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VOL. 11, ISSUE 2 (2026)
Development and performance evaluation of a Bluetooth-enabled grain inversion machine for efficient grain drying for small and marginal farmers
Authors
Vinayak M, Laharika S S J, Anil Kumar G, Bhagya S S P, Sairaja S, Mohan P C K
Abstract
Uniform grain drying is essential for reducing post-harvest losses, but
repeated manual turning during open-sun drying is labour intensive and often
inconsistent. This study evaluated a Bluetooth-operated unmanned grain turning
system developed to improve open-sun drying efficiency and grain moisture
uniformity while reducing labour and energy demand. Comparative field trials
were conducted under similar drying-floor conditions using grain lots with an
initial moisture content of 22% (wet basis). The performance of the developed
grain inverter model was assessed against traditional, manual turning and
static drying. Moisture reduction data showed that the developed system dried
grain faster throughout the drying period, reducing moisture from 22% to 12% within
7 h, whereas the traditional method retained 14% moisture after the same
period. The average drying rate of the developed model was 1.43% h−1
higher than the 1.14% h−1 recorded for the traditional method,
confirming enhanced heat and mass transfer due to continuous grain inversion.
Total drying time was reduced to 7 h compared with 9 h for manual turning and
10 h for static drying. The developed system also improved drying uniformity,
showing very low moisture variation and a nearly uniform layer-wise moisture
distribution of 12.2%, 12.0%, and 11.8% in the top, middle and bottom layers
respectively, compared with greater gradients in manual turning and static
drying. In addition, energy consumption was lower for the developed system (4.5
kWh) than for manual turning (5.5 kWh) and static drying (6.0 kWh). Overall,
the Bluetooth-operated unmanned grain turning system demonstrated superior
drying efficiency, reduced drying time, better moisture uniformity, and lower
energy requirement, indicating strong potential as a practical and economical
solution for safer grain drying at farm level.
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Pages:83-89
How to cite this article:
Vinayak M, Laharika S S J, Anil Kumar G, Bhagya S S P, Sairaja S, Mohan P C K "Development and performance evaluation of a Bluetooth-enabled grain inversion machine for efficient grain drying for small and marginal farmers". International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition, Vol 11, Issue 2, 2026, Pages 83-89
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