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Performance evaluation of double layered polyethylene greenhouse solar dryer for drying of selected horticultural produce
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Pinki; Mahesh Kumar
The present study was conducted with an objective to evaluate the performance of double layered greenhouse solar dryer for drying of horticultural crops cabbage, spinach, onion and carrot that uses solar energy. Greenhouse solar dryer used was of 10×6 square ft area with polyethylene layering over trays. Exhaust fan was used at speed of 2.08 m/sec for forced convection. The performance evaluation of greenhouse solar dryer was done for drying of cabbage, spinach, onion, carrot and compared with open sun drying, single layer natural convection solar drying, double layer natural convection solar drying, single layer forced convection solar drying, double layer forced convection solar drying. All the four crops cabbage, spinach, onion and carrot were given physical treatment i.e. cutting; drying kinetics of all the crops chosen was studied by open sun drying, single layer natural convection solar drying, double layer natural convection solar drying, single layer forced convection solar drying, double layer forced convection solar drying techniques. The quality parameters included colour, ascorbic acid, polyphenol content, shrinkage ratio, rehydration ratio and overall acceptability. Double layer solar drying under forced convection took the minimum drying time i.e. 480, 275, 585, 385 min for cabbage, spinach, onion, carrot respectively followed by double layer solar drying under natural convection i.e. 785, 495, 665, 885 min for cabbage, spinach, onion, carrot respectively; accompanied by final moisture content 6-7% (db) for all crops. The quality of double layer solar drying under forced convection found comparable with open sun drying.
Open Access
Recovery of sensible heat from air leaving drying chamber of conventional forced circulation solar dryer
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Simranjeet Singh; Sukhmeet Singh
Air leaving drying chamber of conventional solar crop dryers is at higher temperature than ambient which leads to wastage of energy. Therefore it is proposed to use thermal storage at exit of the drying chamber of solar dryers to extract heat from leaving air, which can later on be utilised. In this research work, the proposed method is tested for conventional forced circulation solar dryer. The setup consists of multi-tray drying chamber, air heating unit, electric air blower and sensible heat storage unit. Crushed rocks were used for sensible heat storage. Electric heaters were used instead of solar air heaters to have control over drying air temperature. Heat recovery was tested for extending drying operation in two scenerios, namely, with thermal storage only and thermal storage along with auxiliary heating. Evaluation was done at constant inlet air temperatures of 55, 60, 65 and 70oC and fixed air mass flow rate of 0.025 kg/s. 5.850 kg fresh carrots were loaded in each experiment. It was found that thermal storage at exit of drying chamber is beneficial in both cases. During testing, 1.08-9.41% energy savings were achieved along with extended drying operation. Further, heat recovery supplemented by auxiliary heating proved to be more effective. For drying at 60oC, recovered energy was 1.53 MJ and 1.7 MJ with and without auxiliary heating. Computer model has also been developed to predict drying rate for the same setup using air from solar air heater.
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Effect of angle of attack on heat transfer and friction characteristics of inclined rib roughened solar air heater duct
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Gurpreet Singh; Hans, V.S.
Thermal performance of solar air heaters is very low due to formation of laminar sublayer over the heat transferring surface. By use of artificial roughness in the form of wires, thermal performance of solar air heaters can be increased considerably. This study represents an experimental investigation carried out to examine the effect of angle of attack on heat transfer and friction characteristics of inclined rib roughened solar air heater duct. The various parameters related to roughness geometry and flow were Reynolds number in the range of 2000 to 16000, relative roughness height (e/D) in the range of 0.02 to 0.043, relative roughness pitch (P/e) in the range to 6 to 14 and angle of attack (α) in the range of 45o to 75o: The results obtained from this experimental investigation suggested that ribs inclined at 67o, having relative roughness pitch and relative roughness height value of 10 and 0.043 respectively outperformed the other rib configuration in terms of thermal and thermo-hydraulic performance. Correlations for Nusselt number and friction factor in terms of roughness geometry parameters and flow parameters have also been developed from experimental data.
Open Access
Software development for determining quality and maturity levels of tomato using image processing techniques
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Kamalpreet Kaur; Gupta, O.P.
Agriculture contributes a lot in the economic development of India. Maturity checking has become mandatory for the food industries as well as for the farmers so as to ensure that the fruits and vegetables are not diseased and are ripe. However, manual inspection leads to human error, unripe fruits and vegetables may decrease the production. Thus, this study proposes a Tomato Classification system for determining maturity stages of tomato (Green, Breaker, Pink, Light-Red and Red- Mature) through Machine Learning using Image Processing approach. Design and development of software has been implemented using Pycharm as an IDE and Python as a programming language. The method consists of image collection, preparing database and training seven different classifiers on 80% of the total data for evaluating the maturity stages of tomato using the surface color as an attribute. Rest 20% of the total data is used for the testing purpose. The results are obtained in the form of Learning Curve, Confusion Matrix and Accuracy Score. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) for Tomato Classification by using Python is achieved. It is observed that out of seven classifiers, Random Forest is successful with 92.49% accuracy in evaluating the maturity category of tomato. It is concluded from the results that the performance of the classifier depends on the size and kind of features extracted from the data set.
Open Access
Fabrication of ventilated structure for storage of onion
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Nancydeep Kaur; Mahesh Kumar
Onion is an important crop of the country that is consume throughout the year. Recently due to greater economic return associated with this crop, the farmers in our state have also paid enough attention for the cultivation of this crop. Looking at the physiology of this crop there is a lack of proper storage structure for keeping the bulb for such a long time so the present study was undertaken to develop suitable storage structure. As storage life of the onions is linked with its harvesting at proper stage followed by thorough curing. Properly harvested onion crop at vegetable farm of PAU was field cured. It was also cured in shade as well as in mechanical drier. Using this information a ventilated onion storage structure of capacity 1.25 tonn was fabricated. The results indicated that the highest losses (22.55 %) were recorded when the onion cured at the open field for 5 days, followed by shade curing treatment (18.08 %) for 9 days and the lowest losses were 15.8 % for the artificial curing treatment at the end of storage period. Physical characteristics of onions i.e. average size, angle of repose and bulk density was calculated as 32.75-68.67 mm, 26⁰ and 560 kg/mᶟ respectively. Ventilated storage structure was (size 1.2m х 1.2m х 1.5m) made up of angle iron frame and MS 1 inch square mesh. For ease of loading and unloading the onion, an inclined surface at the base with angle of repose 26 degrees has been provided. Three axial flow fans at the base of ventilated storage structure created variable air flow rate with air velocities of 0.27 m/s, 0.32 m/s, 0.69 m/s, 0.9 m/s and 1.38 m/s. Onions in bulk were filled in the structure and samples of 10 kg of 5 onion bags were kept at different location within the structure and at different air velocities for this study. The variations in vital parameters were compared with commercially cold stored onions in cold stores (0 to -1⁰C). It was observed that PLW, sprouting, TSS, colour difference, moisture content, hardness, ascorbic acid and reducing sugars during 3 months of storage varied significantly at CD 5% level of significance. This study indicates that onions which were stored at air speed 1.38 m/s and cold stored showed minimum loss and maximum retention of chemical properties. But due to high rent of cold stored onions, cold storage is not normally preferable in India.
Open Access
EFFECT OF ENZYMATIC TREATMENT ON OIL RECOVERY USING MECHANICAL EXPRESSION FROM MUSTARD SEEDS
(PAU Ludhiana, 2011) Pawanpreet Singh Grewal; A.K. Singh
The experiments were carried out with the objectives to determine various engineering characteristics and determining the operational parameters for better recovery of oil from two varieties of Mustard seed i.e. PBR-91 and RLC-1. The experiments were designed using response surface methodology for making various combinations of moisture content (6, 9, 12, 15 and 18%w.b.), heating time (2,4,6, 8 and 10 min), heating temperature (40,60,80,100 and 120°C) and enzyme concentration (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%) and the experiments were conducted using single chamber oil expeller. The quality of oil was determined using acid number and peroxide value. The effect of independent variables i.e. moisture content, enzyme concentration and heating temperature on oil yield and residual oil in cake of PBR-91 and RLC-1 variety were found significant however the effect of the heating time was found non-significant in both the varieties. The highest amount of oil yield is 32.30% at 9% moisture, 4% moisture content, 60°C heating temperature and 8 minute heating time for PBR-91 and 32.09% for RLC-1 at 9% moisture content, 60°C heating temperature and 8 minute heating time. There is 8% increase in the yield of the oil for PBR-91 extracted at optimum level of parameters whereas in RLC-1 there is 8.89% increase in the oil yield compared to untreated seeds. Flow behaviour of oil was studied at different temperatures ( 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50°C) and different moisture level (6, 9, 12, 15 and 18%) at constant shear rate 15 S-1 showed decreasing trend of viscosity with increase in temperature.The flow behaviour of the samples were predicted by the values of consistency coefficient and flow behavoiur index. The range for consistency of oil was found to be 1.32 to 90.12 (PBR-91) and1.13 to 65.12 (RLC-1) for Power law model where as in Casson model it was 4.14 to 24.2 (PBR-91) and 3.12 to 17.3 (RLC-1). The flow behaviour index of PBR-91 ranged from -0.68 to0.94 whereas it varied from 0.18 to 0.96 for RLC-1 in Power law model . The range of yield stress was found to be 4.37 to 432 (PBR-91) and 2.1 to 400.1 (RLC-1) for Casson model.
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DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR EGOVERNANCE AT PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
(PAU Ludhiana, 2011) Ashu Mittal; Dinesh, Grover
These days, it seems like everything is happening online, and accounting is no exception. While many financial bookkeeping practices have been computerized for some time, online accounting and bookkeeping is still relatively new. In a large organization, accounting requires a lot of paperwork, and maintaining accurate records can be terribly difficult. So there is an essence of computer software that provides applications for easy data entry and record of financial transactions. Keeping this in mind, Financial Management System application software has been developed. FMS application software enhances the way organizations record financial transactions and flow information through their divisions and departments. It allows easy updation of financial records electronically, without having to deal with stacks of paper. Also software application help speed the time it takes to update records and keep employees informed of important financial information. FMS plays significant role in decision making processes. This software helps senior management to prepare financial statements such as income statements. The database has been designed using MySQL and the application has been developed using PHP, JavaScript, AJAX, CSS and HTML.
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MULTI-LAYER DRYING OF GINGER (Zingiber officinale
(PAU Ludhiana, 2011) Tarun Garg; Satish Kumar
Investigations were carried out to study the effect of drying parameters on multi-layer drying of ginger. The drying parameters studied were moisture content, drying rate, temperature and relative humidity of outgoing air, product temperature and heat utilization factor. Quality attributes included rehydration ratio, coefficient of rehydration, shrinkage ratio, volatile oil content, colour. The multi layer drying was carried out at 60°C in Satake mechanical drier till an average moisture content of 5-6 % was achieved. The total drying time was between 5-16.5 hours. It was observed that moisture content, drying rate, relative humidity of outgoing air and heat utilization factor decreased with drying time but opposite trend was observed for temperature of outgoing air and product. The decrease in moisture content increased with increase in air velocities whereas opposite trend was observed for loading densities. Drying rate was higher for higher air velocity but opposite for loading density. A maximum heat utilization factor was observed for high loading density and low air velocity. Increase in air velocity resulted in decrease in heat utilization factor and relative humidity however temperature of outgoing air and product showed the opposite trend. Similar effect was observed for loading density. At air velocity 3.11 m/s the drying rate was maximum (8.45% db/min) for loading density 27.99 kg/m2 and heat utilization factor was maximum (1.00) for loading density 87.01 kg/m2. The rehydration ratio and coefficient of rehydration were maximum for sample having low loading density and air velocity but shrinkage ratio and volatile oil content were minimum for combinations having high loading density and low air velocity. There was a significant change in colour of fresh and rehydrated samples. The optimum conditions for multi-layer drying of ginger were observed to be 44.66 kg/m2 loading density and 3.5 m/s air velocity and corresponding values of rehydration ratio, coefficient of rehydration, shrinkage ratio, volatile oil and colour change were 4.98, 0.64, 1.87, 1.15 and 5.72 respectively.
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Processing of selected varieties of Punjab Potato (Solanum tuberosum) to produce flakes and flour using hot air drying
(PAU Ludhiana, 2013) Shweta Goyal; Mahesh Kumar
Investigation were carried out to produce flakes and flour from potatoes. Two popular variety of potatoes in the state of Punjab namely Kufri Pukhraj and Kufri Jyoti were selected for this purpose. The raw potatoes procured from the local vegetable market were peeled, boiled in a microwave. A mash was produced by crushing boiled potatoes followed by dipping in 0.2%KMS solution for 1 hour to remove the sugars. The drained mashed potatoes were dried at 50°C, 60°C & 70°C in the layers of 5, 6 & 7 mm. The prepared mash was also dried in a solar dryer. It consumed about 900-1290 min to dry at 50°C & 70°C. Effective moisture diffusivity varied between 1.43x10-10 & 3.98 x 10-10 m2/sec for tray dried sample in comparison to 2.79 x 10-10 to 4.39x10-10 m2/s for solar dried. The prepared flakes were grounded to produce the flour that was stored in HDPE and LDPE pouches, Al laminate & glass bottles and kept at room temperature. The parameters like moisture content, colour, NEB, flavor etc. were estimated at regular interval of 15 days. The process parameters, temperature & thickness were optimized by RSM technique for the responses, namely rehydration ratio (RR), shrinkage ratio (SR), reducing sugar, swelling index (SI), starch content, colour (L value) and overall acceptability (OA). The vital values of these parameters were 1.83-2.8 (RR), 0.76-1.2 (SR), 0.012-0.189 (reducing sugar), 1.52-2.14 (SI), 5.82-6.45 (starch content), 47.4-53.12 (L value) and 7.06-7.52 (OA) respectively. The optimized values of temperature & thickness lie in the range of 61.27-58.44°C & 6.56-5.86 mm respectively for tray & solar dried, Kufri pukhraj & jyoti potato. From the study, it was concluded that the log model showed high adequacy of fit & best result was obtained for laminate packed potato flour.

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