Innovative Design of a Mechanized Grain Spreader and Leveler for In-Bin Drying Sylos

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Agriculture in southern Ontario is a hidden giant industry. It needs the attention of academic institutions to increase their competitiveness. University of Windsor Production and Process Design research laboratory and Devolder's Farms Inc. are cooperating together to come up with an innovative solution for a problem farming industry is continuously experiencing with grain storage. Harvested grain needs to be stored in conditions that maintain its quality. It has to be dried and aerated. In-bin drying is a common practice in agriculture industry. Heated air is injected from the bin bottom up through stored wet grain to bring moisture content to quality standards. The success of the drying process depends on how uniform and leveled grain is distributed within the bin- functions that are not fully performed by available grain spreaders. According to industrial partner, current available devices in the market are not fully satisfying all criteria especially with regards to the required leveling within bins. Available spreaders are not robust and reliable enough too; hence, frequent maintenance and human intervention during operation are frequently resorted to. Preliminary research and surveys have been conducted by a research team led by principle investigator and composed of masters and doctoral students. Few meetings with company including field trips to the farm have been carried out to coordinate efforts and learn more about problems encountered. Initial findings show potential of applying inventive problem solving methods to overcome current problems and issues encountered with current import devices being used and marketed by Devolder's. Few design methods have been found fit and hence, would be combined together forming a single coherent overall design methodology. At the outset, a traditional design approach would be used, where mappings between customer and functional requirements, design and process parameters would be carried out. A Russian creative problem solving method would be heavily exploited at the conceptual level. A variety of computer aided design tools would be used for modeling. Other design methods and tools would be used to further detail the developed layouts.