Mathematical Modeling of Agitated Thin-Film Dryer

Agitated thin-film dryers (ATFDs) are used to produce dry free-flowing powder from slurry/solution-type feed and widely implemented in pharmaceutical, chemical, and food industries. The feed passes through the ATFD in several forms such as solution/slurry and successively becomes paste, wet powder, and dry powder. The flow of feed in the ATFD undergoes a helical path (combination of rotational velocity imparted by the agitator/blade and axial velocity of feed) while flowing through the annular part of the dryer. The ATFD is described stage-wise and the parameters such as physical properties, scraped surface heat transfer coefficient, and evaporation rate (drying rate) are derived using stepwise model equations. The penetration theory is modeled to obtain the scraped-side heat transfer coefficient. The model equations were solved using MATLAB 7 (MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA) and the simulated drying rate was consequently validated with the experimental values.     

Dynamic Modeling and a Parametric Study of an Indirect Solar Cabinet Dryer

A dynamic mathematical model for drying of agricultural products in an indirect cabinet solar dryer is presented. This model describes the heat and mass transfer in the drying chamber and also considers the heat transfer and temperature distribution in a solar collector under transient conditions. For this purpose, using conservation laws of heat and mass transfer and considering the physical phenomena occurring in a solar dryer, the governing equations are derived and solved numerically. The model solution provides an effective tool to study the variation of temperature and humidity of the drying air, drying material temperature, and its moisture content on each tray. The predicted results are compared with available experimental data. It is shown that the model can predict the performance of the cabinet solar dryer in unsteady-state operating conditions well. Furthermore, the effect of some operating parameters on the performance and efficiency of dryer is investigated and compared with selected published data.     

Theoretical Study and Case Analysis for a Predried Lignite-Fired Power System

Lignite is a type of low-rank coal, which is uneconomically transported over long distances and does not efficiently generate electricity. As a result, lignite utilization and application is very limited; lignite is mainly used as a low-level fuel that generates electricity inefficiently and can be distributed only in areas near lignite mines. With increasing requirements in efficiency and environmental protection, studying a new lignite-fired power system to improve the efficiency of direct lignite-fired power plants is very important. A rotary-tube dryer is mature drying equipment used in a pre-dried lignite-fired power system (PLPS). However, a comprehensive model approach on the influence of PLPS parameters on power generation efficiency and optimization has not been previously investigated. In the current paper, a PLPS theoretical model was developed based on basic thermal principles, and a case analysis was performed using this model as the theoretical foundation. Parameter influence was also calculated and analyzed. Results show that the PLPS theoretical model can evidently increase the efficiency of a conventional lignite-fired power system (CLPS) by approximately 1.87% when the condensate is sent to the de-aerator, and by 1.72% when the condensate is sent to the condenser at the calculation benchmark condition listed in this paper.     

Mathematical Modeling of a Continuous Vibrating Fluidized Bed Dryer for Grain

A mathematical model for the drying of grain in a continuous vibrating fluidized bed dryer was developed. Simple equipment and material models were applied to describe the process. In the plug-flow equipment model, a thin layer of particles moving forward and well mixed in the direction of the gas flow was examined. Mass and heat transfer within a single wet particle was described by effective transport coefficients. Assuming constant effective mass transport coefficient and thermal conductivity, analytical solutions of the mass and energy balances were obtained. The variation in both transport coefficients along the dryer was taken into account by a stepwise application of the analytical solution in space intervals with averaged coefficients from previous locations in the dryer. Calculation results were in fairly good agreement with experimental data from the literature. However, the results depend strongly on relationships used to determine the heat and mass transfer coefficients; because the results from correlations found in the literature vary considerably, the correlations should be adapted to the specific equipment in order to obtain reliable results.     

Experimental Research on Parallel Conversion Control of Drying Temperature in a Closed-Loop Heat Pump Dryer

The paper proposes a method to handle the challenge of temperature control in a closed-loop heat pump dryer that can operate both in heating cycle and refrigeration cycle. It is hard to avoid the violent fluctuations of drying temperature as the operation mode changes. Hence, the parallel conversion control is introduced to realize the accurate control of drying temperature. The main idea of the controller design lies in the use of different membership functions and fuzzy control rules for the two operation modes. Experimental results show that the temperature fluctuations are reduced when using parallel conversion control with fast and stable response as compared to the fixed-frequency and PID control system. One of the parameters, R _f , representing the value of undershoot ratio is 0.4, 0.48, and 0.64 when drying temperature is fixed at 30, 35, and 38°C, respectively, with a parallel conversion controller. In order to study the application prospects of the parallel conversion control system, a comparison experiment with different compressor frequency ranges was also conducted.     

EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF A MECHANICALLY STIRRED SPOUTED BED DRYER

ABSTRACT

In order to increase the movement of the particles in the annular region of a conical spouted bed, a mechanical stirrer was incorporated. This led to a study of the fluid dynamics of the conical spouted bed of inert particles under different operating conditions: mass of inert particles, ratio of inert particles to suspension volumes, type of stirrer (2 designs) and stirrer speed.

The action of the stirrers resulted in increased movement of the particles, especially at low rpm values (≤ 90 rpm), with the loss of the annular region, and thus approaching the beds behavior to that of a fluidized bed. To characterize this novel type of spouted beds, the “minimum spouting flow” (Q_ms) parameter which is used usually was replaced by the “minimum pseudo-fluidizing flow” (Qmpr). The value of Q_mpf decreases when the agitation in the bed increases. A correlation for Q_mpf with the different operating conditions was developed.

Drying suspensions in the stirred spouted bed shows a considerable increase of drying capacity, over units without agitation.     

CONVECTIVE DRYING OF BANANA,GUAVA AND POTATO PIECES : EFFECT OF CYCLICAL VARIATIONS OF AIR TEMPERATURE ON DRYING KINETICS AND COLOR CHANGE

ABSTRACT

Pieces of banana, guava and potato were dried in a two-stage heat pump dryer capable of precise control of air humidity with predetermined cyclic variations of air temperature entering the drying chamber. The air temperature variations tested were : a cosine, a reversed cosine and three different square wave profiles with peak-to-valley variations from 20^°C to 40^°C. The cycle time was about 60 minutes with drying time of approximately 300 minutes. The drying samples were placed on trays in a thin layer. With appropriate choice of temperature-time variation, it is possible to reduce the overall color change while maintaining high drying rates.     

DEHUMIDIFICATION DRYING OF HIGH-MOISTURE ROUGH RICE IN A RADIAL-FLOW,CIRCULAR BIN

Abstract

An experimental radial-flow, circular bin dryer with a dehumidifier was fabricated and tested for rough rice drying. Results showed that high-moisture paddy could be dried to 14% moisture content (wet basis) over a 24 h drying span at an average drying rate of 0.5%/h. The open-cycle system's specific moisture extraction rate and the dehumidifier's coefficient of performance were within the usual range of values cited for similar conventional systems or equipment. The quality of the dehumidifier-dried and naturally dried paddy was similar with respect to minimum grain Assuring, The system was found to be a technically feasible, more energy-efficient and safer alternative to electrical resistance heating in the conditioning of ambient air for drying under humid tropical conditions.     

Drying of Pastes in Vibro-Fluidized Beds: Effects of the Amplitude and Frequency of Vibration

Abstract

The dimensionless vibration number (Γ) is the parameter most widely applied to quantify the vibration energy of a vibro-fluidized bed. It is defined as a function of the amplitude (A) and of the frequency of vibration (f). Most works in literature present their results as a function of Γ, which is adopted as a single parameter to explain the results on fluid dynamic behavior of vibro-fluidized beds, independent on the magnitudes of A and f. From its definition, however, it is possible to obtain identical values of Γ just by combining different values of A and f, and further studies are necessary for a better analysis of fluid dynamic behavior of vibro-fluidized beds concerning their vibration energy. Therefore, in this work the effects of dimensionless vibration number on the fluid dynamic behavior of a vibro-fluidized bed will be investigated by choosing different combinations of A and f values arranged to provide identical values of Γ. The tests were carried out for dry and wet beds, for values of Γ = 0.0 (fluidized bed), 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0. The results indicate that Γ must be used carefully when applied as the only parameter to characterize the vibration effects in a vibro-fluidized bed since very different fluid dynamic behavior was detected at a fixed Γ at different amplitudes and frequencies.