In order to solve the boredom involved in melon shelling operation which is one of the major factors militating\r\nagainst the large scale production, processing and the use of this important oil crop, a power-driven melon seed shelling\r\nmachine was designed, constructed and tested. The machine consists of a feed hopper, a shelling unit, a delivery chute, a\r\npower system and a tool frame. The shelling action was achieved by principle of a rotor that throws melon seeds against the\r\nshelling drum by centrifugal force and then the seeds were converged onto a spinning disc with vanes that provide impact force\r\nto remove the kernel from the shell. The results of the performance tests carried out showed that the machine shelling\r\nefficiency increased with the increase in moisture content and speed. Maximum shelling efficiency percentage of 95% was\r\nobtained at the seed moisture content of 26.6% d.b and at 2,190 rpm shelling speed. Percentage seed damage was found to\r\ndecrease with the increase in seed moisture content. Machine capacity and throughput capacity were 192 kg/h and 796 kg/h\r\nrespectively. The analysis of variance showed that moisture content and machine shelling speed have significant effect on\r\nboth shelling efficiency and percentage seed damage at 1% level. Regression models that could be used to express the\r\nrelationship among the performance indices, moisture content and machine speed were established.
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