Chapter One Fissure Characteristics Related to Moisture Adsorption Stresses in Rice Section 1 Introduction Section 2 Review of Literature 1 Moisture Adsorption and Desorption 2 Equilibrium Moisture Content 3 Rice Variety 4 Stress-Fissures and Cracks in Grain Kernels Section 3 Materials and Methods 1 Materials 2 Sample Preparation 3 High Humidity Environments 4 Experimental Procedure Section 4 Formulation of Moisture Diffusion Process 1 Mass Balance Equation 2 Diffusion Equation 3 Finite Element Formulation of Moisture Diffusion 4 Finite Difference Solution in the Time Domain Section 5 Formulation of Hygroscopic Stresses 1 Stress-Strain Constitutive Relationship 2 Strain Energy 3 Failure Criterion 4 Hydro-Rheological Simple Material and Shift Factor 5 Internal Expansion of the Kernel 6 Integral Formulation of the Internal Displacement Problem 7 Computation of the Element Strain Energy of Distortion Section 6 Implementation of the Finite Element Model 1 Rice Kernel Properties 2 Boundary Parameters 3 Finite Element Discretization of the Rice Kernel Section 7 Results and Discussion 1 Retardation Times 2 Moisture Adsorption Determination 3 Fissure Characteristic Experiments 4 Moisture Gradients 5 Stress Analysis 6 Strain Energy Density of Distortion 7 Discussion of Assumptions Section 8 Summary and Conclusions 1 Summary 2 Conclusions 3 Suggestions for Future Study Chapter Two Storage Condition Effects on Stress Relaxation and Fissuring Behavior in Rough Rice Section 1 Introduction Section 2 Review of Literature 1 Fissured Grains and Milling Yield 2 Moisture Adsorption 3 Optimum Harvesting Time 4 Crack Damage During Drying