Abstract

Soybean (Glycine max) is a staple crop with significant nutritional value and serves as a key industrial raw material for animal feed producers. However, in Ghana, soybean production is predominantly carried out manually. The objectives of this study are to: (1) design a soybean thresher using engineering design principles and theories, (2) fabricate the machine utilizing appropriate engineering technologies, and (3) evaluate its performance using design of experiment (DOE) methodologies. The study was done by using computer-aided design (CAD), and dynamics (kinematics) of machinery in the design, machining, sheet metal forming and fastening (welding and the use of bolts and nuts), whereas the DOE technique was used for evaluating the machine’s performance. The outcome of the study presents a mechanical soybean thresher, which is ergonomically friendly. The performance evaluation of the machine revealed that the thresher achieved a throughput ranging from 81.2 to 96.4 kg/h and an efficiency of 74.62% to 93.67%, with minimal grain damage proportions between 2% and 4.7%. A strong positive correlation coefficient of 0.85 was observed between operating speed and efficiency, and 0.9 between operating speed and capacity. The study provides predictive models to support precise machine design decisions and offers guidance for future machine designs, with a high coefficient of determination ranging from 0.7219 to 0.8041. Additionally, boxplot analysis indicates a median grain damage proportion of 2.7% with minimal variability, which validates the machine's reliability under controlled operating speed conditions. These findings highlight the machine’s operational stability, user-friendliness and minimal fatigue impact, ensuring high-quality soybean processing. Therefore, an efficient, ergonomically friendly, locally developed soybean threshing machine was designed, enabling reliable predictions and decisions within optimal operating conditions.

Keywords

Soybean thresher, Performance evaluation, Engineering design, Design of experiment, Ergonomic design, Predictive modelling, Machine efficiency.

References

[1] Mishra R, Tripathi MK, Sikarwar RS, Singh Y, Tripathi N. Soybean (glycine max l. merrill): a multipurpose legume shaping our world. Plant Cell Biotechnology and Molecular Biology. 2024; 25(3-4):17-37.

[2] Toomer OT, Oviedo EO, Ali M, Patino D, Joseph M, Frinsko M, et al. Current agronomic practices, harvest & post-harvest processing of soybeans (glycine max)-a review. Agronomy. 2023; 13(2):1-14.

[3] Uebersax MA, Cichy KA, Gomez FE, Porch TG, Heitholt J, Osorno JM, et al. Dry beans (phaseolus vulgaris L.) as a vital component of sustainable agriculture and food security-a review. Legume Science. 2023; 5(1):1-13.

[4] Addae-frimpomaah F, Amenorpe G, Denwar NN, Amiteye S, Adazebra GA, Sossah FL, et al. Participatory approach of preferred traits, production constraints and mitigation strategies: implications for soybean breeding in Guinea Savannah zone of Ghana. Heliyon. 2022; 8(5):1-14.

[5] Zhao Y, Liu J, Yang R, Guo T, Zhang J, Li W, et al. A comb-brushing-type green soybean pod harvesting equipment: design and experiment. Plos One. 2023; 18(11):1-28.

[6] Carreira VD, Aleixo EV, Ribeiro NM, Santos JD, Silva RP. A systematic and meta-analytical review of soybean mechanized harvesting in South America. Revista Brasileira De Engenharia Agrícola E Ambiental. 2023; 28(1):1-10.

[7] Staton MJ. Reducing soybean harvest losses. In encyclopedia of digital agricultural technologies 2023 (pp. 1109-19). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

[8] Karunathilake EM, Le AT, Heo S, Chung YS, Mansoor S. The path to smart farming: innovations and opportunities in precision agriculture. Agriculture. 2023; 13(8):1-26.

[9] Wamalwa PW. Optimization of design parameters and performance of a portable common beans (phaseolus vulgaris L) thresher. Doctoral Dissertation, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. 2022.

[10] Adekanye TA, Osakpamwan AB, Osaivbie IE. Evaluation of a soybean threshing machine for small scale farmers. Agricultural Engineering International: CIGR Journal. 2016; 18(2):426-34.

[11] Qabaradin A, Tsegaye A. A evaluation of soybean thresher for chickpea crop. Irish Interdisciplinary Journal of Science & Research. 2021; 5(2):101-8.

[12] Kang J, Wang X, Xie F, Luo Y, Li Q, Huang X. Experiments and analysis of the differential threshing cylinder for soybean with different maturities. Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering. 2023; 39(1):38-49.

[13] Vejasit A, Salokhe V. Studies on machine-crop parameters of an axial flow thresher for threshing soybean. International: the GIGR Journal of Scientific Research and Development. 2004:1-12.

[14] Doddamani SS, Betageri SN. Influence of stages of harvesting and threshing methods on soybean [glycine max (L.) merrill]. The Pharma Innovation Journal. 2021; 10(6): 687-96.

[15] Ni Y, Jin C, Chen M, Qian Z, Yang T, Xu J, et al. Soybean crushing forms by mechanical harvesting and factors affecting the proportions of different forms. Food Science and Technology. 2023; 43:1-10.

[16] Cubukcu P, Şahar AK, Oluk CA, Onat FB. Soybean (glycine max L.) sprouts: an overview. MAS Journal of Applied Sciences. 2023; 8(3):581-90.

[17] Anderson EJ, Ali ML, Beavis WD, Chen P, Clemente TE, Diers BW, et al. Soybean [glycine max (L.) merr.] breeding: history, improvement, production and future opportunities. Advances in Plant Breeding Strategies: Legumes. 2019; 7:431-516.

[18] Amoah AE, Oppong AJ, Appah S, Obeng-akrofi G. Mechanised threshing of pod grains used as food and strategies to optimise the technique: a review. Journal of Advances in Agriculture. 2021; 12:30-43.

[19] Yamba P, Larson EA, Issaka Z, Akayeti A. Design, manufacture and performance evaluation of a soybean paddle thresher with a blower. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications. 2017; 5(5):253-8.

[20] Nag PK, Gite LP. Human-centered agriculture. Springer Singapore; 2020.

[21] Gautam PV, Mansuri SM, Prakash O, Pramendra, Patel A, Shukla P, et al. Agricultural mechanization for efficient utilization of input resources to improve crop production in arid region. In enhancing resilience of dryland agriculture under changing climate: interdisciplinary and convergence approaches 2023 (pp. 689-716). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.

[22] Li Y, Su Z, Liang Z, Li Y. Variable-diameter drum with concentric threshing gap and performance comparison experiment. Applied Sciences. 2020; 10(15):1-17.

[23] Tang Z, Zhang B, Wang M, Zhang H. Damping behaviour of a prestressed composite beam designed for the thresher of a combine harvester. Biosystems Engineering. 2021; 204:130-46.

[24] Warghane RS, Easwara PR. Efficiency enhancement of thresher by auto-controlling the cylinder clearance. International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management. 2023; 14(6):2066-79.

[25] Li X, Du Y, Guo J, Mao E. Design, simulation, and test of a new threshing cylinder for high moisture content corn. Applied Sciences. 2020; 10(14):1-20.

[26] Rudoy D, Egyan M, Kulikova N, Chigvintsev V. Review and analysis of technologies for harvesting perennial grain crops. In conference series: earth and environmental science 2021 (pp. 1-12). IOP Publishing.

[27] Delelegn T. Design development and performance evaulation of a common bean (phaseolus vulgaris) thresher. Doctoral Dissertation, Haramaya University. 2022.

[28] Guo J, Du Y, Wu Y, Mao E. Research status and development trend of corn harvester threshing device. In ASABE annual international meeting 2019. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

[29] Hunt D, Wilson D. Farm power and machinery management. Waveland Press; 2015.

[30] Dagur R, Singh D, Bhateja S, Rastogi V. Mechanical and material designing of lightweight high endurance multirotor system. Materials Today: Proceedings. 2020; 21:1624-31.

[31] Olusesi OS, Udoye NE. Development and characterization of AA6061 aluminium alloy/clay and rice husk ash composite. Manufacturing Letters. 2021; 29:34-41.

[32] Pereira T, Kennedy JV, Potgieter J. A comparison of traditional manufacturing vs additive manufacturing, the best method for the job. Procedia Manufacturing. 2019; 30:11-8.

[33] Adeyeye O, Sadiku ER, Osholana TS, Reddy AB, Olayinka AO, Ndamase AS, et al. Construction and evaluation of soybeans thresher. African Journal of Agricultural Research. 2019; 14(21):921-7.

[34] Ishola TA, Busari RA, Subair IO, Owoyemi IO, Issa AL. Development of an improved soybean thresher. Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology. 2021; 26(1):36-46.

[35] Asodina FA, Adams F, Nimoh F, Asante BO, Mensah A. Performance of smallholder soybean farmers in Ghana; evidence from upper west region of Ghana. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research. 2021; 4:1-7.

[36] Nair S, Suresh A, Mangat A. Gender friendly tools and equipments in farm mechanization. In engendering agricultural development 2022 (pp. 221-38). CRC Press.

[37] Hota S, Mishra JN, Mohanty SK, Khadatkar A. Design and development of pedal operated Ragi thresher for tribal region of Odisha, India. Agricultural Mechanization in Asia, Africa and Latin America. 2017; 48(4):71-5.

[38] Clearinghouse TA. Small-scale farm mechanization catalogue. Clearinghouse Technical Report Series 015. Cotonou, Benin: Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation, Clearinghouse Office, IITA; 2022:1-28.

[39] Harerimana L, Mishra IM, Kumar SP, Parray RA, Lande SD, Bandyopdhayaya K, et al. RSMSOMT response surface methodology optimization of operational and machine parameters of solar powered multicrop thresher on soybean. Agricultural Engineering International: CIGR Journal. 2024; 26(1):115-27.

[40] Yogaraj D, Subesh T, Devaraj A, Chowdary KS, Khakha U, Alone SP, et al. Design and analysis of compact paddy harvester machine. Materials Today: Proceedings. 2022; 62:1430-4.

[41] Lee GH, Moon BE, Basak JK, Kim NE, Paudel B, Jeon SW, et al. Assessment of load on threshing bar during soybean pod threshing. Journal of Biosystems Engineering. 2023; 48(4):478-86.

[42] Harerimana L. Studies on design and development of solar powered multicrop thresher for small holdings. Doctoral Dissertation, Division of Agricultural Engineering ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. 2022.

[43] Ma L, Xie F, Liu D, Wang X, Zhang Z. An application of artificial neural network for predicting threshing performance in a flexible threshing device. Agriculture. 2023; 13(4):1-15.

[44] Hanna HM, Quick GR. Grain harvesting machinery design, handbook of farm, dairy and food machinery (Kutz M, ed). William Andrew Inc, Delmar, NY; 2007.

[45] Chandra RJ, Masilamani P, Suthakar B, Rajkumar P, Sivakumar SD, Manonmani V. Effect of moisture content on combine harvested seed crop and its quality. Journal of Experimental Agriculture International. 2024; 46(3):114-38.

[46] Mussema R, Diro S, Erko B, Desalegn T, Teshale D, Wake RD, et al. Soybean value chain analysis in Ethiopia: a qualitative study research. Research Report Number-134, EIAR. 2022.

[47] Wang F, Liu Y, Li Y, Ji K. Research and experiment on variable-diameter threshing drum with movable radial plates for combine harvester. Agriculture. 2023; 13(8):1-16.

[48] Marina I, Sujadi H, Indriana KR. Optimizing soybean cultivation efficiency through agricultural technology integration in plant monitoring system. Greenation International Journal of Engineering Science. 2023; 1(2):115-27.

[49] Lal S, Jogdand SV, Naik RK, Koumary NK. Comparative evaluation of performance of traditional method and commercially available pedal operated paddy thresher with the developed machine. Journal of Scientific Research and Reports. 2024; 30(8):647-55.

[50] Prabakaran MP, Kannan GR. Optimization of laser welding process parameters in dissimilar joint of stainless steel AISI316/AISI1018 low carbon steel to attain the maximum level of mechanical properties through PWHT. Optics & Laser Technology. 2019; 112:314-22.

[51] Spotts MF, Shoup TE, Hornberger LE, Kazmer DO. Design of machine elements. Journal of Mechanical Design. 2004; 126(1):201.

[52] https://extension.sdstate.edu/about/our-experts/sdsu-extension. Accessed 26 December 2024.

[53] Martey E. Soil fertility management and economics of soybean in Ghana. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2019.

[54] Ilori TA, Dauda TO, Adewumi IO. Machine crop parameters’ model of spike-tooth thresher for soybean. World. 2020; 8(3):97-104.

[55] Liu P, Jin C, Liu Z, Zhang GY, Cai ZY, Kang Y, et al. Optimization of field cleaning parameters of soybean combine harvester. Transactions of The Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering. 2020; 36:35-45.

Cite this article