GRAIN DRYER TESTING PROCEDURE, CALCULATION AND ADJUSTMENT OF RESULTS, AND EFFECT OF ERRORS

Physical testing of the thermodynamic performance of grain dryers is necessary to improve prototypes, to confirm their specification and to provide information for marketing and operator guidance. International trade in dryers, and the need to be able to compare their performance, is leading towards common testing procedures. This paper draws upon a forthcoming revision of the British Standard BS3986:1966 to outline the main components of a dryer test and to discuss the calculation of results, their adjustment or correction to required operating conditions and the assessment of the effect of errors in measurement. The importance of accurate determination of moisture content and of the difference between input and output moisture levels is demonstrated. © 1992 Silsoe Research Institute.