Study of the Influence of Variable Ambient Temperature on Heat Transfer Inside Different Sized Grain Storage Bins

Abstract

The following work aims to present the numerical solution for a two-dimensional and transient model for heat transfer on storage bins during the period of one year, in which it was supposed that the structure is exposed to ambient temperature, which depends on time. From this hypothesis, it was executed curve fitting of a relation between those quantities, using meteorological data from the city of Pelotas/RS in the year 2021, and the influence that the outside temperature of a bin has over the process of heat transfer that occurs inside the structure was analyzed. Upon executing simulations of heat transfer inside fictitious bins located in this southern Brazilian city, results show that the boundary condition causes considerable variations in grain temperature, which are more intense in points near the bin's surface. Furthermore, it was concluded that containers of least storage show larger variations in inner temperature during the analyzed period when compared to the behavior of bins containing larger sizes.