Numerical modeling of forced-convection drying of cylindrical moist objects

This study deals with simultaneous heat and mass transfer during drying of cylindrical moist objects through an implicit finite-difference method. Instantaneous temperature and moisture distributions inside the moist material as well as all local convective heat and mass transfer coefficients are also studied via the Fluent computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package. It is found that the convective heat transfer coefficients vary from 4.65 to 59.33 W/m(2) K, while the convective mass transfer coefficients range between 3.59 x 10(-7) and 4.58 x 10(-6) mls, respectively. Remarkably good agreement is obtained between the predicted results and experimental data taken from the literature to validate the present model.