Improving Drying Uniformity in Concurrent Flow Tunnel Dehydrators

ABSTRACT THE moisture content variation in fruit dried in concurrent flow tunnel dehydrators is dependent upon the uniformity of the air flow entering the wet end of the tunnel. Improvements in dehydrator performance were obtained by using a flow diverter and turning vanes to produce a more uniform flow distribution and thereby reduce the moisture content variation. Experiments conducted in prune tunnel dehydrators indicate that the modification can reduce the range in final fruit moisture content by approximately 40%.