EXPERIMENTAL MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE AND MOISTURE PROFILES DURING APPLE DRYING

An experimental system has been designed and constructed to investigate the drying rate, temperature and moisture profiles developed within food materials during forced convective air drying. The moisture profile was determined by employing the technique of gamma ray densitometry, and embedded thermocouples were used to sense temperature at different locations. The overall drying rate was measured using an electronic balance. A microcomputer and a computer front end were implemented for data acquisition and experimental control. Sample temperature and moisture profiles measured during drying are presented as a function of both drying time and the distance to the surface of the specimen. Both profiles described the drying phenomena inside the sample. The evaporation front was observed in a narrow region of the apple specimen, this front moved into the sample as drying progressed. The amount of apple shrinkage was determined to be linearly related to the distance which the evaporation front had recededfrom the initial surface.