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Western Grain Dryer Inc. makes real products for the real world.
The
standard designed of Western Grain dryers consist of a full-cover
roof and catwalk, drying section, cooling section, fan(s), burner(s),
loading control systems and temperature control system. The
dryer is top-loading with the drying being done in the upper
section of the unit. In the lower section, cooling air brings
grain down approximately 20F above the outside air temperature
before grain leaves the dryer, loading and unloading are automated.
The controls of the dryer consist of controlling the speed of
the unloading augers and the temperature of the drying air.
The basic control function is to minimize over drying or under
drying of the grain moisture content while maximizing dryer
capacity under acceptable conditions of grain quality and energy
consumption.
| Western Grain dryers are mixed flow grain dryers. On a mixed flow dryer the warm air enters the grain column through a series of warm air ducts. As result the entire column from inside to the outside gets exposed to the warm air at the same time. In the meantime grain is able to flow around the ducts on its way through the dryer resulting in mixing action and the chance for the grain to get away from the warm air stream from time to time. This also allows the kernel to get a chance to move moisture from the center of the seed to the outside resulting in a much more gentle drying process. |
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The practical result of this is that a mixed flow dryer can be used at higher plenum temperatures without incurring the kind of damage that would result in a cross flow dryers such as most of screen grain dryers or bin dryers. Therefore, mixed-air flow air design allows hot air to be evenly distributed throughout the grain columns thereby avoid under or over drying.
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