int. J. Engg. Res. & Sci. & Tech. 2016

ISSN 2319-5991 www.ijerst.comVol. 5, No. 4, November 2016

© 2016 IJERST. All Rights Reserved

Research Paper

fruit crop worldwide, basically because cashewnuts are of considerable economic importance.In 2002, India was the largest producer andprocessor of cashew nuts all over the world - 0.46million tons of raw cashew nuts per year.However, in the year of 2013, Vietnam constituted

Yun-Fei Fu1, Jie Gong1, Hui Huang1, Yi-Jun Liu1, Fan Zhang1 and Mao-Fang Huang1*

*Corresponding Author: Mao-Fang Huang [email protected]

12



the largest amount in terms of exporting cashewnuts with 25 million tons, valuing at roughly 1.8billion dollars (Uchiyama et al. , 2014).Undoubtedly, cashew processing industriesindeed contribute to improve the employmentrates, especially in Third World countries suchas India, Tanzania, Mozambique, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, and Kenya. Practically, the cashew nutchiefly consists of a nutshell (pericarp) and akernel, and the pericarp is composed of theepicarp, mesocarp, and endocarp, as shown inFigure 1 (Thivavarnvongs et al., 1995). In additionto that, there is a testa between the endocarpand kernel, in an attempt to protect the kernelagain. Importantly, the kernels of cashew nuts areof high food value with approximately 40-57% oiland 21% protein contents. As the matter of fact,kernels are chiefly utilized in confectioneries orare made into dried fruits. Additionally, kernels arebeing considered as an additional source ofprotein concentrates and isolates used in humanfood products (Ogunwolu et al., 2009; and Fuet al., 2015).

There is no doubt that the shelling technologiesof cashew nuts are extremely essential for thesustainable development of cashew nutindustries. Although there are a great number ofshelling tools, like the cutter with two blades,

hammer-like tool, wedge-like tools, and so forth,these tools have a couple of drawbacks (Fuet al., 2015; and Gong et al., 2016). Firstly,cashew nuts must be previously classified bysize. Secondly, the shelling efficiency is relativelylow. On top of this, the whole kernel rate relies onemployers’ shelling skills greatly. Finally, it isextremely tough to connect these tools with anautomatic feeding device. Therefore, in recentyears, the scholars from different countriesdevote to inventing new machines and noveltechniques so as to achieve the kernels of cashewnuts efficiently. Ojolo et al. (2010) presented acategory of cashew nut shelling machine, whichwas affordable to workers and was convenientfor workers to operate and maintain this cashewnut shelling machine. During the shelling process,cashew nuts were cracked by the impactgenerated by an impeller, which was driven bythe electric motor (Ojolo et al., 2010). Swainet al. (2011) developed a semi-automatic cashewnut shelling machine on the basis of the principleof impulse and tension, which was suitable fordrum roasted cashew nuts. In terms of this semi-automatic cashew nut shelling machine, the sizesof cashew nuts had significant effects on thewhole kernel recovery, shelling percentage, andshelling efficiency, but it had no significantinfluences on splitted half percentage and brokenpercentage (Swain et al., 2010). Balsubramanian(2011) reported a radial arm type cashew nutshelling machine, in order to ease shellingoperation in the processing industries of cashewnuts. In his research, the basic principle of cuttingand shearing was used to extract edible kernelsfrom steam boiled cashew nuts in a singleoperation. Uchiyama et al. (2014) illustrated a sortof cashew-shelling machine, which consisted ofthe vibrating cashew feeder, conveyor belts,rollers, cashew milling cutter, and cashew shell

Figure 1: Sectional View of Cashew Nut

13



splitter. The shelling process of this cashew-shelling machine can be divided into three mainsteps. To begin with, the vibrating cashew feederplaced cashew nuts between a pair of conveyorbelts. Next, the conveyor belt transported cashewnuts into the gap between a pair of disk cutters.Eventually, cashew nuts were conveyed into asplitter, removing shells from kernels (Uchiyamaet al., 2014). Through learning and soaking upthe shelling techniques above, Fu et al. (2015)designed a novel adaptive cashew shelling cutter,which could automatically adapt to the changesin the sizes of cashew nuts and could be utilizedwith various sorts of feeding facilities (Gonget al., 2016). This means that this adaptivecashew shelling cutter is capable of shellingcashew nuts in a highly-efficient way.

Although the studies on the parametersoptimization and the prediction of the whole-kernelrate of the adaptive cashew shelling cutter arecarried out via using BP neural network andgenetic algorithm and grey neural network, theinvestigations regarding the effects of the singleparameter on the shelling performance, which isreally essential for forming the basis for studyingthe second generation product, are not by farexecuted. Therefore, the experimental studies onthe impacts of the parameters of the adaptivecashew shelling cutter on the shellingperformance are discussed in details, aiming atproviding valuably experimental data for the futureresearch on the adaptive cashew shelling cutter.

ADAPTIVE CASHEWSHELLING CUTTER ANDSHELLING TEST PLATFORMAdaptive Cashew Shelling CutterThe schematic of the adaptive cashew shellingcutter is indicated in Figure 2. Evidently, this

adaptive cashew shelling cutter is mainly madeof the fixing frame, spring, tool holder, upper cutter,lower cutter, and scraper. In fact, the fixing frameand lower cutter are fixed on the cashew shellingmachine. Particularly, both upper and lowercutters have V-shaped grooves, whose role is toensure cashew nuts to keep standing posture,improving the shelling performance of cashewnuts. With the help of the spring and tool holder,cutters have the ability to adapt the changes inthe sizes of cashew nuts. During the shellingprocess, the scraper conveys cashew nuts intothe gap between upper and lower cutters. In mostcases, the scraper is driven by the chaintransmission system. Furthermore, upper andlower cutters have been proved that they are ofhigh reliability by means of the finite elementanalysis method, showing that the workingperformance of cutters would not be affectedadversely during a span of 495 days when theworking time of the adaptive cashew shellingcutter is 18 hours per day (Fu et al., 2015).Consequently, the performance degeneration ofthe adaptive cashew shelling cutter could beignored during the shelling test.

Figure 2: Mechanisms of Adaptive CashewShelling Cutter

14



In Figure 2, d denotes the distance betweenupper and lower cutters in millimeters; pFdenotes the pre-pressure caused by the springin Newtons; v denotes the velocity of the scraperin meters per second. Apparently, the distancebetween upper and lower cutters, pre-pressure,and the velocity of the scraper are the three crucialparameters affecting the shelling performance.

Shelling Principle of Adaptive CashewShelling CutterBoth upper and lower cutters have V-shapedblades, whose role is to break cashew nuts andremove shells from kernels. The force analysisof cashew nuts during the shelling process isshown in Figure 3, aiming at illustrating the shellingtheory of the adaptive cashew shelling cutter in arelatively scientific way. According to Figure 3, itis obvious that the V-shaped blade is made of afront blade and two side blades. When cashewnuts are conveyed into the gap between the uppercutter and lower cutter, cashew nuts aresubjected to two pressures ( lF and uF )generated by upper and lower cutters. With the

help of lF and uF , the front blade has the abilityto produce the main shelling force fF on cashewnuts, which can let the shells of cashew nutsgenerate the initial crack. Then, side blades applytwo outward forces ( 1sF and 2sF ) on cashew nutshells, accelerating the crack growth of cashewnut shells.

Virtually, the shelling process of cashew nutsis an impact process. That is, the main shellingforce fF is an impact force. According to thekinetic energy theorem, the main shelling force

fF can be expressed by Liu (2011).

2

2f

mvF

S

...(1)

where m is the average mass of each cashewnut in kilograms, v is the velocity of the scraperin meters per second, and S is the relativedisplacement during the impact process inmeters.

Shelling Test PlatformThe shelling test platform is demonstrated inFigure 4. From Figure 4, it is notable that theshelling test platform chiefly consists of the bodyframe, scraper, support frame of cutters, andadaptive cashew shelling cutters. In this shellingtest platform, there are four adaptive cashewshelling cutters, which is convenient forresearchers to acquire different groups ofexperimental results under distinct parametersof adaptive cashew shelling cutters at the sametime. As a consequence, this shelling test platformcould save researchers a great variety of timeand energy. More importantly, as the cashew nutshell liquid is a kind of corrosive liquid, to ensurethe service life of the shelling test platform, thewhole shelling test platform is made of stainlesssteel.

Figure 3: Force Analysis of Cashew Nut

15



is the combination of the steaming time of 20minutes, steaming temperature of 115 °C, andthe drying time of 36 hours (Liu et al., 2014; Gonget al., 2015; and Liu et al., 2016). To meet thedemand of the pre-shelling treatment, the verticalpressure steam sterilizer is used to steamcashew nuts, as shown in Figure 5. On top ofthis, the low-f ield magnetic resonancemeasurement is employed to investigate theeffects of the steaming treatment on cashew nutsin a scientific way. The magnetic resonanceimages of the cashew nut are shown in Figure 6.Comparing Figure 6a with Figure 6b, the gapbetween the shell and kernel of the cashew nutafter the steaming treatment is considerably largerthan that before the steaming treatment, showingthat the adhesion between the shell and kernel isbroken by the pre-shelling treatment, which isbeneficial to remove shells from kernels.

SHELLING TEST OF CASHEWNUTSSelection of Experimental SamplesThrough investigating the cashew nut market, itis found that middle-sized cashew nuts dominatethe largest proportion, so middle-sized cashewnuts are representative. To obtain more reliableresults, this study chooses middle-sized cashewnuts as experimental samples. In particular, thesesamples are reserved for a period not longer thanone year. Additionally, to avoid the influences ofabnormal and defective cashew nuts on testresults, these types of cashew nuts are removedfrom cashew nut samples.

Pre-Shelling Treatment of Cashew NutsResearches have shown that the shellingperformance is not only related to the machineryequipment but the pre-processing method ofcashew nuts (Balasubramanian, 2006; Ogunsinaand Bamgboye, 2014; and Gong et al., 2015).Understandably, for different types of cashew nutshelling cutters, the optimal pre-shellingtreatments of cashew nuts are distinctly different.Through observing the sheer volume ofexperimental data obtained by our research team,it is found that the optimum pre-processingmethod for the adaptive cashew shelling cutter

Figure 4: Shelling Test Platform

Figure 5: Vertical Pressure Steam Sterilizer

16



Data Collection of Cashew Shelling TestTo ensure the reliability of experimental resultsand reduce the cost of shelling tests, eachgroup of the shelling test consumes 150cashew nuts rather than 200 cashew nutsreported in Fu et al. (2015). More importantly,because of the size variance of cashew nuts,each group of the shelling test has certainrandomness, so each group of the shelling testis repeated five times to obtain more reliabledata in this study. Presently, the whole kernelrate of cashew nuts is still a key factor toevaluate the performance of cashew shellingtools. Therefore, during the shelling tests ofcashew nuts, the data related to the wholekernel rate are collected.

The whole kernel rate of cashew nuts can beexpressed by Ojolo et al. (2010) Swain et al.(2010) Balsubramanian (2011) and Fu et al.(2015).

kk

t

WR

W ...(2)

where kW is the number of whole kernels or theweight of whole kernels in kilograms, and tW isthe total number of cashew nuts or the total weightof cashew nuts in kilograms.

Generally, for processing enterprises, the ratioof the weight of whole kernels to the total weightof cashew nuts is used to calculate the wholekernel rate of cashew nuts. However, in terms ofthe scientific research, the ratio of the number ofwhole kernels to the total number of cashew nutsis utilized to calculate the whole kernel rate ofcashew nuts. Therefore, this study takesadvantage of the numbers of whole kernels andcashew nuts to obtain the whole kernel rate.

By analyzing test results, it is found that thereare two types of data related to the whole kernelrate. These two groups of data are the number ofwhole kernels and the number of the wholekernels obtained by hand, and these twocategories of cashew nuts are shown in Figure7. There is no doubt that the number of wholekernels, which is shown in Figure 7a, is directly

Figure 6: Magnetic Resonance Images of Cashew Nut

(a) Magnetic resonance image beforesteaming treatment

(b) Magnetic resonance image aftersteaming treatment

17



relevant to the whole kernel rate. Additionally,although a number of cashew nuts are broken bythe adaptive cashew shelling cutter, and kernelsare not damaged, kernels and shells are notentirely separated, as shown in Figure 7b. Inconsequence, whole kernels can be obtained byhand from this category of cashew nuts. As thematter of the fact, the cashew nuts shown inFigure 7b will not spend workers too much energyand time in removing shells from whole kernels.To put it differently, it is a low labor intensity workfor employers. Consequently, the number of thewhole kernels obtained by hand has effects onthe whole kernel rate.

Virtually, the main parameters determining theshelling performance of the adaptive cashewshelling cutter are the distance between upperand lower cutters, the pre-pressure caused bythe spring, and the velocity of the scraper. In thiscase, the most suitable experimental design isbased on the RCBD approach (RandomizedComplete Block Design), employing 4 levels ofthe distance between upper and lower cutters of

8, 8.5, 9 and 9.5 mm, 4 levels of the pre-pressurecaused by the spring of 160, 170, 180, and 190N, and 4 levels of the velocity of the scraper of0.24, 0.36, 0.48, and 0.6 m/s (Thivavarnvongset al., 1995).

TEST RESULT ANALYSISInfluences of Distance Between Upperand Lower Cutters on ShellingPerformanceThe change laws of the numbers of wholekernels and the whole kernels obtained by handvarying with the distance between the upper andlower cutters are shown in Figure 8. Figure 8ashows the change laws under the velocity of thescraper of 0.36 m/s and the pre-pressurecaused by the spring of 160 N. As shown inFigure 8a, the number of whole kernels soars to106 at 8.5 mm, and then the corresponding figureplummets, ranging from 106 at 8.5 mm to 72 at9.5 mm. In addition, the number of the wholekernels obtained by hand indicates a growth from22 at 8 mm to 32 at 9.5 mm.

Figure 7: Cashew Nuts Counted in Shelling Test

(a) Whole kernel (b) Whole kernel obtained by hand

18



Depending on the analysis above, the numberof whole kernels is the largest when the distancebetween upper and lower cutters is 8.5 mm.Furthermore, with the increase of the distancebetween upper and lower cutters, the number ofthe whole kernels obtained by hand shows anupward trend.

Influences of Pre-Pressure Caused bySpring on Shelling Performance The change laws of the numbers of whole kernelsand the whole kernels obtained by hand varyingwith the pre-pressure caused by the spring areshown in Figure 9. Figure 9a shows the changelaws under the velocity of the scraper of 0.36 m/s and the distance between the upper and lowercutters of 10 mm. From Figure 9a, the number ofwhole kernels climbs to 90 at 170 N, and then thecorresponding figure returns to 69 at 180 N.Afterwards, this figure rockets to 119 at 190 N.Additionally, the number of the whole kernelsobtained by hand shows a downward tendency,ranging from 23 at 160 N to 18 at 190 N.

Figure 9b shows the change laws under thevelocity of the scraper of 0.48 m/s and thedistance between the upper and lower cuttersof 9.5 mm. It can be seen from Figure 9b thatthe number of whole kernels witnesses anupward trend from 78 to 90 between 160 and170 N, and then the corresponding figuredecreases to 74 at 190 N. In addition to that, thenumber of the whole kernels obtained by handconsistently drops to 18 at 190 N.

Evidently, the number of whole kernels is notclosely linked to the pre-pressure caused by thespring. By contrast, the influences of the pre-pressure caused by the spring on the number ofwhole kernels somewhat rely on thecombinations of the velocity of the scraper and

Figure 8b shows the change laws under thevelocity of the scraper of 0.48 m/s and the pre-pressure caused by the spring of 175 N.According to Figure 8b, there is an increase from66 to 88 between 8 and 8.5 mm in the number ofwhole kernels, and then the corresponding figurecontinuously falls to 69 at 9.5 mm. On top of this,the number of the whole kernels obtained by handconsistently grows, ranging from 19 to 29between 8 and 9.5 mm.

7.8 8.0 8.2 8.4 8.6 8.8 9.0 9.2 9.4 9.6

20

40

60

80

100

120

Num

ber

Distance between upper and lower cutters (millimeters)

Whole kernel Whole kernel obtained by hand

Figure 8: Numbers of Whole Kerneland Whole Kernel Obtained by Band Under

Different Distances

(a) 0.36m/sv , 160NpF

(b) 0.48m/sv , 175NpF

7.8 8.0 8.2 8.4 8.6 8.8 9.0 9.2 9.4 9.6

20

40

60

80

100

Num

ber

D istance between upper and lower cutters (millimeters)


19



with the velocity of the scraper are shown in Figure10. Figure 10a shows the change laws under thedistance between the upper and lower cutters of8.5 mm and the pre-pressure caused by thespring of 160 N. As indicated in Figure 10a, thenumber of whole kernels increases between 0.24m/s and 0.36 m/s, peaking at 106, and then thereis a minor fluctuation from 106 at 0.36 m/s to 98at 0.6 m/s. On top of this, the number of the whole

Figure 9: Numbers of Whole Kerneland Whole Kernel Obtained by Hand Under

Different Pre-Pressures

(a) 0.36 m/sv

(b) 0.48 m/sv

160 165 170 175 180 185 190 195

20

40

60

80

100

Num

ber

Pre-pressure caused by spring (Newtons)


160 165 170 175 180 185 190 195

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Num

ber



the distance between upper and lower cutters.Furthermore, with the increase of the pre-pressure caused by the spring, the number ofthe whole kernels obtained by hand shows adownward trend.

Influences of Velocity of Scraper onShelling PerformanceThe change laws of the numbers of whole kernelsand the whole kernels obtained by hand varying

Figure 10: Numbers of Whole Kerneland Whole Kernel Obtained by Hand Under

Different Velocities

(a) 8.5 mmd , 160NpF

(b) 10 mmd , 190 NpF

0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65

20

40

60

80

100

120N

umbe

r

Velocity of scraper (meters per second)


0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.650

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Num

ber

Velocity of scraper (meters per second)


20



kernels obtained by hand smoothly grows to 33at 0.48 m/s, and then this figure returns to 22 at0.6 m/s.

Figure 10b shows the change laws under thedistance between the upper and lower cutters of10 mm and the pre-pressure caused by the springof 190 N. It can be seen from Figure 10b that thenumber of whole kernels dramatically increasesto the highest point, 119 at 0.36 m/s, and then thecorresponding figure fluctuates significantly,ranging from 119 at 0.36 m/s to 112 at 0.6 m/s.Moreover, the number of the whole kernelsobtained by hand slightly goes up to 26 at 0.48m/s, and then this figure drops to 16 at 0.6 m/s.

Through analyzing the data above, when thevelocity of the scraper is 0.36 m/s, the number ofwhole kernels is the highest. When the velocityof the scraper is 0.48 m/s, the number of thewhole kernels obtained by hand is the maximum.

Selection of Optimal Pre-Pressure Causedby SpringAccording to the analysis above, it is known thatthe velocity of the scraper of 0.36 m/s and thedistance between upper and lower cutters of 8.5mm are the optimum parameters in terms ofachieving the largest number of whole kernels.Actually, the optimal pre-pressure caused by thespring can be determined based on these twooptimum parameters. The change laws of thenumbers of whole kernels and the whole kernelsobtained by hand varying with the pre-pressurecaused by the spring under the velocity of thescraper of 0.36 m/s and the distance betweenupper and lower cutters of 8.5 mm are shown inFigure 11.

From Figure 11, it is evident that when the pre-pressure caused by spring is 170 N, the highestnumber of whole kernels can be obtained. Under

the combination of the velocity of the scraper of0.36 m/s, the distance between upper and lowercutters of 8.5 mm, and the pre-pressure causedby spring of 170 N, the number of whole kernelsis approximately 120, and the number of the wholekernels obtained by hand is roughly 20. If thenumber of the whole kernels obtained by hand iscounted, the whole kernel rate of cashew nuts isabout 93.33%. If not, the whole kernel rate ofcashew nuts is around 80%.

However, it must be admitted that the wholekernel rate reported in this study cannot beachieved by processing enterprises of cashewnuts, basically because the experimentalcondit ion is extremely str ict. First ly,experimental samples are selected by hand inorder to remove abnormal and defective cashewnuts from experimental samples, which willconsume a huge amount of time and energy,so it is not suitable for processing enterprises.Secondly, researchers place cashew nuts intothe V-shaped grooves of cutters so as to ensurethe standing posture of cashew nuts rather thanusing automatic feeding device. For most of

Figure 11: Numbers of Whole Kerneland Whole Kernel Obtained by Hand Varying

with Pre-Pressure Under Velocity of 0.36 m/sand Distance of 8.5 mm

160 165 170 175 180 185 1900

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Num

ber



21



3) Through observing experimental results, thenumber of whole kernels is far more than thatof the whole kernels obtained by hand,showing the excellent shelling performance ofthe adaptive cashew shelling cutter.

4) The optimization design of the angle betweenthe two side blades in the V-shaped blade willbe discussed in the future, and a newgeneration of the adaptive cashew shellingcutter will be designed based on the dataobtained in this study.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTThis work is supported by the Special Fund forAgro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest(Project No. 201303077-2).

REFERENCES1. Aliyu O M and Awopetu J A (2007),

“Multivariate Analysis of Cashew(Anacardium occidentale L.) Germplasm inNigeria”, Silvae Genetica, Vol. 56, pp. 3-4.

2. Balasubramanian D (2006), “ImprovingWhole Kernel Recovery in Cashew NutProcessing Specific to Nigeria Nuts”,Agricultural Mechanization in Asia, Africa,and Latin America, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 58-64.

3. Balsubramanian D (2011), “Design,Development and Performance Evaluationof Radial Arm Type Cashew Nut Sheller”,Agricultural Mechanization in Asia, Africa,and Latin America, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 49-55.

4. Fu Y F, Gong J, Huang H, Liu Y J, Zhu D Mand Zhao P F (2015), “ParametersOptimization of Adaptive Cashew ShellingCutter Based on BP Neural Network andGenetic Algorithm”, American Journal ofEngineering and Applied Sciences, Vol. 8,No. 4, pp. 648-658.

the processing enterprises, they will definitelyemploy the feeding device to improve theproduction efficiency. Next, to ensure the qualityof the pre-shelling treatment of cashew nuts, alimited number of cashew nuts are put into thevertical pressure steam sterilizer. On the otherhand, processing enterprises will use large-scale steaming equipment to execute the pre-shelling treatment of cashew nuts to improvethe working efficiency. Undoubtedly, this sortof method will cause the phenomenon that thesteaming quality of cashew nuts would bedistinctly different. Finally, after each shellingtest, adaptive cashew shelling cutters will becleaned carefully. Yet processing enterpriseswill not clean adaptive cashew shelling cuttersso frequently, mainly because cleaning adaptivecashew shelling cutters is really a time-consuming process.

CONCLUSIONDepending on experimental studies, theconclusions can be drawn as follows:

1) In terms of obtaining the largest number ofwhole kernels, the optimum parametercombination is the combination of thevelocity of the scraper of 0.36 m/s, thedistance between upper and lower cuttersof 8.5 mm, and the pre-pressure caused byspring of 170 N.

2) The number of the whole kernels obtained byhand is directly proportional to the distancebetween the upper and lower cutters, whereasthe number of the whole kernels obtained byhand is inversely proportional to the pre-pressure caused by the spring. In addition,when the velocity of the scraper is 0.48 m/s,the number of the whole kernels obtained byhand is the maximum.

22



5. Fu Y F, Gong J, Zhu D M, Liu Y J, Huang Hand Huang M F (2015), “Fatigue Damage ofa Cutter Used for Cutting Cashew Nut UnderRandom Load”, Applied Mechanics andMaterials, Vol. 743, pp. 49-54.

6. Gong J, Fu Y F, Huang H, Liu Y J and Zhu DM (2015), “Effects of Steaming Process onPhysical Dimensions and MechanicalProperties of Cashew Nut”, JiangsuAgricultural Sciences, Vol. 43, No. 12,pp. 300-302.

7. Gong J, Fu Y F, Huang H, Liu Y J and Zhu DM (2016), “Prediction of Whole-Kernel Rateof Adaptive Cashew Shelling Cutter Basedon Grey Neural Network”, Journal of ChineseAgricultural Mechanization, Vol. 37, No. 6,pp. 113-117.

8. Gong J, Xia W, Fu Y F, Huang H, Zhang F,Liu Y J and Zhao P F (2016), “A Review onthe Cashew Nut Shelling Techniques”,Journal of Applied Science and EngineeringInnovation, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 133-138.

9. Liu M G (2011), “Study on Peanut ShellingDamage Mechanism and Development ofthe Vertical Cone Type Shelling Machine”,Shenyang Agricultural University.

10. Liu Y J, Fu Y F, Gong J, Huang H, Zhu D Mand Zhou Y D (2016), “Effect of DifferentCooking Conditions on Whole Kernel Rateof Cashew Shelling”, Food Research andDevelopment, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 101-104.

11. Liu Y J, Zhu D M, Huang H and Huang M F(2014), “Multi-Scale Analysis of CookingQuality of Cashew Nut”, Food & Machinery,Vol. 30, No. 5, pp. 57-60.

12. Ogunsina B S and Bamgboye A I (2014),“Pre-Shelling Parameters and Conditionsthat Influence the Whole Kernel Out-Turn of

Steam-Boiled Cashew Nuts”, Journal of theSaudi Society of Agricultural Sciences,Vol. 13, pp. 29-34.

13. Ogunwolu S O, Henshaw F O, Mock H P,Santros A and Awonorin S O (2009),“Functional Properties of ProteinConcentrates and Isolates Produced fromCashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) Nut”,Food Chemistry, Vol. 115, pp. 852-858.

14. Ojolo S J, Damisa O, Orisaleye J I andOgbonnaya C (2010), “Design andDevelopment of Cashew Nut ShellingMachine”, Journal of Engineering, Designand Technology, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 146-157.

15. Swain S K, Gupta J P and Sahoo P K(2010), “Development and PerformanceEvaluation of a Semi-Automatic CashewNut Sheller”, Journal of Crop and Weed,Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 63-65.

16. Thivavarnvongs T, Okamoto T and Kitani O(1995), “Development of Compact SizedCashew Nut Shelling Machinery (Part 1)Synthesis of Effective Manual and Semi-Automatic Shelling Methods”, Journal of theJapanese Society of Agricultural Machinery,Vol. 57, pp. 57-65.

17. Thivavarnvongs T, Sakai N and Kitani O(1995), “Development of Compact SizedCashew Nut Shelling Machinery (Part 2):Testing and Evaluation of Manual and Semi-Automatic Shellers”, Journal of theJapanese Society of Agricultural Machinery,Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 85-93.

18. Uchiyama N, Ho P M, Yamanaka H, Sano Sand Tran S D (2014), “Force Control forAutomatic Cashew Shelling ConsideringSize Variance”, Journal of AdvancedMechanical Design, Systems, andManufacturing, Vol. 8, pp. 1-9.

research paper - ijerst · optimization and the prediction of the whole-kernel ... (fs1 and fs2) on...

Documents