Revised Book Provides
Design Guidance for Dry Grain Aeration Systems
By Ken Hellevang, Post Harvest and Structures Engineering
Specialist
NDSU Extension Service
An updated reference on the art and
science of designing systems to aerate dry grain is available from
Aeration is a management process that
forces air through dry grain to control grain temperatures in storage. Aeration
helps maintain grain quality and limits the potential for mold production and
insect activity.
The "Dry Grain Aeration Systems Design
Handbook," MWPS-29, provides guidelines for selection, sizing, locating, and
evaluating grain aeration systems. It also presents design examples of commonly
used systems. Ken Hellevang, an extension agricultural
engineer at NDSU, is the lead author of the book, which is published by the
Midwest Plan Service, a consortium of land-grant universities in the north
central
The cost of Dry Grain Aeration Systems
Design Handbook, MWPS-29, is $22.00. To purchase the book, contact Extension
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering,
The publication discusses basic
aeration considerations, system design principles, and system components. It
contains approximately 50 figures and drawings, 20 tables, and more than a dozen
extensive design examples. Among the examples are designs for aeration pads,
systems for cylindrical bins, and designs for rectangular flat storage
facilities. One useful reference feature in the book is a cross-indexed list of
all the design equations used in the examples.
The book focuses on the latest design
considerations and construction methods for dry grain aeration systems. With its
ready reference features and extensive design examples, this publication will be
a handy guidebook for grain producers, grain storage managers, and grain bin
construction and aeration industries.
The book does not include design
information for moving air through wet grain to hold it safely until it is
dried, for cooling hot grain coming from a dryer, or natural air drying.