Farmers around Canada, specifically in Manitoba, predominantly utilize vertical grain aeration in their post-harvest grain storage systems to extend the storage life of the grain. Using horizontal aeration presents a more energy-efficient alternative to vertical aeration. However, manufacturers lack the information and theoretical calculations necessary to optimize the design of horizontal aeration systems. This means that despite its advantages, manufacturers remain hesitant to adopt horizontal systems due to insufficient data to inform their design.

This project aimed to address this issue on behalf of Dr. Fuji Jian and the grain storage research group at the University of Manitoba. The project focused on creating a bench-scale device for testing and measuring air resistance in horizontal grain aeration systems. The device measures the performance of horizontal airflow through an aeration system that results from different types of grain and system configurations. Project deliverables included the constructed and verified device, and preliminary testing and data collection for future Ph.D. research and eventual industry application.

The project's technical specifications were verified to ensure that the final prototype would meet the client's demands for a grain bin that could hold a load of grain and measure the performance of horizontal grain aeration. A structural design was carried out to ensure that the grain bin could hold a whole load of grain during operation. Other verifications included testing the radial airflow uniformity, whether vertical airflow is negligible, and adapting the grain bin to be used with various system configurations. The grain bin was found to satisfy all the criteria required by the client. The overall project successfully provided a method to measure horizontal grain aeration performance from the data collected.

There are several recommendations for how to improve this project further. The main recommendation is to minimize instrumentation in the grain bin. A combination of pitot tubes and mass flow sensors were used to measure airflow. This combination provides highly detailed measurements, but the consequence is several disruptions to the airflow. Replacing or reducing the instrumentation disruption to the airflow would be reduced, producing higher quality results. Additionally, some operation procedure improvements are recommended to help future researchers transition to working with pilot-scale prototypes.