Computer Simulation of the Drying of Seeds and Vegetables in a Discontinuous Fluidized Bed

Abstract

A mathematical model is chosen and a finite-difference algorithm is developed to describe the drying of agro products in a batch fluidized bed. The mathematical model is discretized according to the implicit scheme for two particle geometries: sphere and chip. The system of algebraic equations is solved using the tridiagonal matrix algorithm (TDMA). Stability and convergence of the numerical algorithm are analyzed by variation of the time step and mesh size, finding computer time savings when using nonuniform space steps and boundary conditions are discretized using three nodal positions. Obtained results are compared with numerical results from the literature and experimental data of potato chips drying, concluding that the chosen model describes the phenomena correctly.

The authors wish to thank the financial support of FONDECYT Project 1040090.