Developments in Computer-AIded Dryer Selection

This paper describes recent advances in the development of a fuzzy expert system for food dryer selection. An earlier version, which was restricted to batch dryers, has now been extended to include continuous dryers. The modular approach originally proposed by the present authors was adopted. The current implementation of the system includes three knowledge bases: the mode (batch-continuous) selector, the batch-dryer selector, and the continuous-dryer selector. A blackboard architecture was used to facilitate full data interchange between the three knowledge bases. A user interface and a scheduler were developed to automate the system. Examples of ancillary programs (design, costing, help, applications) have also been developed. Satisfactory predictions were obtained using the selection algorithm. Typical examples are presented in case studies.