Thermal and Moisture Analysis For Tobacco Leaf Flue-curing with Heat Pump Technology

The drying process control of porous medium is one of the important factors affecting the quality of dry object. Unlike traditional coal burning barn, an alternative better approach using the heat pump technology for tobacco drying process is proposed in this study. Based on the theory of heat and mass transfer in porous medium, a numerical model is established using a widely accepted computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package, Ansys-Fluent, and different drying process boundary conditions and physical properties are considered. Numerical results such as the distribution of the temperature, humidity and velocity field in the curing barn are provided. Besides, on-site measurements are conducted based on an actual curing barn in Chongqing. Through comparing the distribution of the key parameters in the tobacco leaf flue-curing process with our numerical simulation, good agreements are found. Since the numerical simulation can enrich our understanding of thermal and moisture environment within the curing barn, the approach prosed in this study can be applied in future engineering projects for better drying process control of porous medium, such as tobacco leaf curing. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.