Patent Publication Number: US-11640145-B2

Title: Establishment of location correction system for processing seafood transportation displaced by wind waves and anti-accumulation drying processing method

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to on-board processing technology field of seafood after fishing, especially to the establishment of location correction system for processing seafood transportation displaced by wind waves and anti-accumulation drying processing method. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Seafood is more susceptible to deterioration due to its enrichment in protein and moisture, especially when they are processed by traditional strategies “fishing at sea+processing on land”. Therefore, the on-board immediate drying of seafood is becoming critical to the quality maintenance of its products. The onboard dry technology of seafood can minimize the adverse effects on the quality of seafood, caused by delayed processing periods on land. Hot-air drying is one of the widely used marine on-board dry processing technologies because of its low investment, great adaptability and easy operation. Compared to those technologies used on land, it is noted that more attentions should be paid to onboard dry processing technologies given to its own particularity, including space limitation and sway of hull. More requirements have to be considered for the equipment size due to limitation of hull space. Besides, the processing hull traveling in the sea will periodically swing left and right and swing back and forth under the action of external forces such as wind and waves, resulting in accumulation of materials during dry processing, especially on both sides of the hull. Such uneven production of aquatic products will cause insufficient or excessive drying of some materials, which seriously lower the processing quality of aquatic products. However, the present studies on marine dry technology mainly focus on the combination and optimization of existing onshore drying equipment, without fully considering the particularity of on-board processing conditions. For example, Chinese patent CN107120911A invented rapid drying device of a ship-loaded Antarctic krill powder, consisting of eight systems including feeding system, quick-drying system and through-flow system and so on. The device can realize the rapid drying of the Antarctic krill powder, and significantly improve the processing quality. However, such complex system with large occupied volume is not allowed to employed on the hull with extremely limited space. Additionally, the uneven drying of aquatic products caused by sway of hull is also ignored in this invention. Therefore, the on-board dry processing of marine aquatic products can not simply adopt the hot air drying technology, which is commonly used on the land. It is necessary to invent a technical scheme suitable for on-board drying based on the simulation of marine aquatic products in the actual processing process, which achieve the rapid and uniform drying of seafood. 
     The coupled simulation technology of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM) is a very promising solution to problem of gas-solid biphase flow. The CFD-DEM coupled method can accurately simulate the interaction and motion of material particles imposed by airflow field, which can further optimize the design of shipborne drying equipment and finally improve the quality of marine products on board. Presently, CFD-DEM coupling technology has been widely applied in agricultural processing machinery, precision processing, energy exploration and other fields. For example, Chinese patent CN106021638A invented a bubbling fluidized bed modeling method based on bubble and particle random motion through CFD-DEM coupling technology. This method can greatly improve the accuracy of numerical calculation of stochastic models with low load and fast calculation. The U.S. Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 10,221,649, B2) invented a segmented design method for fluid path diversion with different geological structures based on the CFD-DEM coupling technology, which has the advantages of intelligence and high efficiency. It is thereafter that CFD-DEM coupling technology shows great potential to guide and optimize the design of shipborne due to its general applicability and the simulation accuracy. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention aims to establish location correction system for processing seafood transportation displaced by wind waves and anti-accumulation drying processing method. This system optimized by CFD-DEM coupled method shows the great advantages of high efficiency, economy, continuity, uniformity and controllability. 
     The technical solutions adopted by the present invention for the aims mentioned above are described in details. 
     The present invention establishes location correction system for processing seafood transportation displaced by wind waves and anti-accumulation drying processing method based on CFD-DEM coupled strategy, which comprises the following steps: 
     1) Definition and calculation of the boundary parameters of the model: the ranges of wind speed and deflector rotation angle are defined. The deflector rotation angle is defined as the angle between the deflector and the conveyor belt. The minimum rotation angle of the guide plate is 0° when the ship is running smoothly. When the hull reaches the maximum sway angle, the deflector achieves the maximum rotation angle θ 1 (−π/4&lt;θ&lt;0) or θ r (0&lt;θ&lt;π/4). The lowest wind speed is F s  when the hull is stable. The maximum wind speed F 1  or F r  is applied when the hull reaches the maximum left or right inclination angle, respectively. 
     2) Design and mesh division of the 3D model of uniform drying system: The 3D model of uniform drying system is designed by AutoCAD software, and its corresponding mesh division is conducted using mesh module of Ansys Workbench. Tetrahedral mesh with the size of 3˜8 mm is set. 
     3) Dynamics simulation of the airflow field: Import the mesh file generated by the Mesh module into the computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The standard k-ε model is selected as turbulence model, which is defined by turbulent viscosity and the hydraulic diameter. The flow field is analyzed via coupled method, and a second-order upwind style is employed as discrete format. 
     The airflow field dynamics models are shown as the follows: 
                             ∂           ∂   t       ⁢     (       α   g     ⁢   ρ   ⁢   κ     )       +         ∂           ∂     χ   j         ⁢     (       α   g     ⁢   ρ   ⁢       µ   →     j     ⁢   κ     )         =           ∂           ∂     χ   j         ⁢     (           α   g     ⁢     µ   e         σ   k       ·       ∂   k       ∂     χ   j           )       +       α   g     ⁢     G   k       -       C   D     ⁢     α   g     ⁢   ρ   ⁢   ε         ⁢   
             ∂           ∂   t       ⁢     (       α   g     ⁢   ρ   ⁢   ε     )       +         ∂           ∂     χ   j         ⁢     (       α   g     ⁢   ρ   ⁢       µ   →     j     ⁢   ε     )         =           ∂           ∂     χ   j         ⁢     (           α   g     ⁢     μ   e         σ   ε       ·       ∂   ε       ∂     χ   j           )       +       ε   κ     ⁢       α   g     (         C   1     ⁢     G   k       -       C   2     ⁢   ρ   ⁢   ε       )           ⁢   
   	       G   k     =         μ   T     (         ∂       µ   →     i         ∂     χ   j         +       ∂       µ   →     j         ∂     χ   j           )     +       ∂       µ   →     j         ∂     χ   j                     (     Formula           )               
Where {right arrow over (μ)} j , {right arrow over (μ)} i  means velocity component at x, y axis, respectively, C D  is the drag force coefficient of particle group, ρ is air density, μ represents fluid shear viscosity, υ is kinematic viscosity; μ T  is turbulent viscosity, G k  is turbulent energy, α g  is the volume fraction of gas, viscosity coefficient C μ =0.09, other constants C 1 =1.44, C 2 =1.92, σ k =1.0, σ ε =1.3.
 
     4) Establishment of the material particle model using EDEM: The particle model is constructed by three-dimensional software, which is further imported into the discrete element model software EDEM. 
     5) Optimization of the simulation parameters: The corresponding simulation time step is determined by calculating the motion severity of the particles to ensure the stability of the iterative calculation of the system. The fixed time step is set between 20% and 40% of the Rayleigh time step. 
     6) Simulation of movement of materials by the coupled CFD-DEM method: the Hertz-Mindlin non-slip model is used as contact model of the discrete unit. The computational fluid dynamics and the discrete unit are coupled by a Lagrangian model, which is further used to simulate the motion of the material under the different deflector angles and wind speeds, to optimize the processing parameters. 
     7) Verification of accuracy and practicality of model: The rotation angle of the deflector and wind speed against materials accumulation are optimized by comparing the distribution of material particles in the hull model imposed by inclination of the hull model of 0°˜10°. Meanwhile, the mathematical equation between rotation angle (θ) of the deflector, the wind speed (F) and the hull swing angle (ω) is also established (Formula {circle around (2)}) Furthermore, the actual distribution of the material under the optimized conditions is conducted to verify the accuracy of the model. 
                     mg   ⁢   sin   ⁢   ω     =     f   +         ∂           ∂     x   i         ⁢     (     ρ   ⁢       s   ⁡   (     F   ⁢   cos   ⁢   θ     )     2       )                 (     Formula           )               
Where m is the weight of the material, ω is hull swing angle, f is the friction force on the material, ρ is the fluid density (kg/m 3 ), f is the fan speed, namely the wind speed, m/s, θ is the rotation angle of the deflector.
 
     In step (1) mentioned above, the automatic response between the rotation angle of the deflector, the fan speed and the sway amplitude of the ship is achieved through the PLC control system. The programmable controller of the control system is connected with the frequency converter, the ship tilt angle sensor, the rotation angle sensor of deflector and the fan speed sensor. 
     One of the referred seafood is Silver anchovy with the mass of 0.5±0.1 g, characteristics of ellipsoidal shape with major axis of 2.5±0.5 cm and a minor axis of 0.3±0.05 cm. In step 4) mentioned above, A plurality of spherical particles in EDEM are combined to establish the model of the Silver anchovy. 
     One of the referred seafood is Antarctic krill with the mass of 2±0.5 g, characteristics of major axis of 6±0.5 cm and a minor axis of 0.6±0.1 cm. In step 4) mentioned above, A plurality of spherical particles in EDEM are combined to establish the model of the Antarctic krill. 
     One of the referred seafood is Acetes chinensis with the mass of 0.6±0.1 g, characteristics of major axis of 3±0.1 cm and a minor axis of 0.4±0.1 cm. In step 4) mentioned above, A plurality of spherical particles in EDEM are combined to establish the model of the Acetes chinensis. 
     Preferably, in step 7) mentioned above, the actual distribution proportions (m a ) of materials in different parts of the conveyor belt are calculated, which is imposed by the optimized deflector rotation angle and wind speed conditions. Furthermore, the accuracy of the model is verified (Formula {circle around (3)}) by the comparison of the actual distribution proportions (m a ) with simulation cases (m s ). The drying uniformity is confirmed by measuring the moisture content of materials in different parts of the conveyor belt (Formula {circle around (4)} and {circle around (5)}).
 
| m   a   −m   s   |/m      &lt; 10%  Formula{circle around (3)}
 
| Q   l/r/m   −Q   a   |/Q   a &lt;10%  Formula{circle around (4)}
 
 Q   a ( Q   1   +Q   r   +Q   m )/3  Formula{circle around (5)}
 
where Q 1 , Q r , Q m  separately represents in the left, middle and right of the hull; Q a  represents the corresponding averages.
 
     The present invention also involves the uniform drying processing methods against materials accumulation by establishing location correction system for processing seafood transportation displaced by wind waves. The described methods contain some details as follows: The seafood materials are transported on the conveyor belt in the rate of 3˜30 m/min and hot-air dried at 50˜70° C. The anti-accumulation for seafoods on the shaky conveyor belt is achieved by the airflow field and rotatable deflector set above conveyor belt. The automatic response between the rotation angle of the deflector, the fan speed and the sway amplitude of the ship is achieved through the PLC control system. 
     One of the referred seafood is Silver anchovy with the mass of 0.5±0.1 g, characteristics of ellipsoidal shape with major axis of 2.5±0.5 cm and a minor axis of 0.3±0.05 cm. The optimized parameters by the location correction system are as follows: The rotation angle of the deflector is θ 1 =20°, θ r =15°, and the wind speed is F 1 =2 m/s and F r =3 m/s. 
     One of the referred seafood is Antarctic krill with the mass of 2±0.5 g, characteristics of major axis of 6±0.5 cm and a minor axis of 0.6±0.1 cm. The optimized parameters by the location correction system are as follows: The rotation angle of the deflector is θ 1 =23°, θ r =17°, and the wind speed is F 1 =1.5 m/s and F r =2.6 m/s. 
     One of the referred seafood is Acetes chinensis with the mass of 0.6±0.1 g, characteristics of major axis of 3±0.1 cm and a minor axis of 0.4±0.1 cm. The optimized parameters by the location correction system are as follows: The rotation angle of the deflector is θ 1 =25°, θ r =20°, and the wind speed is F 1 =2.5 m/s and F r =3 m/s. 
     Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are as follows: 
     1) Aiming at insufficient drying seafood caused by hull swings, this invention employs CFD-DEM method to simulate the state and distribution of the material particles under different parameters modulated by the deflector. Finally, the optimized rotation angle of deflector and wind speed are obtained where material particles are equally distributed. Meanwhile, the uniform and fast drying of the marine products in the swinging hull are achieved. This invention shows the great advantages of high efficiency, automation and continuity. 
     2) This invention also establishes an automatic control system for the rotation angle of the deflector, wind speed and hull swing, whose programmable controller is connected with the frequency converter, the ship tilt angle sensor, the rotation angle sensor of deflector and the fan speed sensor. This invention shows the advantages of economy and automation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    describes the flow chart of establishment of location correction system for processing seafood transportation displaced by wind waves and anti-accumulation drying processing method. 
         FIG.  2    describes the structure diagram of the uniform drying system. 
         FIG.  3    describes the setting parameters diagram of device geometry imported into discrete element software. 
         FIG.  4    describes the setting parameters diagram of particle models imported into discrete element software. 
         FIG.  5    describes the finite element fluid analysis grid and setting parameter diagram. 
         FIG.  6    describes the air flow diagram (a) and air velocity distribution and vector diagram (b) when the hull runs smoothly. 
         FIG.  7    describes the air flow diagram (a) and air velocity distribution and vector diagram (b) when the hull swing right. 
         FIG.  8    describes the air flow diagram (a) and air velocity distribution and vector diagram (b) when the hull swings left. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The further description of the present invention is made with examples. 
     Example 1: Establishment of location correction system for processing Silver anchovy transportation displaced by wind waves and anti-accumulation drying processing method ( FIG.  1   ). 
     1) Definition and calculation of the boundary parameters of the model: the angle of rotation of the deflector is defined as the angle between the deflector and the plane of the conveyor belt. When the hull runs smoothly, rotation angle of the deflector reaches the minimum) (θ s =0°). The rotation angle of the deflector would get the maximum, θ 1  (−π/4&lt;θ&lt;0) or θ r  (0&lt;θ&lt;π/4) when the hull reaches the maximum inclination angle. The lowest wind speed, F s , is defined as that one when the hull runs smoothly. The wind speed would reach the highest (F 1  or F r ) when the hull is in maximum inclination. The automatic response between deflector rotation angle, wind speed and hull sway can be realized through the PLC control systems. The programmable controller of the control system is connected with the frequency converter, the ship tilt angle sensor, the rotation angle sensor of deflector and the fan speed sensor. 
     2) Design and mesh division of the 3D model of uniform drying system: the 3D model of uniform drying system is designed by AutoCAD software ( FIG.  2    and  FIG.  3   ), which is further divided in tetrahedral mesh with the grid size of 4 mm using mesh module of Ansys Workbench ( FIG.  4   ). 
     3) Simulation of the airflow field: import the mesh file generated by the Mesh module into the computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The standard k-ε model is selected as turbulence model, which is defined by turbulent viscosity and the hydraulic diameter. The flow field is analyzed via COUPLED method, and a second-order upwind style is employed as discrete format. 
     the used airflow field dynamics models are shown as the follows: 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
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     Where {right arrow over (μ)} j , {right arrow over (μ)} i  means velocity component at x, y axis, respectively, C D  is the drag force coefficient of particle group, ρ is air density, μ represents fluid shear viscosity, υ is kinematic viscosity; μ T  is turbulent viscosity, G k  is turbulent energy, α g  is the volume fraction of gas, viscosity coefficient C μ =0.09, other constants C 1 =1.44, C 2 =1.92, σ k =1.0, σ ε =1.3. 
     4) Establishment of Silver anchovy model using EDEM: the particle model with the mass of 0.5±0.1 g, characteristics of ellipsoidal shape with major axis of 2.5±0.5 cm and a minor axis of 0.3±0.05 cm, is constructed by three-dimensional software. A plurality of spherical particles in EDEM are combined to establish the model of the Silver anchovy, which is further imported into 
     5) Optimization of the simulation parameters: the time step is set as 10 −4 s, to ensure the stability of the iterative calculation of the system. 
     6) Simulation of movement of materials by the coupled CFD-DEM method: the Hertz-Mindlin non-slip model is used as contact model of the discrete unit. The computational fluid dynamics and the discrete unit are coupled by a Lagrangian model, which is further used to simulate the motion of the material under the different deflector angles and wind speeds, to optimize the processing parameters ( FIG.  6   - FIG.  8   ). 
     7) Verification of accuracy and practicality of model: The optimized rotation angle of the deflector (θ 1 =20°, θ r =15°) and wind speed (F 1 =2 m/s, F r =3 m/s) against materials accumulation are obtained by comparing the distribution of material particles in the hull model imposed by inclination of the hull model of 5°. Furthermore, the errors between actual and simulated distribution of Silver anchovy at the different place of the hull acted by the obtained optimized conditions is less than 10% (Table 1), which confirm the accuracy of the model. Moreover, the moisture content of materials at the left, middle and right of the hull is 28.3%, 26.7% and 23.9% respectively after 30-minute continuous treatment of 60° C. with the transportation rate of 10 m/min. The uniform drying of materials is verified as evidenced by less than 10% differences in moisture between materials at three locations and the corresponding averages (Table 2), which confirm the practicality of model. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 The actual (m a ) and simulated (m) distribution of 
               
               
                 Silver anchovy at the different places of the hull 
               
               
                 acted by the obtained optimized conditions 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                 Percentage 
                 θ l  = 20°, F l  = 2 m/s 
                 θ r  = 15°, F r  = 3 m/s 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 (%) 
                 Left 
                 Middle 
                 Right 
                 Left 
                 Middle 
                 Right 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 m a   
                 40.1 
                 32.6 
                 28.3 
                 33.4 
                 30.1 
                 37.3 
               
               
                 m s   
                 39.2 
                 31.7 
                 30.6 
                 32.3 
                 28.2 
                 40.7 
               
               
                 error 
                 2.5 
                 9.4 
                 7.1 
                 3.0 
                 6.7 
                 8.1 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 The moisture content of Silver anchovy, Antarctic krill and 
               
               
                 Acetes chinensis in the left (Q l ), middle (Q m ) and right (Q r ) of the hull 
               
               
                 and the corresponding averages (Q a ) 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Species 
                 Q l  (error %) 
                 Q m  (error %) 
                 Q r  (error %) 
                 Q a   
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Silver anchovy 
                 28.3 (7.6%) 
                 26.7 (1.5%) 
                 23.9 (9.1%) 
                 26.3 
               
               
                 Antarctic krill 
                 38.8 (4.0%) 
                 35.7 (4.3%) 
                 37.5 (0.5%) 
                 37.3 
               
               
                 Acetes chinensis 
                 23.9 (7.2%) 
                 21.3 (4.5%) 
                 20.6 (7.6%) 
                 22.3 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Example 2: Establishment of location correction system for processing Antarctic krill transportation displaced by wind waves and anti-accumulation drying processing method. 
     1) Definition and calculation of the boundary parameters of the system model: the angle of rotation of the deflector is defined as the angle between the deflector and the plane of the conveyor belt. When the hull runs smoothly, rotation angle of the deflector reaches the minimum) (θ s =0°). The rotation angle of the deflector would get the maximum, 
                 θ   1     (       -     π   4       &lt;   θ   &lt;   0     )     ⁢         or   ⁢             θ   r     (     0   &lt;   θ   &lt;     π   4       )           
when the hull reaches the maximum inclination angle. The lowest wind speed, F s , is defined as that one when the hull runs smoothly. The wind speed would reach the highest (F 1  or F r ) when the hull is in maximum inclination. The automatic response between deflector rotation angle, wind speed and hull sway is realized through the PLC control systems. The programmable controller of the control system is connected with the frequency converter, the ship tilt angle sensor, the rotation angle sensor of deflector and the fan speed sensor.
 
     2) Design and mesh division of the 3D model of uniform drying system: the 3D model of uniform drying system is designed by AutoCAD software, which is further divided in tetrahedral mesh with the grid size of 8 mm using mesh module of Ansys Workbench. 
     3) Simulation of the airflow field: Import the mesh file generated by the Mesh module into the computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The standard k-ε model is selected as turbulence model, which is defined by turbulent viscosity and the hydraulic diameter. The flow field is analyzed via COUPLED method, and a second-order upwind style is employed as discrete format. 
     the used airflow field dynamics models are shown as the follows: 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
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             ⁢ 
             
 
             
               	 
               
                 
                   G 
                   k 
                 
                 = 
                 
                   
                     
                       μ 
                       T 
                     
                     ( 
                     
                       
                         
                           ∂ 
                           
                             
                               µ 
                               → 
                             
                             i 
                           
                         
                         
                           ∂ 
                           
                             χ 
                             j 
                           
                         
                       
                       + 
                       
                         
                           ∂ 
                           
                             
                               µ 
                               → 
                             
                             j 
                           
                         
                         
                           ∂ 
                           
                             χ 
                             j 
                           
                         
                       
                     
                     ) 
                   
                   + 
                   
                     
                       ∂ 
                       
                         
                           µ 
                           → 
                         
                         j 
                       
                     
                     
                       ∂ 
                       
                         χ 
                         j 
                       
                     
                   
                 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     Where {right arrow over (μ)} j , {right arrow over (μ)} i  means velocity component at x, y axis, respectively, C D  is the drag force coefficient of particle group, ρ is air density, μ represents fluid shear viscosity, υ is kinematic viscosity; μ T  is turbulent viscosity, G k  is turbulent energy, α g  is the volume fraction of gas, viscosity coefficient C μ =0.09, other constants C 1 =1.44, C 2 =1.92, σ k =1.0, σ ε =1.3. 
     4) Establishment of Antarctic krill model using EDEM: the particle model with the mass of 2±0.5 g, characteristics of major axis of 6±0.5 cm and a minor axis of 0.6±0.1 cm, is constructed by three-dimensional software. A plurality of spherical particles in EDEM are combined to establish the model of the Antarctic krill. 
     5) Optimization of the simulation parameters: the time step is set as 2×10 −4  s to ensure the stability of the iterative calculation of the system. 
     6) Simulation of movement of materials by the coupled CFD-DEM method: the Hertz-Mindlin non-slip model is used as contact model of the discrete unit. The computational fluid dynamics and the discrete unit are coupled by a Lagrangian model, which is further used to simulate the motion of the material under the different deflector angles and wind speeds, to optimize the processing parameters. 
     7) Drying uniformity verification of Antarctic krill: The optimized rotation angle of the deflector (θ 1 =23°, θ r =17°) and wind speed (F 1 =1.5 m/s, F r 2.6 m/s) against materials accumulation are obtained by comparing the distribution of material particles in the hull model imposed by inclination of the hull model of 9°. Furthermore, the moisture content of materials at the left, middle and right of the hull is 38.8%, 35.7% and 37.5% respectively after 28-minute continuous treatment of 70° C. with the transportation rate of 30 m/min. The uniform drying of materials is verified as evidenced by less than 10% differences in moisture between materials at three locations and the corresponding averages (Table 2), which confirm the practicality of model. 
     Example 3: Establishment of location correction system for processing Acetes chinensis transportation displaced by wind waves and anti-accumulation drying processing method. 
     1) Definition and calculation of the boundary parameters of the system model: the angle of rotation of the deflector is defined as the angle between the deflector and the plane of the conveyor belt. When the hull runs smoothly, rotation angle of the deflector reaches the minimum (θ s =0°). The rotation angle of the deflector would get the maximum, 
                 θ   1     (       -     π   4       &lt;   θ   &lt;   0     )     ⁢         or   ⁢             θ   r     (     0   &lt;   θ   &lt;     π   4       )           
when the hull reaches the maximum inclination angle. The lowest wind speed, F s , is defined as that one when the hull runs smoothly. The wind speed would reach the highest (F 1  or F r ) when the hull is in maximum inclination. The automatic response between deflector rotation angle, wind speed and hull sway is realized through the PLC control systems. The programmable controller of the control system is connected with the frequency converter, the ship tilt angle sensor, the rotation angle sensor of deflector and the fan speed sensor.
 
     2) Design and mesh division of the 3D model of uniform drying system: the 3D model of uniform drying system is designed by AutoCAD software, which is further divided in tetrahedral mesh with the grid size of 3 mm using mesh module of Ansys Workbench. 
     3) Simulation of the airflow field: import the mesh file generated by the Mesh module into the computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The standard k-ε model is selected as turbulence model, which is defined by turbulent viscosity and the hydraulic diameter. The flow field is analyzed via COUPLED method, and a second-order upwind style is employed as discrete format. 
     the used airflow field dynamics models are shown as the follows: 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
                       ∂ 
                         
                     
                     
                       ∂ 
                       t 
                     
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   
                     ( 
                     
                       
                         α 
                         g 
                       
                       ⁢ 
                       ρ 
                       ⁢ 
                       κ 
                     
                     ) 
                   
                 
                 + 
                 
                   
                     
                       ∂ 
                         
                     
                     
                       ∂ 
                       
                         χ 
                         j 
                       
                     
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   
                     ( 
                     
                       
                         α 
                         g 
                       
                       ⁢ 
                       ρ 
                       ⁢ 
                       
                         
                           µ 
                           → 
                         
                         j 
                       
                       ⁢ 
                       κ 
                     
                     ) 
                   
                 
               
               = 
               
                 
                   
                     
                       ∂ 
                         
                     
                     
                       ∂ 
                       
                         χ 
                         j 
                       
                     
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   
                     ( 
                     
                       
                         
                           
                             α 
                             g 
                           
                           ⁢ 
                           
                             µ 
                             e 
                           
                         
                         
                           σ 
                           k 
                         
                       
                       · 
                       
                         
                           ∂ 
                           k 
                         
                         
                           ∂ 
                           
                             χ 
                             j 
                           
                         
                       
                     
                     ) 
                   
                 
                 + 
                 
                   
                     α 
                     g 
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   
                     G 
                     k 
                   
                 
                 - 
                 
                   
                     C 
                     D 
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   
                     α 
                     g 
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   ρ 
                   ⁢ 
                   ε 
                 
               
             
             ⁢ 
             
 
             
               
                 
                   
                     
                       ∂ 
                         
                     
                     
                       ∂ 
                       t 
                     
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   
                     ( 
                     
                       
                         α 
                         g 
                       
                       ⁢ 
                       ρ 
                       ⁢ 
                       ε 
                     
                     ) 
                   
                 
                 + 
                 
                   
                     
                       ∂ 
                         
                     
                     
                       ∂ 
                       
                         χ 
                         j 
                       
                     
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   
                     ( 
                     
                       
                         α 
                         g 
                       
                       ⁢ 
                       ρ 
                       ⁢ 
                       
                         
                           µ 
                           → 
                         
                         j 
                       
                       ⁢ 
                       ε 
                     
                     ) 
                   
                 
               
               = 
               
                 
                   
                     
                       ∂ 
                         
                     
                     
                       ∂ 
                       
                         χ 
                         j 
                       
                     
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   
                     ( 
                     
                       
                         
                           
                             α 
                             g 
                           
                           ⁢ 
                           
                             μ 
                             e 
                           
                         
                         
                           σ 
                           ε 
                         
                       
                       · 
                       
                         
                           ∂ 
                           ε 
                         
                         
                           ∂ 
                           
                             χ 
                             j 
                           
                         
                       
                     
                     ) 
                   
                 
                 + 
                 
                   
                     ε 
                     κ 
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   
                     
                       α 
                       g 
                     
                     ( 
                     
                       
                         
                           C 
                           1 
                         
                         ⁢ 
                         
                           G 
                           k 
                         
                       
                       - 
                       
                         
                           C 
                           2 
                         
                         ⁢ 
                         ρ 
                         ⁢ 
                         ε 
                       
                     
                     ) 
                   
                 
               
             
             ⁢ 
             
 
             
               	 
               
                 
                   G 
                   k 
                 
                 = 
                 
                   
                     
                       μ 
                       T 
                     
                     ( 
                     
                       
                         
                           ∂ 
                           
                             
                               µ 
                               → 
                             
                             i 
                           
                         
                         
                           ∂ 
                           
                             χ 
                             j 
                           
                         
                       
                       + 
                       
                         
                           ∂ 
                           
                             
                               µ 
                               → 
                             
                             j 
                           
                         
                         
                           ∂ 
                           
                             χ 
                             j 
                           
                         
                       
                     
                     ) 
                   
                   + 
                   
                     
                       ∂ 
                       
                         
                           µ 
                           → 
                         
                         j 
                       
                     
                     
                       ∂ 
                       
                         χ 
                         j 
                       
                     
                   
                 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     Where {right arrow over (μ)} j , {right arrow over (μ)} i  means velocity component at x, y axis, respectively, C D  is the drag force coefficient of particle group, ρ is air density, μ represents fluid shear viscosity, υ is kinematic viscosity; μ T  is turbulent viscosity, G k  is turbulent energy, α g  is the volume fraction of gas, viscosity coefficient C μ =0.09, other constants C 1 =1.44, C 2 =1.92, σ k =1.0, σ ε =1.3. 
     4) Establishment of Acetes chinensis model using EDEM: the particle model with the mass of 0.6±0.1 g, characteristics of major axis of 3±0.1 cm and a minor axis of 0.4±0.1 cm, is constructed by three-dimensional software. A plurality of spherical particles in EDEM are combined to establish the model of the Acetes chinensis. 
     5) Optimization of the simulation parameters: the time step is set as 10 −5  s, to ensure the stability of the iterative calculation of the system. 
     6) Simulation of movement of materials by the coupled CFD-DEM method: the Hertz-Mindlin non-slip model is used as contact model of the discrete unit. The computational fluid dynamics and the discrete unit are coupled by a Lagrangian model, which is further used to simulate the motion of the material under the different deflector angles and wind speeds, to optimize the processing parameters. 
     7) Drying uniformity verification of Acetes chinensis: The optimized rotation angle of the deflector (θ 1 =25°, θ r =20°) and wind speed (F 1 =2.5 m/s, F r =3 m/s) against materials accumulation are obtained by comparing the distribution of material particles in the hull model imposed by inclination of the hull model of 7°. Furthermore, the moisture content of materials at the left, middle and right of the hull is 23.9%, 21.3% and 20.6% respectively after 40-minute treatment of 55° C. with the transportation rate of 3 m/min. The uniform drying of materials is verified as evidenced by less than 10% differences in moisture between materials at three locations and the corresponding averages (Table 2), which confirm the practicality of model.