Paste Residence Time in a Spouted Bed Dryer. II: Effect of Spout Operational Conditions

Residence time distributions for an aqueous solution of 10% sodium chloride in a spouted bed dryer of inert particles were determined using the stimulus-response technique. Glass and polyethylene beads with diameters 2.6 and 3.4 mm were used as inert bodies in a cylindrical column of 14.0 cm diameter and 60° conical base. The effects of inert bodies load, air, and paste flow rates on the mean residence times and RTD were determined following 2³ factorial designs. The RTD could be correlated to the perfect mixing cell model with R² varying from 0.8684 to 0.9815. The mean residence times in CSBD varied from 10.8 to 13.9 and 10.7 to 13.3 min for glass and polyethylene beads, respectively. For both inert particles, mean residence times increased with bed height and decreased with paste feed rates. Also, terms of interaction among the factors were significant in some cases, showing a complex behavior of paste residence times. Equations obtained by response surface regression could predict mean residence times on glass and polyethylene beads with deviations lower than ±10%.     

Manufacturing Drug Loaded Chitosan Microspheres by Spray Drying: Development, Characterization, and Potential Use in Dentistry

The aim of this work was to determine specifications for spray-drying manufacturing of sustained-release drug-loaded microparticles with potential application in dentistry. Chitosan was used as the microencapsulation polymer and ketoprofen as the model drug. A 1:1 chitosan/ketoprofen suspension was spray-dried under different operating conditions. The size distribution, morphology, total drug load, and release profile of the powders were characterized. In vitro release studies were performed with the powder samples entrapped in cellulose dialysis tubes. The microparticles produced had a narrow size distribution (mean diameter ranging from 2.11 to 3.27 µm), good sphericity, and a smooth surface. In vitro release studies showed a linear drug dissolution behavior.     

Drying Characteristics of Barley Grain Dried in a Spouted-Bed and Combined IR-Convection Dryers

A study was performed to determine the drying characteristics and quality of barley grain dried in a laboratory scale spouted-bed dryer at 30, 35, 40, and 45°C and an inlet air velocity of 23 m/s^-1, and in an IR-convection dryer under an infrared radiation intensity of 0.048, 0.061, 0.073, and 0.107 W cm^-2 at an air velocity of 0.5 m/s^-1. The results show that the first, relatively short, phase of a sharp decrease in the drying rate was followed by the phase of a slow decrease. The time of barley drying depended on temperature of inlet air in a spouted-bed dryer and on radiation intensities in an IR-convection dryer. Barley drying at 45°C in a spouted-bed dryer was accompanied by the lowest total energy consumption. The average specific energy consumption was lower and the average efficiency of drying was higher for drying in a spouted-bed dryer. The effective diffusivities were in the range 2.20-4.52 × 10^-11 m² s^-1 and 3.04-4.79 × 10^-11 m²/s^-1 for barley dried in a spouted-bed and in an IR-convection dryer, respectively. There were no significant differences in kernel germination energy and capacity between the two drying methods tested.     

A unified proposal for characteristic testing methods and figure of merit of 8‐kV/3.5‐kVA class light‐triggered thyristors

Power devices with high capability have been developed. 8‐kV/3.5‐kA‐class light‐triggered thyristors have the highest capability among power devices. These devices are used in the Kii Channel HVDC transmission system in Japan. In this paper, we report the extracted problems of conventional testing methods of 8‐kV/3.5‐kA‐class light‐triggered thyristors among manufacturers, and the proposed unified testing methods on the basis of element characteristics and operating conditions in the Kii Channel HVDC system. Furthermore, we propose a figure of merit for power devices for the practical use, and try to extract elements used at the Kii Channel HVDC system with small margins and low withstand capabilities. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 140(3): 61–70, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10024     

转移法色交换

将图Ｇ的着色由一种变为中一种，通常用Ｋｅｍｐｅ法以交换。但是，对于某些情况，用此法无效。针对这个问题，本文提出了一种转移法色交换，它适用于平面图着色，方法直观，清晰且有效。     

Open‐cycle OTEC systems with freshwater product: Effects of noncondensable gases on performance of condenser

An open‐cycle ocean thermal energy conversion (OC‐OTEC) system is one of the energy conversion methods used to generate electricity from ocean thermal energy. For the OC‐OTEC system, steam evaporated from the surface seawater due to flash evaporation drives the turbine. At that time, dissolved gas such as air is introduced into the low‐pressure system (OC‐OTEC system) as the noncondensable gas, which degrades the performance of condensation heat transfer. In this paper, a small‐scale OC‐OTEC experimental unit experimentally investigates the effect of noncondensable gas on the heat transfer performance in a condenser. The experimental results are discussed in comparison with theoretical estimation by the Sparrow–in method. It is shown that the condensation is occupied by heat and mass transfer near a condensation surface and that the condensation efficiency is affected by exhaust quantity of noncondensable gas at a relatively high concentration ratio of condensable gas. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 154(1): 29–35, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20179     

A study of solid circulation rate in a circulating fluidized bed

An experimental investigation under cold condition was made to study the effects of some operating/design parameters and non-mechanical L valve configuration on the solid circulation rate in a 4.5 m tall, 0.15 m diameter circulating fluidized bed with riser flow rate varying from 1400 litres/min to 2000 litres/min and bed inventory from 15 kg to 25 kg of sand of average sizes 200 μm, 400 μm and 500 μm. Solid circulation rate was estimated by measuring velocity of sand particle travelling through a vertical Perspex tube section at the bottom of the return leg. It was found to be in the range of 2.8 to 12.3kg/m²s, 0.07 to 9.1kg/m²s and 0.12 to 2.23kg/m²s for sand sizes of 200 μm, 400 μm and 500 μm, respectively for a horizontal L valve. Two mathematical correlations have been developed from the experimental results to predict solid circulation rate as a function of riser flow rate, aeration flow rate, total bed inventory and particle size used.     

Discrete Modeling and Suggested Measurement of Heat Transfer in Gas-Solids Flows

This article presents a two-dimensional transient model for gas-solids flow and heat transfer through pipes using the coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics and Discrete Element Method approach. Numerical simulations have been conducted to examine the modification of fluid thermal structure due to the presence of particles in a pneumatic transport pipeline. Modeled results have demonstrated the key role of transversal motion of rebounding particles in the pipe cross section in altering fluid temperature. Further implementation of this modeling technique in air-drying processes is discussed and possible experimental methods for the measurement of in situ particle and fluid motion and temperature profile are cited.     

A New Variable Diffusion Drying Model for the Second Falling Rate Period of Paddy Dried in a Rapid Bin Dryer

The objectives of this article is to propose a new drying model for the second falling rate period known as the variable diffusion controlled period that follows after the first falling rate period and to propose a new method to determine the second critical moisture content that separates these two periods. Experimental work on paddy drying at minimum fluidization velocity was carried out in a rapid bin dryer. The effects of operating temperatures (60-120°C) and bed depths (2-6 cm) on the paddy drying characteristics were investigated. It was found that the normalized drying rate of paddy was proportional to the normalized moisture content in the first falling rate period but in the second falling rate period, the normalized drying rate of the material varies exponentially with the normalized moisture content. The different relationship between the normalized drying rate and the normalized moisture content in the first and second falling rate periods indicate that two different mechanism of moisture transport are at work. The new exponential model of the second falling rate period and the linear model of the first falling rate period were found to fit the experimental data very well. Derivation from variable diffusion equation shows that the linear model is the result of constant diffusion coefficient whereas the new exponential model is the result of linear diffusion coefficient. This also implies that the first falling rate period is a constant diffusion controlled period and the second falling rate period is a variable diffusion controlled period. In addition, drying kinetics data of a drying process that fits the exponential model over a very slow drying period will show that the drying process is under the effect of a linear diffusion coefficient. It was also found that the proposed new method to determine the second critical moisture content that distinguishes between the first and second falling rate periods by using a sudden change in the value of the drying rate gradient to a much lower value at that point is more rigorous and yet simpler than the method of determining the specific location of the receding drying boundary since it is based on the behavior of the actual drying kinetic data.