An Scientific Approach of Design and Development of a Garlic Peeling Machine

Abstract

Garlic, a species of bulbous flowering plant commonly eaten fresh, can be processed into a wide variety of products. One of these is peeled garlic, which is gaining in popularity among consumers as it offers convenience to many who wish to escape the hassle of garlic peeling. Therefore, the objectives of the present study was to develop an affordable garlic peeling machine that could efficiently increase processing capacity and reduce processing time as well as to assess its operational performance. To that end, a garlic peeling machine with the dimensions of 50 cm in width, 50 cm in length, and 85 cm in height was constructed that comprised a base, a tank having a diameter of 26 cm and a height of 35 cm which was lined with a durable rubber sheet, and a garlic peeling propeller. Installed under the tank to drive the propeller was a 3-phase electric motor. The material used to measure the efficiency of the machine was Chinese garlic bulbs weighing 200 and 300 g with a moisture content (wet basis) of 64.31%, and the machine efficiency was evaluated across the motor speeds of 450, 550, and 650 rpm and the processing intervals of of 10, 20, and 30 s. The results showed that no matter whether the test material weighed 200 or 300 g, the highest peeled garlic yield was obtained with the motor speed of 650 rpm and the processing interval of 20 s with the weight of intact garlic and damaged garlic combined standing at 179.5 g, or 89.76% of the total garlic weight, and 230.86 g, or 76.95% of the total garlic weight, respectively. In comparison, no matter whether the test material weighed 200 or 300 g, the highest intact garlic yield was achieved with the motor speed of 650 rpm and the processing interval of 10 s with the weight of intact garlic equaling 81.28 g, or 40.64% of the total garlic weight, and 53.56 g, or 17.85% of the total garlic weight, respectively.