Fuzzy Control of Mixed-Flow Grain Dryer

Abstract Grain drying is a typical heat and mass transfer process with characteristics of multivariables, long time delay and nonlinearity. Thermodynamic modeling and control have been a subject of extensive research. Fuzzy logic provides a means for converting a linguistic control strategy, based on expert knowledge, into an automatic control strategy and is suitable for such process. In this article, the thermal characteristics of the grain drying process and the key factors influencing the final moisture content of the dryer are analyzed. On the basis of the analysis, an on-line measurement and fuzzy control scheme of the grain dryer are proposed. Finally, an on-line measurement and intelligent control software is developed and put into industrial application in a grain dryer. The practical control results show that the on-line measurement and intelligent control system of the dryer product satisfying control performance.