Testing Procedure

GOAL

To reach 14% moisture content in 8 bushels of corn in less than or equal to 8 hours given its starting moisture is less than or equal to 25%.


MATERIALS

  • 24-40 Bushels of Corn
  • Drying Chamber
  • Solar Collector
  • Solar Panel
  • DC to AC Converter
  • Heat lamps = 1200W/m2
  • Multimeter
  • Electric Moisture Meter
  • Light Meter App
  • Digital Thermometer


PLAN & PROCEDURE


Solar Panel

  1. Place in a sunny spot at a 52 Degree angle with the converter connected.
  2. Measure current output, voltage output and light intensity (lux) every 30 minutes for 4 hours including weather conditions (Temperature, Cloud Coverage, Time of Day).
  3. Record in a table:

4. Repeat for 2 days.


Drying Chamber and Solar Collector

  1. Attach solar collector to drying chamber in the environmental chamber.
  2. Set conditions for environmental chamber:
    1. Relative humidity: 85%
    2. Temperature: 25C or 77F
  3. Shine 1200W/m2 heat lamps on the solar collector and plug in the fan.
  4. Place 8 bushels of corn in the chamber.
  5. Record initial moisture content (MC) of the corn, temperature of air in the drying chamber (Tdc), and relative humidity in the drying chamber (RHdc).
  6. Measure MC of corn on all four shelves, Tdc, & RHdc every hour until we reach 14% MC.
  7. Record in table:

8. Repeat 3-5 times