A Modelling approach for determining the throughput capacity and energy consumption of a cassava tuber shredder

Abstract

A prediction model for the throughput capacity and energy consumption of cassava tuber-shredder was developed following fundamental principles and iterative steps involved in machine process modelling. The homogeneity of each of the derived model was verified using dimensional analysis, after which, the validation and confirmation of the adequacies of the developed models were performed using six experimental runs. Each model’s prediction accuracy is over 98% with the range of the standard error for the specific energy consumption of the machine found to be −1.48 to 1.49%, while that of throughput of the machine was found to be −1.21 to 1.31% respectively. The result of the verification showed R² value of 99.86% for the throughput capacity and 99.99% for specific energy consumption. This shows a good fit with a positive linear relationship between the observed and the predicted values for the two parameters predicted. The performance efficiency of the modelled cassava shredder ranged from 84 to 85.11% at a shredding speed of 300–600 rpm. It was observed from the ANOVA table that the shredding speed significantly affected the specific energy consumption and throughput but not the shredding efficiency.