Thermal modelling of microwave dehydration of fruit slice

• Published in: Case studies in thermal engineering 2023-11, Vol.51, p.103543, Article 103543
• Main Authors: Ravikumar, M., Srinath, M.K., Ganesha Prasad, M.S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CFD simulations; Fruit dehydration; Heat and mass transfer; Mathematical model; MATLAB code; Microwave dehydration
• ISSN: 2214-157X; 2214-157X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.csite.2023.103543

The thermal modelling of microwave dehydration of papaya fruit slice was established. The mathematical modelling used approximation equations of the Heat and Mass Transfer laws, the development of internal heat resulting from the transformation of electromagnetic energy was investigated. MATLAB was used for coding the Partial Differential Equations (PDE) of the coupled system, to obtain the plots. The projected temperature, along with the mass loss while drying was analysed. Using Energy2D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model of the radiation in a box (microwave oven) procedure, the temperature at each point of the slice and moisture content was investigated. From the results it's significant that temperature was higher at the surface corner of the leading edge and lower at the symmetry leading edge. The depletion of water is more efficient when the surface temperature is higher and the surface moisture is lower than it is at the surface corner. The proposed model's capability to provide information on moisture and temperature at all times, a crucial aspect of food safety, allowing for the discovery of the region within the fruit. Hence, using the created model, it is possible to anticipate how temperature and moisture will vary over time.