MODELING OF AGRI-FOOD PRODUCTS ON THE BASIS OF SOLID GEOMETRY WITH EXAMPLES IN AUTODESK 3DS MAX AND FINITE ELEMENT MESH GENERATION

Summary In order to predict behavior of agri-food products subjected to drying, cooling and heating operations, adequate data on product geometry are required in mathematical models of heat and water transport. Sufficient knowledge about geometry of agri-food products is lacking due to the complexity of their shape. Therefore an original approach consisting in the 3ds Max solid geometry modeling was developed and exemplified for the case of corn and oat kernels. To acquire data on the original product geometry, the approach was supported with image processing and analysis, generation of finite element meshes, and collection of coordinates of mesh nodes. The geometry models of investigated products were developed in the intention of future enhancement of mathematical models and predictions of cereal grain drying and storing processes.