Three-Dimensional Modeling and Simulation of Heat and Mass Transfer Processes in Porous Media: An Application for Maize Stored in a Flat Bin

If the relative humidity and temperature of the air inside a granular mass of stored grain exceeds a certain threshold value, microorganism activity is likely to increase. Lower relative humidity and temperature, when uniformly distributed inside the grain mass, prevent moisture migration and an inc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Drying technology 2013-07, Vol.31 (10), p.1099-1106
Main Authors: Rocha, Keller Sullivan Oliveira, Martins, José Helvecio, Martins, Marcio Arêdes, Saraz, Jairo Alexander Osorio, Filho, Adílio Flauzino Lacerda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
air flow
air temperature
CFD modeling
Cooling process
corn
equations
Finite volume
Fluid dynamics
Grain storage
Grains
heat
Heat and mass transfer
Heat transfer
Humidity
Maize
Mass transfer
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical models
Microorganisms
Moisture
momentum
Porous materials
porous media
Relative humidity
Simulation
simulation models
stored grain
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Summary:If the relative humidity and temperature of the air inside a granular mass of stored grain exceeds a certain threshold value, microorganism activity is likely to increase. Lower relative humidity and temperature, when uniformly distributed inside the grain mass, prevent moisture migration and an increase in microorganism activity. To cool down or maintain the temperature of the grain mass below a threshold value, forced ventilation with an appropriate airflow can be used to remove excess moisture or heat generated by grain or microorganism respiration. The objective of this work was to solve the equations that describe the conservation of heat, mass, and momentum in order to predict heat and mass transfer processes in the environment inside a grain mass of maize, stored in a flat bin. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics was used to solve the equations. The analysis of heat and mass transfer was performed considering the geometry of a two-ton-capacity bin prototype using a hexahedral mesh for the finite volume analysis. The numerical grid was defined to discretize the physical flow domain of interest to calculate velocity, temperature, and moisture distribution in the bulk of stored grain. The predicted results were compared with experimental data, and the agreement between them was very good.
ISSN:1532-2300
0737-3937
1532-2300
DOI:10.1080/07373937.2013.775145