Simulation of an Improved Road-Side Maize Roasting Machine and Thermal Efficiency Validation

Abstract

The study focused on the simulation of temperature distribution, air flow pattern, and validation of the thermal efficiency of an improved road-side maize roasting machine. SolidWorks Premium SP1.2 2025 Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software was used for modelling and simulation operations. The thermal efficiency validation was done by estimating the efficiency of the fabricated prototype of the machine (through a standard experiment of roasting), and comparing with that of simulated model of the machine. The simulation results showed that, the modelled machine performed best in terms of temperature distribution and air flow of the roasting region at the point 1.7 m cut plot (other points: 1.5 m and 1.6 m), with average temperature and average air velocity of 498.30±2.34 °C and 1.079±0.19 m/s, respectively. However, the overall average temperature and overall average air velocity obtained were 463.13±56.11 °C and 0.962±0.17 m/s, respectively. Also, the thermal efficiency of the simulated model of the machine was 93% and that of fabricated prototype of the machine was 66%. This revealed that, the fabricated machine requires future modifications to enhance better thermal efficiency of the roasting operation.