1. 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

2. 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
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3. 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
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4. 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)
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5. Grain Forces
m1s
m1g x Fc m1 m2
m2s h
ρgAh D d
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6. Differential Equations
Forces acting on m1:
m1g + ρgAh – Fc - Fc=m1d2x/dt ……. (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
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7. Simulink Model
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8. Simulation Results m1 = 2000 bu m1 = 2000 bu m2 = 2000 bu m2 = 1000 bu
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9. 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
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10. FC Bin Tracker
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11. FC Bin Tracker
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12. FC Bin Tracker
No ID for trucks recorded !!
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13. FC Bin Tracker ?
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14. 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
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15. 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)
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16. Relational Database Management System
Solution
Relational Database Management System
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17. 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
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18. 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
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19. 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?
…………. ?
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20. Elevator Grain Traceability Scenario
Microsoft Access can be used
Primary Key: Scale ticket (Date and time stamp)
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21. Grain Traceability: Relationships
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22. 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