Modeling deep-bed grain drying using Comsol Multiphysics

摘要

CFD simulations were carried out to predict the convective heat and mass transfer coefficients in the rice bed, and correlations were developed for the convective heat and mass transfer coefficients as a function of drying air flow rate. The developed correlations were used to extend the coupled CFD and diffusion model developed by ElGamal et al. (2013) for thinlayer rice drying to volumetric heat and mass transfer in a deep-bed of rice. All mathematical models were solved using the Comsol Multiphysics® simulation program v4.3 (Comsol Inc, Palo Alto), which uses the finite element method to solve the model equations. The model was used to predict the air temperature, as well as the grain moisture content and temperature at different locations of the dryer during the drying process. The theoretical predictions of moisture and temperature profiles inside a deep-bed of rice were verified by experimental data from literature.