Abstract
Traditional hot air drying is a high-energy consuming process, and the drying quality is often decreased due to high drying temperature. To improve the drying process and drying efficiency, in this paper, the heterogeneity of corn kernels’ shape and physical structure is designed by modeling three-dimensional (3D) corn geometry and using different moisture diffusivity values for different corn components. The model includes evaporation of water inside the corn, the diffusion of water into the surface layer and the surface vaporization in the form of a liquid. In addition, the influence of the pericarp on the mass transfer process was included. Based on the experimental and simulation results, variation of the internal temperature and moisture content of the corn and its internal temperature field and humidity field during the drying process were analyzed. The results show that the main mass transfer resistance during drying comes from pericarp, and the influence of external conditions is not significant. It also shows that moisture diffusivity decreases from soft endosperm, hard endosperm, germ, and pericarp, in that order. The results obtained by the three-dimensional multi-component mathematical model are closer to the actual temperature and moisture content of the drying process, which proved that the model has high practicability.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Jia, C., Cao, C.: Process of two-dimensional heat and mass transfer in corn kernel. J. Beijing Agric. Eng. Univ. 15(1), 45–51 (1995)
Haghighi, K., Irudayaraj, J., Stroshine, R.L.: Grain kernel drying simulation using the finite element method. Trans. ASAE 33(6), 1957–1965 (1990)
Haghighi, K., Segerlind, L.J.: Modeling simultaneous heat and mass transfer in an isotropic sphere—a finite element approach. Trans. ASAE 31(2), 629–637 (1991)
Takhar, P.S., Maier, D.E., Campanella, O.H., Chen, G.: Hybrid mixture theory based moisture transport and stress development in corn kernels during drying: validation and simulation results. J. Food Eng. 106(4), 275–282 (2011)
Chen, G., Maier, D.E., Campanella, O.H., Takhar, P.S.: Modeling of moisture diffusivities for components of yellow-dent corn kernels. J. Cereal Sci. 50(1), 82–90 (2009)
Muthukumarappan, K., Gunasekaran, S.: Moisture diffusivity of corn kernel components during adsorption part III: soft and hard endosperms. Trans. ASAE 37(4), 1275–1280 (1994)
Zhu, W., Cao, C.: Computer Simulation of Agricultural Product Drying Process, 1st edn. China Agricultural Press, Beijing (2001)
Zhang, S., Kong, N., Zhu, Y., Zhang, Z., Xu, C.: 3D model-based simulation analysis of energy consumption in hot air drying of corn kernels. Math. Probl. Eng. (2013)
Fortes, M., Okos, M.R.: Non-equilibrium thermodynamics approach to heat and mass transfer in corn kernels. Trans. ASAE 24(3), 761–769 (1981)
Acknowledgements
This project is supported by the Key technology research Project of Science and Technology Commission of Jilin Province, China (No. 20180201006SF), and the Development and Innovation Project of Science and Technology Commission of Jilin city, China (No. 201750214).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Jin, X., Wang, C., Bi, Q., Liu, Z., Hong, W. (2020). Study on Moisture Transfer Characteristics of Corn during Drying Process at Low Air Temperature. In: Wang, Z., Zhu, Y., Wang, F., Wang, P., Shen, C., Liu, J. (eds) Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (ISHVAC 2019). ISHVAC 2019. Environmental Science and Engineering(). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9524-6_45
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9524-6_45
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-9523-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-9524-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)