EVALUATION OF DIFFUSION EQUATION FOR SIMULATING MOlSTURE MOVEMENT WITHIN AN INDIVIDUAL GRAIN KERNEL

Abstract

ABSTRACT Drying of agricultural grains by and large takes place in the diffusion controlled falling rate period. Therefore, an understanding of the phenomenon of moisture transfer within an individual particles of material is desirable and should be represented precisely by a mathematical model. This paper describes a numerical solution that has been developed for solving spherical diffusion equation describing moisture movement within a grain kernel for accurately calculating bulk drying rate. All agricultural materials in general, when drying as a single particle under constant external conditions, exhibit a constant rate moisture loss Key Words and Phrases: Diffusion CoefficientDrying Rate PeriodGrain KernelMass Transfer CoefficientMoisture ProfileSpherical Diffusion Equation