Article
Version 1
Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Numerical and experimental analysis of the vacuum corn seed degassing system
Version 1
: Received: 10 January 2024 / Approved: 11 January 2024 / Online: 11 January 2024 (10:57:33 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Ipate, G.; Ilie, F.; Fătu, V.; Voicu, G. Numerical and Experimental Analysis of the Vacuum Corn Seed Degassing System. Agriculture 2024, 14, 397. Ipate, G.; Ilie, F.; Fătu, V.; Voicu, G. Numerical and Experimental Analysis of the Vacuum Corn Seed Degassing System. Agriculture 2024, 14, 397.
Abstract
In this work, the degassing process of corn seeds was experimentally and numerically analyzed by removing air or other gases from around the seeds, specifically from the seed coating, in a rough vacuum chamber. The two complementary variants are employed to understand and optimize this process to improve the quality and germination rate of the seeds. Several experiments were conducted with well-established durations and masses of corn seeds at different temperatures to observe and record the behavior of the system, facilitating the modeling of the degasification process in the vacuum compartment. Modeling the degasification operation in the vacuum chamber allowed for determining the pressure profiles on the vacuum chamber and its lid. Numerical simulations were either conducted using a simulation program developed in the Visual Basic Applications (VBA) language for Microsoft Excel to model the degassing process in the vacuum chamber, or with the assistance of specialized software (transient structural analysis and simulation program in the ANSYS Workbench environment). Statistical analysis of the correlation between experimental and estimated pressure values revealed that both the proposed mathematical model and the solution method are well-chosen, with differences expressed through the absolute error (EA) being very small. Structural dynamic analysis carried through the Finite Element Method (FEM) highlights that the chosen materials for manufacturing the vacuum chamber vessel (316 stainless steel) or the chamber lid (transparent acrylic plastic) are durable and capable of withstanding the desired pressure and temperature demands in the seed treatment process. Additionally, through structural dynamic analysis, it was possible to study the deformation of system components, providing a detailed perspective on their structural distribution.
Keywords
degassing process; corn seeds; vacuum chamber; modeling; simulation; structural dynamic analysis
Subject
Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Comments (0)
We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.
Leave a public commentSend a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
