ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate and model the hygroscopic equilibrium and isosteric heat curves of pericarp and endosperm tissues of arabica (Coffea arabica) coffee fruit, in different temperature and relative humidity conditions. Sorption isotherms were drawn under temperatures from 20°C to 70°C and relative humidity ranging between 10% and 90% until the product reached the equilibrium water content with the environment. The experiment was set up in a 4 × 4 factorial scheme (four relative humidity of the drying air and three tissues of the coffee cherry pericarp + endosperm [1: exocarp + part of the mesocarp, 2: mesocarp, 3: endocarp, 4: endosperm]), in a completely randomized design, with three repetitions. The results were examined by analysis of variance and regression using the STATISTICA 5.0 statistical software. Among the analyzed models, the ones that best fit the experimental data were modified GAB, for exocarp + part of mesocarp and mesocarp, modified Henderson, for endocarp, and Sabbab for endosperm. It was observed that, for all treatments, the lower water contents required a higher amount of energy to reach the equilibrium water content, and the integral isosteric heat decreased with the increasing equilibrium water content.

ABSTRACT This study aimed to assess the drying kinetics of red and yellow chili peppers, “dedo-de-moça” variety, at different temperatures (35, 45, 55, and 70 °C) and model this phenomenon mathematically. We also evaluated the effect of these drying air temperatures on pepper fruit color. Pepper fruits were dried in a forced-air circulation dryer. Ten mathematical models were fitted to the experimental data by nonlinear regression analysis. After drying, pepper samples were analyzed for the following colorimetric parameters: lightness (L*), chroma or saturation (c), and hue angle (h), in order to determine the influence of drying air temperature on fruit coloration. Our findings showed that the higher the air temperature, the faster the drying process. Midilli model fitted well to all temperature data and best represented the drying kinetics of “dedo-de-moça” chili peppers. Moreover, fruit color was affected by the drying air temperatures, in which the higher the drying air temperature, the greater the color variation.

ABSTRACT This work aimed to study the immediate and latent effects of different relative humidities on the quality of dried coffee fruits, describe the drying kinetics of natural immature coffee (Coffea arabica L.), and evaluate the mathematical model that best fits the experimental drying data. The drying was carried out in a fixed layer dryer coupled to a composite air conditioning system in which the drying air was controlled with an air flow of 20 m3.min1.m−2, at a temperature of 40 °C, and at relative humidities of 10%, 17.5% and 32.5%. Manually harvested coffee fruits were used and dried to a mean water content of 0.120 dry basis (d.b). After drying, the kinetic curve and the physical and physiological properties were determined. The coffee was stored in permeable packs for 6 months. The electrical conductivity, potassium leaching, and colour analysis were performed every 2 months. For the modelling adjustment, the models were tested, and the Midilli model had the best fit with the drying kinetics of the immature coffee. No immediate damage was observed in the physical and physiological quality of the coffees, and latent damage was perceived after 120 days of storage for the natural immature coffees.

ABSTRACT The success of confinement for dairy cattle in the compost barn model depends mainly on the management of the bed and consists of its turning. This paper characterises the spatial variability of the bed temperature in the compost barn confinement model, as well as verifying whether there was an effect on efficiency from turning the bed with different agricultural implements. The experiment was conducted during the summer and winter of 2016, with 8 days of collection in each period. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics methods and geostatistical modelling with semivariograms and kriging maps. The results of the t-test at a5% significance level indicated that, after turning the bed with the plough or rotary hoe, the temperature values were significantly lower. There was an efficient on bed turning based on different agricultural implements. Spatial dependence was observed on the data, with a better adjustment given by a Gaussian model. Kriging maps allowed the characterization of the spatial variability of bed temperature and the visualization across the compost barn bed at the superficial layer and 0.15 m in depth.

RESUMO As colhedoras de café estão sujeitas a esforços e vibrações em sua estrutura, oriundos de motores e do sistema de derriça de café. Estas estruturas devem ser projetadas de modo a evitar ruptura dos componentes, em razão da fragilidade dos materiais, geometrias inadequadas, ou pelo fenômeno de ressonância, o qual amplia os deslocamentos/deformações dos componentes. Neste cenário, objetivou-se com o presente trabalho analisar resultados de tensões e deslocamentos provenientes de duas simulações estáticas e apresentar resultados de frequências naturais de vibração de duas simulações modais em uma colhedora de café automotriz. Para este fim, geraram-se 20 formas modais, considerando o reservatório da colhedora vazio e cheio de café. As simulações foram realizadas pelo método dos elementos finitos em que foram aplicadas condições de contorno reais no chassi motor da colhedora. Como resultados, observaram-se regiões dos componentes com tensões acima do limite de escoamento do material. Verificaram-se também, na parte traseira do chassi, maiores deslocamentos, o que sugere novo posicionamento da roda traseira para obtenção de distribuição uniforme das cargas. Algumas frequências naturais, que apresentaram maiores deslocamentos/deformações, podem ser atingidas pelo funcionamento do motor principal associado também ao sistema de vibradores na derriça do café, podendo causar ruptura de componentes.

ABSTRACT Coffee harvesters are subject to stresses and vibrations in their structure, originating from engines and harvesting system. These structures must be designed to avoid rupturing of the components due to fragility of the materials, inadequate geometries, or the phenomenon of resonance, which increases the displacements/deformations of the components. In this scenario, the main objective of this study is to analyse the results of stresses and displacements from two static simulations and to present results of natural vibration frequencies from two modal simulations in a self-propelled coffee harvester. For this purpose, 20 modal shapes were generated, considering coffee harvester reservoir as empty and full. The simulations were carried out using the finite element method in which actual boundary conditions were applied to the motor chassis of the harvester. As results, stresses above the material’s yield strength were observed in some regions of the components. Greater displacements were observed at the rear of the chassis, suggesting a new positioning of the rear wheel to obtain a uniform load distribution. Some natural frequencies, which presented greater displacements/deformations, can be affected by the operation of the main motor, also associated with the vibrating system in the coffee harvest, which may cause rupture of components.

RESUMO A salsinha é uma espécie de ampla produção e comércio no Brasil devido ao seu alto consumo como condimento in natura ou seco. No desenvolvimento de equipamentos para secagem é importante a simulação e a obtenção de informações teóricas a respeito do comportamento de cada produto durante a remoção de água. Tendo em vista a crescente utilização e o potencial de comercialização de plantas condimentares, neste trabalho objetivou-se determinar o calor isostérico das folhas de salsinha e ajustar modelos matemáticos aos dados experimentais da secagem e da dessorção. O modelo de GAB modificado e de Midilli foram os mais adequados para descrever as isotermas de dessorção e as curvas de secagem, respectivamente, para as temperaturas estudadas. O calor isostérico variou de 3394,6 a 2830,0 kJ kg-1 para o teor de água de equilíbrio na faixa de 0,0154 a 3,7232 (b.s.).

ABSTRACT Parsley is a species of wide production and trade in Brazil due to its high consumption as a condiment, fresh or dried. In the development of equipment used for drying, it is important to simulate and obtain theoretical information about the behavior of water loss for each product. Given the increasing use and potential commercialization of condimental plants, the objective of this work was to determine the isosteric heat of parsley leaves and fit mathematical models to the experimental data obtained in drying and desorption processes. The modified GAB and Midilli models were the most appropriate to describe the desorption isotherms and drying curves, respectively, for the studied temperatures. The isosteric heat varied from 3394.6 to 2830.0 kJ kg-1 for the equilibrium moisture content in the range from 0.0154 to 3.7232 (d.b.).

ABSTRACT To maintain seed and soil quality of pumpkin, energy knowledge associated with processing and storage stages is strategic for the optimization of the thermodynamic processes needed for product stabilization. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine isosteric heat, differential entropy, and Gibbs free energy within a temperature range from 20 to 70° C, and relative air humidity levels between 10.75 and 85.11%. The study was based on empirical data for water activity determination. As a result, we verified that as moisture content decreased, the integral isosteric heat of the product increased from 2502.35 to 6231.17 kJ kg-1, differential entropy raised from 1.18 to 12.43 kJ kg-1 K-1, and Gibbs free energy ranged from -243.84 to -432.59 kJ kg-1. Thus, we concluded that the lower the water availability in seeds, the greater the energetic requirement for its removal, as there is a major interaction between water and the product (seeds), indicating an increasingly less spontaneous desorption process.

RESUMO No sistema supermecanizado de colheita do café todas as operações são realizadas de forma mecanizada. Com a finalidade de melhorar a logística das operações agrícolas mecanizadas, o conhecimento das variáveis que influenciam no desempenho operacional pode gerar modelos que permitam estimar, de maneira precisa, esses parâmetros. O uso da metodologia de superfície de resposta (MSR) permite verificar a influência de diferentes variáveis independentes em que resposta gerada permite alcançar um valor ótimo. Este estudo objetivou verificar a influência da velocidade, o comprimento médio de entrelinhas e a declividade das áreas nos parâmetros de desempenho operacional em diferentes operações mecanizadas na cafeicultura, utilizando MSR, como: colheita, varrição e enleiramento. Os resultados mostram que a declividade influencia diretamente no desempenho operacional da colheita mecanizada de café. A MSR mostrou-se como importante ferramenta para verificar o efeito das variáveis nos parâmetros de desempenho enquanto os modelos gerados apresentaram alta significância.

ABSTRACT In super-mechanized coffee harvesting system, all operations are performed mechanically. In order to improve the logistics of mechanized agricultural operations, the knowledge on the variables that affect the operational performance can generate models to accurately estimate these parameters. The use of response surface methodology (RSM) allows to verify the influence of different independent variables and the generated response to allow for a great value. This study aimed to verify, using RSM, the influence of speed, mean length of rows and the slope of the areas on the operational performance parameters in different mechanized operations in coffee production, such as: harvest, sweeping and gathering. The results show that the slope directly influences the operational performance of the mechanical harvesting of coffee. The RSM proved to be an important tool to verify the effect of variables on performance parameters, and the generated models showed high significance.

<title>RESUMO</title><p>A secagem é um processo utilizado para retirar certa quantidade de água do produto com a finalidade de aumentar a vida de prateleira, minimizar as perdas na pós-colheita, do excesso da produção e devido a contração volumétrica reduzir os custos de embalagem, transportes e armazenamento. Diante do exposto objetivou-se no trabalho fazer o estudo da cinética de secagem, análise da contração volumétrica e obter os valores de difusão líquida durante o processo de secagem de figo. Foram utilizados figos do comércio da cidade de Niterói, RJ, e submetidos à secagem em condições controladas de temperaturas do ar (40, 55 e 70 °C). Aos dados experimentais foram ajustados modelos matemáticos para a representação do processo de contração volumétrica e de secagem de produtos agrícolas. O modelo polinomial teve o melhor ajuste aos dados observados para a faixa de temperatura estudada representando melhor a contração volumétrica do figo e para secagem o modelo de Midilli obteve o melhor ajuste. A difusão líquida aumenta com a elevação da temperatura apresentando valores entre 1,76 x 10^-11 e 8,78 x 10^-11 m²s^-1.</p>

<title>ABSTRACT</title><p>The drying process is used to remove some water from the product, in order to increase the shelf life, to minimize post-harvest losses in excess of production and owing to the shrinkage, reducing the cost of packaging, transport and storage. Thus, the objective of this work was to study the drying of fig, analysis of shrinkage, as well as obtaining the values of liquid diffusion during the fig drying process. Figs were used from some Niterói Markets and subjected to drying under controlled air temperatures (40, 55 and 70 °C). Mathematical models were adjusted to experimental data to represent the processes of shrinkage and drying of agricultural products. The polynomial model and Midilli had the best fit for the observed data for the temperature range studied, representing the best shrinkage and drying fig, respectively. The liquid diffusion increases with increasing temperature with values between 1.76 x 10^-11 and 8.78 x 10-11 m² s^-1.</p>

Com o intuito de analisar a dinâmica de sorção e a energia necessária para a vaporização da água na desidratação do bagaço da cana-de-açúcar, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo a determinação de seu equilíbrio higroscópico e calor isostérico, a partir de diferentes condições controladas de temperatura (20; 40; 55 e 70 ºC) e umidade relativa do ar (10; 12; 17; 18; 30; 40; 45; 50; 60 e 85%), assim como avaliar, entre diversos modelos descritos na literatura, o que melhor represente o comportamento de sorção. Como resultado, foi verificado que o modelo que melhor se ajustou aos dados empíricos do processo de sorção do bagaço de cana-de-açúcar foi o Modelo de Henderson Modificado, com coeficiente de determinação de 0,972, enquanto o calor isostérico integral de dessorção variou de 2524,09 a 2951,95 kJ kg-1, para os teores de água de equilíbrio de 0,014 a 0,170 b.s., respectivamente.

This study aimed to determine the hygroscopic equilibrium and isosteric heat of sugarcane bagasse to evaluate sorption dynamics and the required energy to vaporize water in the bagasse dehydration. The reaction was assessed at different controlled conditions of temperature (20, 40, 55 and 70 ºC) and air relative humidity (10, 12, 17, 18, 30, 40, 45, 50, 60 and 85%), as well as testing various models described in the literature to identify the condition that better represents sorption behavior. As a result, we found that the model that best fit empirical data of sugarcane bagasse sorption was the modified Henderson with determination coefficient of 0.972; while the integral isosteric heat of desorption ranged from 2,524.09 to 2,951.95 kJ kg-1, for all water contents and equilibrium of 0.014 until 0.170 bs, respectively.

Considerando-se a importância na formulação de rações mais elaboradas e de elevada qualidade nutricional para alimentação de animais objetivou-se, através deste trabalho, determinar as curvas de atividade de água para polpa cítrica peletizada, a qual foi submetida à dessorção e adsorção sob quatro condições de temperatura (20, 25, 30 e 35 ºC) e quatro umidades relativas do ar (50, 60, 70 e 80%) com três repetições, até a umidade de equilíbrio. A temperatura e a umidade relativa do ar (atividade de água) foram controladas por meio de uma unidade condicionadora de ar "Aminco-Aire". O modelo de Chen-Clayton com suas constantes determinadas para descrever as curvas de equilíbrio higroscópico da polpa cítrica peletizada, apresentou ajuste satisfatório aos dados experimentais, podendo ser utilizado para outras aplicações dentro dos limites deste experimento. Observou-se que nos tratamentos com temperatura acima de 30 ºC e atividade de água acima de 0,80, as amostras apresentaram desenvolvimento de fungos.

Considering the importance of the citrus pulp in the formulation of elaborated rations and high nutritional quality for animal feed, this study had as its objective the determination of the water activity curves for peletized pulp citrus. The pulp was submitted to the desorption and adsorption under four conditions of temperature (20, 25, 30 and 35 ºC) and four relative humidity (50, 60, 70 and 80%) with three replications, until it reached the equilibrium moisture content. The temperature and the relative humidity of the air (water activity) were controlled by means of an air conditioning unit "Aminco-Aire". The model of Chen-Clayton (with determined constants to describe the curves of equilibrium moisture content of the peletized citrus pulp) presented a satisfactory adjustment to the experimental data and the same may be used for other applications within limits of this experiment. During the implementation of the experiment, it was observed that in the treatments above 30 ºC temperature and with water activity above 0.80, the samples presented fungus development.

A passagem de um fluido através de um leito fixo de partículas encontra-se presente nos procedimentos de aeração e de secagem de uma massa de grãos, usados para a conservação da qualidade do produto. Neste trabalho, usando-se a técnica de elementos finitos, modelou-se a queda de pressão estática em um leito recheado de grãos de canola Iciola-41 (Brassica napus L. var. olifera) submetido a diferentes fluxos de ar. Utilizando-se um processo de otimização, determinou-se a permeabilidade do leito aos diferentes fluxos de ar. Os resultados de queda de pressão utilizando-se a técnica de elementos finitos, quando comparados com resultados provenientes de alguns modelos clássicos, foram os que apresentaram melhor desempenho. O erro relativo, usando-se a técnica de elementos finitos, variou na faixa 0,7 - 24,3% e, para todas as simulações, o erro foi igual a 5,3%.

The flow of a fluid through a porous medium occurs during the aeration and drying stages of a mass of grains, used for the product quality conservation. In this work, using the finite element technique, the variation of the static pressure in a bed of rapeseed Iciola-41 (Brassica napus L. var. olifera) submitted to different airflows was modeled. Through an optimization process, the permeability of the bed to the different airflows was also determined. The results of the finite element analysis, when compared with those obtained from some classical models, presented the best performance. The relative error using the finite element technique varied in the range 0.7 - 24.3% while the relative error for all simulations was approximately equal to 5.3%.