The use of numerical simulations has been widespread in many engineering fields and related areas. One of the main numerical methods used in modeling and simulations is the finite element method (FEM). Despite its wide dissemination, especially in mechanical and civil engineering, FEM has high potential to be applied in other areas, such as in agricultural engineering. This paper aims to present a review of the FEM applications in three agricultural engineering areas. This research is focused on agricultural mechanization, agricultural product processing and soil mechanics, since these are agricultural engineering areas with highest number of publications using FEM. As result, it is expected greater FEM dissemination in other agricultural engineering areas. In addition, modeling and simulation techniques can be widely used in order to represent the increasing behavior of agricultural machinery and products from real physical systems.

Respiratory abnormalities among workers at coffee roasting and packaging facilities have already been reported; however, little is known about microbiological contamination inside coffee production facilities. This study intends to assess the microbial contamination (fungi and bacteria) in two coffee industries from Brazil with a multi-approach protocol for sampling and for subsequent analyses using four main sources of samples: filtering respiratory protection devices (FRPD) used by workers, settled dust, electrostatic dust cloths (EDC) and coffee beans. The fungal contamination in the assessed industries was also characterized through the molecular detection of toxigenic species and antifungal resistance. Total bacteria contamination presented the highest values in FRPD collected from both industries (7.45 × 104 CFU·m⁻²; 1.09 × 104 CFU·m⁻²). Aspergillus genera was widespread in all the environmental samples collected and sections with clinical relevance (Fumigati) and with toxigenic potential (Nigri and Circumdati) were recovered from FRPD. Circumdati section was observed in 4 mg/mL itraconazole. Sections Circumdati (EDC, coffee beans and settled dust) and Nidulantes (EDC, coffee beans and FRPD) were detected by qPCR. Some of the targeted Aspergillus sections that have been identified microscopically were not detected by qPCR and vice-versa. Overall, this study revealed that microbial contamination is a potential occupational risk in the milling stage and should be tackled when assessing exposure and performing risk assessment. In addition, a multi-sampling campaign should be the approach to follow when assessing microbial contamination and FRPD should be included in this campaign. Occupational exposure to mycotoxins should be considered due to high fungal diversity and contamination. A One Health approach should address these issues in order to prevent consumption of coffee crops and beans infected by fungi and, more specifically, to avoid widespread azole resistance.

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.

The aim of this paper was to analyze, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a heating system in a commercial broiler house. Data were collected in a broiler house located in the western mesoregion of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The data were collected at 10 a.m. on the seventh day of chicks’ life in 16 points inside the house. A tetrahedral mesh was adopted for the simulation, and testing of the mesh yielded a geometry of 485,691 nodes. The proposed model was developed in a permanent state condition to simulate the temperature air inside the broiler house, and all other input variables were considered constant. The applied CFD technique resulted in satisfactory fitting of the air temperature variable along the broiler facility as a function of the input data. The results indicated that the model predicted the environmental conditions inside the broiler house very accurately. The mean error of the CFD model was 1.49%, indicating that the model is effective and therefore that it can be used in other applications. The results showed that the heating system provided favorable thermoneutral conditions for chicks in the biggest part of the broiler house. However, there were some areas with air temperature above and below the thermoneutral zone

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.).

The use of organic wastes from housing systems in a compost bedded pack barn model could supply much of the fertiliser demand in the farm. Moreover, with the increase in food consumption from sustainable livestock, the use of compost generated in the farm itself becomes economically viable. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of organic manure from bedded cattle confinement applied at different moments on maize crop. The experiment was carried out in a randomized blocks with five treatments and five repetitions. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and the means were compared by Scott-Knott test at p ≤ 0.05. The treatments with addition of fresh compost and mature compost with nitrogen cover had higher production of maize shoot dry matter when compared to treatments without compost. For all variables analysed, the treatments with compost were superior to the other ones. The soil used for growing silage maize has improved considerably its chemical characteristics when the compost was applied. The use of bedding material compost from sheds as organic manure is recommended as a sustainable alternative in the reuse and treatment of waste from cattle confinement farm.