Pineapple Drying Analysis in Packing Plants Through Computational Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

The aim of this research is to determine the average fluid velocity values and the average total pressure at the outlet of the ventilation system conduit for the drying, by air impulsion, of pineapples in packing plants, in order to ensure the required humidity level of the crown for its proper packaging. The CAD model of the air conduction was obtained in Solidworks and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques were applied to simulate the performance of the ventilation system. Air was indicated as the type of fluid, and an internal analysis of the pipe with roughness Rz = 3.2 μm. As a computational domain, the pipeline was established, from the connection to the fan to the outlet diffuser. As boundary conditions were established; a W and Z Manufacturing regenerative fan at the inlet of the flow pipe 618,439 m3/h, and at the outlet of the pipe the value of atmospheric pressure. As a result of the simulation, an average velocity value at the diffuser outlet of 127.294 m/s was obtained, higher than the required 96.06 m/s. An average total pressure value of 111718.73 Pa was obtained in the conduit suitable for the proposed purposes. For the conveyor belt, it is recommended to use, in each row of pineapples, the simulated fan with a simple diffuser with a rectangular section of 1 x 20 cm, or a regenerative fan with a flow of 1248.77 m3/h and a diffuser with two-outlet bifurcation.