A Solar-Electric Hybrid Portable Grain Winnower: Design and Analysis

Abstract

Winnowing machines are commonly used in agriculture to separate grains and impurities from millet but are often expensive due to their large size and lack of affordable alternatives. Thus, the project's main goal is to create an affordable, solar-powered electric grain winnowing machine utilizing renewable energy. Various concepts for a portable grain winnower machine were generated, considering factors like power source, manufacturability, and portability. A Solar and electric-driven portable Grain Winnower with a reciprocating mechanism was chosen as the feasible concept using the Pugh matrix. This concept and calculations were made for power requirements, solar panel size, and frame analysis. The winnower was fabricated based on the design and tested for performance by varying moisture content and feed rate of finger millet. A solar and electric-driven portable grain winnower was successfully developed, with maximum frame stresses of 271.5 MPa and deformation of 1.15 mm according to FEA analysis. The design and fabrication cost was 19,776 Rs, with a break-even volume of 7,786 kg and break-even sales of 74,980 Rs. Performance testing indicated a significant 78.8% increase in grain output capacity when increasing the feed rate from 60 to 250 kg/h at various moisture levels. Further development could involve combining threshing and winnowing operations in one device for added efficiency.