Heat and Moisture Transfer in Composite Food—Theoretical Analysis of Influence of Surface Conductance and Component Arrangement

Heat and moisture transfer in composite bodies undergoing drying was simulated using a previously developed mathematical model which included the chemical potential of moisture as a mass transfer potential. Composite bodies included layered cylinders and concentric spheres consisting of a starch granule hydrate (H) and a hydrate of starch granules‐sucrose 3:l mixture (S). The influence of the following factors on heat and moisture transfer was examined: convective surface mass transfer conductance, initial moisture, and component arrangement. The three factors significantly influenced moisture transfer white they had slight influence on heat transfer. Overall drying rate of each composite body was infhrenced interactively by moisture fluxes, which were caused by a surrounding drying medium and by a mass transfer potential difference across the interface of H and S.