Experiments on paddy drying mechanism of far-infrared convection combination in combine harvester

Abstract

In order to acquire the coupling mechanism of the paddy flow, hot air and far-infrared radiation, an experiment bench based on the screw conveyor and grain collecting tank of combine harvester was set up, and then the orthogonal experiment with six factors and five levels was conducted using the dehydration rate (DR), increased crack percentage (ICP) and specific energy consumption (SEC) as indexes. The optimal combination of factors for each index was acquired and the experiment results show: the drying combination could achieve rapid drying with good drying quality and low energy consumption; the initial water content of paddies is the dominant factor for the DR, ICP and SEC; the hot air has more effect on the drying performances compared with the IR radiation.