Operational Techniques for Tracking Bulk Grain through Handling Systems and Supply Chains Maitri Thakur Graduate Research Assistant Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Iowa State University, Ames, IA August 27, 2007

Traceability in Bulk Grain Handling Commingling of grain lots Lot identity not maintained Source A Source B Source C Common Storage Silo Manufacturing Plant Cookies Source: Food and Drug Administration 11/18/2018

Research Objectives Simulation modeling of grain flow patterns FIFO – First In, First Out (Mass Flow) LIFO – Last In, First Out (Funnel Flow) NIFO – Next In, First Out (Simultaneous Bin emptying and filling with Funnel Flow) Grain Inventory Management Electronic record-keeping of bulk material in a grain elevator 11/18/2018

LIFO Grain Flow Model Grain and Bin Specifications Shape : Cylindrical, Flat-bottom, Bottom-draw Diameter (D): 15 feet (4.6 m) Opening diameter (d) : 30 cm (0.3 m) Grain : Soybeans Angle of Repose (Θ) : 35° Coefficient of friction (c) : 0.3 Bulk Density (ρ) : 770 Kg/m3 Mass Flow Rate* = 170 bu/min (* ASABE D274.1: Flow of Grain and Seeds Through Orifices) 11/18/2018

Grain Forces m1s m1g x Fc m1 m2 m2s h ρgAh D d 11/18/2018

Differential Equations Forces acting on m1: m1g + ρgAh – Fc - Fc=m1d2x/dt2 ……. (1) dm1/dt = ρAdx/dt ……. (2) dm2/dt = dm1/dt – 2*dm1s/dt ……. (3) c1 = m1/(m1+m2) ……. (4) c2 = m2/(m1+m2) ……. (5) where, c1 = Proportion of mass m1 in outbound load c2 = Proportion of mass m2 in outbound load 11/18/2018

Simulink Model 11/18/2018

Simulation Results m1 = 2000 bu m1 = 2000 bu m2 = 2000 bu m2 = 1000 bu 11/18/2018

Simulation model Results Proportions of loads m1 and m2 in the outbound load can be determined at any given time Proportion of m1 decreases and m2 increases with increasing time As m2 empties out, proportion of m1 starts increasing exponentially till it reaches an equilibrium value Model needs to be tested for real elevator bin data 11/18/2018

FC Bin Tracker 11/18/2018

FC Bin Tracker 11/18/2018

FC Bin Tracker No ID for trucks recorded !! 11/18/2018

FC Bin Tracker ? 11/18/2018

Available vs. Required Information Inbound Grain ID Inbound Bin ID Inbound quality parameters Outbound grain quantity Partial records for: in-house grain movement daily grain log grain movement for different FC locations Required Complete in- house grain movement log Accurate bin-to-bin log (precise air-space measurements) Inbound bin-to-truck log in case of truck overloads FC location-to-location grain log (inbound and outbound) All bushels should be accounted for 11/18/2018

Possible Solutions Divide the bin in horizontal layers Date & time to establish grain position within bin Assign a unique ID to each layer Follow Grain Flow simulation to determine amount of inbound loads in a given outbound load Assign ID to the piles Record all grain movement (piles, drying, overloaded trucks, etc) 11/18/2018

Relational Database Management System Solution Relational Database Management System 11/18/2018

Elevator Grain Traceability Scenario Entities Activity date and time Scale Ticket (Grain ID) Grain (corn or soybeans) Bin ID Inbound Outbound Transferred Bushels Grain Origin Grain Destination 11/18/2018

Elevator Grain Traceability Scenario Relationships for different entities: A bin can contain grain from different sources i.e. a bin can contain different scale tickets A scale ticket corresponds to an activity date and time Bushels can be transferred from one bin to others Transferred bushels (out) can have one destination Transferred bushels (in) can have one origin 11/18/2018

Elevator Grain Traceability Scenario Database questions: What bin contains grain corresponding to a particular scale ticket? What are all the locations for the outbound grain from a given scale-ticket/ grain ID? What bin contains the grain transferred from a particular overloaded truck? …………. ? 11/18/2018

Elevator Grain Traceability Scenario Microsoft Access can be used Primary Key: Scale ticket (Date and time stamp) 11/18/2018

Grain Traceability: Relationships 11/18/2018

Conclusions (Further Steps) Develop a database for record keeping Update grain tracking model for: multiple grain layers in the bin different bin specifications different grains Combine the database and tracking simulation model to create a Bulk Grain Traceability Model Expand the database and simulation model to include the supply chain network 11/18/2018