31 Zhao, M He, W Cheng, L 2009 Three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics model for free convective flow in grain storages <p><span lang="EN"> <p align="left">Understanding of transient internal distributions of pressure, temperature, moisture and fumigant concentration and their interactive processes are vital essential for improvement on grain storage management in a quantitative manner. Most of research initiations have focused on inter-granular convection and diffusion phenomena inside the grain bulk only, which may not be sufficient to tackle problems with complex bunker configurations and boundary conditions, especially for unsealed sheds and bunker storages in current industry practices. In this research, attempts have been made to characterise wind flow around and inside bunker storages under various climate conditions. It is anticipated that the results from the simulation of flow outside of the storages can serve as input boundary conditions for modelling transient internal distributions of pressure, temperature, moisture and fumigant concentration in grain storages.</p> <p>A transient three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is developed to simulate heat and moisture transport in grain storages. The air flow in grains is simulated by solving the Navier-Stokes equations with Darcy terms and the terms of inertial resistance. The convection-diffusion equations of temperature and moisture are solved numerically. The governing equations are discretized using a streamlined-upwind finite element method (FEM). A parallel FORTRAN code is developed base on MPI (Message Passing Interface). Numerical results of air flow, temperature and moisture distributions in a typical grain storage are presented.</p> </span></p>