A MODEL IN SYSTEM DYNAMICS FOR CONTROL OF GRAIN AERATION SYSTEMS IN SILOS

• Autor(a) principal: Diniz Veloso de Sá, Thamiris
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Pinheiro Amantéa, Rafael, Oliveira Rocha, Keller Sullivan, Martins, José Helvécio
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Scientia Generalis
• Texto Completo: https://scientiageneralis.com.br/index.php/SG/article/view/416
• topic: Agriculture; Grain storage; Aeration (Technique); Control strategy; Predictive microbiology; Agricultura; Almacenamiento de granos; Aireación (Técnica); Estrategia de control; Microbiología predictiva; Agricultura; Armazenagem de grãos; Aeração; Estratégia de controle; Microbiologia preditiva

Grain quality is decisive in determining its added value, requiring adequate measures in post-harvest processes. The aeration technique has become the main process for managing bulk storage systems, aiming to preserve product quality through control that modifies the intergranular microclimate of stored products. This control makes it possible to reduce or eliminate the proliferation of microorganisms and pests that are harmful to the quality of the stored product. Aeration makes this process possible by maintaining the temperature and relative humidity of the intergranular air and, consequently, the moisture content of the grains at safe levels for storage. In this work, a control system for aeration of stored grains was developed, providing automatic starts and stops, which took into account the system dynamics technique, considering an aeration model and predictive microbiology. The control strategy used for aeration management prioritized the cooling of the grain mass, tested in four scenarios based on different parameters to turn the fan on or off. The first three scenarios proved to be undesirable, as there was an increase in the temperature of the product and its moisture content in the first layers, in addition to conditions that favored biological growth. In the last scenario, it was established, as a parameter, that the temperature of the external air was, at most, 3 below the average intergranular temperature, and the results showed a decrease in the temperature of the intergranular environment, absence of product wetting and, therefore, a continuing decline in conditions unsuitable for biological reproduction.