DETERMINATION OF SOME ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF CASSAVA TUBERS GROWN IN NORTHERN NIGERIA
Abstract
Several cassava processing operations have been mechanized successfully, but cassava peeling is still largely carried out manually; however, in this work some selected engineering properties of 5 cassava varieties mostly grown in northern part of Nigeria were determined to provide basic data for the design of cassava peeling machine. These properties include thickness of the peel, the length, and axial dimensions - major, intermediate and minor diameter and the Strength of peel (peeling force), and Bioyield(breaking force). The average length of the tubers measured are in the range of 15.4 – 68.51 cm while the maximum and minimum thickness of the peel are 6.01 and 0.54 mm respectively. The peel reduces in thickness from the radicle towards the apex and the larger the diameter of the tuber, the thicker the peCassava peelingel. The highest and lowest values of the peeling force are 2248 kN/m2 and 401 kN/m2respectively. It was observed that the peeling force value increases and reduces along the length of the tuber. Also the peeling force reduces with time after harvest and has the highest value at 24 hours after harvest. This could be due to the deterioration of the tuber with time. The major, minor and intermediate diameters of the tubers determined are in the range of 3.00 –10.35 cm, 2.15 – 10.05 cm and 0.87 – 6.04 cm respectively. The maximum bioyield force was 3880 kN/m2 and minimum was 769.3 kN/m2. All these are important in the design of a cassava peeling machine.
