The microwave freeze dryer chamber already has connections
Submitted by ajnowak on Fri, 12/15/2023 - 13:20Today, bushings for connecting the heat exchanger were welded to the microwave freeze dryer chamber.
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Further assembly work of the chamber equipped with microwaves
Submitted by ajnowak on Thu, 12/14/2023 - 20:48The pins that attach the shelves to the walls of the microwave freeze dryer chamber have already been welded. Fans and circulating element are also installed.
Publication in the Journal of Food Engineering
Submitted by ajnowak on Tue, 12/12/2023 - 21:51The following work was published in the Journal of Food Engineering:
Edyta Piechnik, J. Smolka, M. Palacz, I. Tolstorebrov, T. M. Eikevik, M. Stebel, M. Haida, A. J. Nowak, A. Ciesielska, J. Bodys, Experimentally validated CFD-tool for a freezing simulation in a small-scale freeze-dryer, Journal of Food Engineering, 2023, 111888, ISSN 0260-8774, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2023.111888
Construction of a freeze dryer chamber equipped with microwaves
Submitted by ajnowak on Tue, 12/12/2023 - 09:08Because of the very limited space inside the chamber of the freeze dryer equipped with microwaves, and the resulting difficult assembly work of individual elements, all shelf holders were connected using flat bars. In this way, only these flat bars are attached to the side walls, and not each shelf separately.
Construction of a prototype freeze dryer equipped with microwaves at FrostX
Submitted by ajnowak on Mon, 11/20/2023 - 15:19The first stage of building the prototype of a freeze dryer equipped with microwaves began at FrostX. The rear wall of the chamber has holes for the magnetrons and the fan motor.
The walls of the chamber were reinforced with fins.
Preparation of labs for tests of the freeze dryer equipped with microwaves
Submitted by ajnowak on Tue, 11/07/2023 - 17:42Final tests of the freeze dryer equipped with microwaves will be carried out in labs of SINTEF. For safety reasons the freeze dryer will placed inside protection sleeve equipped with sealing and quick release lock.
The protection sleeve will also be equipped with a side extraction and ventilation duct where gasses can be evacuated.
14th International Conference on Computational Heat and Mass Transfer (ICCHMT 2023)
Submitted by SUT_blog on Fri, 09/22/2023 - 12:33On Wednesday, September 6, our PhD candidate Edyta Piechnik, had the pleasure of presenting paper "Numerical Analysis of Food Freezing and Airflow Distribution in a Home-Scale Freeze Dryer" at the 14th International Conference on Computational Heat and Mass Transfer (ICCHMT 2023), which took place in Düsseldorf, Germany. The conference was held by Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences
ICR2023 Refrigeration Congress
Submitted by SUT_blog on Mon, 08/28/2023 - 13:58FrostWave project at the ICR2023 Refrigeration Congress organized by IIFIIR - International Institute of Refrigeration!❄
Project representatives participated in the ICR2023 Refrigeration Congress, where our PhD candidate Edyta Piechnik gave a presentation entitled "Prototype of domestic-scale freeze-dryer with natural working fluid-based refrigeration system and microwave heating system". Both experimental and numerical activities that led to the creation of the concept of a prototype freeze dryer, which is currently under construction, were discussed.
The concept of a prototype freeze dryer equipped with microwaves
Submitted by SUT_blog on Tue, 07/18/2023 - 09:05We are pleased to present the final concept of a prototype freeze dryer equipped with a microwave heating system and a refrigeration system based on a natural refrigerant. Several months of numerical analysis of microwave distribution, structural and air flow, as well as experimental activities on the new refrigeration system, led the FrostWave team to the following chamber design.
Uniformity of air flow in a prototype freeze dryer
Submitted by SUT_blog on Thu, 06/22/2023 - 12:45Another important aspect that was taken into account when designing a prototype freeze dryer equipped with microwaves was to ensure even air distribution over each of the shelves filled with food products. For this purpose, flow analyzes were performed using a CFD model that was created in the first stages of the project. Several configurations of the position of fans and air guides were considered. The final design allowed for equalizing the air velocity fields in such a way that a velocity > 1 m/s was achieved over each shelf.