Study and Analysis of Window Characteristics During Continuous Grain Drying.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Engineering
• Post-Harvest Technology
• Process Control

Background:

• Conventional grain drying relies on empirical methods and single-parameter monitoring, lacking quantitative control.
• Existing applications of accumulated temperature in grain drying lack systematic investigation of dynamic window characteristics.
• This leads to insufficient quantitative and stable control criteria for effective grain drying.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define and classify accumulated temperature windows (equivalent, actual, good) for continuous grain drying.
• To analyze window dynamics and establish accurate calculation methods for equivalent and actual accumulated temperatures.
• To propose a feasible judgment criterion for the 'good window' state to optimize drying control.

Main Methods:

• Systematic analysis of window characteristics during continuous grain drying.
• Development of accurate calculation methods for equivalent and actual accumulated temperatures.
• Construction of a MATLAB 2022-based simulation model for continuous corn drying validation.

Main Results:

• Equivalent accumulated temperature responds instantly, while actual temperature shows a one-cycle lag.
• The difference between equivalent and actual accumulated temperature stabilizes below 1500 °C·min.
• The 'good window' is achieved when outlet moisture content is 14.5 ± 0.5% for over 3 hours.
• The simulation model shows high prediction accuracy (approx. 5% mean relative error).

Conclusions:

• Clarified the dynamic mechanism of accumulated temperature windows in continuous grain drying.
• Provided a practical, quantitative basis for intelligent control and efficiency improvement in grain drying.
• Demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed methods and simulation model for optimizing the drying process.