Bin coring: a simple practice for improving aeration performance and saving energy

Abstract

The coring operation consists of removing the center portion of the grain mass, or core of the silosilo, to improve airflow distribution. Additional benefit of this practice is the elimination of a significant portion of the fine material, which is a source of fungal inoculum and feed for insects. The effect of coring on airflow distribution through a grain mass has been previously addressed, but the effect on energy savings was not fully quantified. Thus, the goals of this reseach were: 1) to quantify the airflow increase due to the coring operation of a silosilo full of wheat; and 2) to quantify the reduction on fan runtime and energy consumtion due to improvement in airflow distribution and airflow increase after coring. The effect of coring on airflow was quantified using the AireAr software, and the effect on aeration efficiency was studied through simulation using a specialized software (PHAST-FDM). For levels of coring (0%, 3%, 5% and 8% of total grain mass) and four levels of nonuniformity of airflow (center side difference) (30, 20, 10 and 0) were considered. Results indicated that the coring operation reduced the total time to achieve cooling, number of fan run hours, and fan power consumption. The main effect of the coring operation was the increase in specific airflow (up to 45% increase). Energy savings increased with coring, obtaining savings of 11%, 28% and 30% for 3%, 5% and 8% of coring, respectively. It was concluded that coring the silosilo by unloading from 3 to 8% of the stored grain mass is a recommendable practice, because it increases the specific airflow rate and airflow uniformity, reduces fan run hours and generates energy (and cost) savings.295

Keywords

• airflow resistance
• airflow uniformity
• simulation
• fine material