Res. Agr. Eng., X:X | DOI: 10.17221/101/2025-RAE

Modelling the hydration process of wheat grain  with layer-dependent diffusion coefficientsOriginal Paper

Bakhtiyar Ismailov ORCID...1,2, Abdushukur Urinboev ORCID...2, Khairulla Ismailov ORCID...1, Akmaljon Kuchkarov ORCID...2
1 Department of Information Systems and Modelling, Faculty of Information Technologies and Energy, M. Auezov South Kazakhstan University, Shymkent, Kazakhstan
2 Department of Electronics and Instrumentation, Faculty of Energy Engineering and Technology, Fergana State Technical University, Fergana, Uzbekistan

This study develops and validates a multilayer diffusion model of wheat grain hydration that incorporates layer-dependent diffusion coefficients for bran, endosperm, and germ. The moisture transport is formulated using Fick’s law with two interface formulations: (i) classical continuity of the concentration and flux and (ii) an interlayer resistance formulation that permits concentration discontinuities. Diffusion coefficients and geometric parameters were determined experimentally; A 3D grain model (structured-light scanning, COMSOL Multiphysics) informed the computational domain. Numerical solutions combined eigenfunction expansions with finite-difference discretisation near the interfaces. Across eight winter wheat varieties, the diffusion coefficients spanned 11.6 – 20.5 × 10–12m2·s–1 (mean 16.27 ± 3.08 × 10–12m2·s–1 ). Relative to the continuity model, the resistance model reduced the early-stage endosperm over-prediction by ~ 0.6–1.0 % (absolute) and lowered the whole-grain RMSE by ~ 20–30% over 0–240 min. These results support the role of thin moisture-retaining films as active barriers and yield smooth, real-time-ready outputs suitable for the automated control of pre-milling hydration; the framework is extensible to full 3D transient simulations.

Keywords: grain hydration; interlayer resistance; multilayer model; moisture transport; COMSOL Multiphysics; modelling; micropyle

Received: July 4, 2025; Accepted: December 4, 2025; Prepublished online: January 27, 2026 

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