Optimal Design of Silo System for Drying and Storage of Grains (I)-Simulation Modeling with SLAMSYSTEM

A simulation modeling is necessary for the optimal design of a rice processing plant, which consists of a facility (a silo system) of rice drying and storage and a rice mill plant. In a rice processing plant, the production scheduling and the decision on capcity of each unit based on a queuing theory is very important and difficult. In this study a process-oriented simulation model was developed for the design of a rice drying and storage system with SLAMSYSTEM. The simulation model is capable of simulating virtually all the processing activities and provides work schedules which minimize total processing time , mean flow time and bottleneck of the plant system and estimate drying time for a batch in a drying silo. Model results were used for determination the size and capacity of each processing unit and for analyzing the performance of the plant . The developed model was actually applied to construct a grain silo system for rice drying and storage.