SIMULATION OF FRUIT DRYING PROCESS IN VACUUM DRYING EQUIPMENT IN COMSOL SOFTWARE.

Аннотация

Моделирование процесса вакуумной сушки фруктов важно для более эффективного контроля и оптимизации этого процесса. Моделирование процесса вакуумной сушки с помощью программного обеспечения COMSOL Multiphysicals является эффективным инструментом анализа процессов тепло- и массообмена. Данная программа позволяет контролировать температуру и влажность в процессе сушки и определятьоптимальныеусловия сушки. Dried berries are a popular product today, because they contain all the vitamins,so theprocess of drying food products gives a valuable result. The process of drying food products is important notonly for theamount ofvitamins,but also forthelevel of smallelements. Drying fruits is a method of extending their shelf life by reducing their moisture content. Dried fruits retain their natural sweetness, taste and nutritional value. This process is mainly carried out with the help of sunlight, heat or special drying devices. Vacuum drying technology is http://www.internationaljournal.co.in/index.php/jasass 256 Volume15 Issue02, February2025 Impact factor: 2019: 4.679 2020: 5.015 2021: 5.436, 2022: 5.242, 2023: 6.995, 2024 7.75 considered the most suitable method for drying fruits. Vacuum drying is a product drying technology in a low-pressure environment, which is the process of removing moisture by turning it into steam at low temperature. This method is used for products that are sensitive and require high quality, such as fruits, medicines and biological substances. The goal of this project is to completely dry berries in a sufficient amount of time using a vacuum dryer. This drying process was carried out using a simulation program called COMSOL. In this program, several parameters similar to the target raw material (berry) were controlled. After completing the simulation process using COMSOL software, the complete result such as drying time was obtained. The results were presented in tables and graphs for ease of understanding. Modelingmethod (COMSOL) In the previous points, we talked about the vacuum dryer. At this point, the method of modeling a vacuum dryer using COMSOL is explained in the diagram below. Engineers try to minimize drying time, as this leads to a lower cost and shorter storage time. The figure below shows the structureof avacuum dryer. Figure 1. Design ofvacuum dryer http://www.internationaljournal.co.in/index.php/jasass 257 Volume15 Issue02, February2025 Impact factor: 2019: 4.679 2020: 5.015 2021: 5.436, 2022: 5.242, 2023: 6.995, 2024 7.75 Figure 2.Schemeof themodeling process Access to theprogram This section presents all the results of the vacuum dryer simulation process. Results such as model temperature distribution. These results are obtained by generating a full report from COMSOL after completing the entire simulation process. In addition, the animation was produced using COMSOL software. Some photos are posted below to show the temperature distribution inthe paste[31]. http://www.internationaljournal.co.in/index.php/jasass 258 Volume15 Issue02, February2025 Impact factor: 2019: 4.679 2020: 5.015 2021: 5.436, 2022: 5.242, 2023: 6.995, 2024 7.75 Figure 3. Vacuum drying indifferent timeintervals In the pictures above, it shows the temperature at different times of the drying process. The best temperature distribution can be obtained by varying the temperature of the cake shape and the thickness orheight ofthe cakeshape. COMSOL produces several graphs that plot the results of the drying process. These results are shown below. Temperature The final table of the drying simulation process after 70 hours is shown below in 3D mode. Yellow indicates low temperature and red indicates high temperature. This is the last step after drying the berries for 70 hours. As shown in the figure below, the temperature distribution showed aspread through theproduct cake shape[30]. http://www.internationaljournal.co.in/index.php/jasass 259 Volume15 Issue02, February2025 Impact factor: 2019: 4.679 2020: 5.015 2021: 5.436, 2022: 5.242, 2023: 6.995, 2024 7.75 Figure 2.6. Temperature distribution graph after 70hours 3Dgraphics Thisgraph shows theresidual saturation after 30hours of thesimulationprocess for thedryer. Figure 4. Plot ofresidual saturation after 30hours of simulation Evaporation rate This section shows the results of the evaporation of the substance. It is clear that evaporation http://www.internationaljournal.co.in/index.php/jasass 260 Volume15 Issue02, February2025 Impact factor: 2019: 4.679 2020: 5.015 2021: 5.436, 2022: 5.242, 2023: 6.995, 2024 7.75 occurs during the drying process for the water inside the fruit. COMSOL software simulated the evaporationprocess after 10hours ofdrying. Figure 5. Evaporation rate Obviously, the temperature used at 120°C reached almost all of its interior. These parameters can achieve better results than the modeling process, because the modeling process did not take into account several factors, such as the gaps in the cake shape or the uniformity of the cake sha