Simulation of the temperature of barley during its storage in cylindrical silos

Abstract

A two-dimensional mathematical model, based on the finite-difference method of calculating heat transfer, has been developed to simulate the temperature in a cylindrical storage silo containing malting barley. To validate the model, a real silo approximately 23.5 [m] high and 6.3 [m] in diameter was used, unlike the other investigations related to the subject, which have used tower silos with at most 3.76 [m] in diameter and 5.5 [m] in height. These two scenarios are quite different, since it is known that climatological variables are very different as height increases. The model has been programmed in Visual Basic for applications in Excel, compatible with microcomputers, which enables a good display for computer simulation of temperature and an excellent report of results, through linked graphs. The study allows to conclude that the model predicted the temperature with a standard error of approximately between 6.6 and 12.4%, depending on the depth. In addition, the simulation of temperatures can be done without the need to consider the weather station, because statistically, the seasons of the year turned out to be not significant for the temperature of the stored barley.