SIMULATION OF AIR MOVEMENT IN A DRYER BY COMPUTATIONAL FLUID-DYNAMICS- APPLICATION FOR THE DRYING OF FRUITS

An industrial batch-type, tray air dryer was constructed for the dryin g of several fruits. The air movement inside the drying chamber was si mulated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The pressure profiles a nd the ail velocities in the drying chamber above the product were det ermined by CFD and a lack of spatial homogeneity of the atr velocities above the product was found. Drying tests of several fruits were cond ucted and the drying result expressed as weight loss fraction, was det ermined. There was a variation in the degree of the dryness in several trays and the non-uniformity was traced to in certain areas of the ch amber Comparison of data obtained by the CFD and data obtained from th e drying tests showed a strong correlation between the drying rate and the air velocity (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Limited. All rights reserv ed.