Abstract

The frictional properties depend on moisture content of food grains are important to design sowing and postharvest equipment. Frictional properties are important in many problems associated with the design of machines and the analysis of the behaviour of the product during seed sowing and agricultural process operations such as handling, harvesting, threshing, cleaning and sorting etc. In the current study, average frictional properties of sample of grains were carried out at five different moisture content level 10%, 13%, 16%, 19% and 22% (w.b.). To carry out the frictional property of grains at different moisture level apparatus are developed and fabricated. Four grain samples are selected for the experiment wheat (Triticum aestivum), paddy (Oryza sativa), gram (Cicer arietinum) and pea (Pisum sativum). Wheat’s angle of repose, angle of internal friction, angle of external friction on GI sheet and angle of external friction on plywood varies between 27-31°, 23-29°, 12-16° and 14-16° respectively. Paddy grains angle of repose, angle of internal friction, angle of external friction on GI sheet and angle of external friction on plywood varies between 27- 32°, 24-31°, 19-23° and 21-23° respectively. Gram grains angle of repose, angle of internal friction, angle of external friction on GI sheet and angle of external friction on plywood varies between 22-27°, 30-32°, 15- 19°,18-21° respectively. Pea grains angle of repose, angle of internal friction, angle of external friction on GI sheet and angle of external friction on plywood varies between 17-22°, 20-24°, 11-14° and 15-17° respectively. After analysis of all attributes pertaining to frictional parameter, it was found that the angle of repose, angle of external friction and angle of internal friction increased with increases the moisture content in food grains, wheat, rice, maize gram sorghum and soybeans.