Investigation of Microwave Drying of a Firefighting Hose

Abstract

The hoses used for fire extinguishing must be dried and stored after use in order to be cleaned, maintained and long-lasting. For this purpose, microwave energy which is a fast drying technology, was applied at power values of 2450 MHz and 120 W, 350 W and 460 W. The aim here is to dry the hoses quickly and show the effect of microwave energy by looking at SEM images and taking thermal photographs. In addition to it, nine drying models were compared with each other in order to determine the moisture content of the hose. The performances of these models were compared according to the correlation coefficient value (r), the estimated standard error (es) and the sum of squares of the residuals (chi(2)). According to the results, it was determined that the Logarithmic model for all drying conditions explains the drying behavior of the products better than the others. In addition, the effect of microwave drying did not cause a change on the internal structure of the sample but in consequence of thermal analysis, a fast rising was observed in the sample's temperature with the energy rise.