MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF DRYING GRAIN OF BARLEY INFRARED HEATING IN VACUUM
The paper proposes a mathematical model for the drying of barley grain by the combined effect of infrared radiation and vacuum on it. This model was developed on the basis of differential equations and the method of undetermined coefficients. For the numerical implementation of the mathematical model, an algorithm and a computer program were created in the Mathcad environment, which made it possible to establish the nature of the temperature and moisture content changes over time and the geometric characteristics of the grain. Thus, the numerical implementation of the developed model showed an advantage, in terms of moisture velocity, of drying the barley grain by the combined effect of infrared radiation and vacuum on it, compared to drying at atmospheric pressure. The rate of drying (the yield of moisture in the grain on its surface) is increased by increasing the gradient of the total pressure. It should be noted that when drying barley grain in a vacuum, there is no need for an excessive increase in the temperature of the heat carrier (infrared emitter), and hence the temperature of the grain itself.