Two slotted two-dimensional spouted bed units with flexible bed dimensions were designed and fabricated. Static vertical pressure of grains (shelled corn, soybean, and wheat) on the air entry slots in the pilot scale unit indicated that the silo theories are not applicable to predict this pressure accurately without including the bed to air inlet aspect ratio, slant angle, and sphericity of grains. A grain quantitative factor accounting for emptying angle of repose and sphericity of particles was proposed and included with the collected data to develop an empirical regression model. / Aerodynamics of grains (shelled corn, soybean, and wheat) were found to be affected by slant angle, spout width, separation distance, length of bed and the bed geometrical similarity. Mathematical models for the design parameters of the spouted beds were developed following the principles of dimensional analysis and similitude. Model predictions agree closely with the data. / The drying rate of shelled corn in the geometrically similar two-dimensional spouted beds with draft plates was found to depend on the bed geometry and operating parameters. The drying characteristics of corn in the investigated spouted beds was found to be of the thin layer type. The performance of dryers was modeled in the form of the Page's equation. Expressions for the model parameters accounting for bed geometry, grain moisture content, and drying conditions were developed. The developed model predictions agree well with the data from both beds.

No description available.