A mathematical model for drying of shrinking materials

A mathematical model has been developed to describe heat and mass transfer within materials undergoing shrinkage during drying. Both heat and mass transfer equations are solved simultaneously using a numerical technique A heat pump dryer has been used to conduct experiments to validate the model. Several samples were placed in the dryer and, after the commencement of each drying test one sample was takes out at regular time interval. The bone-dry mass of each piece was also determined. This enables to determine moisture distribution within the materials. Temperatures at different locations of the material were measured with thermocouples. The predicted temperature and moisture distribution within the material agreed fairly well with the experimental results.