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SIMULATION OF FRUIT DRYING PROCESS IN VACUUM DRYING EQUIPMENT IN
COMSOL SOFTWARE.
Ismoilov Ro‘zibek Rajabovich
rozibekismoilov51@gmail.com
Bukhara engineering - technological institute
Teacher of the "Technological processes and production automation" department.
Annotation:
Simulation of fruit vacuum drying process is important for more effective control
and optimization of this process. Simulation of the vacuum drying process with the help of
COMSOL Multiphysics software is an effective tool in the analysis of heat and mass exchange
processes. This program allows you to monitor the temperature and humidity during the drying
process and determine the optimal drying conditions.
Ismoilov Ro‘zibek Rajabovich
Buxoro muhandislik - texnologiya instituti
“Texnologik jarayonlar va ishlab chiqarishni avtomatlashtirish” kafedrasi o‘qituvchisi
Annotatsiya:
Mevalarni vakuumli quritish jarayonini simulyatsiya qilish, bu jarayonni yanada
samarali boshqarish va optimallashtirish uchun muhim ahamiyatga ega. COMSOL Multiphysics
dasturi yordamida vakuumli quritish jarayonining simulyatsiyasi, issiqlik va massa almashinuvi
jarayonlarini tahlil qilishda samarali vosita bo‘ladi. Bu dastur orqali quritish jarayonida harorat
va namlikni kuzatib borish, quritishning optimal sharoitlarini aniqlash imkonini beradi.
Исмаилов Рўзибек Раджабович
rozibekismoilov51@gmail.com
Бухарский инженерно-технологический институт
Преподаватель кафедры «Технологические процессы и автоматизация производств»
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
определять оптимальные условия сушки.
Dried berries are a popular product today, because they contain all the vitamins, so the process of
drying food products gives a valuable result. The process of drying food products is important
not only for the amount of vitamins, but also for the level of small elements.
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
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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.
Modeling method (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
structure of a vacuum dryer.
Figure 1. Design of vacuum dryer
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Figure 2. Scheme of the modeling process
Access to the program
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 in the paste[31].
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Figure 3. Vacuum drying in different time intervals
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 or height of the cake shape.
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 a spread through the product cake shape[30].
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Figure 2.6. Temperature distribution graph after 70 hours
3D graphics
This graph shows the residual saturation after 30 hours of the simulation process for the dryer.
Figure 4. Plot of residual saturation after 30 hours of simulation
Evaporation rate
This section shows the results of the evaporation of the substance. It is clear that evaporation
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occurs during the drying process for the water inside the fruit. COMSOL software simulated the
evaporation process after 10 hours of drying.
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
shape.
Conclusions on modeling in the program
This simulation process showed the drying process for a cake shape of a certain size. The
results met the demand in the field, but still took into account the type of material, the
capabilities of the dryer, etc.
In summary, the drying process is not complicated, but requires several different simulations to
obtain the optimal temperature to avoid wasting energy and time.
Used literature
M. S. Kalyan. Numerical Simulation of Food Dehydration Processes: A Review. Journal of
Food Engineering, 2015.
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J. M. M. Oliveira, M. J. C. D. R. C. Lima, A. M. F. Lemos. Modeling and Simulation of the
Drying Process of Food in a Vacuum Dryer. International Journal of Food Science, 2018.
S. S. Khamis, M. S. S. Doma. Modeling of Heat and Mass Transfer in Food Materials during
Vacuum Drying using COMSOL Multiphysics. Journal of Food Engineering, 2019.
M. J. R. G. Santos, J. M. M. Oliveira, C. G. M. Lima. Thermal and Mass Transfer Simulation of
Vacuum Drying Process for Fruit Drying in COMSOL Multiphysics. Journal of Food Process
Engineering, 2021.
L. M. Rocha, F. T. S. Filho, J. C. P. Rocha. Numerical Analysis of Heat and Mass Transfer
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COMSOL Inc. COMSOL Multiphysics Simulation Software. https://www.comsol.com
S. P. Arora, M. S. Sharma, A. S. Gupta. Simulation of Drying Process of Fruits using
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and COMSOL Multiphysics. Computational and
Mathematical Methods in Medicine, 2017.
H. L. L. D. Vieira, L. C. P. Santos, C. R. D. Souza. Numerical Simulation of Heat Transfer
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Sciences, 2019.
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