Abstract
The use of petroleum fuels in grain drying causes problems of high cost and management. To solve these problems, it is required to study on soLar energy as an alternative to petroleum fuels for grain drying. The purposes of this study were to find out the optimum received area and air flow rate of a flat-plate solar air collector for grain drying and to assess its effects on grain drying with a small grain bin. The results of this study are summarized as follows ; 1. The calculated optimum tilt angles of the collector in the summer and autumn drying seasons were 20 and 50 degress, respectively, in suwon area. 2. The outlet temperature of the collector was $36^\circ C$ on the daily average with the maximum of $36^\circ C$ at 12:00 o clock. Solar radiation on the collector surface was 1.04 ly( 1 langley = 1 cal/$cm^2$) per minute on the daily average and 1.30 ly per minute on the maximum at 11:00am. The thermal efficiency of the collector was 62.4 percent on the daily average, and the air flow-rate per unit receiving are was 1.03 $m^3$/min/$m^2$.4. The calculated optimum receiving area and the air flow-rate per unit cubic volume for paddy in autumn drying season was 2 $m^2$ and 2$m^3$/min , respectively. 5. not significantly difference in the collector efficiency was appeared between the rotating and fixed type of solar collector. 6. For drying of wheat with 0.6 meter of the depth in the bin, approximately 9 hours were required to reduce the moisture content from 21.6% to 13% with air follow rate of 5 $m^3$/min an initial moisture per cubic meter of wheat and with air temperature of $52^\circ C$. 7. In the drying test of rough rice with a turning operation in a grain bin approximately 21 hours were required to reduced the moisture from 21% to 14.5% with airflow rate of 2 $m^3$/min per cubic meter of rice and the air temperature of $43.5^\circ C$. 8. Over-drying at the bottom and less -drying at the top of the grain mass was resulted from the high -temperature of drying air which was obtained from the flat-plate solar collector in this test. An appropriate operation should be prepared for the uniform moisture of the grain in the bin.