Virtual Thermocouple: A Non-Invasive Multipoint Product Temperature Measurement for Lyophilization

Monitoring product temperature during lyophilization is of critical importance, especially during the process development stage, as the final product may be jeopardized if its process temperature exceeds a threshold value. While conventional thermocouples can track product temperature, they are invasive and can significantly alter the freezing and drying behavior. In this work, a new methodology for non-invasive product temperature monitoring and drying behavior during the entire lyophilization process is proposed and experimentally validated. The method is based on a new flexible wireless multi-point temperature sensing probe that is attached to the outside of the vial. Combining the wirelessly-collected data with advanced multi-physics simulations allows the accurate extraction of the product temperature non-invasively.

Determination of moisture diffusivity and activation energy on fixed bed drying of red pepper (Capsicum annum) on convective solar drying

Moisture diffusivity and activation energy are two important variables in a drying process to understand a certain product's drying behavior. This study aimed to determine the value of effective moisture diffusivity and the activation energy of red pepper in a conventional forced convective drying based on electricity (conventional convective drying/CCD) and forced convective drying based on solar energy (convective solar drying/CSD). The value of effective moisture diffusivity was determined using the equation, which refers to Fick’s second law. The Arrhenius equation determines the activation energy value as a model of the relationship of inverse temperature and the normal logarithmic value of effective moisture diffusivity. The results showed that the values of effective moisture diffusivity of CCD 70 °C were the highest. The regression analysis between the drying layers (X), and effective moisture diffusivity (Y) showed a polynomial pattern with a coefficient determination R2 value of 0.85 (CCD 70 °C), 0.81 (CCD 60 °C), 0.88 (CCD 50 °C), and 0.48 (CSD). (R2) The higher moisture diffusivity values in CCD indicated that the drying systems are more stable than CSD. The drying activation energy calculation showed that the value of CCD's activation energy was 36.36 kJ/mol.K, while the value of CSD's activation energy was 31.28 kJ/mol.K. Those results were consistent with the results of the previous studies.

Vibro-Fluidized Bed Drying of Pumpkin Seeds: Assessment of Mathematical and Artificial Neural Network Models for Drying Kinetics

Pumpkin seeds were dried in a vibro-fluidized bed dryer (VFBD) at different temperatures at optimized vibration intensity of 4.26 and 4 m/s air velocity. The drying characteristics were mapped employing semiempirical models and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Prediction of drying behavior of pumpkin seeds was done using semiempirical models, of which, one was preferred as it indicated the best statistical indicators. Two-term model showed the best fit of data with R2 − 0.999, and lowest χ2 − 1.03 × 10−4 and MSE 7.55 × 10−5. A feedforward backpropagation ANN model was trained by the Levenberg–Marquardt training algorithm using a TANSIGMOID activation function with 2-10-2 topology. Performance assessment of ANN showed better prediction of drying behavior with R2 = 0.9967 and MSE = 5.21 × 10−5 for moisture content, and R2 = 0.9963 and MSE = 2.42 × 10−5 for moisture ratio than mathematical models. In general, the prediction of drying kinetics and other drying parameters was more precise in the ANN technique as compared to semiempirical models. The diffusion coefficient, Biot number, and hm increased from 1.12 × 10−9 ± 3.62 × 10−10 to 1.98 × 10−9 ± 4.61 × 10−10 m2/s, 0.51 ± 0.01 to 0.60 ± 0.01, and 1.49 × 10−7 ± 4.89 × 10−8 to 3.10 × 10−7 ± 7.13 × 10−8 m/s, respectively, as temperature elevated from 40 to 60°C. Arrhenius’s equation was used to the obtain the activation energy of 32.71 ± 1.05 kJ/mol.

Influences on the drying behavior of a concrete ceiling below a cold attic

The article describes the current state of a project examining the influences on the moisture distribution in cold attics above concrete ceilings of residential buildings. Considerable research has been done on moisture damages in cold attics, especially in Scandinavia and North America, focussing on spaces above wooden ceilings. The project (ongoing until Sept 2021) underlying the article deals with cold attics above concrete ceilings resting on masonry walls, a frequent variant in Austria. Research was triggered by a regional Austrian building industry association to shed light onto recent detrimental moisture accumulation in the wooden wall plate (= bearing for the rafters along the eaves) and in the two EPS insulation layers on top of the ceiling. Suspected reasons for the moisture problems and for the local moisture distribution are 1) a too small diffusion resistance of the vapour retarder covering the ceiling, 2) insufficient (natural) attic ventilation and 3) convection, e. g. in the gap between the polystyrene blocks. In order to rank these potential causes by influence and also to find a practical solution a two stage experimental approach was chosen: 1) A handy small scale replica (order of dimension: 1m) of the situation was exposed to the according indoor and outdoor climate in a climate chamber. Different vapour retarders on top of the ceiling were chosen. 2) A larger 1:1 replica has been erected as well but not yet delivered monitoring data. In parallel, a hygrothermic model taking convection into account was established and simulations carried out. The project will deliver a contribution to the Austrian standard on moisture safety 8110-2 on how to judge the moisture safety of joints via simulation.