Effect of Nozzle Jet Model on Heat and Moisture Transfer Uniformity of Sea Cucumber.

This study establishes a three-dimensional model of the heat and mass transfer for the drying of a sea cucumber. The heat pump drying experiment was designed to verify the numerical simulation results. The simulated values are consistent with the experimental values regarding the dry base moisture content and temperature change trend. The maximum average deviation rate of the moisture content did not exceed 10%, and the maximum temperature deviation did not exceed 3°C. The simulation results show that the dry base moisture content of the sea cucumber increases from the surface to the internal area of the sea cucumber under different drying temperatures, whereas the temperature decreases from the surface to the internal area. The surface temperature of the sea cucumber gradually increased as the drying progressed until the end, when it was slightly lower than the inlet temperature. The time to reach the inlet temperature decreased with increasing inlet wind speed. The uniformity of the drying equipment was enhanced by setting the air supply parameters of the floor nozzle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]