A mathematical model and simulation of the drying process of thin layers of potatoes in a conveyor-belt dryer

Abstract

This paper presents a mathematical model and numerical analysis of the convective drying process of small particles of potatoes slowly moving through the flow of a drying agent - hot moist air. The drying process was analyzed in the form of a one-dimensional thin layer. The mathematical model of the drying process is a system of two ordinary nonlinear differential equations with constant coefficients and an equation with a transcendent character. The appropriate boundary conditions of the mathematical model were given. The presented model is suitable in the automated control. The presented system of differential equations was solved numerically. The analysis presented here and the obtained results could be useful in predicting the drying kinetics of potatoes and similar natural products in a conveyor-belt dryer.