Numerical Modeling of Heat and Mass Transfer During Forced Convective Drying of 3-D Moist Object

ABSTRACT

In the present work, a 3D numerical model is developed for the prediction of temperature and moisture distribution in a rectangular shaped moist object during the convective drying process. The heat transfer coefficients at the surfaces of the moist object are calculated by solving the transport equations for mass, momentum and energy by a CFD code. The mass transfer coefficients are obtained from the analogy between the thermal and concentration boundary layer. These coefficients are used for the convective boundary conditions while solving the heat and moisture transfer governing equations for the moist object. The heat and mass transfer equations are coupled via the diffusion coefficient which is obtained from Arrehenius equation, D = D₀ exp (–1119/T). The discretization of the solution domain for the heat and moisture transfer model is performed with the finite volume method (FVM) and fully implicit scheme is applied for discretization of the transient term. The transient temperature and moisture content distribution is presented for a sample case of hot and dry air flow over the moist object.

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