MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF GRAIN DRYING - THOMPSON'S THEORETICAL MODEL FOR DURUM WHEAT

Resumo

The storage of grains needs to be secure because of the quality of the product, the drying process at the time of storage in the silos is essential. Then, in this work we seek to apply the mathematical modeling proposed by Thompson to calculate grain dryers. Following Thompson's model, for a better adaptation to the wheat grain it was necessary to adjust constants proposed by him. The dryer used in the calculations is a continuous dryer with a conveyor belt to transport the grain through the interior of the chamber, it is important to emphasize that the continuous drying process can cause cracks in the grain, and thus compromise its quality. Our application is based on calculations that depend on previously fixed factors, and on the humidity of the grain at the entrance to the dryer, which will be the determining factor for the speed of the drying belt. At the end of the applications, we were able to see the difference in speed in relation to the moisture content of the grain.