Research on heat transfer during the drying process of agricultural seeds

Abstract

Development of computers and software made possible CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) modeling of heat transfer phenomena in drying process of agricultural seeds. Validation of the mathematical model of the heat transfer process in a porous medium was achieved by measuring the seed temperature at several points of the seed layer in a dryer. The CFD simulation obtained the temperature profile in the seed layer on the three thicknesses studied. Simulation and experiment allow optimization of the drying process by increasing the quality of dried seeds with low energy consumption. The results of the simulation and experimental data give a dry layer optimum thickness of the 100 mm for all tested seeds.