Pressure drop through in-bulk flax seeds

The airflow resistance of in-bulk flax seeds (Linum usitatissimum) and the effect of airflow rate, bed depth, type of packing, and presence of foreign material ("fines" and "chaff") were studied. A good fit of the experimenta l data (R > 0.993) was obtained through the model DPL = cQ + dQ(2) (where D PL is pressure drop per unit of bed depth, Pa/m; Q is airflow rate, m(3)/s- m(2); c and d are constants; and airflow range is 0.011-0.141 m(3)/s-m(2)). The airflow resistance increases when bulk density and bed depth increase. In dense packing the pressure drop is 1.3 to 1.5 times the pressure drop i n loose packing. The resistance increases with the increase of fines and de creases with the increase of chaff.