SIMULATION OF THE HEAT AND MOISTURE TRANSFER PROCESS DURING DRYING INDEEP GRAIN BEDS

Grain drying is a simultaneous heat and moisture transfer problem. The modelling of such a problem is of significance in understanding and c ontrolling the drying process. In the present study, a mathematical mo del for coupled heat and moisture transfer problem is presented. The m odel consists of four partial differential equations for mass balance, heat balance, heat transfer and drying rate. A simple finite differen ce method is used to solve the equations. Tile method shows good flexi bility in choosing time and space steps which enable the simulation of long term grain drying/cooling processes. A deep barley bed is used a s an example of grain beds in the current simulation. The results are verified against experimental data taken from literature. The analysis of the effects of operating conditions on the temperature and moistur e content within the bed is also carried out.