Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 29 (2005) 109–119. All Rights Reserved. © Copyright 2005, Blackwell Publishing 109 MODELING DIMENSIONAL SHRINKAGE OF SHAPED FOODS IN FLUIDIZED BED DRYING WIJITHA SENADEERA 1,4 , BHESH R. BHANDARI 2 , GORDON YOUNG 2 and BANDU WIJESINGHE 3 1 Agricultural Machinery Research and Design Center University of South Australia Mawson Lakes SA 5095, Australia 2 Food Science and Technology School of Land and Food Sciences University of Queensland, Australia 3 Centre for Food Technology Department of Primary Industries Brisbane, Australia Accepted for Publication April 28, 2005 ABSTRACT Three particular geometrical shapes of parallelepiped, cylinder and sphere were selected from cut beans (length : diameter = 1:1, 2:1, 3:1), pota- toes (aspect ratio = 1:1, 2:1, 3:1) and peas, respectively. The dimensional shrinkage behavior was studied in a batch fluidized bed at three drying temperatures of 30, 40 and 50C. Relative humidity of hot air was kept at 15%. Dimensional shrinkage was plotted using a nondimensional moisture ratio and the shrinkage behavior of the selected foods was modeled with simple mathematical models. INTRODUCTION Food particulates come in various shapes and sizes and are often irregular in nature. When food particulates are subjected to thermal treatment, their shapes and sizes change according to the nature and intensity of the applied thermal treatment. Drying is one such thermal treatment commonly applied in the food industry, and the use of dried foods is expanding rapidly. During drying, shapes and sizes of the food particulates are constantly changing, as a result Blackwell Science, LtdOxford, UKJFPPJournal of Food Processing and Preservation0145-8892Copyright 2005 by Food & Nutrition Press, Inc., Trumbull, Connecticut.292109119Original Article MODELING DIMENSIONAL SHRINK- AGE OF SHAPED FOODS W. SENADEERA ET AL. 4 Corresponding author. TEL: +61 08 8302 3515; FAX: +61 08 8302 3380; EMAIL: wijitha.senadeera@unisa.edu.au