Segregation of canola, kidney bean and soybean in wheat during bin loading
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Date
2018
Authors
Ramasamy Boopathy, Narendran
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Abstract
Segregation is an important phenomenon in bulk grain handling and the distribution of Fines, Foreign materials and Dockage (FFD) in stored grain has been studied in the literature. In the reported studies, FFD was characterized only by its size which has resulted in an inability to make meaningful comparisons as FFD of the same size may have different physical properties.
In this study, kidney bean, soybean and canola were used to represent FFD in bulk wheat and these grains were referred to as “other grains”. A test bin of 2 m diameter was loaded with wheat grain with 0, 3 and 6% other grains. Trials were conducted at three drop heights of 80, 160 and 240 cm. After the bin was loaded, samples were collected at the following six locations along a radius: 0, 18.8, 37.6, 56.4, 75.2 and 94 cm from the centre. The bulk density was measure for each sample and the samples were then sieved to determine the amount of other at each location. Also, the orientation of grains was studied by pouring melted wax at three locations along another radius.
The orientation of the major axes of wheat, kidney bean and soybean was along the radius of the bin. The canola seeds were found more at the periphery of the bin and this could be due to impact segregation. The kidney beans and soybeans were found more near the mid locations and centre of the bin. The effects of avalanches, rolling, sliding and embedding were observed. The percentage of other grains inside the grain mixture before loading into the test bin did not have a significant effect on the distribution of other grains after loading. The drop height significantly affected the amount of canola at different locations inside the test bin.
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Keywords
Segregation, Bin loading, Wheat, Canola, Kidney bean, Soybean