The Air Drag Effects on Barley Malt Drying in Hexi Corridor of China

The Hexi Corridor district of Gansu is one of the best barley bases in China. The quality of barley malt plays an important role on its price. Therefore, the key development factor of the barley malt plant relies on promoting drying process technology and drying malt quality. In this paper, Ganpi No. 4 is selected as the drying raw material, because it is the main strain of barley planted in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu. An experimental study was carried out in a furnace during the barley malt drying process, where the hot wind drying method is used in the cooperative plant of the research project. The preliminary measurement results showed that the air drags increase by the approximately lineal rate of blowing air speed. With the incensement of barley malt thickness, the air resistance speeds up. When the malt moisture content rises, the corresponding curve of air drag also extended lineally. Therefore a mathematical matrix, P=31.5He^2.38V, was built up in relation to malt thickness (H, meter) and wind speed (V, m/s) as well as the air drag of malt (P, mmH₂O). Finally the later experiments demonstrated the equation between the air drag force and malt thickness as well as wind speed respectively.