MATHEMATICAL MODELING

and
NUMERICAL TECHNIQUES

in
DRYING TECHNOLOGY

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MATHEMATICAL M O D E L I N G

and
NUMERICAL T E C H N I Q U E S

in
DRY1NG TECHNOLOGY
edited by
IAN TURNER
Queensland University of Technology Brisbane, Australia

ARUN S . MUJUMDAR
Mc Gill University Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Marcel Inc. Dekker, New York.Basel*Hong Kong

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mathematical modeling and numerical techniques in drying technology / edited by Ian Turner, ArunS. Mujumdar. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-8247-9818-X (alk. paper) 1. Drying-Mathematicalmodels. I.Turner, Ian. 11. Mujumdar, A. S. TP363.M357 1996 660'28426'01 5 1 1 8 4 ~ 2 0 96-1 8672 CIP

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Copyright 0 1997 by MARCEL DEKKER, INC. All Rights Reserved.
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Preface

Drying is one of the most energy intensive industrial processes, with applications in a wide variety of industries including the food, timber, paper,and construction sectors. In an attempt to minimize the energy consumption necessary for the day-to-day functioning of typical drying operations, a substantial amount of research has been focused on the identification of innovative heating and drying processes as well as the classification of state-of-the-art optimization strategies for existing dryer designs. Although experimentation is an essential ingredient in the advancement of drying technology, fundamental researchwith the aid of mathematical modeling and numerical simulation provides an extremely powerful and cognitive tool for investigating the complicated physics that evolve during the drying wet porous materials. The results the simulaof of tions can be used subsequently by drying engineers and practitioners to guide future experimental design and, perhaps most importantly, to provide a better understanding of the drying process as a whole. The strategy of modelingwhich requires experimental input for the determination of key model parameters, followed by system optimizationand overall experimental validation of the results-is a cost-effective and efficient method for furthering drying technology The study of drying is truly interdisciplinary with the literature being divided amongpublications in heat and masstransfer,transportphenomena, chemicalengineering, mechanical engineering,agriculturalengineering, soil science, wood science, food science, and mathematics. A survey of this litera-

iii

iv

Preface

ture over the last two decades unveils a numberof key review-type articles that have gone a long way in identifying and improving the knowledge of mathematical modeling in drying. It is now well accepted that the key mechanisms forsimulating heat and mass transport in capillary porous media have been clearly defined. The solution of the resulting set of governing equations, however, has been hindered severely by the strongly coupled and highly nonlinear nature of that equation set. Typically, these models require the resolution of important drying variables such as moisture content, temperature, internal pressure, stress and, in the case of dielectrically assisted drying processes, the computation of the power density distribution. In the past, analytical solutions of this problem were confined to simple drying configurations and were valid only under a very stringent set of assumptions. In general, numerical simulation was the only possible solution strategy. With increased computing facilities readily available worldwide, the possibilities for obtaining fastand accurate solutions tomany of the previously intractable drying problems are becoming a reality. In fact, not only are rigorous onedimensional and two-dimensional models being published,but three-dimensional models for drying are now beginning to appear. It seems that the era of computational engineering has burst onto the scientific scene the difficulties and associated with resolving the most challenging problems are becoming problems of the past. Furthermore, with the benefits that parallel computing technology can offer, it appears that the once impossible dreamof on-line, real-time threedimensional analysesof real-world drying configurations may soon be realized. Nevertheless,the path of developing an efficient and effectivesolution strategy for the drying equations is no means straightforward. The numerical by analyst must overcome numerous stumbling blocks before the implementation task is completed. For example, some of the more formidable tasks are: mesh generation, identification of the best discretization strategy to use, solution of the nonlinear equation set, solution of the linearized and often sparse algebraic system, convergence criteria,time step control, experimental validation, and,finally, the best means of graphically visualizing the results. One of the main objectives of this book concerns the analysis of many of these issues and the identification of the most efficient and state-of-the-art numerical methods that can be used to assistwith the implementationof the above-mentioned tasks. Furthermore, mathematical models drying could beused to evaluatenew of concepts, for example,the use of opposing jets todry dispersed materialsor the use of an intermittent heat supply in batch drying, without expensive experimentation at the outset. Once verified with carefully chosen experimental data, mathematical modelscan be used to study the effects of various parameters, i.e., for the optimizationof the drying process subject to pertinent objective functions and for model-based control of degrees. While most models currently focus on the heat and mass transfer aspects together with, for example, stress-induced

Preface

cracking, in many cases it also becomes necessary to simulate chemical or biochemical reactions to assess the quality parameters. Much further research and development work needs to be carried out in the area of modeling quality parameters since they are highly product-specific. It is hoped that this book and an earlier special issue of Drying Technology-An International Journal (Vol. 13, No. 9,1996) will stimulateadvances in the development and utilization of mathematical models for simulation, optimization, control, and innovation in drying operations. The relentless advances in computing power and numerical techniques will undoubtedly provide greater impetus to increased applicationof modeling in practice. Thebookisorganizedintofoursections: Fundamentals, Drying of Wood, Drying of Granular and Particulate Solids, and Miscellaneous Applications. Note that this categorizationis not very rigid and is not intended to be mutually exclusive. New fundamental concepts and computational schemes can also be found in chapters that arenot in Section I, for example. The overall philosophy of the material presented in this book is to provide the reader with the detailed knowledge that is necessary to develop mathematical models and efficient numerical techniques for solving problems in drying. The material presented here covers a wide cross section drying research and, of will benefit not only scientists just commencing work in this field but active drying practitioners. Furthermore, the information throughout this text will provide auseful foundation for future modeling work in drying. Finally, the editors would like to thank all the authors who contributed to this text. They have toiled hard to present a very interesting and highly readable book. In particular, special thanks must go to Patrick Perrt? for the extensive effort that he put into the development of the first two chapters. The many fruitful discussions, togetherwith the number of suggestions that he offered for the final presentation these chapters,is very much appreciated. of
Ian Turner Arun S. Mujumdar

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Contents

Preface Contributors
Section I: Fundamentals

iii xi

1.

A Synopsis of the Strategies and Efficient Resolution

Techniques Used for Modellingand Numerically Simulating the Drying Process Ian Turner and Patrick Perrb

2.

TheUse of Macroscopic Equations to SimulateHeat and Mass Transfer i Porous Media n Patrick Per& and Ian Turner Modelling and Simulating Simultaneous Liquid and Vapour Transport in Partially Saturated Porous Materials A. J. J. van der Zanden

83

3 .

157

Section 1 : Drying of Wood 1

4.

High-Temperature Kiln Drying of SoftwoodTimber:TheRole Mathematical Modelling S. Pang andA. N. Haslett

vii

of

179

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Contents

5.

Modeling the Effect of Heterogeneity on Wood Drying 0.A. Plumb and Li Gong A Numerical Prediction of the Effect of Airflow and Wet Bulb Temperature on the Stress Development During Convective Wood Drying W.J. Ferguson

221

6.

259

Section 111: Drying of Granular and Particulate Solids

7.

Modelling Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems During Absorption and Desorption Joseph Irudayaraj and Yun Wu Finite Element Modeling of Grain Drying Leandro S Oliveira and Kamyar Haghighi . A Mathematical Model for Constant Intermittent Batch and Dfying of Grains a Novel Rotating Jet Spouted in Bed R. Y. Jumah, Arun S. Mujumdar and G. S, V. Raghavan Theoretical Study of Heat and Mass Transfers During Drying of Granular Products A. Mhimid and S. Ben Nasrallah

279

8.

309

9.

339

10.

381

11.

Modelling Convective Drying of Granular Materials Application481 to Natural Rubber J. C. Benet, G. Berthomieu, B. Naon and C. Saix

Section IV: Miscellaneous Applications

12.

MathematicalModeling of Dielectrically-EnhancedDrying Peishi Chen and Philip Schmidt S. Mathematical Models for the Primary and Seconary Drying Stages of the Freeze-Drying of PharmaceuticalsTrays on and in Vials A. I. Liapis and R Bruttini

439

13.

481

Contents

i x

14.

A Model for Superheated Steam Drying of Particles

in an Impinging Stream Dryer S. M. Hosseinalipour and ArunS. Mujumdar

537

15.

Mathematical Modelling of Kiln and On-site Drying of Concrete Zhen-Xiang Gong andArun S. Mujumdar Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Techniques Multi-CylinderPaper Dryers Stig G. Stenstrom

575

16.

for

613

Index

663

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Contributors

J. C.Benet
G.Berthomieu

UniversitB Montpellier 11, Montpellier,France UniversitB Montpellier 11, Montpellier,France Criofarma, Italy Turin, Philip Moms R&D, Richmond,Virginia Queensland University of Technology,Brisbane,

R. Bruttini
Peishi Chen

W. J. Ferguson Australia
Li Gong

Oregon Department of Transportation,Salem, Oregon McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Zhen-XiangGong KamyarHaghighi

PurdueUniversity,WestLafayette,Indiana New Zealand Forest Research Institute, Ltd., Rotorua, New

A. N. Haslett Zealand

S. M. Hosseinalipour
Josephlrudayaraj

McGillUniversity,Montreal,Quebec,Canada Utah State University, Logan, Utah

xi

xii

Contributors

R. Y.Jumah A. 1. Liapis A. Mhimid

McGill University, Montreal,Quebec,Canada University of Missouri-Rolla,Rolla, Missouri EcoleNationaled'Ing6nieurs de Monastir,Monastir,Tunisie McGill University,Montreal,Quebec,Canada

Arun S. Mujumdar B. Naon

UniversittMontpellier 11, Montpellier,France EcoleNationale d'IngCnieurs deMonastir,Monastir,

S. Ben Nasrallah Tunisie

Leandro S. Oliveira Horizonte, Brazil

Universidade Federal de MinasGerais,Belo

S. Pang Zealand
PatrickPerr6

New Zealand Forest Research Institute, Ltd., Rotorua, New

ENGREF - INRA, Nancy,France Washington State University, Pullman,Washington

0 . A. Plumb

G. S. V. Raghavan MacdonaldCampus of McGillUniversity,Ste.Anne De Bellevue, Quebec, Canada C . Saix

UniversitC Montpellier 11, Montpellier,France University of Texas,Austin,Texas University of Lund,Lund,Sweden

Philip S. Schmidt Stig G. Stenstrom IanTurner

Queensland University of Technology,Brisbane,Australia Eindhoven University of Technology,

A. J. J. van der Zanden

Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Yun W u

University of Saskatchewan,Saskatoon,Saskatchewan,Canada

MATHEMATICAL MODELING

and
NUMERICAL TECHNIQUES

in
D RYI N G
TECHNOLOGY

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A SYNOPSIS OF THE STRATEGIES AND EFFTCIENT RESOLUTION TECHNIQUES USED FOR MODELLING AND NUMERICALLY SIMULA TING THE DRYING PROCESS
Ian Turner f School o Mathematics f Queensland University o Technology GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Q4001, Australia and Patrick Perri ENGREF - INRA Laboratory o Forest Sciences - Forest Products Unit f 14 rue Girardet F-54042 Nancy Cedex, France

Key Words and Phrases :Wood Drying Process; Modelling; Numerical Simulation; Eflcienf Solution Strategies; Non-Linear Equation Solvers; Conjugate Gradient techniques; Preconditioners.

ABSTRACT

This study is devoted to identifylns and analysing the numerical strategies that are at necessary to provide f s and accurate computations of the equations which govern the dqmg process. The problem used to illustrate these techniques concerns the heat and mass transfer phenomena that arise during the high temperature drying of softwood since the resulting mathematical formulation represents a stringent test for the simulation code. Over the past few years the authors have developed robust numerical codes to resolve the comprehensive set of macroscopic drying equations in both one and two dimensions for various dryer configurations. The general conclusion made by the authors analyses was that because these equations are highly non-linear and intricately coupled by the dynamic system variables, great care must be taken in order to achieve a convergent simulation result. The developed codes had to treat difficult numerical conditions which included: strongly convective flows, high anisotropy ratios, large aspect ratios in the dimensions of the solution domain and most importantly, a system of non-linear equations which may have discontinuities within the transport coefficients at critical points in the drying process. The porous medium is defined by a set of three state variables whose exact definitions may change at different stages of the drying process. The model described here endeavours to identify and subsequently track when these changes of state occur, so that the appropriate set of system variables can be used within the model. The resulting numerical technique allows the evolution of the distributions of these state variables to be analysed throughout the drying process. The performance of different discretisation techniques and non-linear equation solution strategies will be analysed. Further, a study of the efficiency of the robust sparse matrix solver Bi-CGSTAB with a variety of pre-conditioners will be carried out. The impact that changing some key model parameters can have on the solutions will also be deliberated. In conclusion, the optimal numerical schemes and resolution techniques for the drying process will be summarised.

Turner and Perre'

1. INTRODUCTION
The advent of the, so called, Computer Age has allowed considerable advancements to be made in the area of mathematical modelling and numerical simulation in the multi-disciplinary field of drying. The computing prowess now readily available for relatively low costs makes possible it to develop more complicatedmathematicalmodelswhichcanbeused to analyserealindustrial of the drying configurations. The utilisation these models within industrial sector is becoming increasingly prominent and it appears that the bamer that once existed between academia and industry is slowly being broken down. fact, nowadays, it In is quite common to obtain substantial industrial financial assistanceto support the research and development of heat and mass transfer simulation codes. Once these codes are fullyfunctionalthenindustrialandacademiccommunities can work together in the identification of optimaldryerdesignsandnewandinnovative dryingstrategieswhich willenable a moreefficientoperation of day to day processing. Unfortunately, the day when these codes can be used freely and with confidence by non-expert operators has not yet been realised and the authors feel that drying practitioners must still on the physical intuitions and expertisethat rely the scientific community possesses, in order make decisions which could greatly to influence the success of their ventures. Mathematicalmodellingandnumericalsimulationnotonlyallowssomerather expensive repetitive and experimentation to be avoided, perhaps but most importantly, can be used elucidate onthe underlying physics associated with the to convoluted heat and mass transport phenomena which are generated within the porous media during the drying process. results The of the simulations can inevitably guide help experimentation lead and to the proposal of new and intelligentexperimentswhichcanallow the designandtesting of newdrying schedules to be analysed. Further, results can with these also assist the for identification of new measurement techniques key parameters whichare crucial to the accuracy of the model. Nevertheless, be it must pointed out that experimentationis an essential ingredient within anyresearchanddevelopment program since it can assist with understanding of the physics associated with a the particular drying process a fundamental level and this knowledge can lead the at to development of more realistic mathematical models. Most importantly, however, experimentation hasto be used to provide the physical characteristicsof the porous media and must be used to validate the accuracy and credibility of the simulations. The authors feelthat these two strategies must always remain closely inter-linked. Over the past few years the authors have acquired considerable expertise in the numerical resolutionof the equations which govern drying process and it is the the primary objective of this work to identify the strategies and resolution techniques which can leadto the development of a more efficient simulation code.The results presented in this paperare based on the findings previously published the codes for Transpore and Wood2D [PerrBandMaillet, 1989; PerreandDegiovanni, 1990;

Strategies and Eficient Resolution Techniques

Perre andMoyne,1991; Perre et al, 1993;Turner,1993a-b;TurnerandPerre, 19951. Along withthe many painstaking hours of trial and implementation these of codes, the authors feel that they have generated an extensive knowledge of the pros and cons associated with various numerical solution techniques of which all could be plausible alternatives be used within infrastructure of the simulation to the codes. Typically, codes with these begin the selection of an appropriate discretisation technique transforms which the underlying differential partial equations into a system non-linear algebraic equations. of The morepopulartechniquesforachievingthistransformationinclude Finite Dlfference, Finite Volume or Finite Element Techniques with method each offering its own advantages and disadvantages. example, ifthe solution domain For represents a simple rectangular domain then traditional Finite Difference methods are the preferred discretisation strategy since these techniquesare straightforward to implement. However, in order to capture the behaviour of the physics and the conservationlawsmorerigorously, the numericalanalystoftenimplements the Finite Volume or Control Volume techniques [Patankar, 19801. Note that under the same assumptions allof these methods can be shown be the same, however, to it is wellrecognisedthatonly the Finite Volume strategyoffersconservative balances at any discretisation level for a single control volume, group of control a volumes or across the entiresolutiondomain.Because of thisveryimportant property, the authors recommend the use of this scheme [Perre and Degiovanni, 1990; Turner, 1993a; Turner and Perre, 19951. However,when the solutiondomainismorecomplicated, or when the mesh distorts and evolves with, for example, computations, stress the alternative discretisationstrategiesarethe Finite Element Method [FergusonandTurner, 1994a; 1995a, Perre and Passard, 19951 or the Unstructured Mesh Control Volume techniques based on Cell-Centred ( C V - W ) [Turner and Ferguson, 1995b or and 1995~1 Vertex-Centred (CV-FE) [FergusonandTurner,1994b;1995b; 19961 schemes. In this work, because the problem under study represents a block sample of softwood being dried in an experimental drying kiln, only the results of the Cell-Centred Structured Mesh Control Volume (CV-SM) method will be presented. Nevertheless, in an attempt to keep the text as general as possible the derivation of the two-node formulation for a near orthogonal unstructured mesh will be outlined. Indeed, many of the concepts discussed throughout the text are directly applicableto the more generalised discretisation cases the unstructured for mesh. After the discretisationstrategyhasbeenselected two criticalresolutionsteps remain before the numerical analyst has completed the implementation task. The first step concerns the treatment of whatiscalled the Outer Iteration stage whereby the non-linearalgebraicsystemislinearisedaccording to aparticular technique based on eitherFixed-point Iteration(which offers linear convergence), Newton Iteration (whichofferssecond order convergence) or asuper-linearly

Tumer and Perre'

convergent variant which chooses to linearise some important terms within the drying equations in order to increase the convergence rate offered by fixed-point iteration. Often fixed-point iteration is the preferredstrategybecauseof the simplicity in implementation and because of the fact that generating the Jacobian matrix for the Newton scheme can be an extremely difficult and onerous task. text. Nevertheless, all of these techniques will be discussed in this The second step, known as Inner Iteration, concerns the solution of the resulting linearised matrix algebraic system which in many instances can be highly sparse depending on both the structure of the computation mesh and the ordering scheme usedfor the variables. Because of this matrix structure and the need to avoid storing the entirematrixsystem,including the zero elements, iterative solution strategies which take advantage of the structure are implemented in order to solve the system.Thesearchforefficientsolversand storage mechanisms is also a difficult task and the final decision is based on many factors which include the exact structure of the matrix and the numerical condition number or measure of this system. At this point it is worth mentioning another important decision which must be made during the implementation of the heat and mass transfer simulation code. Recall that in order to describe the drying processa system of three tightly coupled non-linearpartialdifferentialequationsmustbesolved.After the discretisation phase is completed, decision of whether solve the resulting discrete algebraic the to equations as either a Coupled or Uncoupled set representsanotherimportant challenge [Turner, 1993al. If it is decided to solve the system in an uncoupled manner by separating the non-linearities that exist between the three equations and 2, finally variable for 3 and solving first for variable second variable 1, for subsequently applying a global iteration strategy to capture the real coupling that exists amongst the equations,theninthiscaseeachvariablemustberesolved individually. The resulting algebraic system of equations for each variable known is as a point equation system since for each uncoupled equation there exists only a single variable to be determined, independently of the remaining two variables, at each point on the mesh. These point systems are usually solved iteratively using classical point iterative schemes. If on the other hand it is decided to resolve the system in a coupled manner, whereby coupling the that exists amongst the equations at each node of mesh is retained, then in case the resulting matrix the this system becomes block structured since the three variables represented for each node point on the mesh must be determined as a complete set. In this case block iterative schemes are used to resolve the matrix system [Turner and Perrd, 19951. It has been found in previous research [perre and Degiovanni, 1990 and Turner, 1993al that only the coupledmethodoffersanefficientnumericalresolution strategy which provides fast andrealisticcomputationtimes for simulating the drying process. The reason for this efficiency gain lies the fact that although the in linear systems obtained for the uncoupled method are much simpler to deal with

and Strategies

EjYricient Resolution Techniques

numerically,incomparisonwith the blockmatricesgenerated for the coupled method, the uncoupled method is found to be less efficient for the outer iterations since it hasto treat the coupling of the variables as well as the non-lineararity that exists within the equation set. Returning the focus to the outer iteration stage, considerthe following examplefor the case of the fixed point scheme whereby the control volume method is used to discretise a two-dimensional system using a rectangular mesh with natural ordering across the smallest dimension of the domain. The resulting system, forthe coupled solution procedure,block is penta-diagonal, block symmetric diagonally and dominant.this Alternating In case Direction Block Line Successive OverRelaxation (ADLSOR) or standard SOR solvers adaptive with measures for determining the optimal relaxation parameter are suitable and efficient numerical solution techniques [Perre andDegiovanni,1990; Turner, 1993a; Turner and Perre, 1995; Turner and Ferguson, 1995bl. It should be noted, however, that these schemes require the resulting matrix system to be well conditioned and strictly or near strictly diagonally dominant. Although the control volume discretisation procedure does guarantee inherently this property, it still represents an important constraint which may in fact be dictated further by the technique utilised for the outer iteration. For example, this constraint may not be satisfied for the Jacobian matrix system which needs be solved at each iteration of Newton method. to the Furthermore, if the same problem is discretised using the CV-FE method or the CV-UM with hexagonal or octagonal control volumes the band structure of the resultingmatrixsystembecomesmorecomplex[TurnerandFerguson,1995b, 1995~1 the ADLSOR or SOR solutiontechniquesbecomeeithernolonger and appropriate, or extremely inefficient. In these cases the more generalised solution method concerns the family of iterative schemes which are associated with the ConjugateGradientMethods. Twoofthemorerobustschemessuch as the Generalised Minimal Residual Method (GMRES) [Saad, 198 1; Saad and Schultz, 1985; Brown and Hindmarsh, 19891 or the Bi-Conjugate Gradient Method Sfabilised (Bi-CGSTAB) [van der Vorst, 19921 are discussed in great depth within the literature. Inthiswork the performanceof the Bi-CGSTAB schemewith appropriate preconditionersbasedonDiagonal,GaussSeidel,SuccessiveOverrelaxation, Symmetric Successive Over-relaxation [Ajmani et al, 19941 or Incomplete LUdecompositions [Behie and Forsyth, 1984; DAzevedo, Forsyth and Tang, 19921 will be analysed. Note that for these classes of iterative methods the constraint of diagonal dominance is not essential for rapid convergence and this important feature renders these schemes to be attractive alternatives for the resolution ofthe systems obtained by theNewton outer iteration technique. The porous medium chosen as the representative test material for this work is softwood since represents it a complicated material that offers a number of important challenges for the developed heat and mass transfer code which include: state changes in thesystemvariablesthatevolveaccording to the stage of the

Turner and Perre'

drying process as thematerial passes fromthe filly saturated state, to the fbnicular and pendular drying states above below saturation and fibre point; strongly convective flows; high anisotropy ratios; large aspect ratios in the dimensions of the solution domain and most importantly a system of non-linear equations which may have discontinuities within the transport coefficients at critical points in the drying process. It has been found the authors that in order to resolve efficiently by such a complicated problem, carefil consideration of selection of both inner the the and outer iteration strategies mustbetaken.Theincorrectdecisions for these stages of the simulation can seriously impact performance of the resulting the code. Wood is a complicated hygroscopic cellular porous material within which moisture may coexistinmanydifferent states including : free water in the cellcavities; bound water that is hygroscopically held by the cell walls; water vapour in the voids or lumens of the cells; or constitutive water in chemical composition within the cell walls. Only the free, bound and vapour phases of the water are removed during the drying cycle, withthe basic moisture migration mechanisms being liquid flow due to capillarity and/or internal gaseous pressure gradient, diffusing water vapour, vapour convection bulk gas flow and bound liquid diffusion. in The difficulties involved in the modelling of timber drying are highlighted by the facts that wood is heterogeneous, hygroscopic, strongly anisotropic (withthe ratio between longitudinal and transverse permeabilities being in the range of 102and 10')and that it shrinks duringdryingwithdimensionchangescausinginternal stresses to occur. Current state of the art in numerically simulating this process concerns a comprehensive two-dimensional theory [Perre and Maillet, 1989; Perre and Degiovanni, 1990; Perre and Moyne, 1991; Perre et al, 1993; Turner 1993a-b; Turner and Perre;, 1995; Couture, 19951. The two-dimensional model, which closelyrepresentsreality,canbeused to study detail in the effects that the anisotropy of the wood can have on the drying process. The model also can be used to highlight the fact that the liquid movement occurs in the most permeable direction of the wood the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, this model will be used to emphasiseimportanttwo-dimensionaldryingphenomenawhich occur during wood drying at both low and high temperatures. In particular,the effect of the overall behaviour ofthe internal gaseous pressure on the drying process will be discussed.

The transport parameters and correlating finctions concerning softwood pine have been well documented inthe literature by Puiggali and Quintard [1990], Michel et al [1987], Lartigue et al [1989], Bonneau [1991], Couture [1995], Perre et al [1986, 19891 and Perre [1987a-b] and experimental verification is possible for the convective drying of these types of wood. It is important that any modelling work be verified by experiment, unfortunately this at stage, difficult is it to experimentally differentiate the relevant correlating finctions (capillary pressure, effective conductivity, relative permeability and diffusivity) in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the wood, and as such some quantitative approximations

and Strategies

Eficient Resolution Techniques

need to be adopted for the two-dimensional models. Throughout the next Chapter of this book, which is in fact the second part of this research work, both numerical and experimental results be comprehensively exhibited a variety of different will for drying configurations in order to demonstrate the fact that the model discussed below well represents the heat and mass transfer phenomena that arise during the drying process. The capabilities of the simulation code Transpore are already well documented in the literature where ithasbeen tested for a number of dryingconfigurations including:convectivedrying at high temperatures,microwavedrying,infrared drying, contact heating until boiling occurs; for wide variety of different materials a such as softwood, light concrete, paper and granular porous media [ P e d , 1987ab; Perre and Degiovanni, 1990; Perre et al, 1986, 1989, 19931. Wood2D has been developed using a similar control volume strategy and may be implemented using either a structured mesh or a completelyunstructuredmeshdependingon the application [Turner, 1993a-b; Turner and Ferguson, 1995; Turner and Ferguson, 1995a-c; Ferguson and Turner, 1994bl. The finalform of the drying equations used in Wood2D are slightly different to the set adopted for Transpore, however, the underlying physics is exactly the same for both models. In fact, both of these codes prove to beverypowerful tools inassistingwith the identification of importantfundamentalknowledgeconcerning the dryingprocessandwiththis knowledge it is possible to guide future experimental research. These two codes form the basis and foundation for all discussions presented in text. this The research presentedin this text comprises a number of interesting topics. First, comparisons willbemade of theperformanceofdifferentnon-linearequation solution strategies, as well as a study of the efficiency of the Bj-CGSTAB sparse matrixsolverwhen a varietyofpreconditionersare adopted. Through these comparisons the optimal combination of inner and outer loop iteration techniques will be identified. Then there follows a discussionof the impact on the drying kinetics that employing different fluxmechanismswithin the modelcanhave. Finally, the effect that varying the mesh structure can have on the solutions will be and efficient numerical strategies and exhibited. In conclusion, the best most resolution techniquesfor various drying configurations will be summarised.

2 MATHEMATICAL .

FORMULATION

Drying is a complex process which involves simultaneous heat and mass transfer in a porous material and in order to model the process, it is necessary to analyse the transport of both liquid and gas phases through this medium. One of the primary objectives understanding of the drying process is to be able to predict the distributions of moisture content, temperature and internal total gaseous pressure within the capillary porous body as they evolve in time throughout drying. In order

Turner and Perre'

to achieve this goal, a mathematical model based on the important treatise of the equations which govern the dryingprocesspresented by Whitaker [l9771 is utilised. Followingon fiom that theory, the equations which describe the drying of a hygroscopic, anisotropic porous material such wood have been well established as in prior research [Michelet ul, 1987, Lartigueet ul, 1989, Perre, 1987a-b, Perre et ul, 1986, 1989; Turner, 1991and Turner, 1993a-b] and the finer details concerning the rigorous developmentof the continuumequationscanbefoundin those references. physical The configuration under investigation in this research is exhibited in Figure 1, where the convective drying aof sample of wood placed in a small scale industrial kiln, Figure l(a), is analysed. The transverse (x-direction) and longitudinal (y-direction) directions of the wood are considered in the study and a two-dimensional mathematical model is constructed. The porous material (wood) is assumed as being a rigid, homogeneous and anisotropic structure.

Figure l : Physical Configuration and Model Development

The model solution domain is illustrated in Figure l(b), where due to symmetry only a quarter of the domain requires computation. shaded The region, 0 I x 5 L, and 0 I y I L, represents the wood being dried by forced convection of hot dry air. The faces x = 0 and y = 0 are exposed to the external drying conditions while the faces x = L, and y = L, are considered as symmetry planes. In order to develop the mathematical model a continuum approach is adopted and the physicsassociatedwith a smallaveragingvolumeelementof the woodis considered. Within each individual macroscopic averaging volume, shown as the cross-sectional area contained within the circle in Figure l(c), the porous medium

and Strategies

EIJicientResolution Techniques

is thought to consist of a liquid phase (re fe water), a gaseous phase which contains bothairand water vapour, and a solidphasewhichcontainscellulose matter, together with hygroscopically held bound water. Oncethe mathematical model has been formulated and all the assumptions put in place, the resulting system usually mustberesolvednumericallysince the equation set which describes the drying process, as will become evident in subsequent paragraphs, often is far too complicated for ananalyticalsolution.Thenumericalmethodisdevelopedby considering a discretised equivalent of the solution domain as shown in Figure 1(d).

2.1 Conservation Equations :

In summary the macroscopic conservation equations governing heat and mass the transfer phenomena that arise in softwood duringthe drying process are presented as follows :
Liquid Consentation

Energy Conservation

Air Consentation

where the gas and liquid phase velocities are given by

the Generalised Darcy's

Law:
v1 =--

Krkc

C, L

V C ~ , V C ~= VP, - p,gVX , ,

where Z = w,g

(4)

the quantities cp are known as the phase potentials and is the depth scalar. X

10

Turner and Perre'

Further, there exists the following constraints and constitutive relations :

S, +S, = 1,

P, =-

PSRT

, P,=and M = M a + ( M v - M a ) P, p, P =P, -P,(S,,T). ,

P,=P,+Pa

The enthalpy-temperature relations given by the following definitions are

h, = h, - r j A h , d p ,
Pb

1%
o

h, =h, -Ah,. The mass fractions of vapour and air in gaseous phase are given by the

The termwithinequation (2) represents a volumetricheat source termwhich may be due, for example, to dielectric heating mechanisms such as those encountered in either microwave or radio frequency assisted drying processes. If this termispresent,then it isnecessary to couple the heatandmass transfer equations with the MaxwellEquations in order to determine the electricfield distribution [Turner and Jolly, 1990a-b; Turner 1991; Turner, 19941.
2.2 Bound Liquid Flux Definitions

The driving potential for the bound liquid migration is assumed to be proportional to a gradient in the chemical potentialpb :

and Strategies

Efficient Resolution Techniques

11

It is possible to finddocumentedwithin the literature a number of different expressions usedto cast equation (8) in terms of the appropriate system variables. For example, the simplestformofequation (8) can be written in terms of a gradient of thebound liquid density:

When local thermodynamic equilibrium is assumed, the chemical potential of the bound water phase equals that of the vapour phase and Siau [ 19841 demonstrates that equation (8) can be cast in terms of gradients of both bound liquid density the and the temperature :

where h ,is the effective bound liquid mass diffusivity coefficient and b T is the ~ Z effective thermodiffusion coefficient. Stanish et a [l9861 give a form for the bound liquid flux which resembles that i given in equation (lo), however, rather than using a gradient in the bound liquid density a gradient in the vapour pressureis preferred : dp, = - X . d T + - - . d1 , P

M,

P ,

In equation (1 1) molar entropy S i s a state function of temperature and vapour the pressure. In this work, the more commonly used driving forces given in equations (9) and (1 1) will betested within the framework of the macroscopic equations in order to identify any specific effects that one flux expression may offer over the other. Furthermore, in a later section of this chapter, the numerical treatment of these expressions will be discussed and in particular, the way in which the bound liquid flow is connectedto the free liquid flow at the fibre saturation point will be highlighted.
2.3 Physical Properties

Most of the key parameters which exist within the macroscopic equations (1)-(3) are strongly dependent onthe structure of the material. These properties, together with their postulated finctional dependencies are listed as follows :

12
CupillaryR~ure:

Turner and Perre'

The C a p i h y Pressure is assumed to be a finction of the saturation fi (S,) and the surface tension o(T). The finction fi is dependent on the internal structure of the porous material and for wood, may be findamentally different for each species and may even vary for heartwood, sapwood or latewood within the same tree [Splolek and Plumb, 1980; Spolek, 1981; Puiggali and Quintard, 1990; Bonneau, 1991; Perre, 19961 : PC(S, ,T) = Pcof,(S,N(T)
Permeabilities

The permeability parameter is one of the most important in the macroscopic model. In fact, it is by far the one parameter that the least is known and yet its finctional form can impact substantially the results of the computations [Turner and Perre, 1 1995; Couture et a 19941. In this work two different forms of the Relative Permeability finctions will be examined and these are tabulated below in Tables 1 and 2. VMoYsGeContent Relative Pekea6ilit); of the Liquid Phase
0

'

'

x ,

=o

"RelativePenheabihy of the Gas Phase

0.95 1--

O I X , IX,

5)
2

+0.05

xCf

'lVf

" I M

Om(

- ""CI

-oisture'Content

'

x,=o
LjmgihIdinal: O I X l . m @ u w : o I,x , I x M t

RelativePermeabilityof the Liquid Phase 0

'

Relative Peheabdity i f the Gas Phase 1

2: Relative Table 2 :Relative Permeabilitiesafter P

1

2 ( : 5)k)1 : 2 (1 I 1+(,51 + 4--

d et a1 I19931

Strategies and Eficient Resolution Techniques

1 3

Vapour Diffusivity The Effective Diffusivity tensor is assumed to depend on liquid saturation, pressure and temperature and is given by the followingformula :

Deff(S,,T,Pg)= f2(Sw)D,
I

withD,

= 2.26~10

The tensor quantity fz(S,) is dependent onthe porous material structure.

Bound Liquid Difsusivity The Bound Liquid Diffusivity tensor is assumed to depend on moisture content and temperature and is an Arrheniustype function :

Thermal Conductivity In this work the Thermal Conductivity (for softwood) istaken as a linear function of moisture content :

where a and b are constants which depend onthe wood species.

2.4 Variable Selection and Drying States

The wood drying process be can divided into 4 distinct regimes which are identified in the following table as Drying States. Within each state there is a well defined set of variables which can be used to describe the physical phenomena occumng within that state.

In State 1, when the medium is fully saturated and the gas phase is non-existent, the liquid saturation can not be used as the primary variable. Instead, the liquid Pressure is substituted as a primaryvariableandan appropriate compressibility definition utilised for the liquid density. The exact treatment this state will be the of subject of future research workto be proposedby the authors.

14

Turner and Perrt! Variables

S, = 1 , S, = 0, & T : P T () , ,
S, $ 0 , S, + O

Drying State 1. Fully Saturated Medium - gas phase does not exist 2. Unsaturated Medium and above FSP 3. Unsaturated Medium and below FSP 4. Dry Medium

, p,(T) , Fb(T): S,, T, pa S = 0 , S = 1 , p,Gb ,T) : pb, pa , , T, S = 0 , S , = 1 , pb= 0 : p T, pa , ,

Above the Fibre Saturation Point (FSP), States 1 and 2, the bound water is thought of as a function of temperature alone and defined according to the following definition : pb(T) = p,,X,,(T) where X,,,(T) = 0.598 - 0.001 T . Furthermore, in the states above FSP the vapour pressure is given by the saturated value P,,(T). Below FSP, States 3 and 4, the relative humidity is defined according to the sorption data available for the wood species being modelled. In this instance the vapour pressure becomes a function of the two primary variables pband T . When the medium is completely dry, State 4, the vapour pressure becomes one of the primary variables. In this work only States 2-3 will be treated direct1y . One of the challenges on the Variable Substitution Method is knowing exactly when to change states at each discrete node within the computational mesh utilised by the numerical formulation. In fact, this process is rather complicated requiring a well defined set of rules to be formulated and will be described in more detail in fbture research.
2.5 Boundary Conditions

For the configuration shown in Figure l(b) the boundary conditions for the external drying surfaces AI3 and BD must be specified. It is assumed that the driving potential at these surfaces is of the form proposed by Bird et ul [ 19601:

J , .ri = h(T- T,)+ h,k,cM,

In ll-2;)

where J, and Je represent the total liquid and energy fluxes through these boundary surfaces and x, and T are respectively the molar fraction of the gas vapour and the temperature at the exchange surfaces. The corresponding variables with the subscript indicate quantities which are characteristic of the external

Strategies and EDcient.Resolution Techniques

15

drying conditions. The expression for the boundary mass flux is derived from the Film Theory. The quantities km and h are the mass and heat transfer coefficients which are obtainable fromthe classical Boundary m e r Theory. The pressure atthe atmospheric value: external drying surfaces

(AB and BD) is fixed at

the
(13)

=P,

PS

On the symmetry planes, AC and CD all fluxes of liquid, vapour, air and heat are assumed zero. .

2.6 Initial Conditions

Initially the porous medium has some prescribed initial saturation and temperature distribution. The pressure is constant throughoutat the atmospheric pressure:

2.7 Generalised RepresentativeConservation Equationfor the Drying System

After mathematical some manipulations it is possible to cast of each macroscopic equations described above into following compact form: the

the

The term Y represents the conserved quantities of total liquid, energy or air, where for example, Yw= $,w +Sp Sp @,, +pb.Thekinetic tensor terms denoted by
=

Ki are complicated fbnctions ofthe state system variables. Note that not all of the driving potentials given in equation (16) are present in each of the macroscopic balance equations, nor are they all present for each drying state. Nevertheless, this equation is a representative equation for the drying system and forms the basis of the discussions that will be undertaken in next section. the

16

Turner and Perre'

3. DISCRETISATION STRATEGY
The equations which govern the drying process impose an enormous challenge for the numerical analyst to develop and hence implement a robust and efficient numerical simulation code. Some of the difficulties that must be overcome during the numerical resolution stage include the high aspect ratios of the solution domain (for wood this ratio can be of the order of 1:lO or 1:50 for the transverse and longitudinal directions); high anisotropy ratios (of the order of 1000 for the permeabilities); tightly coupled and highly non-linear equations; non-linear boundary conditions; steep moisture and pressure gradients and highly convective internal gaseous flows. Furthermore, the knowledge of the best solution strategies to employ for the outer and inner iteration stages represents another stumbling block. In this section the basic strategy of the numerical discretisation procedure employed to solve the system of equations is analysed. Before commencing the discussion on the development of the generalised twonode control volume method (UM-Cv) it is convenient to non-dimensionalise the system of equations (1-3) [Turner, 1993a1, so that all state system variables are of the same order of magnitude (approximately unity).
As a final note on the non-dimensional equations, it will be assumed throughout the following sections of this work that the Kinetic and Capacity coefficients are also in non-dimensional form and for simplicity, there will be no new notation introduced for these variables.
3.1 Two-Node Control Volume Cell-Centred Approach

Brief Overview of the Control VolumeMethod Two of the major benefits of the control volume discretisation technique are that it takes k l l advantage of being able to utilise an unstructured mesh for processing and that it offers a number of different alternatives for the exact shape of the Control Volumes. In addition, the method is very flexible, allowing a variety of techniques for evaluating the fluxes through the control volume faces. There are, however, some kndamental properties for the control volume method which must always be satisfied and these are summarised as follows :
1. The solution domain is divided into a number of strategically placed Control Volumes - CVs , these CVs must not overlap. 2. The CVs can be of arbitrary shape and size so that complex geometries can be modelled, however, their sum must cover the entire domain.

Strategies and Efficient Resolution Techniques

17

3. The conservation laws must be integrated over these control volumes and in this sense the discretisation scheme captures the physics at the discrete level.
4. Fluxes along common suflaces between neighbouring CVs must be computed using a discretisation scheme which is independent of the CV under consideration. In this way flux conservation is ensured.

Provided that these four rules are obeyed, then the control volume method offers perhaps one of the most important properties over all other discretisation techniques because it is possible to ensure that basic physical quantities such as mass and energy will remain conserved at any discrete level - across a CV; a group of CVs and of course the whole solution domain. In the literature it is possible to find reference to two different control volume strategies. The first technique, known as the Cell-Centred scheme, allows the domain to be divided initially into CVs of arbitrary shape and size and then the node points, where the exact values of the discrete variables are associated, are positioned at the centres of these CVs. The second technique, known as the VertexCentred scheme, allows the node points where the values of the discrete variables are associated to be positioned first and then the CVs are constructed around these node points according to some predefined methodology. It is thought that for the cell-centred case, the variables can be considered as true average values of the variables across the entire control volume cell since the node point lies at the centre of the cell. Whereas, for the vertex-centred counterpart, the node point may not be located at the centre of the CV and may in fact be closer to some particular CV faces than others, causing a slight biasing of the variables. Nevertheless, in both cases, a good interpolation technique must be devised in order to evaluate the flux expressions at the surfaces of the CVs in a conservative fashion as stated above in property 4. These interpolation formulae may include the use of the powerfbl Finite Element Shape Functions - see for example the CV-FE method proposed by Ferguson and Turner [ 1994b, 1995a-by 19961 or Ferguson [ 19951. The discussion here focuses on the Cell-Centred Two-node Scheme.

A typical CV within the mesh of the cell-centred control volume approach is exhibited in Figure 2. In this diagram the hexagonal shaped CV depicts the centroid point (P) having six neighbouring points (Nbi : i=1,6). The lengths of each face of the CV are denoted as llriII and the vectors which represent the CV faces as AZi = (Axi,Ayi), where Axi = (xi+l- x i ) and Ayi = (yi+l- y i ) . The vectors which characterise the line segments PNbi are denoted by 6Fi = (6xi, 6yi), where 6xi = (xNbi x p ) and 6yi = (ymi - y p ) . The normal to the control volume face is given by ii = (Ayi ,-Axi).

18

Turner and Perrd

within the mesh, then the mesh is known as

traverse CV

Control Volume

4
How do we compute the flux through the CV face 7

Figure 2 :Control Volume Schematic

Another important concept of the unstructured mesh control volume technique focuses on the notion ofMesh Orthogonality which is defined to occur when the vector SFi joining the centroidsof two neighbouring CVs isparallelwith the normal vector i i i for the commonfacebetween these two CVs. NearMesh Orthogonality occurs when the angle y between those two vectors is small but non-zero. The following question arises : what is the best way to evaluate the flux through the CVfaces these two cases ? in

In the standard control volume method the discretised of form the partial differential equation is derivedby integrating the representative equation (16) over the CV (denoted here as Vs and in time from to (n+1)6t : n6t
(n+l)&

jdtl($-V.J)dV=O
n&

V,

This expression can be simplified by integrating over time variable and applying the the Divergence theorem : AVi
Nb

p+ -Y ) ;' ;
6t -fJ.iidT=O r
Yb is

where

r = cIIriIIand AVi represents the area of the control volume Vi..

!=l

assumed to represent the averagedvalue of Y over Vi. Thelineintegral in equation (18) results becausethe problem is confined to two-dimensions. Note that

Techniques and Resolution Strategies EIJicient

19

in order to integrate the expression (17) some assumptions are made so that time and spatial integration can be separated. The choice from the filly explicit to the filly implicit scheme depends on the time chosen calculate the spatial integration to [Patankar, 19801. Equation (18) can be written in discrete form as follows

where the line integral has been approximated the sum of the fluxes evaluated at by an appropriate point on the CV face multiplied by the corresponding face length. The superscript m indicates that it is possible to evaluate this term using a filly implicit (m=n+l) scheme, a filly explicit(m=n)scheme, or usingsome other intermediate integration time point (n<m<n+l). The in way which the term

(3. ii) is evaluated spatially for eachCVface dictates the discretisation method racej
and many options are available include useshape which the of finction interpolation formulae to some other morecomplicatedinterpolation strategies. The availability of this whole family of discretisation methods is what makes the control volume method so powerful. Here, only a two-node discretisation strategy is described.
The Control Volume Discretisation Formulae :

in Figure 3 for a CV face. Furthermore, it will be assumed that a representative term of the form J = EV+ can be used to simplify the discussion and provide a succinct derivation of the control volume discretisation formulae both for the orthogonal and nearorthogonal meshes.
Consider the following illustration exhibited From this diagram it can be shown that normal vector can be resolved in terms the of the orthogonal unit vectors i i i and 6iias i i i = ( i i i .Sei) Sei + (;li .ii)ii. It follows that the dot product of the gradient vector with this normal vector is given by V+.iii =V+.6ei (hi -Sii) + V + . i i (Gi .ii). According to the information available for the derivation of the discretisation formula the flux throughthe CV for face, seeFigure 3, it clear only approximation is that an to the directional derivative in the direction of the vector Sii is possible and is givenin terms of the two-nodes P and Nb;as

V$.Sii

(+K?,-+P) lri I

. Unfortunately, for the two-node

20

Turner and Perre'

to approximate the tangential

scheme, there isinsufficientinformationavailable componentV+.Pi.

Figure 3 : Derivation of the Discrete Flux Expressionfor a CVface

Byapplyingsomestraightforwardtrigonometry,it is nowfeasible to write an expression forthe gradient doted with unit normal to the CVface as follows : the

where the angle 3 represents the angle between the two vectors i i i and 6i., It is . also evident that the second term on the right hand side of equation (20) vanishes only when. 3 is zero, whichis the case of an Orthogonal mesh. If thisangle becomes significant, then an approximation for the tangential component of the gradient must be included within calculations, otherwise, this term represents a the discretisation error which not will vanish with small llSriII. This constraint represents one of the major limitations ofthe two-node scheme when appliedto an unstructured mesh. It should of course be noted that this constraint is in fact a mesh generation constraint. A technique for computing the tangential component using a four nodeinterpolationformulaon a triangularnetwork is discussed elsewhere by Turner and Ferguson [ 1995b-c]. In summary, the followingtwo-nodegradientapproximationformulaecanbe defined :

and Strategies

Efficient Resolution Techniques

21
Gradient Approximation
( h i

Mesh Type ORTHOGONAL

NEAR ORTHOGONAL

-@P)

Ir Ii '

-")cos(yi)+o(yi) llsri
(+m, @ P ) -

NON-ORTHOGONAL

cos(yi) + Ir Ii ' Table 4 :Two Node Gradient Approximations

1 I

sin(yi)

If the nearorthogonal meshformulaisselected approximation andifitisassumedfurtherthat

K = ("'
O

K,

as the appropriate gradient the kinetic tensor isdiagonal,

,then it is possible to write the two-node discretisation formula as

follows :

When this expression is substituted into equation (19) the following non-linear finction results which describes the conservation balance law in discrete form for the control volume :

(22)

It hasbeenassumedinequation (22) thatallcoefficientswithin the two-node discretisation formula are to be evaluated at the filly implicit level. time Conservation is assured F = 0 for each CV. Once all control volumes in mesh if i the have been visited and the resulting non-linear equations constructed, a system of non-linearequationsresultswhichmustberesolvedin order to advance the solution in time.
A Further Mesh Constraint the UM-CVstrategy:The Positivity Constraint for

There is a firther meshconstraint,different to thatdiscussedabove for the accurate computation of the gradient, which becomes extremely important when

22

Turner and Perrk

treating anisotropic media, such as wood. Consider the following discrete form of the generalised phase velocity through CVface : a

In order for this discrete phase velocity formula to remain realistic and guarantee that the undesirable case of flow moving in opposite direction to the physically the correct one is avoided, it is necessary impose a firther constraint on the W - C V to formula. This constraint, which is known as a Positivity Constraint, requires that

After some rearrangement, this constraint becomes :

andgiven that woodexhibitsananisotropyratioof lo3, itisclear that this constraint requires 6xj Axj ->lo3ZYj AYj Equation (26) represents an extreme mesh constraint, which, if not satisfied, will cause the numerical simulation resultsto be physically unrealistic.
3.2 Treatment of Coefficients at Control Volume Faces

Typically the kinetic coefficientsin equation (22) have contributions are due to that both diffision and convection mechanisms and these terms must be approximated CV an at the chosen integration point on the face. Suppose that interpolation factor definedby

a =-

116- 1
Il"i I

canbecalculated,where

the vector

G represents the ;

vector from the node P to the integration point on the CV face, see Figure Then 3. the dffision componentscanbecomputedaccording to eitherarithmetic or harmonic averaging techniques follows : as

Strategies andEficient Resolution Techniques

2 3

D&Xusion Components :
Arithmetic Average :
h,,
= ah,

+ (1 - a ) h p

For the convective transport components upstream weighting is used, since for this weighting strategy it can be shown that the results converge to the physically correct solutions for multiphase situations [Sammon, 19881.
Convective Components

Upstream Weighting

h,, =

if 5.h

> o <o

where 5 is the relevant phase velocity of or liquid through CV face. gas the

3.3 Introduction of Boundary Conditions

At the boundaries of the solutiondomainthecontrolvolumeshavespecial properties and in this work will be referred to as Boundary Control Volumes BCVs A typical BCV is depicted in Figure 4.

Boundary CV

Case 2 : Place node at centroid

Boundary Flux

Figure 4 : Boundary Control Volume

24

'

Turner and Perre'

There are two possibilities for the positioning of the control volume nodal points. In the first case the node is placed on the actual boundary of the solution domain, while in the second case the node points are placed at the centroid the BCV. The of arguments for which scheme is best are varying and in this work case 1 will be used. Nevertheless, if case 2 is preferred, a nodal value which is in the interior of the solution domain is computed and usually either iteration or extrapolation is required in order to deduce the boundaryvalues.However,thisstrategy does provide a consistent mechanism for discretising all CVs within the mesh. On the other hand, if the BCV is taken small enough, it is reasonable to assume that the value at the centre of the BCV isequal to the boundaryvalueandmethod 2 becomes a reasonable alternative. The control volume method offers another important advantage over other discretisation strategies with the simpleandconvenientwayinwhichboundary conditions can be introduced into discretisation equation (22). For example, at the adiabatic walls the flux term

(3.

;)Lwj = 0, hence, the corresponding contribution

a fluxexpressionexistsat
the corresponding contribution a' to

to equation(22)wouldvanish.Alternatively,if boundary face,

(3; face, ) m .

= F,,, say, then

equation (22) would be F, evaluated at an appropriate boundary integration point multiplied by the boundary CV face length.
3.4 System of Non-Linear Equations for Generalised Drying Equation

Returning to the generalised conservative drying equation (16), it is now possible to write the following discrete version of this equation in terms of the two-node control volume formulation:

The notation used in equation (29) issimilar to that proposed by Forsyth and Simpson [l9911 for the modelling natural of convection in porous media. However, in this work, the non-linear finction Fi(u) is a complicated function of the state variableset (S, ,P, ,T,p,, p ,pb) at the nodes P and , all of the neighbouring nodes (Nbi,i=l,Nb) which surround the control volume under consideration. The coefficients A(u), & ) C(u), D(u),E(u)and F(u) combine U,

Strategies and ESficient Resolution Techniques

25

the non-linearities of the kinetics transport coefficients, which involve the state finction set at the node P and the neighbouringnode Nbi, together with the geometric factors for the CV face that are described in equation (22). Depending on the particular conservation law being resolved, not of these coefficients are all present in each of the finctions Fi. Note that the transport coefficients in the terms A(u) and B(u) are upstream weightedaccording to the direction of the liquid and gas phasevelocitiesthrough the CV faceasdescribed in equation (28). All remaining coefficients are averaged according to either harmonic or arithmetic averaging techniques(see equation (27)).

4. NUMERICAL SOLUTION TECHNIQUE The next stage in the overallresolutionof the dryingequationsrequires the determination ofthe solution for the non-linear finction set generated by the U" CV discretisationtechniquediscussedinsection 3. When the solutionofthis system has been obtained, the discrete values of the state variables will be known for all CVs within the mesh. In this sectionthe ways in whichthe complicated nonlinear finction set can be solved presented. are

For each CV within the mesh the state variableset (S,, P ,T,p, ,, ,F,,) is , p assumed to have an exact definition which is determined according to the current drying regime. In fact, out of this six variable set exactly three variables, known as the primary variables, will be treated as the unknown independent variables for each CV and the remaining three variables, known as secondary variables,will be computed accordingto the values of these primary variables. As can be seen from Table 1 both temperature and air density (or total gaseous pressure) are always two of the primaryvariablesnomatterwhichdrying state the processexists, however, the remaining primary variable depends on the state of drying. Furthermore, the values of all variables are presumed to be known at the n* time level. The solution strategy now must allowthese values ofthe state variables to be advanced correctlyto the (n+l)* time level.
In order to assist with the proceeding discussionsit has been decided to utilise the : following terminologyfor the non-linear fbnctionset throughout this section Define for each CV the set of three discretised conservation laws as vector nona linear hnction given by
(30)

26

Turner and Perre'

where the vector ui = (8{i),8t),8~))T represents the set of three primary variables to be determined from the solution of the three discretised conservation laws for this CV, . The setofsecondaryvariables for the same CV;. isdefinedby the following vector : (W, (u,),w~(u~),w,(u~))'. Define further, the complete set of non-linear functionsF(u) as N

where the complete solution vector U contains N triplets of the three unknown primary variables e:i),ef)and 0 which must be determined for each of the N ): control volumes that define the entire solution domain :
u = ( u , v u 2 vu, ............... U N ) T v

(32)

Since the exact definitions for the primary variables may be indeed different for each CVwithin the mesh, some careful housekeeping must be maintained during the execution of such complicated heat and mass transfer simulation codes. Finally, in order to obtain valuesfor all state variables at the (n+Z)* time levelthe system F(u) = 0 must be resolved. 4.1 Resolution Strategy and Pseudo-Code The basicresolutionstrategy for the system of non-linearequationsdiscussed above canbe summarised by the followingPseudo Code l :
Phase 1 : Time step advancement

Do While (current-drying-time I maximum-drying-time)

update current-drying-time by current-time-step-value

Do CV = 1, Number-of-CVs

Determine the exact dving state of this CV Save existing valuesf the three unknown state variables 8 , l) o (e,, , C, Compute the Conservative quantities (yw, y6 at n time level Ye, ) * o o for Compute estimatesf the valuesf the unknown state variables the (n+l)* time level
End do

Strategies and Eficient Resolution Techniques

Phase 2 :Outer Iteration
initialise the Outer Iteration Strategy

27

Do While (not. Conserved .and. number-of-iterations < maximum-iterations)

Linearise the non-linear equation according to Outer Iteration Strategy set

Phase 3 :Inner Iteration

Perjorm theInner Zteration Strategy by solving the linearised Sparse Matrix System If the matrix solutionfailed or i f a non-physical state one of the primary for variables has been detected, thenflag Reduce-timestep otherwise ifsystem has converged and conservation satisjed is set Conservedflag to be true End Do If (no-of-outer-iterations Maximum-allowable .or. Reduce-timestep) then Call Reduce-time-step (current-time-step-value) reinstate old state variable values Else Col1 Output-state-variable-values Call Increme-time-step (current-time-step-value) EndIf

End Do

Pseudo Code 1 :Resolution of the Non-Linear FunctionSet

From this pseudo-code it is possible to identifjl three distinct phases: Phase l , which concerns the time step advancementof the state variables in time from their initial states until the required drying time is realised; Phase 2, which concerns the Outer Iterution or linearisation of the non-linear function set; and finally Phase 3, which concerns the Inner Iteration that seeks the solution of the resulting linear sparse matrix system. Convergence phase of 2 is based some on measuring technique which determines the accuracy of the conservation law balances across the time step.
4.2 Compled or Uncoupled Solution Strategies

There are two possibilities for solving the non-linear function set F(u) defined in equation (31). First, it is possible to solve this system as it stands, retaining the complete coupling effects that exist amongst the conservation equations for each control volume. Second, the conservation equations can be uncoupled into three individual non-linear function sets, each of which is solved separately, and then krther iteration applied in orderto treat the outer couplingeflects that prevail for these three equations. In this section these two techniques are discussed briefly.

28

Turner and Perrk

Coupled Strategy

Thecompletecoupledsolutionstrategyissummarisedin the pseudo code 1 presentedabove. It canbeseenfromthat codethat the systemofnon-linear fbnctions is of order 3X N and a large sparse matrix system results during each linearisation phase. However, if this sparsematrix is viewedentirelyas a blockmatrix, then it represents an N x N block matrix having internal sub-blocks of size 3x 3 . The efficient resolution of this type of system can be expensive and the choice of a good iterativetechniquewhich takes into account the inherentblock nature is imperative. Althoughthe coupled strategy does require large amounts computer of storage to deal with the solution of the non-linear equation set, all of the coupling that exists amongst the equations is treated precisely during each iteration.
UncoupledStrategy

The three uncoupled systems of non-linear knctions are defined as follows

where the vector sets , uc and uaare defined by U

and
U ,
U, U,

= (UWI v , vu, ,............... U W N I T ; u, U

= (Ue1 VU,> vu,, ............... KNIT U = (Ua1 UU, UU,, ............... K N I T , U

(3 5)

The superscripts *)and in equation (34) indicate respectively that the values of the primaryindependentvariables to beusedduring the computations are the values at the previous p iteration level or the most up to date values that are available during the current iteration cycle@+I). The definition usedfor the set of

and Strategies Resolution Techniques ESficient

29

secondary variables remains unchanged. In order to explain the strategy used to resolve these uncoupled equations more succinctly, the following Pseudo Code 2 for the outer and inner iteration phases utilised : is
Phase 2.0:Outer Iteration for Complete Coupled System
initialise the Outer Iteration Strategyfor each non-linearfunction set

Do While (not. Conserved .and. number-of-iterations maximum-iterations)

The Outer Coupling Loop is iterated until the overall changes in all primary variables are assumed small enough to ensure conservation for the total complete coupled system

Phase 2.1:Solution of the Liquid Conservation Equation

Do While (not. Liquid-Conservation-Satisfied) Linearise the non-linear equation set

F ,

(U,

) according to Outer Iteration

Strategy.Note that the values of the primary variables 0;) and 0:) used during this phase are thevalues obtained at the end of the previous Outer coupling loop iteration Phase 3.1:Inner Iteration forF,
(U,)

Perform the Inner Iteration Strategy by solving the linearised Sparse Matrix Point System the unknownsOii) for

End Do
Phase 2.2:Solution of the Energy Conservation Equation
Do While (not. Energy_Conservation-Satisjied)

Linearise the non-linear equation set

F (U,) according toOuter Iteration ,

Strategy.Note that the values of the primary variables 0:) used during this phase are thevalues obtainedfiom phase 2. l , while thevalues used for the previous Outer primary variable 0; are thevalues obtained at the end of the coupling loop iteration Phase 3.2: Inner Iteration F, (U,) for
Perfrm the Inner Zteration Strate@ by solving the linearised Sparse Matrix Point Systemfor the unknowns0:)

End Do

30
Phase 2.3 :Solution of the Air Conservation Equation

Turner and Perre

D o While(not. Air-Conservation-Satisfied)

Linearise the non-linear equation set F, (U,) according toOuter Iteration Strategv. Note that the values ofthe primary variables Ofi and 0;) used during this phase are the values obtained at the end ofphases 2.2 2. I and respectively
Phase 3.3 :Inner Iterationfor

F, (U,)

Perform the InnerIteration strategy by solving the linearised Sparse Matrix Point System the unknowns 0; for

End Do
End D o

Pseudo Code2 :Uncoupled Solution Strategy

From this pseudo code it clear is that three individual matrix solutions are necessary and extra iteration, in comparison with the coupled method, is required to converge the internal phases 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3. Although the internal point sparse matrix systems are smaller than that obtained for the completely coupled solution strategy, the amount of work required to converge these inner systems for each unknown primary variable together with the iterations required to treat the outer coupling effects becomes expensive. Nevertheless, if computer memory is limited this type of solution strategymay be preferred. Previousresearch by the authors hasprovenwithout a doubtthat the tight coupling that prevails amongst the three conservation laws, for modelling wood drying, can cause the processing time of the uncoupled technique to be extremely poor and found that the coupled solution strategy was far more efficient. by
4.3 Outer Iteration The Solution of the Non-Linear Equations

In this section the techniques used to solve the non-linear function are set discussed. There aretwo basic methods that can be implemented. The first method, which is known as Fixed Point Iteration, proceeds to linearise the non-linear equationset by freezing the non-linearcoefficients that exist in the discretised conservation equations at the previous iteration level. The second method, which is known as the Newton Method, employs the complete Newton technique onthe system of non-linear equations and solves the Jacobian system at each iteration in order to obtain a correction which is subsequently added to the current solution vector. The fixed point method provides what is called first order convergence, while the Newtonmethodprovides secondorderconvergence. It is,however,

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possible to increase the convergence rate offered by the fixed point method to a super-linear variant by linearising some of the more complicated non-linear terms within the equations, for example, the boundaryconditions [perre andMoyne, 1991; Turner, 1993a-b; Ferguson and Turner, 1994a-b].
4.3.1 Fixed Point Iteration Freezing the Coeficients

R c l the form of the discretisation equation (29). In order to perform the fixed eal
point outer iteration strategy, this equation must be cast into an exact form which contains only coefficients that multiply linear combinations of the unknown three independent primary variables 0 , , 8. In order to achieve this task, recall , 0and , that any differential operator D which operates on a fbnction S2(0,,0,,0,) can be written in terms of the three independent variablesas follows :

This definition allowsthe following inner product be realised to

where the operator Ln represents the partial derivative of hnction L?evaluated the spatially at the pointj and in time at the iteration level). The vector results as an artefact of the numerical discretisation of the operator D and, in general, can be written as theproduct of a coefficient which definesthe geometric factors involved with the discretisation, together withsometype of linearcombination of the discrete independent variables at the CV node (P)and its adjacent neighbours. The partial derivatives

ae

in equation (36)

must be determined analytically

or

evaluated numerically. Using terminology, this equation can (19) precisely in terms the independent primary variable set follows : of as

be written

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where the vector = The of the form terms (u)L:, for example, now not only combinethe non-linearities and geometricfactors described previously, but contain partial derivative terms which also must be evaluatedthe at chosen integration point on the CV faces. Note that all of these coefficients are evaluated at the Ph iteration cycle and as such equation (37) represents a linear algebraicequation.When the three conservation equations are linearisedin the same manner as described by equation (37) the following linear system of equations must be resolved for eachCV :
Nb

(Ily,(32y,fj3y)T.

APGp= x A N b J 6 N+gup bj
,=l

In equation (38), the right-hand side vector

sup the relevant source term contains

contributions and boundary condition information that or may not be specified may for each CV. The matrices A, and ANbjhave dimension (3 x 3) and contain the linearisedcoefficientexpressionswhich are highlightedin equation (37). When these equations are applied to each of the N control volumes within the computation mesh, a largeblocksparsematrixsystemresults.In fact, for a rectangular two-dimensional solution domain where the mesh is constructed from rectangular CV. and ordered naturally across the short side of the domain, this matrix can be viewed as a blockpentadiagonal system having five distinct block bands. In this case a number of classical block solution methods are available to solve the algebraic matrix system [Perre and Degiovanni, 1990; Turner, 1993a and Turner and Perre, 19951.
4.3.2 Full NewtonIterationandEfficientStrategiesforConstructing Jacobian Matrix

the

TheNewtonmethodsolves the non-linear hnction set F(u) byemploying a truncated multi-dimensional Taylor series. The estimate of the solution vector at the @+l)' level is computed fromthe current solution atthe nthlevel by writing

and solvingthe system of linear equations

for the correction vector 6u. In equation(40), J represents the Jacobian matrix.

and Strategies

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Before being able to utilise this numerical technique, the entries of the Jacobian matrix must be evaluated either analytically or numerically at the values of the current solution vector U("). As has been highlighted earlier within this text, the non-linear knctions which representthe discrete form ofthe conservation lawsare extremely complicated and as such, the manual determination ofthe derivatives of these expressions is not onlytedious but also extremely error prone. Therefore, if the Newton method is going to be a competitive alternative compared with the fixed point iterative scheme, the construction of the Jacobian must be generated efficiently numerical by differentiation. Furthermore, since it is expensive an endeavour to evaluate the non-linear functions, the numerical derivatives must be computedusing as few finction evaluations as possible,whilestillmaintaining reasonable accuracy the derivatives. for

An efficient and effective strategy for accomplishing this task has been reported
previously in the literature by Forsyth and Simpson [1991]. Basically, in terms of the terminology utilised in this text, the scheme proceedsas follows : The non-liear discrete conservation law functions are written in the form

where the vector v j =(91p,92p,93p,91nbJ,92nbl,03nbl)T value, and Y "is the , which is constantthroughout all Newtoniterations, of the conservedquantity evaluated atthe n* time level. The expression f/ux&,,,,blrepresents the discrete value of the conservation flux through the CV facej. The i* row of the Jacobian matrix will contain, recallingthat the final form of this matrix will be block structured with each sub-block having dimension x 3), the (3 aFi aFi aFi block the derivatives derivatives --- in the diagonal and

ae,p'ae,,

laggp

aFi aFi aFi ---in the off diagonal blocks. The exact locations in either the
aglnbl ' "2nb] ' lower or upper triangular parts of the Jacobian matrix for these off diagonal terms depends on the mesh ordering used.

Numerical determination f the derivatives with respect the CVnode P: o to

The diagonal block derivatives, for k = 1, 2 and 3 , are computed numerically as follows :

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where, by defining the vector 6 = (e,p,e,p,e3p)Tthe vectors 86, and 6Vk as and vectors which have all components zero except for the kth element which has the value of a differencing scalar 68, , the partial derivatives are evaluated using the following first order accurate numerical differencing expressions :

Numerical determination o the derivatives with respect to the CVnode nb, : f

The offdiagonal block derivatives, for k = 1, 2 and 3 , are computed numerically as follows :

aFi -aeknb,

- -6t

a(

IW(p,nbJ) aeknbj

( j

1)

(44)

where these derivatives are evaluated numerically by using the differencing expression

It is important to point out some interesting facts which make this technique for constructing the Jacobian both attractive and efficient to implement. First, as a consequence of the conservative property of the control volume scheme, flux@,,b,= -f/ux(nb,p) , the derivatives through a common CV face between two neighbouring CVs can be determined very efficiently without hrther flux evaluations as :

and Strategies

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because these derivatives have been calculated previously through evaluation of the the approximations givenin (43). Second, since it is already necessary to generate the non-linear function setfor the computation of the right hand side of equation (40), representing (3 x N) function evaluations, it can be shown that the entire Jacobian can be constructed with just one further (3 x N) set of function calls.Note that this result holds independentof the dimension ofthe problem under consideration. Although the values of the numerical shift factor 68, may be in fact different for each primary variable, the non-dimensional scaling employed in this work ensures that all variables are of approximately the same order of magnitude q l ) and in this case a uniformvalue for this factor canbeemployed.Typically, through experience, the authors haveused a value of 68, = 10 andalwaysobserved quadratic convergence for the Newton iteration. The final comment concerning this technique relates to some of the correlating functions, for example capillary pressure, which may have infinite derivatives at critical points throughout the drying process. It is imperative in the cases where such conditions arise to smooth the derivatives by implementing simple interpolation methods.
4.3.3 Ways to Achieve Super-Linear Convergence

The convergence rate of the fixed point scheme discussed in section 4.3.1 can be accelerated bylinearisingsome of the morecomplicatedandhighlynon-linear terms which exist withinthe discretisation equations.For example, source term and boundary condition expressions could be linearised by using a truncated Taylor to adjust the series in time so that the resultingderivativetermscanbeused diagonal block elements of matrix A p , which was discussed above in equation the (38), in order to increase the diagonal dominance of this system and consequently accelerate the convergence of the linearised algebraic equations. Consider, as an example, the boundaryconditionfunctions F,,,@, ,e,,e,) which are included within the right hand side vector gupof the equations (38) for each BCV. These functions, which should be evaluated implicitly in terms of the independent state variables, are linearised in time as follows :

. .

The derivative terms which multiply the implicit values of the state variables are added to the diagonal terms of the matrices and all remaining terms retained in A,

36

Turner and Per&

the vector 8,. It hasbeenfoundthatthistypeoflinearisation strategy can increase the convergence ofthe fixed point scheme substantially and in some cases provide super-linear convergence. Consequently, the authors thoroughly recommend the use of such linearisation procedures with fixed point method. the 4.4 Inner Iteration :The Solution of the Sparse Matrix Equations

From the discussionpresented insection 4.3 it is now apparent that iterative solution methods for the solution of large block sparse matrix systems must be discussed.Theexactsolutionstrategy to employ for the inneriterationphase depends on a number of different factors, which include : mesh structure, mesh ordering, the condition of the matrix, the outer iteration technique used and the sparsity pattern of the matrix. It is not always obvious which method is the best one to implement. In this section two different methods are described. The first scheme, whichprimarily is applicable for only a five control point volume differencing stencil, usesthe Alternating Direction Line Successive Over-relaxation (ADLSOR) method. This scheme, since it is based on a variant of the Successive Over-Relaxation method, requiresthe matrix to be well conditioned and diagonal dominant a condition which is guaranteed when the fixed point iterative scheme with linearisation of sources and boundary conditions is employed for the outer iteration. The second set of schemes are based on the conjugate gradient method and are far more flexible thanthe ADLSOR method because they can be appliedto any type of sparse matrix system independent of its structure and condition. Infact, these type of solvers also can be used for the unstructured mesh control volume techniques which adopt higher order discretisation methods for the gradient approximations.Furthermore, the schemes are said to beunaffectedby outer iteration strategies that are based on either fixed pointor Newton iteration andthis makes this family of solvers one of the most popular in use today. The conjugate gradient solverBi-CGSTAB will be analysed in this work. In order to improve the efficiency convergence and rates of this solver a varietyofpreconditioning techniques will be examined.

4.4.1 Storage of the Sparse Matrix

The storage of the linear sparse matrix system which results from the linearisation of the non-linear equations discussed above section in 4.3 is extremely an significant issue and the exact form of the data structure depends on the following two important facts : the simplicity of multiplying the sparse matrix by a vector, and the ease of implementing or applying the preconditioning technique for the Conjugate Gradient scheme.

Strategies and Eficient Resolution Techniques

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In the literature it is possible to findreference to a number of differing data

structures which can be used for these tasks, for example the Yale Sparse Matrix Package pisenstat et al, 19771, ITPACK [Kincaid et al, 1 8 1 or PCGPACK 92 [described in Press et al, 19921.In this work, because the sparse matrix is block one structured and LU type factorisations will be utilised as of the preconditioning methods, it was decided to store the matrixin three contiguous vectors named Diagonal, Laver and Upper so that lower and upper block multiplications could be processed in a straightforward manner. In order to characterise completely this data structure, two firther vectors are used LUqtrs, which defines the starting positions of the rows in Laver and the columns in Upper; and LUqrofZe, which defines the actualprofileof these blocks in the sparsematrix.For a simple illustration of this data structure, consider the following example for a 4 x 4block matrix, where each of elements are 3 X 3 sub-matrices : the

In this case, the contents of the data structure would be as follows :

From the L U q t r s vector it is possibleto see thatthere are zero lower blocksin the first row of thesparse matrix; onein the second row, startingat block location 1 in the Laver block vector; one in the third, starting at position 2 and two blocks in the fourth, located at positions 3 and 4.The same is true for the locations of the columns stored in the Upper block vector. The vectorLUqro)le simply indicates the column(for the lowerblocks) or the row(for the upperblocks)profile associated with each block.For example, lower blockL] a profile index of 1 has since it is located in column one of the original sparse matrix. Further, upper block [v3] also has a profileindexof 1 becauseitresidesinrow one of the sparse matrix. M e r some thought, itispossible to deriveanentiresuiteofalgorithms to manipulatethis data structure andin particular, to performboth matridvector

38

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multiplications and efficiently apply all ofthe preconditioning methods which will be discussed in section4.4.4.
4.4.2 Alternating Direction Line Successive Over-Relaxation ADLSOR

For the discussion of the ADLSOR iterative solution method of the sparse matrix
system, a structuredmeshwillbeadoptedandtheclassicalfivepointstencil control volume method [patankar, 19801 based onthe P-EWNS notation applied to illustrate the overall iterative strategy. In this case sparse matrix can be defined the precisely as a block penta-diagonal matrix and equation (38) becomes :

The block ADLSOR method proceeds by sweeping along the lines ofthe computational grid alternating from traversing throughthe lines bounded between the West and East faces of the solution domain, to traversing the domain in the direction of South to North. This alternate sweeping strategy seeks to propagate the exchange boundary information quickly throughout the entire numerical solution [Turner, 1993al. The heart of this line solver method is solution of an the equivalentone-dimensionalproblemalongeachlineof the mesh.Thus,itis necessary to employ a block tridiagonal solver or an eleven banded matrix solver [Turner, 1993al to resolve efficiently this type of matrix system. Both of these methods are based of LU factorisations, however, the block form of the Thomas Algorithm treats theblock structure directly, while the banded matrix solver treats the matrix in scalar point form. Each of the techniques has its relative advantages and disadvantages, although,the block solution technique is closest in spirit to all other solution methods analysed throughout this text.

In terms of equation (50) theiterativemethodissummarised

direction as follows :

for eachsweep

J=

Strategies and Eficient Resolution Techniques

39

J=

M e r the solution for Gy')has been computed along a line it can be over-relaxed by application ofthe following equation every point along line : at the

where the relaxation parameter o must be bounded, 0 < o c 2 . This parameter is a key parameter to be used in the Fixed point scheme. In fact, it is possibleto devise a numericalschemewhich, by monitoring the convergencebehaviour of the algebraicequations,canprovide a reasonableapproximation for this parameter [PerrkandDegiovanni,1990;TurnerandFerguson,1995bl.Thevalueof o is chosen in order to provide an alternating convergent series and the appropriate choice of this parameter can ensure both a fast convergence rate and a solution that always converges towards the truesolution of the system.
4.4.3 Conjugate Gradient Schemes

Given that the linear (Nx N) sparse matrix system to be resolved for each inner linearisation step is of the form Ax = b and some form of initial solution vector d o ) is available, the Conjugate Gradient scheme seeks to minimise the quadratic fbnction Rx) defined as follows : f(x) = "x'Ax
2
1

- x'b

(54)

where the gradient of fix) is Vf = Ax - b . The minimum value being the solution of the linear system. In achieving this goal,a sequence of search directions d m ) are constructed and subsequently employed so as to minimise the hnction f(x'") -m('")) the 2'"') direction, where the parameter a is appropriately along defined. The power of this scheme is that theoretically, the minimiser is achieved after exactly N iterations. Unfortunately, thisquite straight forward algorithm can beappliedonly to systemswhichhave the matrix A symmetricandpositive definite. h general, and especially the problems under consideration in this for text, the matrix A is indeed not guaranteed to satisfl this property and a generalisation of the Conjugate Gradient Algorithm must be sought.

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One of the most popular generalisations of the Conjugate Gradient Method isthe Bi-Conjugate Gradient Method which is described in detail in press et al, 19921. However, one of the drawbacks of that algorithm is the need to manipulate the transpose matrix AT. A number ofdifferentLanczosbasedKrylovsub-space methods has been developed from the Bi-Conjugate Gradient method in order to improve the overallpropertiesof that scheme.Inparticular,Sonneveld [l9891 developed the Conjugate Gradient Squared scheme which actually eliminated the need for computingAT.However,it hasbeendemonstrated that both the BiConjugate Gradient Method and Conjugate the Gradient Squared Method exhibited oscillations of the residual vector during convergence and this led to numericalinstabilityof the algorithm. In 1992 van der Vorst proposed the BiConjugate Gradient Stabilised Scheme, which is also variant of the Bi-Conjugate a GradientMethodbut similar to theConjugateGradientSquaredMethod, by employing steepest descent steps at each iteration in order to provide a smooth convergence behaviour. This schemeby far oneof the most popular inuse today, is having been implemented for a wide variety of problemsin both mathematical physics and engineering. Furthermore, this scheme has been used successfilly for multi-phase flow problems in porous media [Forsyth, 19941 where the Newton Scheme was employed as the outer iteration strategy. Bearing all of these facts in mind, and noting the simplicity and ease of implementation of this algorithm, BiCBSTAB was selected for all of the tests performed in this work. Furthermore, unlike the GMRES algorithm, there is no need to store large amounts of historical information concerning orthogonalisations and in this sense the algorithm is also memory efficient. It isbeyond the scope of this text to provide a complete synopsis of the BiConjugate Gradient Stabilised Method and the interested reader is referred to van der Vorst [l9921 for all the finer details of the scheme, together with the overall algorithm.
4.4.4 Preconditioners

In an attempt reduce the condition number of the sparse matrix A, the system of to equations is premultiplied by a preconditioning matrix P,which is easily invertible and a good approximation to A". Thus, instead of solving the system Ax = b , the solution to the modified system (PA)x = Pb is sought. The choice of a good preconditioning matrix can often lead to a reduction in the number of iterations required to converge the chosen conjugate gradient scheme and hence, offers an efficient solution method which reduces substantially the overall computation time of the linear solver.

and Strategies

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In the search for the best preconditioning matrix it is necessary to find a good approximation to A-' such that the memoryoverheadandcomputingcostper iteration are small. Infact, it is possibleto use any of the classical iterative schemes as a preconditioner and in this instance, the complete linear solver for the inner iteration stage of the non-linear solver can be viewed as two step procedure with a an inner loop based on a simple classical iterative scheme acting as a preconditioner for an outer loop of the Bi-CGSTAB method. In another context, the conjugate gradient solver issimply being used to accelerate the convergence of the classical iterative scheme.
In the most general case, the so called classical iterative schemes are constructed by deriving a suitable splitting of matrix A = P Q where P is easily invertible: the

Px=Qx+b-sPx=(P-A)x+b=Px+r
and r is the residual vector defined by r = b - Ax. This splitting leads following definition of iterative schemes: the

(55)

to the

The possible choicesfor the matrix P range fromthe Richardson's method for P=I through to a completelydirectmethodwhen F A . A completespectrum of iterative schemes can be defined within this range and the particular forms of the 5. matrix P chosen for investigation in this research are summarised below in Table Preconditioner . Jacobi Gauss Seidel Successive Over-Relaxation SOR Form ofthe Splitting Mat& P=D P=D+L

Symmetric SOR SSOR

P = (;+L) .=(;+.)&(;+U)
. .

P = iLU(0) Incomplete LU Factorisation - ILU(0) Table 5 :Preconditioners used in this Work

FromTable 5, it be can seen that the over-relaxationparameter omust be specified for the SOR and SSOR preconditioners. For the tests carried out here, fixed values for this parameter are used. However, may be possible to allow this it parameter to evolve according the convergence behaviour of linear system in to the a similar fashion to that described by Turner and Ferguson [1995b]. Further, only Incomplete Factorisation levelzero has been selected for comparison in this study. For ILU(0) the structure of the decomposed matrix ILU is consistent with the structure of the original A matrix and no extrafill is added. However, it could well

42

Turner and Perre'

be that higher order IncompleteFactorisations (LW&)for k = 1,2, .....) may provideoptimalresultsundercertainconditions,see for example[Behieand Forsyth, 1984 or D'Azevedo et al, 19921 for hrther details on the technique of higher order incomplete factorisations and the performance of these preconditioning methods.
4.5 Handling changes inthe drying statesat the Fibre Saturation Point

In this work, because the porous material under investigation is softwood, it is necessary to introduce the concept of boththe Fibre Saturation Point, X and the , moisture contentX. The first definition that will be utilised within model is that the above the level of X liquid exists mainly in the free state, while below it, the , liquid is in only the bound state. Following on from this definition, the dry basis moisture content adopted for use the model can be defined accordingly: in

The prevailing drying conditions will dictate the value ofthe equilibrium moisture content h. The generalised drying equation (16) is highly non-linear since the kinetic coefficients depend very strongly on the independent system variables along with properties of the porous media. In orderto overcome the difficultiesinvolved with the step changes that occur in the coefficients due to the moisture content definition (57), a smoothingtechnique must employed be within the Kinetic coefficients in order to allow the transition of moisture from aboveto below X,, to be treated by a stable numerical solution procedure. InWood2D this problem is overcome by use of an approximationto the Heaviside Function. For example given :

K, =

Kxf Kxb

, x>x,p , X, I X S X ,
be

then by introducing the Heaviside Function H($, the kinetic coefficient can compactly rewritten as :

where H(x) can be expressed as a limit

and Strategies

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and canbe approximated for large values of n.

Transpore uses a similar smoothing technique based on third with zero derivatives at 0 and lln for large n.

order polynomials

If such smoothing techniques are not employed within the model framework then the performance of the numerical simulation code can be decreased substantially. In particular, it can be observed that as the solutions reach and pass through the X,, , a significant reduction inthe time step occurs and further, the quality of the solutions, particularly for the pressure variable, may become oscillatory in nature due to the alternating state changesthatcontinuallyarise asthe liquidphase fluctuates between the free liquid and bound liquid states. The authors conclude that this smoothing technique essential is for both an effective efficient and numericalresolutionstrategyanditsuseishighlyrecommended.However,it shouldbenoted that oscillationsin the solutionscanbealso due to spatial discretisation and in particular, the ability of the discretisation scheme to capture correctly the changes that occur in the slope of the steep dryingfronts.
4.6 Convergence and Time-Step Adaptation Strategies

Recall that the primary objective of the non-linear equation set defined above in equation (31) is to predict the evolutionarybehaviour of the state variables throughout the drying process. The choice of an appropriately sized time step and the detection of a sufficiently converged solution are essential ingredients in the influence time step advancement of the solution. Both of these factors can enormously the performance of the simulation code. Typically, the process of time step advancement proceeds follows as

(1) Based on the quality of the current solution and the convergence behaviour of the non-linear equations, select a provisional time step for which the solution is to be advanced.
(2) Byusinginformationobtainedfrom the current andlastsolutions,make a guess of the solutionthis at provisional time step by using a simple

extrapolation in time.

(3) Using this initial estimate of the solution, together with the selected combination of both outer and iteration inner strategies, endeavour to converge the solution at the new time level.

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(4) If the scheme converges, accept the provisional time step and return to (2) above, otherwise the provisional time step is modified, by usually halving the rejected time step, and then return to (2) attempting to converge the solution at this modified time level.

The calculation of the provisional time step usually involvesa quite complex set of parameters which involve an analysis of the convergence rate properties of the current solution. A good overview of various time step size selection techniques can be found in Forsyth and Simpson [l9911 and the cited references in that article. The convergence ofthe non-linear equations is monitored by analysing closely the overall conservation of the drying system using one of the following rules : (a) requiring some measure of the evolution of each of the state variables to be less than a prescribed tolerance, which in fact may be different for each variable; or (b) using an appropriately weighted sum of state variable measures to be less than the a single error tolerance. Both schemes have been implemented by the authors and each appears to capture adequately a conserved state of the conservation balance laws. It should be noted that the Newton scheme permits the conservation of the equations to be analysed exactly. Another parameter that is used in the monitoring of the convergence of the nonlinear equations is the maximumnumber ofallowableiterationsof the outeriteration. The equations are considered to be converged if the convergence criterion is reached within a specified maximum iteration limit. If the convergence criterion can not be attained within this limit, then the provisional time step is rejected.

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In this section the performance of the numerical schemes discussed throughout section 4 will be analysed and compared for different drying configurationsso that the best combinations of both inner and outer iteration strategies can be identified. The focus of this section will be on studying the efficienciesoffered by each numerical method and rather than presenting an in depth debate on the physics of the drying process, only general overview of drying kineticsfor each analysed a the case will be provided. Nevertheless, references be made to the kinetic curves in will order to emphasise some important aspects of the simulations. It should be noted that the work presented in chapter 2 of this book provides wealth of information a on the application of the drying model across a wide variety of drying conditions, for two different types ofporousmedia.Thereaderisasked to refer to that chapter for the moreintricatedetailsof the physics, as well as the numerous discussions on both the accuracy and validityof the model.

and Strategies Resolution Techniques ESficient

5.1 DryingCaseStudiesandanEtliciencyStudy Iteration Strategies

45

of the Inner and Outer

In order to assist withthe identification of the optimal numerical solution strategies to be used during the simulation of the drying process, two completely different softwood drying case studies have been selected and these summarised in Table are 6 below. The first case study (Case Study I), which concerns drying at low temperatures, imposes the constraintthatthewoodsamplecanbemodelled as anisotropic medium across the tangential and radial directionsof the sample, since in this plane the anisotropy is ratio relatively small. longitudinal is The flow inhibited by insulating the end-pieces of the board. Furthermore, the simulations are computed on structured, uniform meshesof different intensities. The two meshes used for the analysis are of size lox 20 (200 CV,), shown in Figure 5% and 20x40 (800 CV.), shown in Figures 5b, respectively.

l Properties Drying at Low Temperatures, Isotropic Medium, Uniform Mesh o size 10 X 20 f

Drying at Low Temperatures, Isotropic Medium, Uniform Mesh o size 20 X 40 f Drying Temperatures, at High Anisotropic Medium, Nonuniform Meshof size 10 X 21

D v i n g at Temperatures, High Anisotropic Medium, Nonuniform Mesho size 2 x 41 f 1 Table 6 : Drying Case Studies

The drying conditions used for the isotropic simulations are given in Table 7 . The permeability curves used for the simulations are those summarised in Table 2 and all other parametersandcorrelating hnctions canbefoundin the appendix of chapter 2. The aspect ratio of the computation domain is 2:l in the T-R crosssection andthe permeability ratio is1:1 for the isotropic medium.

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lnltial Moisture Lontent Initial Temperature Cross-sectional area of the Wood in the tangential and radial directions (T-R) Air Characteristics

150% 30 "C 0.05m xO.lm

Dy bulb temperature of 80 "C r Wet bulb temperature of 65 "C Air velocity o f 2 m s-'

Strategies and ESficient Resolution Techniques

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i i
Figure 6 :Computational Meshes used for simulating the High Temperature Drying of a Sample of wood modelled as an Anisotropic medium. (a) 10x21 (210 CVs) and (b) 21x41 (861 CVs) Moreover, it has been demonstrated previously that these types of meshes offer a number of advantages when simulating the wood drying process [Perrd and Degiovanni, 1990 and Turner and Perre, 19951. The two meshes used for the analysis, which are exhibited in Figures 6a and 6b, are of sue 10x21 (210 CVs) and 21x 41 (861 CVs) respectively.

D$ng Conditions and Material Properties Initial Moisture Content Initial Temperature Cross-sectional area of the Wood in the tangential and longitudinal directions @-TI Air Characteristics

1
Values used for the Computations
125% 30 "C

0.05m x 0 S m Dry bulb temperature of 160"C Wet bulb temperature of 99 "C Air velocity of 10 m i '

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The drying conditions employed for the computations are given in Table 8. The permeability curves used for the simulations are again those summarised in Table 2 and as before, all other parameters and correlating hnctions can be found in the appendix of chapter 2. The aspect ratio of the computation domain is 10:1 in the LT cross-section and the permeability ratio is 1000:1 for the anisotropic medium. In fact, these case studies represent two extreme tests for the numerical code and provide an adequate basis for a complete study of the efficiencies of the Fixed Point (super-linear) and Newton Raphson non-linear equation solvers. Further, since the elements of the sparse matrices generated for each case can be significantly different in magnitude, due to the anisotropy ratio for case 2, the selected case studies also serve as good benchmark models for analysing the performance of the Bz-CGSTAB solver with various preconditioning techniques. In order to exhibit the overall drying kinetics for the isotropic and anisotropic test cases, the three-dimensional surface plots have been depicted in Figures 7-12. These figures show clearly and succinctly the evolution of the drying process. In Figures 7-9, (Case 1) snapshots of the drying process at 5,10,50 and 100 hours are presented, while in Figures 10-12, (Case 2) the drying times 1,3,5 and 7 hours are shown.

General Observations of the Drying Kinetics for Low Temperature Drying

An important phenomenon which occurs during low temperature wood drying

involves the appearance and evolution of an under-pressure within the board (see Figure 7 up to 10 hours). The amplitude of this under-pressure maximises in locations within the board where the moisture content is high (see Figure 8 at the same times). This phenomenon, which is primarily due to liquid extraction by capillarity, causes an expansion in the volume of the gaseous phase to arise and the medium tends to become subjected to partial vacuum. This effect can severely inhibit liquid extraction and can cause steep drying fronts to occur in the moisture profiles, Figure 8. In Figure 9 it can be observed that during the constant rate period, times up to 10 hours, the temperature remains constant at the wet bulb temperature of 65 "C, except at the corners of the board which are close to dry. Also during this period it is possible to observe that the moisture content reduces rapidly in both the transverse and radial directions, as a consequence of the low permeability. Once the falling rate period commences and the moisture content decreases below XFSP,see times greater than 10 hours, the temperature of the board steadily increases throughout and limits towards the dry bulb value of 80C. As the drying progresses the moisture distribution displays the usual distinct, uniform parabolic shape and eventually the pressure increases until only a small over-pressure exists inside the medium.

Strategies and EfSicient Resolution Techniques

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General Observations o the Drying Kineticsfor High TemperatureDrying f

During high temperature convective drying, where the wood temperature approaches and passes through the boiling point, rapid internal vaporisation causes an interesting heat and mass transport process to develop. Due to the strong anisotropy of wood, 1:1000 for the absolute permeabilities in this case, a swift migration of both liquid and gaseous phases occurs in the longitudinal sense of the board since it is the most permeable direction of the wood. The results presented in Figures 10-12 undoubtedly reflect the occurrence of this phenomenon. In this particular drying case only a short constant rate period is evident, see time at 2 hours, with the temperature remaining constant throughout at the boiling point, Figure 11, and the moisture content sharply decreasing in the transverse direction, Figure 10. The corresponding pressure curve, Figure 12, always exhibits an overpressure due to the elevated temperatures within the board that are established as a direct result of the superheatsd steam drying process. After 3 hours of drying, the longitudinal surface temperature begins to increase since the corresponding moisture content along those surfaces has passed through XFSPand is fast approaching the equilibrium value which is determined by the drying air characteristics. It is also clear that liquid is being driven efficiently towards the end-piece of the board (again refer to Figure 10). The process has now entered into the falling rate regime. Due to this moisture build up at the end-piece, an evaporative cooling effect keeps the temperature at that position close to the boiling point. It should be noted that at this stage a rather high over-pressure, due to increased temperature close to the longitudinal surfaces, exists within the wood. As the process continues, times up to 10 hours, the temperature increases rapidly towards the dry bulb temperature of 160C and as a result, the internal pressure elevates hrther. The moisture continues to migrate longitudinally, continuously feeding the end-piece where it finally exits the wood due to evaporation and as a consequence, it is possible to observe that the temperature at this location is still maintained at the boiling point. Eventually, times greater than 7 hours, the board begins to dry throughout and the moisture content distribution approaches the equilibrium value. The temperature all over the board increases and plateaus at the dry bulb temperature and the internal over-pressure still remains. Before the analysis of outer and inner iteration strategies is presented, it is worth mentioning that all tests carried out in this section were computed on a Pentium 9 0 M z Personal Computer with 16Mb of RAM and half a Giga-byte of disk space. A Fortran-90 compiler was used for the code compilations, however, the codes were primarily written in Fortran-77 with only some straightforward extensions to Fortran-90 used to assist with internal data-structures and code efficiency.

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-L

.?

100 hours

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Turner and Perre'

t o 5 0
5 hours
c

9)
%-

L O
5 0
$ 0

10 hours
c

2:u-

9)

L O 591
$ 0

50 hours
c

Qh

100 hours
-3

Figure 9 :Three-dimensional Temperature Profiles exhibitedat various times for Test Case 1.

Strategies and EfJicientResolution Techniques

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Best Outer Iteration Strategy

The first past of the study concerned the effectiveness of the outer iteration nonlinear equation solvers. The computational performances for Fixed point superthe linear variant and Newton schemes were compared the most difficult drying the for case, Case 2(b). The results of this test were astounding, see Table 9, with the Newton scheme being a clear winner on overall processing time and, as will be discussedlater,displayed far superiortimesteppingcapabilitiesthan the Fixed Point equivalent. It should be noted that, even though the Fixed point scheme used an efficient inner block ADLSOR solver, it was still much slower than the worst preconditioned version of the Bi-CGSTAB conjugate gradient inner solver tested with the Newton scheme (see Table 13). Typically, for all tests performed with these two outer iteration strategies, the Newton scheme found was to be approximately 8-12 times faster than the Fixed point scheme. However, in some more difficult drying conditions the speed up factor can be as high as 17 times. the constraint of being Note also that since the Jacobian matrix does not satisfy strictly diagonally dominant, it was found that utilising the ADLSOR method with the Newton scheme offered very poor computational performances and in some cases, converge was unable be achieved. to Solution Strate Com utation Time S Fixed Super Point Linear with Block 67542 ADLSOR Solver Newton Methodwith BILU(0) reconditionin used with Bi-GSTAB Table 9 :Summary of Results for Case for Different 2(b) Outer Iteration Schemes At first thought the cost of assembling the Jacobian matrix seems far too high for allowing the Newton technique to be considered as a viable contender in developing efficient an outer iteration solver. In fact, it is the second order convergence offeredby the scheme that provides benefit whichfar out weighs the a cost of this computational overhead. Furthermore, due to being a second order method, the scheme can provide time steps that, during some periods of drying the process, are 100 times higher thanthe ones usedfor the Fixed point scheme.

As a consequence of these findings, only a study of the inner iteration solver BiCGSTAB withdifferentpreconditionerswasundertaken for the Newton outer iteration strategy and the findings are reported in the following paragraphs.

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Turner and Perre'

1 hour

3 hours

5 hours

7 hours

Figure 10 : Three-dimensional Moisture Profiles exhibited at various times for Test Case 2.

Strategies andESficient Resolution Techniques

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1 hour

3 hours

5 hours

7 hours

Figure 11 : Three-dimensionalTemperatureProfilesexhibited times for Test Case2.

at various

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Turner and Perre'

1 hour

3 hours

5 hours

7 hours

Strategies andEficient Resolution Techniques

Best Inner Iteration Strategy

57

Using the Newton scheme as the outer iteration strategy, the inner iteration BiCGSTAB conjugategradienttechniquewas analysedusing the Jacobi, GaussSeidel, S.O.R., S.S.0.R and Block ILU(0) preconditioners. The performance of these solver combinations is summarised in Tables 10-13 for the two case studies listed above. In these tablesthe computation time in seconds, the number of outer Newton iterations and the number of Bi-CGSTAB inner iterations are listed. By studying closely all this valuable information, itis possible to analyse entirely the of performance benefits offered each of the preconditioners. by Tables 10 and 11 depict all of the results obtained case for study First 1. observationsfrom these tablesindicatethatwhen the heatandmasstransfer computations are canied out on a structured, regular grid the calculation times are quite acceptable with case l(a) requiring around 4 minutes and case l(b) requiring approximately 30 minutes for the optimal preconditioner. Furthermore, S.S.O.R. with relaxation factors close to 1.4for case l(a) and 1.6 for case l(b) appears to be the best preconditioning method, while the Jacobi (or block diagonal)preconditionerperforms the worst. TheBlock ILU(0) preconditioner Bi-CGSTAB conjugate gradient solver. also performswell in both cases with the

Preconditioner . 2omputation Newton Inner Time (S) teration: Iterations Jacobi 333.84 837 231 52 273.03 835 13399 Gauss-Seidel 264.35 835 12577 S.O. R. (0 = 1.2) 260.34 835 12191 S.O. R. (W = 1 4 .) 261.06 835 12269 S.O. R. (W = 1.6) 294.62 835 15425 S.O.R. (W = 1.8) 258.37 836 8131 S.S.0.R. (W = 1.0) 241.56 838 7031 S.S.O.R.(W = 1.2) 226.63 835 61 10 S.S.0.R. (W = 1.4) 227.83 838 S.S.O.R.(O= 1.6) 6155 247.1 1 821 S.S.O.R.(W= 1.8) 7558 6744 BILU(0) 229.32 835
for Case (a) with Bi-CGSTAB and various Preconditioners (small mesh) In spite of these findings, all of the tests performed for l(a) and (b) showed that the number of required Newton Iterations were about the same, indicating that the

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solutions of the linearised matrix system utilised by the outer iteration strategy were converged sufficiently for all preconditioners analysed. Indeed, the real benefits of the S.S.O.R. preconditioner can be seen the number of inner iterations in performed by the BCCGSTAB solver. The decrease in the number of inner solver iterations corresponds with the minimal processing time requiredfor the combined numerical solution technique. The conclusions from drawn this case study highlight that the S.S.O.R. preconditioner coupled with the Bi-CGSTAB inner solver, together with the Newton outer iteration technique offer the best computing times. The results also suggest that a method for estimating the optimal value of the relaxation parameter o for both the S.0.R and S.S.O.R. preconditioners during the iterations may be well worthwhile investigating.

-Preconditioner

>omputation Newton Inner Time (S) teration: Iterations

3395.50 2894.90 2791.54 2670.37 2583.64 2582.87 2371.68 2189.17 1890.97 1809.85 1856.54 2004.06 1358 1358 1358 1358 1358 1359 1358 1447 1412 1447 1380 1358 70892 46 168 44101 41677 39937 39921 25252 22132 18130 16770 17836 21 123

Sacobi Gauss-Seidel S.O. R. (0 = 1.2) S.0.R.(0 = 1.4) S.0.R.(0 = 1.6) S.O. (0 = 1.8) R. S.S.O. R.(0 = 1.0)l S.S.O.R.(O= 1.2) l S.S.O.R.(0 = 1.4)l S.S.O.R.(0 = 1.6)l S.S.O.R.(0 = 1.8), BlLU(0)

Table 11 :Summarv of Resul for Case (b) with Bi-CGSTAB and various Preconditioners (large mesh)
Tables 12and 13 exhibit the results obtained for case study2. It is clear fromthese tables that calculating the transport phenomena that arise in an anisotropic medium underextremedryingconditionsposes a realchallenge for the code and this explains the larger computations times, especially the large mesh, in comparison for with case 1. However, as opposed to the results presented for case 1 it can be , observed that the Block ILU(0) preconditioner performs the best - with case 2(a) requiring around 9 minutescomputation and of time case 2(b) requiring approximately 65 minutes.Thenextbestpreconditioner was S.S.O.R. with a relaxation factor close to 1.4 for 2(a) and around 1.2for 2(b). Further, for case 2, the Jacobi preconditioner was not the worst performer. In this case S.O.R. and

Strategies and ESficient

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S.S.0.R with relaxation factors of 1.8 for 2(a) and 2@) respectively, provided the
maximum number of inner iterations and consequently, required more processing times thanall of the other preconditioners tested.

Preconditioner

Jacobi Gauss-Seidel S.0.R.(0 = 1.2) S.O.R.(0 = 1.4) S.O.R.(W = 1.6) S.O.R.(W = 1.8) S.S.O.R.(W = 1.0) S.S. R.(W = 1.2) 0. S. S. (W = 1.4) R.0. S.S.O.R.(W = 1.6) S. 0.R.(W = 1.8) S. BILU(0)

Computation Newton Inner Time (S) teration: Iterations 1157.61 2880 85211
1042.37 1005.41 985.70 1014.75 1168.21 891.93 868.15 852.00 900.12 1075.66 564.31 2898 2855 2828 2909 2847 2847 2858 2815 2861 2867 2859 53 150 50419 49002 50490 65307 26672 25129 24568 27030 37521 6962

____

of Resul for Case [a) with Table 12 : Bi-CGSTAB and various Preconditioners (small mesh)
Closerobservation of Tables 1 and 13 againemphasises that the number of 2 Newton Iterations were similar for all tests and that the optimal number of inner iterations performed by the BCCGSTAB solver again corresponded exactly to the minimal processing time required for the combined numerical solution technique. The conclusions from case highlight drawn this study that the BILU(0) preconditionercoupledwiththe Bi-CGSTAB inner solver, together with the Newton outer iteration technique offer the best computing times for anisotropic media. It must also be noted that the selection of the relaxation factor for both the S.O.R. and S.S.0.R methods can have a significant impact on the performance of these preconditioning techniques.
of the BILU(0) Perhaps one explanation of the superior performance preconditionerfor the anisotropicdryingcaseiscloselyrelated to the varying magnitudes of the elements within the sparse matrix thatare influenced strongly by the large anisotropy ratio of the absolute permeabilities. For the isotropic case these corresponding terms in the sparse matrix are of similar magnitude and quite small. The error whichis generated with the incomplete factorisation technique appears inthiscase to bemuchlarger in comparison to the error whichis generatedduring the incompletefactorisation of the anisotropicequivalent. A possible solution for increasing the performance of the ILU preconditioner in case

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1 may well be to employ a higher order factorisation which seeks to minimise the error generated by the factorisation. For example, the use of BILU(1) or (2) could provide increased computational performances.

Preconditioner Jacobi Gauss-Seidel S. 0.R.(W = 1.2) S.O. (W = 1.4) R. S. R.(W = 1.6) 0. S.0.R.(W = 1.8) S.S.O.R.(W 1.0) = S. 0.R.(W = 1.2) S. S.S.0.R.(W = 1.4) S.S.O.R. (W = 1.6) S.S.O.R.(W = 1.8) B l l U(0)

>omputation Newton Inner Time (S) terations Iterations

18561.41 15510.79 15015.59 14669.34 14176.65 14360.43 ! 1192.27 10121.01 10592.49 11904.33 19001.48 3949.64 5718 5390 5425 5511 5432 5426 5496 53 14 5522 5452 5604 5386 367 186 237419 228214 221294 213033 216381 1 10908 98419 103224 120125 208652 21032

Table 13 :Snmmary of Results forCase 2(b) with Bi-CGSTAB and various Preconditioners(large mesh)

A final issue to be raised when drawing conclusionsfrom the overall results of the inner iteration technique presented above concerns node ordering scheme used the within the computational mesh. It must be stated clearly that the obtained results can change dramaticallyif the mesh is ordered differently,for example randomly, in comparison with the natural ordering scheme which was implemented here across the shortest dimension of the mesh. An investigation of the mesh ordering effect and the impact on the preconditioning methods will be presented in fbture research.
Analysis o the Resihal Reduction offered each preconditioner f by

In order to confirm the results presented in Tables 10-13, it was decided to study at a more refined level the efficiency of each of the preconditioners for the two extreme cases l(a) and 2(b) at two differentstages of thedryingprocess. The findings of this detailed study are summarised in Figures 13, and 14 for l(a) and Figures 15 and 16 for 2(b). The drying times used forthe analysis were at 5 and 50 hours for the isotropic case (see Figures 7-9) andat 1 and 5 hours for the anisotropic case (see Figures 13-12). These times correspond with the first and second drying periods,for which the drying mechanisms and consequently the flux migrationexpressions are completelydifferent.Thechange in the liquid flux

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the

expressionsfromabove to below X~spis important since can it impact magnitudes of the elements withinthe sparse matrix

E - % SSOR (m = 1.6) b-"B SSOR (m = 1.4) e----* SSOR (m = 1.2) &-A SSOR (m = 1.0) e" -E SOR (m= 1.8) m-- -ISOR (m=1.6) 0"". SOR (m= 1.4) *--V SOR (m = 1.2) Q----a Gauss-Siedel

+-"e SSOR (m = 1B )

Figure 13 :A comparison of the number of iterations required to reduce the residual norm for each preconditioner in Case l(a) for the first drying period.

e-- -e ILU(0) e--+SSOR (m = 1.E) E--= SSOR (m = 1.6) b - 4 SSOR (m 1.4) e----+ SSOR (m = 1.2) + SSOR (m = 1.O) A E - ~ SOR (m= 1.8) " l m-- -ISOR (m=1.6) *--a (IO 1.4) SOR +--v SOR (m = 1.2) o----a Gauss-Siedel o " - o Jacobi

10

20 Iterations

30

40

50

Figure 14 : A comparison of the number of iterations required to reduce the residual norm each for preconditioner in Case l(a) for the second drying period.

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For both cases, the matrix was stored and the Bi-CGSTAB solver iterated for 50 cycles for case study1 and100cyclesfor casestudy 2. TheFiguresshow a comparison of the number of iterations of the inner solver required to reduce the residual norm, plotted on the y-axis in log scale, for each preconditioning method. First observation of these figures emphasises the performance of the conjugate gradientsolver. It canbeseen that the residualnormcan be reduced to for the optimal preconditioning strategies in very few inner iterations. In fact, for case l(a), this reduction occurs within iterations 20 for the S.S.O.R. family of preconditioners, while for case 2@), the reduction takes approximately 10 iterations for the BILU(0) preconditioner.

e-- -4 ILU(O)
SSOR (W = 1.8) SSOR (W = l.6) b - 4 SSOR (W = 1.4) B----* SSOR (W = 1.2) 6-4 SSOR (W = 1.O) B- SOR ( W = 1.8) 4 m-- -4 SOR ( W = 1.6) 0"". SOR (m 1.4) ---V SOR (W = 1.2) o----I1 Gauss-Siedel "-0 Jacobi
*--S 6-4

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Iterations

Figure 15 : A comparison of the number of iterations required to reduce the residual norm for each preconditioner in Case 2(b) for the first drying period.
Further observation of these figures does in factconfirmmost of the findings summarised above for Tables 10-13, however, some more interesting conclusions canbedrawn.Inbothcases the performanceof the preconditioners can be identified within distinct groups and overall, the shape of the residual norm curves is oscillating substantially as the residual is being decreased. Indeed, the Jucobi preconditioner requiresthe most number of iterationsto reduce the norm, followed by the group of S.O.R. preconditioners which can be distinguished easily on the graphs. Theoptimal groups involvethe S.S.O.R. and BILU(0) preconditioners. However, for case 2(b), the BILU(0) preconditioner is clearly the best performer. The conclusion from this studythat the choice ofthe preconditioner is extremely is important for the efficiency of the inner iteration strategy. Eitherthe S.S.O.R. with

Strategies and Efficient Resolution Techniques

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optimal relaxation factor, or the BILU(0) preconditionersappear to perform adequately when coupled with the Bi-CGSTAB solver for both cases studied. test

-8 ILU(0) e--+ SSOR (m = 1 B ) #I"-# SSOR (a=1.6) ) " - - B SSOR (m= 1.4) e----* SSOR (m = 1.2) & 4 SSOR (m = 1 .O) B- SOR (m 1.8) 4 W- -I SOR (m= 1.6) O""0 SOR (m = 1.4) ---V SOR (m= 1.2) o----a Gauss-Siedel e-"o Jacobi

e--

20 10

30

40

50
Iterations

60

70

80

90

100

Figure 16 : A comparison of the number of iterations required to reduce the residual norm each for preconditioner Case for in 2(b) the second drying period.
Analysis o the Time Step for cases 1 , 2 and theFixed Point Method f used

The final analysis ofthe performance of each of the numerical schemes, presented graphically in Figures 17-19, comes from a study of the time step used for the FixedPointandNewtonschemesthroughout the computationof the drying process for the two extreme cases l(a) and 2@). The first comparison, perhapsthe more spectacular, shows clearly why Newton Scheme isfar more efficient than the the Fixed Point scheme. Over the drying period of hours, Figures 17 and 18, 10 the average time step used by the Newton scheme can range between 10-100 times larger than that used for the Fixed Point scheme. Furthermore, it can be seen that the size of the time step for both schemes appears equivalent throughout the first drying period and beginsto decrease at the conclusion of this period. However,for the Fixed Point schemethe time step fallsto a minimum of around 0.01 of a second and oscillates between 0.01 and 0.1 of a second for most of the second drying period. On the contrary, the time step for the Newton Scheme never falls below 1.0 secondandincreases to around 50 seconds,beforedecreasingslightly to capture the heatandmasstransferthatarisewhen the end-piece of the board becomes dry, see Figure 10 7 hours of drying. M e r this phenomenon has passed at the time step again increases to a maximum of around 100 seconds, as opposed to the rather low value of 1 second used for the Fixed Point scheme.

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10

8
U) v

R
U)

'

0.1

. . . . . . . . ..- _. -__ . . ..... . . . . . .

........

0.01

100

200

300

400

500

600

Drying time (minutes)

Figures 17 : Evolution of the TimeStepused by the Fixed PointOuter Iteration Solver throughout Drying Process for Case the Z(b)

100
v)

c
0 V

a .
c U)
' a

a ,

10

i=

1 0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Drying time (minutes)

Figures 18 : EvolutionoftheTimeStepused by the Fixed PointOuter Iteration solver throughout the Drying Process for Case 2(b)
For the isotropic case, Figure 19, the time step for the Newton scheme is shown always to increase, finally plateauing at the upper limit of 60 minutes which is

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imposed withinthe code. It is also possible to see that at the commencement of the second drying period the time step decreases quickly due to the large moisture fionts that are now evident withinthe medium, see Figure 8 at 10 hours of drying. Once the steepness of these fronts diminishes time step again rises rapidly. the All of the results of the time step analysis once more highlight the many benefits that are offered by the second order convergence provided the Newton scheme. by

E F

a ,

2 o
1000 1000 2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Drying time (minutes)

Figures 19 : Evolution of the Time Step used by the Newton Outer Iteration Solver throughout the Drying Process for Case l(a)

5.2 The Effect of varying Key Parameters within model the

A model which is based on a physical formulation f the involved phenomena can o be used only for simulation purposes when the underlying physical characteristics of the porous material have been measured during specific experiments. However, once the appropriate parameters are known, it is possible to simulate the behaviour of thematerial formany different drying configurations. Furthermore,it is possible to' examine the effect that changing some of the physical characteristics of the material can have the computed results [BenNasrallah and Perre,19881. on In the case of coupled heat and mass transfer in porous media the formulation of the model is quite complex and a complete physical description of the medium requires an in depth knowledge of numerous parameters, together with several correlating hnctions such as : capillarypressure;relativepermeabilities,mass

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Turner and Perri

difhsivities, bound liquid difisivities and sorption data curves. In addition, some often crude assumptions are made on the evolution of these parameters even if, finally, it is reasonable to assume that they can be thought of as only functions of the dynamical system variables and not functions other plausible variables within of the infrastructure of the model. In fact, it may be also thatthe scale of some of the fluxmigrationmechanismsdefinedwithinthemodeloccur at the microscopic scale, rather than the macroscopic scale, and in this case a two scale model may need to be considered.
The Impactf Changing the Relative Permeabilty Curves o

The real problemfor the numerical simulations lies withthe parameters which are poorly known, while at the same time have a substantial impact upon behaviour the of the results. One key variable which manifests exactly this problem is the relative permeability curve, and this explains the choice of this parameter to illustrate the the effect of its physical characteristics on drying behaviour. In earlier research work [Perre and Degiovanni, 19901 the relativepermeability curves summarised in Table 1were used for simulation purposes. In more recent work [Perre et aIl993; Turner and Perre,19951, it was explainedthat these curves lead to an overestimation of the longitudinal liquid migration. Consequently, the 2 wereused.Inthissectiona newpermeabilitycurvessummarisedinTable comparison of the results obtained for each set curves is made. of The drying case 2 was simulated using both sets of permeability curves (all other parameters,especially the intrinsicpermeabilitiesremainedunchanged)and the results can be found for the relative permeability set Table2 in Figures 10-12 and for Table 1 in Figures 20-22. These figures undoubtedly highlight fact that, due the to the moredifficultliquidmigrationmechanismswhichareestablishedby the Table 2 curves, the drying process is much faster for the permeability set in Table 1. Indeed, the three-dimensional moisture content profiles (Figure 20), temperature (Figure 21) and pressure profiles (Figure 22) at 1, 3, 5 and 7 hours of drying for the permeabilitysetTable 1 confirm this fact and show that all , of the physics discussed earlierfor Table set2 occurs at a time scale which appears unrealistic. In summary,must pointed that it be out the exact choice of the relative permeability correlations poses a real problem, perhaps the mostcrucial, at the time of simulatingheatandmasstransferinnon-saturated porous media. The results prove that changing the relative permeability correlations can have more effect on the results than significantly changing the intrinsic permeabilities. The conclusion must be that, instead persevering with this problem, overall effect of the of the permeability correlations must be used, through the simulations, to help direct future experimental work so that itmaysoonbe possible to obtain their precise values.

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1 hour

3 hours

5 hours

7 hours

Figure 20: Three-dimensional Moisture Profiles exhibited at various times for Test Case 2 using the relative permeability set listed in Table1.

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1 hour

3 hours

5 hours

7 hours

Figure 21 : Three-dimensionalTemperatureProfilesexhibited at various times for Test Case using the relative permeabilityset listed in 2 Table 1.

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1 hour

3 hours

5 hours

7 hours

Figure 22 :Three-dimensional Pressure Profiles exhibitedat various times for Test Case 2 using the relative permeability set listed in Table 1.

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Turner and Perri

The Influencef Changing the Bound Liquid Mechanism o Flux

For the tests camed outhere,itwasfoundthat the impact of using the two different bound liquid flux mechanisms given by equations (9) and (11) caused negligible differences in the overall drying kinetics to arise and only a very small change in the overallcomputationtimeswasobserved.However,itmustbe stressed that under very different drying conditions, any differences that do in fact exist between the two flux expressionsmay well be accentuated. Nevertheless, it is interesting to point out that the smoothing technique that was necessary for the bound liquid flux definition (9) at the Fibre saturation point, due to the moisture content definition (57), was not necessary for the flux postulated in equation set (1 1). Thereason for thisfactconcerned the vapourpressurevariable,whose gradient necessary the is in bound liquid migration mechanism, which is a continuous variable withinthe framework of the model.
5.3 Results for Different Unstructuredmeshes

The numerical investigation now focuses on the performance of the two-node discretisation scheme for different types of unstructured meshes.A similar type of study can be found in Turner and Ferguson [1995b-c]. It will be shown that when the mesh chosen for the computations not does satisfy constraints the of orthogonality and positivity, which were discussed in section 3, the overall physics of the drying process can be predicted incorrectly. The constraints imposed the by selection of the mesh are extremely important to understand and highlight. The end-user of such complicated codes as those described throughout this text must understandclearly the limitationsoffered byeachcomponent of the numerical solution method - from accuracy the of the discretisation method, to the performance of the inner solverfor the chosen linearisation strategy. It was decidedto carry out calculations on five different meshes the case study for 2 discussed above. The object of this analysis was to elucidate on the results obtained by calculating on each mesh and to identify any anomalies that may occur in the solutions when different meshstructures are employed for the computations. The unstructured meshes used throughout the analysis are depicted in Figure 23. The five meshes which were used for this study included : (a) the structured mesh which contained 210 elements (RECT), see Figure (b) 6(a); a mesh which contained 262 elements and has two of the faces of an element parallel with the radial direction (RAD); (c) a mesh which contained 220 elements andhas two faces parallel tothe longitudinaldirection (LONG); a meshwhich averaged the (d) effects of the two meshes in (b) and (c) with 210 elements (SLOPED) and finally (e) a completely unstructured mesh generated by creating the dual of a triangular background mesh which contained 536elements (HEX). Note that a general characteristicof all of these meshes utilised refinement closeto the drying surfaces

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which is necessary in order to model accurately the steep gradients which arise in those regions.

Figure 23 :Unstructured Meshes used analyse the predictive capabilities of to the two-node formulation (a) RAD; (b) LONG; (c) SLOPED and (d) HEX.

72

Turner and Perre'

Figures 24-27 display the drying curve, the moisture content at end-piece ofthe the board as well asthe centerlinetemperature and pressuredistributions for the simulations performed using the meshes discussed above. It is immediately clear from these figures that there are somesignificant discrepanciesin the overall drying kinetics for thedifferentmeshesused.Infact, only theresultsof RAD and SLOPED, where the constraint of orthogonality was close to preserved, provide reasonable agreement with the results of the benchmark solutions offered by the mesh RECT. Figure 24 exhibits a comparison of the average moisture content versus time curve for each mesh. The figure shows a good agreement between the RECT and HEX meshes, however,the agreement for the other meshes is poor, with a slower drying rate being evident. Although the results from the RAD and SLOPED meshes are consistent, the overall drying time is still longer for these cases than exhibited that for RECT. The agreement in the results for these two cases is not surprising since the meshes exhibit similar features. In particular,the CV, within these meshes have faces which seek to minimise the discretisation error in the radial direction and such a strategy appears to capture reasonably well the overall flow phenomenathat arisesduringdrying.Unfortunately,thediscretisation error introduced by the remaining faces ofthe CVs in the longitudinal sense can become significant enough to inhibit the correct transport phenomena that is exhibited by RECT and consequently, a slower drying rate results. Consider now mesh LONG, which is constructed using hexagonal shaped elements that have two faces parallel with the radial direction of the board. In this case the largest discretisation errors occur in the radial direction and the results produced by the two-node simulation code are totally unrealistic because the bulk migration liquid mechanism has been substantially reduced. It is now clear that the orientation and orthogonality of mesh, for the two-node the formula, are extremely important if anaccurate approximationto the flux througha

CV face is to be achieved. Furthermore, the closer the angle y tends toward

x,

the more significant the disretisation error becomes and hence, the results reflect that the physics of the drying process is not modelled correctly. These conclusions are confirmed by examining Figure 25 which shows the evolution of the moisture content at the end-piece of the board. ForRECT, RAD and SLOPED it is possible to observe the wetting of theend-piece of the board, whichis a well known phenomenon for high temperature drying of wood [Perre et ul 19931. However, LONG and HEX don't exhibit such an important effect - the physics predicted by the code using these meshes is absolutely incorrect. Figures 26 and 27 depicts the temperature and pressure distributions along the centerline of the wood for each mesh. The agreement againappears reasonable for the meshes RECT, RAD and SLOPED, however, as before the meshes LONG and HEX always predict the wrong drying behaviour.

Strategies andEfficient Resolution Techniques

7 3

. 0 0

"

"

"

"

'

'

"

'

" 6

"

"

" I 8

10

Drying Tim (hrs)

Figure 24 : Comparison of the Average Moisture Content Curves for each Mesh

Drying Time(hrs)

Figure 25 : Comparison of the Board End-piece Moisture Content Curves for each Mesh

74
420

Turner and Perre'

RBQangular Radial LOngItudlnal 0 - sloped

400

Hexagonal2

F g
$
9

380

360

340

320

300
0

10

Drying Time (hrs)

Figure 26 : Comparison of the Center-lineTemperatureCurves Mesh

for each

2.0

l
0 2 6

2
C L

E
0

.M

5 5

1.5

1.o

10

Drying Time (hrs)

Figure 27 : Comparison of the Center-line Pressure Curves each Mesh for

Strategies and ESficient Resolution Techniques

75

The conclusions drawn from this study are important. The structure of the mesh caninfluencesubstantially the overallpredictivecapabilities ofthe two-node discretisation formula. The solution to such a problemliesin the use of higher order disretisationschemes,such as those proposed by TurnerandFerguson [1995b-c] using a four node scheme or those proposed by Ferguson and Turner [1995a-b, 19961 using the CV-FE scheme, which minimise the discretisation error by capturing the tangential component of gradient. the

6. CONCLUSIONS
Each of the studiesanalysedthroughoutsection 5 of this chapterallowed the optimal numerical solution strategies that necessary are for fast efficient and simulations ofthe drying processto be identified. However, it must be stressed that or dielectric drying, or for for moredifficultdryingprocesses,suchasvacuum more complicated discretisation strategies, as such the Four-node or CV-FE schemes, the results of these studies may be slightly different. Nevertheless, it is thought that the case studies selected and analysed throughout this work provide a sufficient test for all of the chosen outer and inner iteration techniques and serves as a good foundation for all conclusions drawn. The main conclusions from these studies are summarised below, however, other conclusions can be found within the text :
(1) The best outer iteration method is clearly the Newton scheme because the

second order convergence offeredby this method enables fast processing times to be achieved since the large time steps that can be utilised during the outer iteration phase are at the very least 10 times greater than those provided by the Fixed point scheme.
(2) The best inner iteration

scheme to employfor the Newton outer iterative methodundoubtedly is the Conjugate Gradient scheme. For tests the performed here the Bi-CGSTAB solver performed extremely efficiently, however, other non-symmetric conjugate gradient matrix solversmay perform slightly better under varying conditions. The main competitor is GMRES and future research-willmake comparisons between these two solvers across a wider spectrum of drying conditions. to adoptwith the Bi-CGSTAB solver are the S.S.0.R and BILU techniques. Furthermore,strategies which seek to predict the optimalrelaxation factor for the S.S.O.R. method, or strategies which utilise higher order factorisations for BILU in an attempt to reduce the error involved with the decomposition would no doubt be worthwhile investigating.

(3) The bestpreconditioners

76

Turner and Perre'

(4) Block solversprovide many benefts over the scalar point equivalents andthe importance of an effective data-structure storage mechanism must be

analysed and implemented carefully if these benefits to be achieved. are

(5) The choice o the discretisationstrategyand f themesh chosen for the computations is extremely important.If the limitations of the scheme are not

realised. then incorrect and unrealistic simulation results will arise.

( 6 ) Changing key parameters within the model, such as the relative permeabilities, can impact substantially the overall drying kinetics.

7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The first author, Ian Turner, would like thank the E.N.G.R.E.F. for the financial to assistance offered during his sabbatical stay in Nancy, France. The second author, Patrick Perre, would like to express his gratitude to the School of Mathematics at Q. U.T. for supporting his stay in Brisbane, Australia in 1994. Finally, both authors appreciated the computingfacilitiesthatweremadeavailableforthem at the E.N.G.R.E.F. and at the Q.U.T. .

8. NOMENCLATURE
(N x N) matrix RHS vector Molar Specific
(3 X 3) matrices usedfor the Fixed point method definition

concentration heat

mS3 J kg" K-'

Diffusivity S" Differential operator Diagonal block matrix energy Activation J mol" Functions which depend on porous material structure the Non-linear algebraic function defined each CV for Fi(ui)Vector non-linear function for each CV ") U Complete set of non-linear functions g constant Gravitational ms - ~ H Heaviside function coefficienth transfer Heat W m-2 thalpy averaged Intrinsic h Jkg-' K-l

Strategies andESficient Resolution Techniques

77

Ah, J J

Averaged enthalpy of bound liquid Latent heatof evaporation Differential heatof sorption Flux expression Jacobian Matrix Effective thermal conductivity Relative permeability Absolute permeability Mass transfer coefficient Length or Thickness of wood sample Lower Block Matrix Molar mass Number of non-linear functions Unit normal Pressure Preconditioning matrix Splitting matrix Residual vector Gas constant Source termfor Fixed point function definitions Entropy Volume saturation Temperature Time Tangential component vector Solution vector of state variables Upper Block Matrix Velocity Averaging control volume Moisture content dry basis Fibre Saturation Point General algebraic system solution vector Molar fraction Transverse direction Longitudinal direction

J kg" J kg" J kg-] kg m-*S-] W m-]K-' m* m S"

km L L M

K& K k

m
kg mol-] Pa

N n P

Q
r R

J mol-' K" J mol" K"

g"p
S" S T t
t
U

K
S

U
V

m S"

X
X,
X X
X

78

Turner and Perre'

Greek Symbols Interpolation factor Depth scalar Discrete time step Correction vector used in Newtons method Vector joining centroids CVs of Vector joining the faces ofCVs Discrete volume ofCV General function variable Porosity Angle between vectors i i i and 6ii Phase potential Volumetric source term Conserved quantity Dynamic viscosity Chemical potential Primary variable Intrinsic averaged density Surface tension Mass fraction Relaxation factor Secondary variable Superscripts and Subscripts Air a b Bound C Capillary cr Critical eff Effective property Equilibrium eq FSP Fibre saturation point Gas phase g 1 General indexfor vectors 1 Liquid phase Pressure P S Solid phase sat Saturated T Temperature V Vapour 00 External value 1 Initial value

m3 m-3

W mS

kg m-3 N m"

Strategies and Eflcient Resolution Techniques

79

9 REFERENCES .
K. Ajmani, W. F. Ng M. and S. Liou [1994], "Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient methods for theNavier-Stokes Equations 'I, J. Comp. Phys., 110, pp. 68-81.

S. Ben Nasrallah and P. Perrk [19881, "Detailed studyof a model of heat and mass transfer during convective drying of porous media", Znt. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 3 1, 5, pp. 957967.

G. A. Behie and P. A. Forsyth [1984], "Incomplete factorization methods for fully implicit simulation of enhanced oil recovery", S M J . Sci. Stat. Computat., pp. 543-561. 5,
R.B.Bird , W.E. Steward and E. N.Lightfoot [ 19601 "Transport phenomena", John Wiley and Sons, NewYork. P. Bomeau [1991], "ModClisation du skhage d'un matkriau hktkrogkne : Application a un bois de resineux", Thkse de l'llniversitk Bordeaux 1. P. N. Brown and A. C. Hindmarsh [1989], "Reduced storage matrix methods in stiff ODE systems", J. AppliedMathematics and Computations, 1, pp. 40-91. 3 F. Couture, W. Jomaa and J. R. Puiggali [1994], "Drying behaviour as influenced by the relative permeability relations", Drying 94, Book edited byV. Rudolph, R. Keey and Arun S. Mujumdar, proceedings of the 9th International Drying Symposium, pp. 263-276.

F. Couture [1995], I' ModClisationFined'un Problhe de SCchage d'outils adaptks l', These de I'Universitk Bordeaux1.

- Dheloppement

E. F. D'Azevedo, P. A. Forsyth and W. P. Tang, [1992], "Towards a cost effective ILU preconditioner w t high level fill", BIT, 32, pp. 442-463. ih

S. C. Eisenstat, M. C. Gursky, M. H. Schultz and A. H. Sherman [1977], "Yale Sparse Matrix Package", Technical Reports112 and 114, Yale University, Dept. Comp.Sc.
W. J. Ferguson and I. W. Turner [1994a], "A Comparison of the Control Volume and Finite ElementMethod for the DryingProcess", Proceedings o the f Sixth Biennial Conj2rence on Computational Techniques and Applications: CTAC 1993, Edited by D. Stewart, H Gardner and D. Singleton, WorldScientificPublishers, pp 230-238. W. J. Ferguson and I.W. Turner [1994b], "Unstructured numerical solution techniques applied to timber drying problems", Dryhg 94, Book edited by V. Rudolph, R. Keey and Arun S. Mujumdar, proceedings of the 9th International Drying Symposium, pp7 19-728. W. J. Ferguson [1995], "A control volume finite element numerical simulation of the high temperature drymg of spruce", J. DryingTechnology special editionon Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation, 13,3, pp.607-634. W. J. Fergusonand I. W. Turner [1995a], "A Comparison of the Finite Elementand Control Volume Solution Techniquesapplied to TimberDryingProblemsbelow the Boiling Point", Int. J. NumericalMethods in Engineering,38,3, pp 451-467.

80

Perrk

Turner and

W.J. Ferguson and I.W. Tumer [1995b], "A study of two-dimensional cell-centred and vertexsentredcontrolvolumeschemesapplied to hightemperaturetimberdrying", Numerical Heat Transfer, Part 27, pp 393-415. B, W.J. Ferguson and 1.W.Tumer 119961, "A Control Volume Finite Element Simulation of the Dryingof Spruce", to appear J. Comp. Physics. in

J.

P. A. Forsyth and R. B. Simpson [1991], "A two-phase, two-component model for natural convection in a porous medium", J. NumericalMethods in Fluids, 12, pp. 655-682. Znt. P.A.Forsyth119941,"Three-dimensionalmodellingof steam flushforDNAPLsite remediation", Znt. J. NumericalMethods in Fluids, 19, pp. 1055-1081. D. R. Kincaid ,J. R. Respess, D. M. Young and R.G. Grimes [1982], ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software,8, pp. 302-322. C. Lartigue, J. R. PuiggaliandM.Quintard[1989], "A SimplifiedStudyofMoisture Transport and Shrinkage in Wood", In Drying '89 (Editedby A. SMujumdar and M. Roques), pp. 169-175. Hemisphere, Washington, DC. D. Michel, M. Quintard and R. Puiggali [1987], "Experimental and Numerical Study of J. Pine Wood Drying at Low Temperature", In Drying '87(Edited by A. S.Mujumdar), pp. 185-193. Hemisphere, Washington, DC.
S. V. Patankar [1980], Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow, Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, McGraw Hill.

P, Perrb, S. B. Nasrallahand G. Arnaud[1986],"ATheoreticalStudy of Drying : Numerical Simulations Applied toClayBrickand Softwood", InDrying'86Vol.1, (Edited by A. S. Mujumdar), pp. 382-390. Hemisphere, Washington, DC. P. Perrb [1987a], "Measurements Softwoods' Permeability to Air :Importance upon the of Drying Model", Znt. Comm. HeatMass Transfer, 14, pp. 519-529. P. Perrb [1987b], "Le Skhage convectif de bois rbsineux : choix, validation et utilisation d'un modde", Thkse de Doctorat, Universitt? Paris VI. P. Perrb, J. P. Fohr and G . Amaud [1989], "A Model of Drying Applied to Sohoods : The Effect of Gaseous Pressure Below the Boiling Point", In Drying '89 (Edited by A. SMujumdar and M. Roques), pp. 91-98. Hemisphere, Washington, DC. P. Perrb and D. Maillet[19891, "Dryingof Softwoods : The interest ofa two-dimensional model to simulate anisotropy or to predict degrade", IUFRO Wood Drying Symposium, Weyerhaeuser Co., Seattle, W.A.

P. Pen6 and A. Degiovanni [1990], "Simulation par volumes finis des transferts couples en milieu Poreux Anisotropes : sechange du bois a basse et a haute temperature", Znt. J. HeatMass Transfer, 33, U, pp. 2463-2478.
P. Pm6 and C. Moyne 119911, "Processes related to drying : Part II Use of the same model to solvetransfersbothinsaturatedandunsaturatedporousmedia", J Dy'ng Technology, 9,5, pp 1153-1 179.

Strategies and EfJicient Resolution Techniques

81

P. P e d and M. Moser and M. Martin [1993], "Advances in transport phenomena during convective dqmg with superheated steam or moist air", Int. J. Heat and Mass Transfer, 36, ll,pp. 2725-2746. P. Perr6 and J. Passard [1995], "A control volume procedure compared with the finite strain during wood drying", J Drying element method calculating and for stress Technology special edition on Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation, 13,& pp. 635-660. P. P e d [1996], "Image analysis, homogenization, numerical simulation and experiment as complementarytools to enlightentherelationshipbetween wood anatomyanddrying behaviour to appear inJ. Drying Technology.
'I,

W. H. Press, S. A. Teukolsky, W. T. Vetterlingand B. P. Flannery [1992], Numerical Recipes in Fortran - The Art of Scientific Computing, Cambridge University Press.
J. R. Puiggali and M. Quintard[19901, "D6termination des propri&s de transfert dans les strates d'un bois resineux", C. R Acad. Sci. Paris,310, Series IZ,pp. 1719-1724.

Y. Saad and H. M. Schultz [1985], "Conjugate gradient-like algorithms solving for nonsymmetric linear systems", Mathematics of Computation, 44, pp. 417-424. Y. Saad[1981], "Krylov subspace methods for solving large unsymmetric linear systems", Mathematics o Computations, 37, pp. 105-126. f P. H. Sammon [1988], "An analysis of upstream differencing", SPm. Reservoir Eng, 3,
1053-1056

J. F. Siau [1984], Transport Processesi Wood, Springer-Verlag, New York, N Y . n P. Sonneveld [1989], "CGS, a fast Lancms-type solver for nonsymmetric linear systems", SLAMJournal on Scienrific and Statistical Computing, pp. 36-52. 10,
G. A. Spolek and 0 . A. Plumb [1980], "A Numerical Model of Heat and Mass Transport in Wood During Drying", In Drying '80, (Edited A. by S. Mujumdar), pp. 84-92. Hemisphere, Washington,DC.

G.A. Spolek [1981], "Capillary Pressure in Soft Woods", Wood Sci. Technol.,
189-199.

1 , pp. 5

M. A. Stanish, G. S. Schajer and F. Kayihan [1986], "A Mathematical Model of Drying for Hygroscopic Porous Media",AIChE Journal, 32, 8, pp. 1301-1311.
I. W. Turner and P. G. Jolly [199Oa], The Effect of Dielectric Properties on Microwave Drying Kinetics", Microwave Energy and Electromagnetic Energy, J. 25,4, pp. 212-223. I. W.TurnerandP. G.Jolly [1990b], "TheModellingofCombinedMicrowaveand Convective Drying of a Wet Porous Material", Drying Technology, 9,5. I. W. Turner [1991], "The Modelling of Combined Microwave and Convective Drying a of Wet Porous Material", PhD Thesis,Dept. Mech. Engn. University of Queensland.

82

Tumer and Perrk

Wood

I. W. Turner[1993a],"ATwo-DimensionalOrthotropicModelforSimulating Drying Processes",to appear in the Journal ofAppl. Math. Modellingin 1995.

I. W. Turner [1993b], "Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation of the Drying Process",InvitedpaperforChemicalEngineeringinAustralia, CHE, 18,4, December Issue, pp. 8 15.

LW. Turner [1994], "A Study of the Power Density Distribution generated in Softwoods duringCombinedMicrowaveandConvectiveDrying", Drying 94, by V. Rudolph,R.

Keey and Arun S. Mujumdar, proceedings of the 9th International Drying Symposium, pp 89-1 12.

I. W. Turner P. and P e d [1995], comparison the "A of drying simulation codes TRANSPORE and WOOD2D which are used for the modelling of two-dimensional drying processes", J Drying Technology special edition Mathematical on Modelling and Numerical Simulation, 13,3, pp 695-735.
LW. Turner and W.J. Ferguson[1995a],"AStudy of the Power Density Distribution generated during the Combined Microwave and Convective Drying of Softwood", invited paper for a special editionf J Drying Technology,13,5-7, pp 141 1-1430. o LW. Turnerand W.J. Ferguson[1995b], "An unstructuredmeshcell-centredcontrol volumemethodforsimulatingheatandmasstransferinporousmedia:Application to softwood drying. Part I: The isotropic model", appear to J. Applied Mathematical Modelling, 1995. I.W. Turnerand W.J. Ferguson[1995c], "An unstructuredmeshcell-centredcontrol volumemethodforsimulatingheatand mass transfer in porous media: Application to softwood drying. Part 1 : TheAnisotropicmodel", to appear J. Applied Mathematical 1 Modelling, 1995.

S. Whitaker [1977], "Simultaneous Heat, Mass Momentum and Transfer Porous in Media: A Theory of Drying", Advances in Heat Transfer, 13, pp. 119-203, Academic, New York, N Y .

H. A. van der Vorst [1992], "Bi-CGSTAB: a fast and smoothly converging variant of BiCG for the solution of nonsymmetric linear systems", SIAM J. Sci. Stat. Computat., 13, pp. 631-645.

THE USE OF MACROSCOPIC EQUATIONS TO SIMULATE :SOME HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER IN POROUS MEDIA POSSIBILITIES ILLUSTRATEDBY A WIDE RANGE OF CONFIGURATIONS THAT EMPHASISE THE ROLE OF INTERNAL PRESSURE
Patrick Per& ENGREF - N A R Laboratory o Forest Sciences Forest Products Unit f 14, rue Girardet F-54042 Nancy Cedex, France and IanTurner School of Mathematics f Queensland Universiy o Technology GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Q4001, Australia

Key Words and Phrases :High Temperature Drying; Microwave Drying; Boiling in Porous Media; Simulation; Experiment; Pressure; Light Concrete; Bed ofGIass Beads; Wood.

ABSTRACT
This study is devoted to the possibilities of the numerical simulation in representing the

physics that occurs during coupled heat and mass transfer processes porous media. We in especially focusthe attention on configurations which the transfer mechanisms induced for withinthemediumbytheinternalpressure are important.Severalconfigurations of intensivetransfer are analysed. In mostcases, the comparisonbetweenthesimulated results and experiment is very satisfjmg. The quality of the prediction obtained for light concrete is remarkable, both for convective drying high temperature and for microwave at drying. In the case of wood, which is a strongly anisotropic and variable material, the numerical results can not be reported as being quantitatively comparable. Nevertheless, all the main physical trendsare well represented. Moreover, one shows how small change in a the values of some parameters account the key can for differences observed for experiments carriedout on boardsof similar nature. However, some phenomena escape the set of macroscopic equations. Among these is the problem of full saturation within a porous medium, which often arises during intensive drying processes. Solutions proposed for the treatment of problem. are this Finally,bearinginmind thatthe model fails forsomeparticularconfigurations,the analysis can point out that the macroscopic formulation is not always valid : even at the macroscopic scale, some phenomena can be described only by modelling the process the at pore level.

83

84
1. INTRODUCTION

Perre' and Turiier

The way to obtainanefficientnumerical code which is able to dealwith a comprehensive set of macroscopic equations governing heat and mass transfer in porous media has been widely discussed in the previous chapter. This chapter is devoted entirely to investigating the possibilitiesof the numericalsimulation in understanding and predicting different configurations heat and mass transfer in of porous media. Several experiments have been carried out that the results of the simulation can so be verified. range tested The of configurations (convective drying at high temperature, microwave drying, contact drying until drying occurs) together with of glass beads) the materials investigated (softwood, light concrete, paper, beds pointout the capabilitiesof the code.Specialattentionwillbepaid to the configuration for which the internal gaseous pressure is of high importance. In the firstcomponent of thischapter, the setofmacroscopicequations, as presented in the previous chapter, will be analysed from a physical point of view. This analysis is necessary for the readers who are not aware of the physics of coupled transfer in porous media. It only intends to ensure that each reader has understood the physics hidden within the equations. Then, the second component ofthe chapter, the most important in size, is devoted to the description of several different configurations for which both experiments and simulations are available. Convective drying of aerated concrete is the simpler case treated here. The overpressure playsan important role, but the mediumis isotropic and it's physical properties well-known. For this material, the simulations are in perfect agreement with the experiments. Differences between superheated steam and moist air can be easily understood from results. these The very agreement found for the same material dried with micro-waves is more surprising : even the departure of liquid water fromthe sample is simulated by the code. Several configurations wood drying are then presented. Fromphysical point of of a view, material this differs aerated from concrete its by strong anisotropicity (between 100 and lo4 for the permeability tensor). In such a medium, the transfers are always highly two-dimensional : a 2-D model is definitively required. Theother important features of wood are that it is both a non-homogeneous and heterogeneous material.prevents comparing This us from quantitatively experimentalandsimulatedresults.On the otherhand,wewillseethatsome parameters, which have dramatic importance on the simulated results, can explain some of the differences observed between experiments carried out with the same drying conditions on boards identical in appearance.

Macroscopic Equations

to Simulate Heat Mass and Transfer

85

Finally, in conclusion, we indicate the reader that certain configurations exist to for which the agreement between theory and pratice remains poor. In such cases, the general theory, which lead to the set of macroscopic equations, fails. Indeed, in some cases, the phenomena observed at a macroscopic scale exhibits mechanisms that can not be taken into account by macroscopic variables. In these cases, in order to capture the right physics, we have come backto the pore scale. to
2. THE PHYSICS OF DRYING :A SHORT OVERVIEW

The following brief discussion is devotedto the transport phenomena that occurs during drying inthe porous medium and at its surface, i.e. in the boundary layer. It onlyaims to build a commonlanguage(physicsandnotations)beforefocusing attention to specific drying configurations. Duringdrying,heatandmass(air,vapour,freewater,boundwater) transfers occur. The basic laws of conservation of each quantity (momentum, energy and mass) are at the origin of the formulation of heat and mass transfer in porous media, in which the divergence of different fluxes required. is Most of these fluxes can be written as the product of a coefficient (characteristics of the medium) times the driving force (spatial variation of the potential which induces the flux).

2.1.

Transferinaporousmedium

In a continuummediumandfor reasonable conditions, momentum, energy and masstransferobey the classicallawsofviscosity,heatconductionandmass diffusion proposed respectively by Newton, Fourier and Fick. For easier understanding, we present here one-dimensional formsof these laws the
(1)

momentum flux

Tyx = +-vx

d Y

(for Newtonian fluids)

(2)

heat flux

(3)

mass flux

A porous mediumconsistsofseveralphases(solid,liquid, gaseous andbound water in the case of wood). Transfer within such a medium must be written for each phase, by taking into account exchanges between them. However, the

86

Perre' and Turner

geometry of the porous medium is typically so complex that the equations must be written at the macroscopic scale. This leadsto the definition of empirical laws of migration, can demonstrated that be to a large extent by averaging over representativevolumes[Whitaker1977,1980,Sanchez-Palencia19921. At this level, the porous medium. is .observed asa fictitious, continuous medium. .
,.

.,

DRY AIR
L

WATER VAP( 3R

REPRESENTATIVE ELEMENTARY VOLUME

Fig. l Schematic representation f a porous medium o

Notations : n e porous medium is observed as afictitious continuous medium. It is assumed thatthetransfers can bedescribedonly by macroscopicequations.Forthis reason, all thequantitiesused in theequationsareaveragedoverthe REV (Representative Elementary Volume ) Two averaged values are required V. :
(4)

\ir = 7s
1

dV

for the spatial average

(5)

and

\iri =

1 3

dV

for the intrinsic average phase over

Wood is assumed to be made upo four phases (s=solid, I=liquid,g=gaseous and f b=bound water). In the following equations, a bold letter denotesa vector and a

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

I

87

sign denotes

an order 2 tensor. The apparent density o the porous media p0 is f

defined by : p. = The laws of transfer obtained at this scale appear similarto the ones written for a continuous medium (1 to 3), exceptthateffectivecoefficients are usedin the definitions. Only the law of viscosity changes : instead of a momentum flux, we obtain a fluid flow caused by a pressure gradient (exactly like the integration of equation (1) in a cylindrical tube gives Hagen-Poiseuille law). the
2.2.

Fluid migration (Darcys law)

When submitted to a difference of pressure, a fluid flux takes place in the porous medium. In a hlly saturatedporousmedium(whereonlyonefluidphaseis present) flux be this canexpressed by Darcys law with a rather good representation. The flux is proportional to the pressure gradient timesthe intrinsic permeability K (Fig. 2).
4

P,

p2*

Porous medium

(section = S)

Fig. 2 Fluidyux induced, ina porous medium, by a pressure gradient.

Nevertheless, during drying, we have to deal with unsaturated porous media : at least two fluid phases (gaseous and liquid) are present. Two important effects have to be considered : due to the curvature of the interface between the liquid and gas, the pressure of the wetting fluidislessthanthe one of the non-wettingphase : the capillary pressurerepresentsthisdifference.Ofcourse, the curvature of the meniscus increases as the saturation of the wetting phase decreases. That is why liquid is the driven from wet to drier zones. This phenomenon,known as capillary migration,is responsible for the majorityoftheliquidflowinthecaseofmoderatedrying conditions (Fig.3). - the permeability of one fluid phase dependson the saturation. Indeed, it is easy to understand that the fluxes of and liquid induced by the same pressure gradient gas can be highly modified by their respective contents (Fig. 4).

88

Perre' and Turner

1 1
Fig. 3 Capillary migration.

These phenomena are taken into account in the generalized Darcy's law through relativepermeabilitycoefficients,whichareassumed as functions of saturation. The mass fluxes become

Nevertheless, we must keep in mind that the relative permeabilities introduced in the equations are poorly known. Moreover, depend they on the migration conditions. Hence, equations (6) and (7) are only anapproximations of the complexity of multiphase flowin porous media. The liquid flux is proportional the gradient of liquid pressure, and relatedto the to gaseous pressure by

Associated to equation (8), the flux given by equation (7) is able to deal with both capillary migration and with the flow induced by a gradient of gaseous pressure. The equation to be used in order to account for the gravitational effect can be found in chapter1 (equation 4).

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

89

Fig. 4 - Depending on the amount of each fluid phase, the fluxes induced in a porous medium by the same pressure gradient can be very different.

Equations (6) and (7) use the same value for the intrinsic permeability tensor hence its name. However, the flow of gas in a porous medium involves specific mechanisms. Although equation (6) predicts that, for the same pressure gradient, the convective gaseous flux varies with the averaged gaseous pressure (effect of p$, the experiment proves that the flux, when plotted versus the pressure does not intercept the y-axis for a zero value of pressure [Siau 1984, Dullien 19921. Once again, the explanation can be found at the pore level : as the pressure decreases, the mean free path increases and becomes comparable to the pore size. In such conditions, the gas can no longer be assumed to be at rest at the pore walls. Due to this phenomenon, called slip flow, the apparent gaseous permeability increases significantly as the measurement pressure decreases : the gaseous permeability can double when the pressure decreases from Patm to Patrd2 [Comstock 1967, Pen-6 19871. The complete equation proposed by Mason and Malinaukas [1983] can be simplified to focus the attention on the pressure gradient only to obtain @AK is defined in equation 1I) (9) Kapp=K+- DAKP

K,

This equation is consistent with experimental data, especially for the dependence of permeability with pressure. Remark :the experimental curves do not remain linear for v e v low pressure :the interceptfrom extrapolation of high pressure h t a does not give exactly the value

90

Perre' and Turner

o DM. Drgerent dicussionsf thisfact canfound in Mason and Malinmkas f o 1983 or Dullien 1992.
In the simulation of so!lwood drying,weuse different intrinsicpermeabilities depending on the fluid that migrates in the medium. The reason why is not to be found in the previous explanations. A bordered pit allows gas flow only once the air liquid meniscus has passed through the bordered pits, and this corresponds to the time when mostof the tori are aspirated. Actually,the liquid and the gas do not flow in the same porous medium : it is then necessary to use two different intrinsic permabilities.
2.3.

The effect of internal pressure on mass transfer

In order to reduce the drying time without decreasing the quality of the dried product, the drying conditions must be so that the temperature of the product is above the boilingpoint of water.Suchconditionsensure that an overpressure exists within the material, which implies that a pressuregradientdrives the moisture (liquid and/or vapour) towards the exchange surfaces (effect of pressure gradient in equations (4) and ( 5 ) through the mechanisms described by equation
(6)).

100

20

40

60

80

100

120

Temperature ("C)

Fig. S The main interestf vacuum dryingis to reduce the boiling point water and, o of consequently obtain a high temperature configuration with moderate drying conditions.

Macroscopic Equations

to Simulate Heat Mass and Transfer

91

At the atmospheric pressure, the boiling of point water equals 100C. Consequently, one of the ways to obtain internal overpressure isto ensure that the temperature of the porous medium is above that level during at least one part of the process. This is exactly aim of convective drying at high the temperature (moist air or superheated steam) and a possibleaim of contact drying or drying with electromagnetic field (microwave or high frequency). However, as shown in figure 5, the first effect of decreasing the pressure is to reduce the boiling point of water, and to obtain high temperature conditions with relatively moderate drying conditions. This process is particularly interesting for materials that would be damaged by high levels temperature. of Thisadditionaldriving force (total gaseouspressuregradient)obtainedatlow temperatures is the primary motivation for vacuum drying. It allows faster drying and provides a good quality of specific high valued products. Nevertheless, one has to knowsomeindirecteffectswhenreducing the total gaseous pressure. These effects are mainly due to the increase of the molecular mean free path (Fig.6). Oncethe mean free path is comparable to the pore size, the gas can no longer be assumed as a continuum and specific transport phenomena occur : free-moleculediffusionandslipflow.Thethermalconductivityisalso affected by this effect. The interested reader can find more details in [Mason and Malinaukas 1983, Dullien 1992 or Perre 19951.

0.001

0.01

0.1

PICotrn

Fig. 6 Mean free path WSMS pressurefor water-vapour (calculated from the viscosity o vapour at 20oC). f

92
2.4.

Per& and Turner Diffusion (Fick's law)

2.4.1. Binarydiffusion

In a porous medium with an inert solid phase, the macroscopic equation derived from equation (3) involves an effective diffusivity tensor. The latter accounts, at the macroscopic level,for the resistance to diffusion generated by the presence of the solid. Nevertheless, driving force is exactly the same : the
(9)
'

molar gaseous diffusion

j, = -cDeffVxv where xv = CV
C

Then, the total fluxofvapourisobtained diffusive fluxes :

byadding

the convectiveand the

2.4.2. Free molecule diffusion In the case of porous media with very small pores or for very low pressure, the chance for one particle to collidewith a solidwallincreases,andcanbecome higher than the chance of collision with another particle. Thisis the free molecule regime (also called Knudsen's regime). In this case, the molar flux of species A must be expressed with aid of the corresponding Knudsen diffusivity the DM
(1 1)

,j

= -D,VcA

Considerations of kinetic theory of gases show that DM depends on the mean velocity of the particles and on a geometrical factor K0 determined by the porous medium geometry and the nature particle-wall collisions of

geometry of the porous medium. For an ideal porous medium made of parallel cylindrical tubes with difisive scattering, the value ofK0 is r/2") .
r2 KX

K is the porosityltortuosity factor, which accounts very simply for the complex
For this ideal porous medium, the permeability is given by K =

(I)

Macroscopic Equations

to Simulate 93 Heat Mass and Transfer

b

Wecan thensee that DM dependson the poresizeof the medium, butis independent of the pressure. This scheme is exactly the opposite for the binary diffusivity DAB. In the transient zone, where both continuum and free-molecular diffusion occur, the flux is obtained by assuming that diffusion regimes occur in series Mason and Malinaukas 19831.
(13)
DAe.ff

-+D ,

Dm

DAB,which represents the regular molecular diffusion regime in medium, can be evaluated with the same porosity/tortuosityfactor
DAB

the porous

= -!DAB

where !DAB is the binary difisivity defined in equation (3)

1E-02 -

Continuum (Flck)
Y

3 1E-W
h
Y

'-. Free molecule(Knudsen) (r ...............~"...."-."..".""".""".".= 5 pm)

N .

Effectlve diffusivity

." .
00 .1 001 .0
Plpatm

Fig. 7

- Effect of pressure on the different dsffusivities (divided porositykortuosityfactor).

by the

Figure 7 shows the effect ofthe gaseous pressure on effective diffusivity. the In order to point out the effect of the representative pore radius, two radii were selected here (0.5 pm and 5 pm). Keeping mind in that the molar flux isobtainedbymultiplying together the diffusivity, the driving force and the m l r concentration, one can calculate the oa reduction ofthe diffusive flux as the pressure decreases (Fig. The flux does not 8).

94

Perre' and Turner

change as long as the regime remains a continuum. Of course, a change of regime (from continuum to free-molecule) appears as early as the representative radius of the medium is small. This is in agreement with the literature [Scott and Dullien 1962, Szekely et al. 19761.
1E M 1
Coptlnuum F-olecule

5 .-

Unit flux value at Patm

1E-02

1E-051E-021E-04 1E-03

lE-01 Pressure (PPatm)

1E+00

lE41

Fig. 8 Molar flux as a function o pressure for the same driving force (gradient o f f molar fraction):when the pressure decreases, thediflusiveflux passes from continuum dijfusion to free-molecule diffusion, with a continuous reduction of the flux from the change f regime. o

2.4.3. Bound water diffusion Diffusion in wood occurs in the hygroscopic range, and in the domain of liquidfor non-isothermal conditions. Bound and water gaseous diffusion act together (Fig. 9). Bound water diffusion concerns water molecules present in the cell-wall substance, hydrogen bonded the most part. The driving for force to be used for this mechanism is well documented in the literature and the discussion remains open, especially for diffusion in non-isothermal conditions. However, simulations carried out for the drying of woodshowedthat the driving force used(bound water gradient, vapour pressure gradient or chemical potential) has little effect on the result. In the following, we simply use the gradient bound water concentration of (14) bound water diffusion

PbVb

"Dbv{pb>

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

95

Fig. 9

- The molecular dijJusion

vapour diffusion.

in wood involves both bound-water

and wczter-

2.5.

External transfer

Usually, the medium exchanges and with heat mass the surrounding air by convection. On a convective surface, total pressure of the gaseous phase equals the the external pressure and heat and mass transfer come exchange coefficients: fiom (15)

P =, ; P

Equations 16and 17 resultfiom the integrationofequations1 to 3 over the boundary layer. The expression of externalmass flux, which comes from the film theory [Bird et al. 19601, tends to infinity in the case of pure vapour. This means that the resistance to externalmoisturetransferequals zero. In this case, the rigorous boundary condition to be written is, = P&. As shown in chapter 1, this condition is approached in the numerical simulation. only

96

Perre and Turner

f o f Fig. 10 Development o the boundary layer in the caseerternalflm.

I
Development of boundary layers

Fully developed profile

Fig. l 1 - From the development f boundary layersto thefully developedprofile in the o case o internalflow. f

An order of magnitude of the heatexchangecoefficientisclassicallygivenby

correlations. Specific correlations must be used in accordance with the external flow conditions. In particular, has to differentiate the turbulent regime fromthe one laminar regime and external (fig. from internalflow (fig. 11). 10) In practice, the heat mass and transfer coefficients be can obtained from correlations based on theoretical calculations or experimental work. In order to enlarge theirfield of validity, dimensionlessgroups are often used (18) the Reynold number Re=- P m P

Macroscopic Equationsto Simulate Heatand Mass Transfer

(19)

97

the Prandtl number

Pr =-CFJ

Re represents inertial over viscous forces (U and L are respectively representative velocity geometrical and size), thermaldiffusivity a =

xcp

Pr is the kinematic viscosity

v=

and Scis the kinematicviscosity over the mass other dimensionless

over the

diffusivity. Further, the exchange coefficient determined is from parameters such as :

the Nusselt number (convective over conductive heat exchange) Nu = -

hL
h

the Sherwood number (same concept for mass exchange) Classical correlations used for forced convection of the form are
(21) (22)

Sh=-

kL
DB A

Nu = a x (Re) (Pry for heat the transfer

Sh = a x (Re) (Sc) for the mass transfer

In practice, the same coefficients (a,m and n) can be used in equations (21) and (22) (Chilton Colburn analogy). Table1gives simple examples that should be used only witha view to obtaining anorder of magnitude.
I

Table l

-Incropera and DeWtt 19901. to beused Some ewmples parameters

o f

External flow on a plate (turbulent) Internal cylindrical flow (laminar) Internal c lindrical flow turbulent

0.0296 3.66 0.023

4/5

415

13 1

in equation 21 and 22. raper

98
2.6.
Conservation equations
2.6.1.

Perre' and Turner

Mass

Although these equations have also been presented in chapter 1, they have been included here for completeness (23) liquid phase
-aPP . ( p p v p ) = - < m > +v
at

(24)

air

-+v.(;:va)=o aFa
at

(26)

bound water

2.6.2.

Eneqy

For heat and mass transfer in porous media, it is possible derive the equation for to the total energy [Turner 19911. Nevertheless, we generally use only the enthalpy balance.Thispreventsthecompressionandviscousdissipationeffects to be accounted for, however, in all of the drying configurationstested here, these terms had little impact on the results. Consequently, in this work the enthalpy balance is utilised
(27)

a -F}+(G)= v v. at

(heffVT)

The equation governing the temperature be derived directly fiom equation (27) can

- -aTA h v a p { < h > + < < ~ >}+h, <Ab >-pbVbV(hs)+ pc +

p a t

(28)
, p ( [

+pbvb)cp,

The effective conductivity tensor hen, that allows the determination of the conductive flux withinthe porous medium, depends on the thermal conductivity of

Macroscopic Equations

to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

99

eachphase,on the morphology of thesephasesandon the possibleenthalpic transfer between phases (especially exchange between vapour and liquid) : once again, the microscopic phenomena which were used to construct the macroscopic behaviour are quite complex and will not be considered here. Concerning the pure conductive part, the macroscopic behaviour depends strongly on the conductivity of each component and on the medium morphology. For a porous medium with << closed pores )) like wood, the heat transfer by conduction is mostly governed by the solidmatrix.Indeed,inthiscase, the later is both the connected phase and the more conductive phase [Perre and Keller 19941. In other cases, the macroscopic conductivity depends strongly on the conductivity of the less conductive phase (usually the gaseous one, especially under vacuum) and on the moisture content (due to the capillary pressure,the water often takes the place of the gas in zones when heat transfer between solid grains the is poor).
3. HOW TO COMPARE SIMULATION AND EXPERlMENT

31 ..

Numerical code

The difficulties and solutions involved in developing a numerical code that deals with coupled heat and mass transfer in unsaturated porous media have been widely deliberated in chapter 1. Most of the results presented in the following sections have been calculated especially for this chapter using the latest versions of the codes TRANSPORE (Coupled TRANSfers in POROUS mEdia) or WOOD2D (see the extensive reference list for these models supplied in chapter 1). That means a two-dimensional version using a second order convergence obtained by calculating the Jacobian matrix. As a result of the calculation times shown in chapter 1, the linear solved the algorithm system using is Bi CGStab with ILU(0) preconditioning. In the following sections, several examplesof drying configurations, for which the agreement with experimental values is good, will be presented. All the physical parameters used in these simulations are available in the annex. The geometrical configuration used for the convective drying is shown in figure 12. All the results have been computed with a 21 x41 grid, refined close to the exchange surfaces in order to capture the high gradients exist these that in zones grid (that is represented in chapter 1). The experimentalresultsused for the comparisoncomesfromseveralworks carried out in different laboratories during almost ten years. Convective drying

100

Perre' and Turner

experimentswerecarriedout in thelaboratory wind tunnel available in the Laboratoire d'Energetique et de Mkcanique Theorique et Appliquee. Only high temperature experiments will be presentedhere.Detailsontheexperimental protocol can be found elsewhere [Perre et al. 1993, Perre and Martin 19941. The presented microwave drying results among experiments that were performed in are the Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Industrielle. The description ofthe experiments on light concrete can be found in Constant et al. 1996. The vaccuum drying tests come froma device available at ENGREF [Perre and Mosnier 1995al.

Air flow
___)

l
concrete : wood:
'

-W

0.6 m 1. m

Fig. 12

Numericaldomainandlocation temperature convective drying.

o themeasurementpoints f

for high

For most of the followingexamples, the locationofthesensors are notedby numbers (see Fig. 12). For an easy interpretation of the curves, a small diagram emphasing the location in the sample has also been added. Points placed at the exchange surface, numbered 0 and 6, were not available during the experiments and can be plotted only for the numerical simulation. In order to provide a better comparison between experiment and simulation, the corresponding points coming from the experiment (just beneath the surface, points 1 and 5 ) are usuallyalso drawn for the simulation. Note that, in order to save computational time, only a quarter of the sample is simulated (see chapter 1). Thismeans that we assume symmetrical conditions in (uniform length drying conditions and exchange coefficient) and in thickness (gravity neglected). For each case, the order of magnitude of the heat transfer coefficient was determined from the maximum drying rate obtained during the experiment. Insufficientinformationwasavailable to beable to take intoaccount the end effects and the development of a boundary layer: the code therefore assumes a constant exchange coefficient over all of exchange surfaces. Consequently, the the code in not able to differentiate between points 1and 8 (front end and rear end of the plate).

Macroscopic Equationsto Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

3.2.

101

Sampling

Concrete is an inert material which can be saturated before drying. In order to obtain a high value ofthe initial saturation,the samples are put in a container filled with water andsubmitted to vaccuum-pressurecycles.In this material,airtight measurementpointsaresimplyobtainedwiththeuse of silicone glue prepared before saturation on dry samples. Because of its biological origin, wood has a complex but well-known structure, depending on the species ; softwoodwaschosenherebecause of its good behaviour at high temperature. The ascent of sap trees is due to transpiration from leaves and is possible due in to the capillary pressure generated in the leaves. Within the stomates, the radius of the liquid-gas interface can be very low. This is required by the height of the tree and by the water pressurein the soil. As a result, the water is often under negative pressures in the xylem, which, consequently, is sensitive to embolism. Inconiferouswood, the liquid flows from one tracheid to anotherthrough borderedpits,whichcomprise a membrane ("torus") that canmoveunder the effect of the pressure and can block the passage of the fluid, thus preventing a break in the liquid column. This architecture is vital for living trees and plays an important role duringthe drying process: - for softwoods, the ratio of longitudinal to radial permeability is in the range 10010000 [Comstock 1970, Kanagawa 1985, Perre 19871. - the initial moisture content is much greater in sapwood. in heartwood, the inactive part of trees, almost all pits are aspirated [Comstock and Cote 1968, Siau 19841 : as a consequence, the permeabilities are very low in this partof the tree.

Sapwood
Heartwood

1,4,6 : Rataawnsapwood boards

3,8,9 :Rat-nawn and quarter"

heartwood boards

2,7,5 :Rataawn sapwood and heartwood boards

Fig. 13 Cutting plane generally used the experiments wood for on

I02

Perre' and Turner

Thesepointsemphasise the need to take greatcareinsampling. For all the experiments, the logs came from freshly cut trees. The latter are selected close to Nancy in a forest belonging to ENGREF (Ecole Nationale du Genie Rural, des Eaux et des Forhs). The cutting planes, depending on the log diameter, are chosenin order to have several boards coming only from within the sapwood component. From such a dissection the number of heartwood boards was also sufficient the experiments. for For accurate studies, the real difficulty is to reduce the number of boards containingbothsapwood and heartwood.Thegenerallyused cutting planeis shown in figure 13. Allthe boards are 27 mm thick..
3.3.

Instrumentation

The main advantage of high temperature convective drying is reduce the drying to time. The acceleration of internal moisture transfer within material is dueto the the development of an overpressure the gaseous phase inside board. in the To avoidlargeexperimental errors resultingfrom a leak (the overpressure can exceed one bar), a water and gas-tight measurement device was developed [perre et al. 19931.This sensorof l.lmm diameterallows temperature and pressure measurements simultaneously at the same point. Note that the pressure captor placed outside the test sectionat isroom temperature. In order to preventcondensation onto this captor, whichwould induce local evaporationwithin the board, the connecting tube was filled with oil, taking care to ensure an oil-gas interface inside test section. the

0 0.5 nnn dxmmmple

L Board section

Fig. 14 Schematic of the pressure-temperature sensor.

Pr e

gauge

The obtained this were results with sensor adequate. Nevertheless, some experiments revealed leakages at the end of the process (once the board is in the hygroscopic range).For vaccuum drying experiments,a new version of the sensor

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

103

has been developed perre and Mosnier 1995al. Pressure and temperature are still measured at the same location, but the addition of a thread and two O-ring joins leantagainstepoxyresin(Fig.14)ensures a betterairtightnessduringall the process. On the other hand, these new sensors larger (4 mm in diameter instead are of 1.1 mm) and induce more perturbations: in particular, it is no longer possible to put several sensors along thickness in the same section. the 4. HIGH TEMPERATURE CONVECTIVE DRYING OF LIGHT CONCRETE Light concrete, oftendesignedby a brandname (Ytong), is one of the porous medium which has been studied in detail, especially by Krischer and Kroll [1963]. This is anisotropicmediumwhichallowsreproducableexperiments. All these features allow light concrete to be a very good material for model validation. Among the several tests performed, the results of the three most representative ones are discussed here. the first test involved a superheated steam flow in the following conditions : velocity U = 6 d s and dry bulb temperature Tdry = 145C.

- the second and third tests used a moist air flow, with two different temperature gaps ATdw = Tdry - Tw& where : Tdry is the dry bulb temperature and Tw& is
the wet bulb temperature.In the following text, the conditionsof test n02 (ATdw30"C, V = 4 d s ) will be denotedas "soft" and those of test n"3 (ATd*9O0C, V = 10 d s ) as "hard". Typical experimental results and the corresponding simulation are plotted for each set of drying conditions.
4.1.

Superheated steam

It canbeseenthat the main effect of high temperature convective drying is a significant reduction in thedrying timepig. 15and 16). In effect, when T d v = 145C and U = 6 d s seven hours are sufficient reduce the moisture content ofa to slab of light concrete from 90%to around 2%. The temperature versus time curves show a long plateau region at the boiling temperature (Tboiling = 100C), followed by an increase up to the temperature of the steam flow. The deeper the location of the thermocouple, the greater is the duration ofthe plateau.

104

Perri and Turner

With superheated steam, the transition between the first drying period (evaporation from the exchange surface) and the second drying period (internal evaporation) has no discernible effect on the internal temperatures. Moreover, the wet bulb temperature is equal to the boiling temperature, which remains constant at 100C as long as thepressure remains equal the atmospheric one. to All the calculated results (kinetics, drying time, temperature at different locations) are very close to the experimental results. As a result of the temperature determined at point 6 (surface temperature), we observe here completion of the the first drying period (around 60 minutes). Note also that, due to the edge effect and because the mediumisisotropic, the endpiecedriesfasterthanthehalf-length section ofthe sample. For these drying conditions,the wet bulb temperature equalsthe boiling point. The simulation shows that the long period at 100C observed in the experiment is in fact divided intotwo parts (Fig. 16).

- the first part is a real constant dryingrate period, with liquid migration up to the
surface, evaporation and vapour flux in the boundary layer. In the numerical code, the surface temperature (T6) is available : the departure of the latter from the wet bulb temperature, which in this case equalsthe boiling point, marks the end of the constant drying rate period. In the second part, a dryingfrontappearswithin the mediumandinternal evaporation becomes evident. Nevertheless, the gaseous permeabilityhigh is enough to evacuate the vapour flux by a slightoverpressure.The temperature which can produce this overpressure according to the saturated vapour curve is very close to 100C. The temperature increases onlyin the dry zone, where a thermalgradient is requiredin order to transport the energyofvaporisation towards the front position. Theinwardadvanceof the frontinside the mediumcanbefollowedby the successive breakaway of differentinternal temperatures(Tsand T ) When the the 4. centre temperature (T3) increases beyond 1OO"C, the first drying period has long been completed. At this stage, the whole medium is in the hygroscopic range and the processcoming is to an end. drying The rate decreases sharply and temperatures increase rapidly.

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

150

105

. . .

. . . .

I Q) I

0 V

100

200

300

400

500

Time (minutes)

Fig 15 - Convective dryingat high temperature o light concrete. Experimental f results (superheated steam :Tdry = I45OC,V = 6 m.s-l).
Alr flow Dltferent locstlons

1.015

1.010

5
e a
v

? l ! =
1.005

U) U)

100

200

300

400

1.ooo 500

Time (minutes)

Fig. I6 - Convective drying high temperature of light concrete. Numerical at simulation (superheatedsteam :Tdry = I45OC,h = 30 "C').

106

Perr6 and Turner

Due to a ratherhighvalueof the intrinsicpermeability, the internalpressure remains moderate during all the process. This is the reason why the experimental measurement of the internal pressure can be error prone and have not been plotted here.However, this informationisavailableinthenumericalsimulation. The evolution of the internal pressure at different locations has been plotted in figure 16. The first peak of pressure is to the initial increase intemperature. Then, the due level of pressureresults in the pressuregradientrequired to drive the vapour towards the exchange surfaceby the diffusive-convective mechanism. This explains why no overpressure is observed during the first drying period.
4.2.

Moist air

Due to the separation between the wet bulb temperature and the boiling point, the case ofmoist air is more interesting analyse. to Because of their similarities, it is interesting analyse the "softconditions" (ATdw to = 3OoC,Fig. 17 and 18) and "hard conditions" (ATdw = 90C, Fig. 19 and 20) tests together. Figure 17 and 18 representthe variation with time of wet bulb temperature, the the temperatures within the slabatpoints1, 3, 4, and 5, and the average moisture 19 content of thesample. It can be seen in figure that, owing to the large difference Tdw - Twet, the temperature regulation is notas accurate. In the "soft"aerothermalconditions, the dryingprocessismuchlonger (650 minutes instead of 200 minutes, to be compared to the medium conditions used in superheated steam : 400 minutes). For this test, the form of the temperature curves indicates three different phases : - During the first two hours, the temperature curves show a plateau region at the wet bulb temperature (85OC). The temperaturesin the slab being uniform and equal to Twet=85"C, the behaviour of the porous medium shows the existence of a period of constant rate drying (first drying period), which continues as long as the capillary suction drives water fromthe center of the slab to the interface, where it is evaporated. - Above Twet, the curves present a second plateau or a horizontal inflexion in the range 85-9OOC. - Finally the temperatures continue to increase and reachthe final flow temperature without any pronounced plateauat the boiling temperature Tboiling

Macroscopic Equationsto Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

120 100

I07

S
Y

80 60
40

20
0 0

200

400 800

600

1000

Time (minutes)

Fig.17

Convectivedryingathightemperature o light f concreteExperimental results (moist air( soft conditions H :Tdry = I ISC, Twet = 8SC, V = 4 ms-3. (
Air flow

Dlfferent locations In the sample

0.6 m

Time (minutes)

Fig.18

- Convective dying of

light concrete Numerical simulation (moist air conditions N :Tdry = IISC, Twet = 8SoC,h = 25 W.m2."C',.

( (

soft

I08

Perre' and Turner

In the case of "hard conditions"the essential point to notice is the very fast drying process, which lasts only five hours, the temperature variations being the same as the previous test. The temperatures go through a slight plateau at Twet = 70"C, then increase up to a second plateau in the range 85C - 90"C, beyond which they rise steeply through the boiling temperature they until attain the dry bulb temperature of the moist air flow. In both runs, the numerical curves show a first drying period for which all the temperatures remain close to the wetbulb temperature. However, this period is much shorter (= 20 mn compared to 200) in the case of severe drying conditions (Fig.18 and 20).A period decreasing of drying rate then appears. From the successive departures of the temperatures fromthe value at the centre, it is obvious that a drying front moves withinthe medium. Up to this point, the process remains similar to what was observed for superheated steam. What is new here is the variation of the centre temperature. At the end of the constant drying rate period, value this increases slowly from the wet bulb temperature up to about 90C (i.e.10C belowthe boiling point!). It is to be noted that this evolution isthe same for the two tests (low and severe drying conditions). This stage, at about 9OoC, can be explained by the coupling between diffusion and convection that exists when the air component is not negligible in the surrounding fluid. A quite simple analytical model allows the explanation of this phenomenon [Perre et al. 19931. The samemechanismcanexplain the trend that causes the temperature T1 (at aroundonecentimeterfrom the endpiece) to increaseslightlyover the other temperatures during the firstandseconddryingperiodsandwhyitwasnot observed for superheated steam. Indeed, this part of the slab, which receives the bulk of the incoming air flow, submitted to the incoming fluid, undergoes much moreseveredryingconditions.Consequently,itincreasesveryquickly in the second stage of drying and tends to reach a temperature that allows it to obtain a dynamical balance between the flow of vapour and the heat supplied. Given the physicalpropertiesoflightconcrete,thisequilibriumtemperatureisbelow the boiling point of water. In the simulated results, this trend is well predicted, except for the durationduringwhichtheendpieceremainsinthefirstdryingperiod. Indeed, in the simulation, the transfercoefficientsareassumed to be uniform around the sample : this prevents the modelfrom taking into consideration the more intensive transfer the sample undergoes at endpiece. that the Once the front reaches the centre of the slab, all the temperatures increase rapidly up to the dry bulb temperature. This final period resembles that observedthe test in with saturated vapour.

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

109

100

200

306

Time (minutes)

Fig.19 Convective drying of light concrete Experimental results (moist air severe conditions )) :Tdry = 16OoC, Twet= 7OoC, V = 10 m " . s)
Air flow
Different locations in the sample
30mm
b

110
4.3.

Perre' and Turner

Conclusion

For this medium, in the case of superheated steam drying, a long plateau at the boiling point is observed on the internal temperatures. Consequently, the observation of only the centre temperature suggests a mechanismwhich overestimates the duration ofthe constant rate drying period. The two tests involving a moist air flow facilitate the interpretation, and clearly demonstrate : - the existence ofa constant rate drying period - the presence ofa plateau in the temperature curvesin the range 85-9OoC, that can be explained by the balance between the mechanism of diffusion-convection and the heat supplied to the sample.
Nevertheless, some differences be seen : can - for low values of ATdw , the temperature variations show a long constant rate period, followed by a plateau close to 9OoC for high values of ATdw the drying process is faster and constant rate period the still exists, butthe plateau at 85-90C is more pronounced.

In conclusion, for light concrete, the numerical results can be seen to be in perfect accordance with all the experimental observations. Not only for the shape of the curves, but also the absolute values ofthe temperatures, average moisturecontent and the durationofeachdryingperiodis in close very agreement with the experimental measurements. In such conditions, the numerical code becomes a real tool that is able to predict any drying condition, including temperatures higher than boiling point ofwater. the Moreover, the numerical results are ableto exhibit the evolution of pressure within the medium. Keepinginmind that light concrete is an isotropic material, it becomes easy to understand that bi-dimensionaltransferoccursclose to the edges and dries the medium faster at the endpiece (look at the evolution ofthe temperature at points 0 and 1). The next material studied, softwood, behaves a very differentmanner. in

Macroscopic to Equations

Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

111

5. HZGH TEMPERATURE CONVECTIVE DRYING OF SOFTWOOD

5.1.

Superheatedsteam :T d q = 16OOC

Figures 21 and 22 show the variation with timeof the average moisturecontent of the board and the temperatures in the wood at points 1, 3, 4, 5 and 8. While the drying times for a slab of light concrete and a board of sohood can be seen to be similar, the situation is quite different regard to the variation of temperature with in time. In effect, figure 21 reveals that not allof the temperaturesin the board show a long plateau at the boiling temperature, which is contrary to the case for a slab of light concrete. Here it is evident that the plateau at 100C is observable only during the first 50 mn of drying. The temperatures T3, T4 and T5 then cross the boiling point without levelling off, and continue to increase up to the temperature of the superheated steam flow. Note that T3 seems to remain below 12OOC for a short time before a quick rise towards the dry bulb temperature is observed. On other hand, the temperatures the measured by thermocouples TI, and T8, located at the front end and at the rear end of the board, depict a long plateau at the boiling temperature. They then increase very rapidly (due to the edge effect), overtaking T3, T4 andT5,andeventually attain the temperature of the steam flow. Thisphenomenon can beexplainedby the combination of the pressure which develops insidethe board, and the high longitudinal permeability of softwood (100 to 10,000 times the transverse permeability). The correlation betweenthe increase of temperature and overpressure becomes the obvious when observing silmutaneously figures 21 and 22. The link disappears only at the end of the drying process when, at a given location,the board enters into the hygroscopic range. At the beginning of the process, the pressure increase can be seento start close to the surface and to move progressively towards the center of the board (Fig. 22). Such a pressure variation indicates clearly that the surface of the board enters the hygroscopic before range the center. The overpressure, which attains a maximumvalueclose to one bar, is strongly dependenton the valuesof the permeability, the drying rate and the distance between the evaporation front and the surface. It reachs its maximum at the center of the board.

lI
1
l

112

Perre' and Turner

a
W

Time (minutes)

Fig. 21

- Drying of fir (Abies grandis) with superheated steam (Experiment, Td = 160OC). Drying kinetics and temperature at different locations.
-0- *

-0
.-.+a. - .-- .- 1.0 rn

Different locations in the Sam pl;

- --* 8 b

30 rnrn

___)

Time (minutes)

Fig. 22

Drying o fir (Abies grandis) with superheated steam (Experiment, f Td = 16OOC). Drying kinetics and internal pressure at different locations.

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

113

Figures 23 and 24 show the variation of the average moisture content (MC), and the temperatures and over-pressures at different points as calculated by the model. The shapes of these curves are similar to the experimental results (Fig.21 and 22). The length of the constant drying rate period (or pseudo-first drying rate period : all temperatures close to the wet bulb temperature) is less than 100 mn in both cases. At the end of this period, the numerical temperatures increase more rapidly than in the experiment. Moreover, in the case of the surface temperature (T6), which is available only for the simulations, the latter effect is even more prononced. The value of the transverse permeability (a parameter which was not adjusted) has an important effect during this drying period. Any slight underestimation of this parameter leads to a higher temperature, a lower drying rate and a longer total drying time (500 mn against 300 mn). The comparison of the experimental and calculated results point out the same trend for the pressure. The maximum values of the overpressure are respectively 0.9 and 1.7 bars for the experiment and the calculation. Nevertheless, most of the trends exhibited by the experiment are well described by the model. In particular, it is to be noted that the bi-dimensional modelling of transfer is capable of representing the effect of the anisotropy. In perfect agreement with the experiment, the end temperature (TOand TI are nearly the same for this run) shows a plateau close to the boiling point during the second drying period and then increases rapidly, overtaking all the mid-point temperatures, and is the first to reach the dry bulb temperature. At this point, the calculated temperature T3 can be seen to decrease slightly, which is a surprising result during a drying process. In fact, the extremities have just become completely dry, and this leads to an increase in the relative longitudinal permeability of the gaseous phase, which in turn allows a greater longitudinal vapour flux for the same overpressure. The temperature has to decrease in order to supply the additional latent heat required at the moment. It is interesting to compare the evolution of the temperature and the pressure at the same position (points 3 and 5) : For the initial transient period, the temperature, and thus the pressure, increases. During the constant drying rate period, the temperature remains constant within the medium, however, the liquid extraction increases the volume of the gaseous phase and decreases the partial pressure of dry air. Consequently, it is quite normal to observe a slight decrease in the total pressure. At the beginning of the second drying period, the temperature increases in such a manner that the resulting overpressure is great enough to evacuate the vapour evaporated by the thermal flux.

114
180

Perre' and

---r-rl
T3

150

a
v

140

E
c

E
Q

100

50

60 I . 0

* .

1 .

. . .

1 .

. . .
300
Time (minutes)

n
400
500

100

200

606

Fig. 23 - Drying o softwood with superheated steam (Simulation, Td = 16OOC). Drying f kinetics and temperature at different locations.

Air flow

Different locations

1.0 m

3.0

160

2.5

120

2.0

80

1.5

40

1 .o
0

100

200

300
Time (minutes)

400

500

n 606

Fig. 24 - Drying o softwood with superheated steam (Simulation, Td = 16OOC). Drying f kinetics and internal pressure at different locations.

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

115

Thismechanismcontinueswhile the moisturecontentremainsabove the fibre saturation point (about450 mn for point 3 an 80 mn for point 5). The temperature subsequently increases towardsthe dry bulb value, whereasthe pressure decreases. Therefore the evolutions of PS, P4 P5 point out the development of a dry zone from the exchange surface towards center. the All of these phenomena can be seen in the experimental results (Fig. 22). The pressures measured at different thicknesses indicate the corresponding start of the hygroscopic domain.

5.2.

Moist air "soft conditions" :ATdw = 3OoC

Figure 25 gives the principal results. It can be seen that choice ofthe following the aerothermal conditions : Td,.,,= 115"C, Twe~= 82C and U = 5 m/s leads to a large increase in the drying time (20 hours) and to a characteristic temperature variation. The temperatures T3, and T3 T5 , measuredrespectivelyat the center, midthickness and atthe surface, show a plateau near = 82C. As was observed for TweC light concrete, softwood presents an initial constant rate period. Nevertheless, no plateau is observed at the boiling temperature : indeed, the constant drying rate period is followed by a rapid rise of T5up to 100-105C before reaching the dry bulb temperature. The temperature TI, up until 12 hours increases more slowly than all other temperatures and then it rapidly reaches the dry bulb temperature. In thiscase, the experimentindicatedarealfirstdryingperiod,with the board temperature very close to the wet bulb temperature. This period can also be seen on the computed curves (Fig. 26). Moreover, duration it's agrees that with observed experimentally (about mn). 200 At the end of this constant drying rate period, all the mid-length temperatures(T3 to T6) increasetogetherveryrapidly.Thevariationofthecalculatedsurface temperatureversustime is quitecomparablewith the evolutionmeasuredat point 5 . However, the temperaturedifferencebetweenpoints 6 and 3 are not consistent with the experiment. Once again, the permeability of the gaseous phase seems to be too low. The dried zone moves very slowly towards the centre. This difference is confirmed a slower decrease of global moisture content. Except by the for the temperaturecalculatedatpoint 1 just before 1000 minutes,nospecific behaviour is generally observed on passing through the boiling point. The short stage at the boiling point exhibited by T1 results from the large permeability inthe longitudinal direction. We can noticefor this case thatthe evolutions of temperaturesTo and T1 are quite different (Fig. 26). At the end of the constant drying period the temperature TO remains at the wet bulb temperature during 800 mn whereas TI, in rather good agreement withthe experiment (Fig.25), increases slowly during same time. the

I16

Perre' and Turner

Time (minutes)

Fig. 25

- Drying of fir (Abies grandis) with moist air

-

(Bperiment : Td = IISC, Tw = 8SQC). Drying kinetics and temperature at different locations.

Alr flow
0
a

Different locetlons in the sample

11

30mm

120

l80

100

120

5
A

() I

0
0

80

60

."

e 3

60
0
500

1000

1500

Time (minutes)

Fig. 26

- Drying of softwood with moist air (Simulation

:Td = IISOC, Tw = 8SC). Drying kinetics and temperature at diffkrent locations.

Macroscopic Equationsto Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

117

A A
Y

a9

c a
E
U)

Time (minutes)

Fig. 27 Drying o softwood with moist air (Simulation :Td = l l P C , Tw = W'Q. f Drying kinetics and internal pressure at diJferent locations.

Themagnitude of the overpressurecalculatedduringwith these "soft"drying conditions are much lower than for the previous test (Fig. 2 ) Nevertheless, one 7. has to notice that, althought the maximum value is about 0.4 bar, these pressures remain higher than the ones measured for the same drying conditions. In addition to the argument on the value of gaseous permeability, we have alsonote that the to equilibrium temperature reached at the end of the process does not correspond to the controlled temperaturein the wind tunnel (108C against 115OC). This must be ascribed to different reasons : - the temperature loss in the experimental tunnel along air flow, the - the radiative exchange between sample andthe walls ofthe test section, the - the uncertainty ofthe manual device usedto choose the temperature.
5.3.

Bidimensionnal plots

The numerical code isable to providemuchmoreinformationthansimply the variation in temperature, moisture and pressure at certain chosen points of the board. 3D surfaces are presented here to illustrate how the coupled transfers occur at high temperature (Fig. 28 to 33). In order to produce easy to read plots, the entire thickness has been generated from the numerical results using symmetry. the Consequently, one half-length of board is represented. the Both runs can be analysed on these figures : superheated steam at16OOC : elapsed times : 1,3, 5 , 7 hours - moist air (Td= 115OC; Tw = 85OC) : elapsed times : 3,8,20,30hours

and

Perre'

Turner

The different variable fields illustrated by temperature-moisture content-pressure plots for different drying times must be connected together in order to reconstruct the process (efkct of temperature on pressure, effect pressure on gas and liquid of transport, effect of moisture content on partial vapour pressure, etc...). While all the comments made in the previous sections remain valid, some particular effects are illustrated by these 3D surfaces. Figures 28, 29 and 30 exhibit respectively the fields of moisture, temperature and pressure calculated for superheated steam. The coupling between the variables is well illustrated here :

- due to the high value of the wet bulb temperature, an overpressure always exists
within the medium, includingthe early stagesof drying, keeping in mind the large anisotropy of wood,we can see that this overpressure acts mostly in the longitudinal direction to supply the endpiece with liquid, - the long duration of process where the end temperature remains theboiling the at point, inducing large temperature gradient this region, in - the difficulty oftransport in the hygroscopic range the effect of longitudinal gaseous diffusion, at the end of the process, even far from the extremity of the board. This effect must be connected with the decrease of T3.

For "soft conditions" in moist air (Fig. 30, 31 and 33) the shape of the plots are quite different. In additionto the change of the drying time, we also can observe : - the initial period drying at the wet bulb temperature, during which the temperature is equal to the wetbulb temperature throughout the board and no overpressure exists, - the increase of pressure and, in consequence, the longitudinal liquid transport when the medium passes through the boilingpoint (at 8 hours). This transport feeds the end of the board which remains closeto the wet bulb temperature, the attainment of the dry bulb temperature on all exchange surfaces when the extremity finally reachesthe hygroscopic range. At this point, the liquid remaining in the centre of the boarddisappearsdue to bothtransverseandlongitudinal transfers. the pressure gradient being lower than in the previous test, we can see that the endpiece effect disappears faster here along the longitudinal direction.

Macroscopic Equationsto Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

119

1 hour

3 hours

5 hours

7 hours

'

Fig. 28! Superheated steam Calculated moisture content differpent drying times. at

120

Perrk and Turner

1 hour

3 hours

5 hours

7 hours

Fig. 29 Superheated steam Calculated temperature at different drying times.

Macroscopic Equationsto Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

121

1 hour

3 hours

5 hours

7 hours

Fig. 30 Superheated steam Calculatedpressure at diffkrent drying m s t e. i

I22

Perre' and Turner

3 hours

8 hours

20 hours

30 hours

Fig. 31 Moist air. Calculated moisture content at dijj2rent drying times.

Macroscopic Equations

to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

123

3 hours

8 hours

20 hours

30 hours

Fig. 32 Moist air. Calculated temperature at different drying times.

124

Perri and Turner

3 hours

8 hours

20 hours

30 hours

Fig. 33 - Moist air. Calculatedpressure at dvferent dryinge . tms i

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

5.4.

125

Discussion

Thisanalysisof two very different drying conditions of softwood drying (both experimental tests presented here were sapwood boards) exhibited the following points :

- the general trend observed during the drying process are predicted quite well by the physical modelling, - during high temperature processes,the high anisotropy foundin wood results in a veryspecificbehaviourof the endpiece. Due to bothmoisturemigration by capillary action and internal overpressure,the temperature remains for a long time at the wet bulb value, or at the boiling point, - with the highinitialmoisturecontentand the highpermeability obtained in sapwood boards, a first drying period was observed for the two tests presented here. In the case "hard" of moist drying, air the first drying period almost disappears [Perre et a . 19931. l - nevertheless, it is veryimportant to note the mechanismwhichdifferentiates, during this first period, superheated steam from moist air at high temperature. In the latter case, the wet bulb temperature isnot high enough to ensure an important overpressure inside the medium. At the beginning of the process, the drying at high temperature with moist air resemblesa low temperature process, - this fact, whichhasalsobeenobservedon the analysisofdryingkinetics (Basilico,1984), is veryimportant in terms of productquality.Indeed,during moist air drying, the positive effect of the high temperature appears only in the second stage, leaving during time the first period drying for mechanical degradations in response to surface shrinkage, finally, in both tests, the calculated temperature always depicts too fast increase a from the end of the constantdrying rate periodand a too lowdifferenceof temperature between the surfaceand the centercompared to the experimental results.

The lastpointis one ofthekeypointsthatwehave to understand in fiture research. In order to provide element of analysis, we present here the results of simulation obtained for superheated steam at 160C with tangential permeabilities multiplied by a factor and longitudinal permeabilities divided by the same factor 4. At first, these factors seem to be important, however they must be compared the to large variations permeability of found in experimental studies [Banks 1968, Choong and Kimbler 1971, Comstock 1970,Perre 19871.

126

Perre' and Turner

150

100

* >
c
W

0 0

F!
L

50

0
0
l00

200

300
Time (minutes)

400

500

600

Fig. 34 - Drying o softwood with superheated steam (Simulation, = 16OOC). Drying f Td kinetics and temperature at different locations / 4 ; KT X 4). (KL

Air flow

Dlfferent locations In the sample

3.0

160

2.5

120

g
c
L

C W

20 .

80

00
F!

.1.5

T3

40

U)

1.o

100

200

300

400

500

600

Time (minutes)

Fig. 35 -Drying o softwood with superheated steam (Simulation, Td f = 16OOC). Drying kinetics and internal pressure at different locationsL / ~KT x 4). (K ;

Macroscopic Equations

to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

127

Except for the value of the permeabilities, the physical parameters used in this run are exactly the same as before.Consequently,figures 34 and35have to be compared with figures 23 and 24. One can that the drying is significantly faster, see with lower overpressure and higher differences between surface (T6)andcenter (T3) temperatures during the second drying period. From this point of view, this simulation is much closer to the experiment. On the other hand, the effect of reducing the longitudinal permeability causes the end piece to be, for a shorter time, supplied with liquid water. This can explain why some boards of sapwood do not exhibit so long a plateau at the wet bulb temperature (see for exemple the test proposed in part 6). One has in fact to keep in mind that, due to the very strong anisotropy ratio, a very small grain angle can change dramaticallythe resulting permeability in the direction parallel the board, to which is, in this case, no longer a principal axisthe material. of
6. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SAPWOOD AND HEARTWOOD

In a tree freshlycutdownandsawn,itiseasy to distinguishsapwoodfrom heartwood (by touch or by sight). But a few days later, the surface MC decrease makesimpossible it todo that (Fig.36a). Nevertheless, in the case of high temperaturedrying, the increase of internalpressuregivesrise to longitudinal migration of liquid towards the endpiece provided that the permeability and the moisture content are high enough. This is a good wayto spot sapwood after a few hours of drying (Fig.36b). This phenomenon can be observed in industrial kilns.

a) A stack at beginning of the drying. the

b) The same stack after a few hours of drying at high tempera&.

Fig.36 - A stack during hightemperature drying.

128

Perrf?and Turner

It is well known that sapwood is the active part ofa tree. Within sapwood, the sap rise is possible only if the wood is filly saturated. As a result, the initial moisture content is veryhighinsapwood(80% to morethan200%dependingon the species). In h e m o o d , the initial moisture content is between 40% and 80%. In addition, in this of part the tree, the aspiration pit (for softwood) and the extractibles significantly reduce the permeability (Fig. 37). Such differences explain the observation pointed out on figure 36.
Sapwood = active part of tree \

r+
HeamHood I

+ extractlve IncrusMlons
Borderedpit

aspirated p b

LIVING TREE

MOISTURE CONTENT

Fig. 37 Physical differences, in softwood, between sapwood and heartwood

PERMEABILITY

In order to provide information on the effect of these differences on the drying process, figures 38 and 39 present drying experiments carried out on spruce with superheatedsteam at 15OoC, sapwood heartwood and respectively. They are representative of thetrends generally observed [Salin 1989, Pang et al. 1994,Perre and Martin, 19941. Note that, in the latter reference, the same test was referenced as being a 160C test. Nevertheless, in accordance with a previous remark concerning the tunnel regulation, is it obvious here that the equilibrium temperature is even less than 15OOC. That is why the corresponding simulations have been computed with steam temperature of145OC. a Compared to fir (Fig. 21), the first drying period is longer for the sapwood board of spruce and the differences observed between the middle and the ends of the sample are weaker. Here,the whole board seemsto dry at the same rate.

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

129

TIME (minutes)

Fig. 38 - Experiment on heartwood (Norway spruce dried with superheated steam at I O C . Temperature and internal pressure at different locations. S)
Alr ilow Dliierent locatlons In the sample

c_
150

1.0 m

l.o

130
0 %

0.8

E 3 E W

110

06 2 .
v)

E
90
0.4

b
70

02 .
0

50

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

TIME (min)

Fig. 39

- Experiment on sapwood (Norway spruce dried with superheated steam

ISOOC). Temperature and internal pressure at different locations.

at

130

Perrt! and Turner

200
Time (minutes)

400

600

Fig. 40

- Drying kinetics obtained for

sapwood and for heartwood (Norway spruce dried with superheated steam 15OOC). at

After the initial transient period, only small overpressure existsin the board up to a the beginning of the second drying period. At this time (around 350 minutes), an important overpressure follows the temperature increase. It begins to disappear only once the medium becomes hygroscopic. These results point out, once again, the possible variability that we can observe on different boards (here on different boards, although comparable, cut fkomwithin the same species). The connection with the simulation must be analysed through effect ofthe physical parameters. the Section 5.3 pointed out some element of thinking. The results obtained for heartwood are quite different. No first drying period can be observed. Justa short plateau at the boiling point is detectable at rear end of the the board (Ts). Consequently, the overpressureremainshigh(especially for the center pressure P3) up to the end of the drying. Note that the maximum pressure is higher for heartwood than for sapwood. The two drying kinetics are of great interest: altrough the initial moisture content of sapwood is very high (170% against 60 %), the curves cross each other at 450 minutes of drying (Fig. 40). This phenomenon has been observed previously [Salin 19891. The philosophy of simulating the differences between heartwood and sapwood lies in only two sets of parameters : the permeabilities and the initial moisture content.

Macroscopic Equations

to SimulateTransfer Heat and Mass

131

In accordance with the experiment, the moisture contents chosen here were equal to 180 YOfor sapwood and 70 % for heartwood. Concerning the permeabilities, most of the thoughtliesin the effectofpitaspiration. For the simulation of softwood, the authors usually used an intrinsic permeability which is smaller the for gas than for the liquid. This is justified by the fact that, once the gas can pass through a bordered pit,the air-liquid meniscus was already passed, inducing a large probability of aspiration. In the case of heartwood, the same argument leads to considering even that for liquid migration, most of the pits are aspirated. Consequently, the intrinsic permeability must be the same for gas and liquid. For sapwood, we keep the difference between gas and liquid, with a slightly higher permeability to the gaseousphasejustified by theabsence of extractibles. The resulting valuesare summarised in table 2.

Heartwood 10-l~ m2 Longitudinal (gas) 1 m' 0-13 (liquid) 10"~ m' Transverse (gas) 1o " ~ m' (liquid) Table 2 -Intrinsic permeabilities used this section. in

2.10"~' m 10"' m '

Sapwood

2.10-13 m2 10"~ m2

200
Time (minutes)

400

6; 0

Fig. 41 Simulation of heartwood (softwood dried with superheated steam at 145soC). Drying kinetics and temperature at different locations.

132

Perre' and Turner

200

400

600

800

Time (minutes)

Fig. 42 Simulation o sapwood (Sofiood dried with superheated steam at I45OC). f Drying kinetics and temperature at different locations.
Air flow
Different locations

30mm
b

100 300

200
Time (minutes)

400

500

606

Fig. 43 Simulation o sapwood (Sojhood dried with superheated steam at 14SC). f Drying kinetics andpressure at diffment locations.

Macroscopic Equations

to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

I33

Figures 41 to 44 present selected results concerning the differences found by the simulationusing the set of parametersinTable 2. As usualwhencomparing experiment and simulation for wood, all main trends are well recovered by the the model. The most spectacular effect is unquestionably visible on the last figure (Fig. 44) : after 2 hours of drying, the sapwood board exhibitsa large supply of the endpiece with water, whilethe heartwood endpiece is already within hygroscopic range. the The evolutions in time depict also similar shapes : - quick increase in temperature all over the board as soon as the drying process starts for heartwood, - long first drying period sapwood, for - same timeat the boiling temperaturefor the endpiece, - although the large difference of initial moisture content, the drying times are around the same for both boards. On the other hand,largedifferencescanalsobefoundbetweentheoryand experiment, especiallyfor the sapwood board : the firstdryingperiodlastsonly 100 minutesin the simulationagainst 300 minutes for the experiment, - the maximum overpressure is about twice as high as observed in the calculated curves,

In conclusion, it is possible stipulate that incorporating in the model, some wellto known differences between heartwood and sapwood, allows the simulation to be quite close to reality. Once again, the transverse permeabilities seem be too low to for obtaining the experimental duration of the first drying period and measured the overpressure. Nevertheless, we must be reminded that, the case of steam drying, in internal temperatures are not able differ the constant drying rate period from the to second drying period of a permeable porous medium (see the resuits presented with concrete). This becomes especially if surface checking, induced in dry true the region by the shrinkage, increases significantly the permeability in the transverse direction.

134

Perre' and Turner

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

7. VACUUM DRYING

I35

Vacuumdryingisoftenused for highvaluatedspecies or for large sections [Kanagawa 1993, Perre et al. 1995b, Wengert and Denig 19951. The physics of vacuum drying is well known and can be included in the model as well. The most important features of heat and mass transfer in partial vacuum : are - the way to supply energyto the product, - the regime ofgas migration in the porous medium. We present here an example of vacuum drying with radiative heating. Details of the experimental procedure and other experiments can be found elsewhere [ p e d and Mosnier, 1995al. The presented test has been carried out on a sapwood board of fir ( P b k = 0.2 Pam). Theanalysisof the resultspresented infigure 45 are straightforward.Due to the low pressure, the boiling point of water is reduced (to around 6OoC here). So, after the first decrease of pressure from the atmospheric value,all the curveexhibit the samephenomena as for high temperature with superheated steam.

a
Y

180 150 120

60
50
A

E
L

a ,

6
0

g
c

40

9
Y

g
+

??

90
60

30 $
2

{
0 V

S
20
0

.0 z
L

3
v)

30 0 0

10 0 500

100

200

300

400

Time (minutes)

Fig. 45

- Vacuum drying of fir (Abies alba) with radiative heating. Drying kinetics,
temperature andpressure at different locations.

136

Perrk and Turner

100

200

300
Time (minutes)

400

500

600

Fig. 46

- Vacuumdrying

o sofrwood withradiativeheating. Drying kinetics,and f temprutwe at diflerenf locutions.

Figures 46 and 47 are the corresponding results as obtained by simulation. The comparison with experiment suggestthe following comments : the - the initial decrease'of pressure is similar, but faster, in the simulation. This fact is quite easy to explain. We must keep in mind that the experimental sensors are of little, but not negligible volume, the duration ofthe first drying period is comparable, -just at the end of the first drying period, the surface temperature increases slowly in the experiment, but very quicly for the simulation, the pressure levelsare about twiceas large in the simulation.

The two last remarks suggest again the permeability ofthe gaseous phase used that in the simulation istoo low. We can conclude that, as is always the case for wood, the model gives reasonable trends, but not superposable curves. However, low level ofpressure can induce the some specific phenomena at the interface between wood and surroundinggas that were nottakenintoaccounthere.Theseeffectswerestudied by Sebastianand Turner (1994) and are the subject of future research to be proposed by the authors and the group working at the Laboratoire 'Energktique et Phknomknes de Transferts!

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

137

Time (minutes)

Fig. 47

- Vacuum drying of softwood with radiative heating. Drying kinetics, and

pressure at different locations.
8. DRYING WITB. IMPOSED HEATING

For both of the configurations presented in this section (microwave heating and

boiling) the heat is flux imposed independant and of the variables. such In conditions, and whenthe flux is sufficient, very intensive transfer takes place within the porous medium. These phenomena include : high temperatures, high pressure gradients, very low partial pressure of theair in some regions ofthe medium. The combination of these transfer phenomena enforce the porous medium to be fully saturated in some zones. On the other hand,nothingin the setofmacroscopicequationsprevents the medium from overpassingthe full saturation, which can lead a negative valuefor to the gaseous porosityand,consequently, to a failureof the code. In the work presented here, this problem was overcome using the concept of an irreducible saturation for the gaseous phase which was introduced some years ago [Perre and Moyne 1 9 l . 9 ]
8.1.

Microwave drying

In the case of microwave drying,the energy is supplied directly to the core of the sample by electromagnetic heating. Consequently, the medium temperature is no longer determined by the external conditions. No more plateaus can be observed

138

Perre' and Turner

on the evolution of the temperature. In addition, the heat flux does not depend on the thermalgradient : importantdryingrateswithinternalvaporisationcanbe obtained without great differences between surface and inner temperatures. Indeed, with microwave heating, the surface is often cooled by the air flux, leading to a thermal gradient accelerating the mass migration towards the surface. Keeping in mind that the thermal gradient inhibits partly mass migration during convective the drying, one can understand why internal heating can significantly reduce the.drying timeevenif the temperatureremainsbelow the boilingpoint[Constant et al. 19921. Typical tests carried out with microwave heating points four drying periods : out - a heating period : at first, the energy supplied heats the medium without mass loss, - a "streaming" period : when the temperature reaches and overtakes the boiling point of water, the internal pressure becomes high enough draining liquidwater for out of the medium (pumping effect), - anenthalpicperiod : when the moisturecontentdecreases,vapourmigration takes the place of liquid migration. The mechanism becomes simpler : the vapour flux, sustained through vaporisation by the amount of energy, leaves the medium by diffusion-convection (or pure convection). The analytical model proposed in P e d et al [l9931 applies for the explanation of mass migration mechanisms and internal pressure prediction. - a "burning" period : finally, when insufficient water remains inside the medium, the temperature increase can be very spectacular. Indeed, loss factor (imaginary the component of the permitivity) often increases with temperature. This means that the drier part of the medium becomes hotter and receives more energy leading a to thermal runaway effect. Two different tests are presented here : - experiment on heartwood spruce (15 cm x 5 cm x 2 cm) with 100 W incident power (fig. 48) - experiment and simulation on light concrete (cylinder 0 = 2 cm x 8 cm, mass transfers only along axle) with 90W incident power (fig.49). the Both tests point out the four drying periods. Of course,the pressure levels depend on the material, but are much higher than those observed for convective drying : it is possible here measure the overpressure for concrete and pressures high as 3 to as times the atmospheric pressure are obtained for wood.

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

140
I

139
'

1
"

l 5

Surface temperature

\kj

Average MC
n "
I

20
Time (min)

40

60-

f to Figu're48 - Microwave dryingo Spruce (Experiment; incident power close100 W).

20

40

60

80

Time (min)

Figure 49 - Microwave drying o fight concrete (Experiment and simulation; incident f power closeto 90 W).

I40

Perre' and Turner

A thermal runaway can be observed for wood (Fig. In this experiment, the hot 48). zone was near the end of the sample. At this moment, one must quickly switch off the electromagnetic power for fear of burning. Note the slight underpressure due to vapour condensationwhen the power stops (= 50 min).
The physical characteristics are well-known for light concrete ("Ytong" concrete). In order to perform a rather simple simulation of this configuration, microwave the powerisdeducedfrom the adsorbedpowermeasuredduring the experiment - reflected power - transmitted power). Then, the spatial (incident power repartition uses a weighting function which is linear in moisture content. For this medium, the model becomes predictive (Fig.49). Even amount of liquid leaving the the sample which was weighted during the experiment corresponds to what the simulation predicts. Due to the great variability of wood, rather than prediction, the model aims only a to give a good tendency of the reality. In this simulation presented here,the power wasonlyconstant intimeanduniforminspace. A complete model ofpower calculation using the fields of moisture and temperature calculated by the transfer model is the subjectofactualresearch.Thiswillbeanextension of the onedimensional model discussed by Turner and Jolly [1990a-b] and Constant et al. [1996]. Nevertheless, as a cognitive model, present the simulation leads to a better understanding of the phenomena. Figures 50, 51 and 52 show the field of each variableobtainedatdifferentdryingtimes for softwood.During the firstten minutes, the moisture field doesnotchangesignificantly.Only the effecton external air flow is observable. Then, when the temperature and consequently the internalpressure are sufficient, a dryingfrontwhichpropagates towards the exchange surface in the longitudinal direction can be observed (the permeability here is 1000 times greater in this direction).

Macroscopic Equationsto Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

141

10 min
'e-

20 min

-e

40 min
\

e -

GflI

min

Figure 50 Microwave drying o softwood (200 W incident power). Moisture Peld f calculated at d&ferent drying times

142

Perre' and Turner

10 min
e o

20 min
'

e -

60 min
'

e -

Figure 51 Mcrowave drying of softwood (200 W incident power). Temperaturefierd calculated at different drying times

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

143

10 min

20 min
e -

40 min
" 0

60 min

.e o

Figure 52 Mirrowave drying of sofhood (200 W incident power). Pressure field calculated at different drying times

144
8.2.

Perre' and Turner

Boiling in a porous medium

The configuration studied here consists ofa porous medium (bed of glass beads) which is initially fully saturated, submitted to gravity and heated at its bottom face by a constant flux. At the top side, the temperature is fixedandfull saturation imposed (Fig. 53). saturation Full Fixed temperature

Gravity

I
-

face Impervious and Heating flux

Fig. 53 Physical configuration :the bottom of the porous medium is heated until boiling occurs.

This configuration, in which non-saturated and satured zones always coexist, is a very severetest for the model. Figure54 represents the results obtained at different times for a heating fluxof 6000 w/m2. It isinteresting to observehow the concept of irreducible saturation for the gaseous phase Sgm allows to conterbalance the effect of the gravity while the medium is cold. Due to the very small value of Sgm (l%), the change of moisture content along the height remains negligible. Then, as the medium temperature increases, the pressure increases as well, mainly through the changeofsaturatedvapourpressure.Once, at anylocation, the temperature reaches the boiling point of water, the gaseous pressure is sufficient to push the water towards the top. One can observea front advancing in the medium towards the top. Due to the boundary condition at the top face (imposed temperature), an steadystate regime is obtained when the heat flux driven by conduction in the saturated zoneexactlybalances the heatfluximposedat the bottomface.In the nonsaturated zone, the heat transfer occurs by enthalpy transport. This very efficient mechanism is responsible for the isothermal zone.

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

145

146

Perre' and Turner

Note that it is possible to observe the existence of a filly dried zone close to the heated face before the equilibrium is obtained.Inthiszone, the temperature increases very quickly (the conductivity of a dried product is rather low). Such a zone be can observed in figure 54. All of these results are consistentwith experimental data and the simulation results calculated by a two-zonemodel presented by Stemmelen [19911.
9.

WITHIN ANNUAL RINGS OF SOFTWOOD

9.1.

Formulation

At the level of one board, wood can not always be assumedto be homogeneous. In the case of softwood, for instance, the density changes significantly (approximately 250 kg/m3 in earlywood against 1000 kg/m3 in latewood). This dramatic variation of density in some millimeters induces changes physical large in properties [puiggali Quintard and 1990, Perre 19961. Nevertheless,at the level cell of arrangements, homogenized coefficients be Thus, macroscopic can used. the equations describingthe liquid movement applies (equations 7 and 8). For a non-homogeneous macroscopic medium, the gradient of internal gaseous pressure F:, one of the independent variables used in the formulation, is obtained by standarddifferentiation.However, the gradient of the capillary pressure P, must account for spatialvariations. If itisassumedthat the localdensityis a parameter which can be used to define the local properties, the capillary pressure should be a finction of three factors : temperature T, moisture content MC and local density p . Then the gradient of capillary pressure can be expressed : . as VP,

8% =-VT+-VMC+-Vp, 3% 3% aT aMC aP0

It is possible to deal with this formulation in a drying model. The last term of the right hand side of equation (29) is of great importance and is often neglected in most modelling strategies. It allows the explanation ofthe great difference in initial MC between earlywoodand latewood and the simulation of the quick departure of the free water in the earlywood for which the capillary forces are weak. Note that the Newton-Raphson procedure allowsthe right driving force, the liquid pressure, to be taken into account directly.

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

I47

9.2.

Simulation of a "soft"convectivedrying

Low temperatureconvectivedrying of spruce(Td = 4OOC; Tw = 35OC, h=10 W.mq2) is illustrated in figure This simulation was carried in one dimension, 55. out using equation 29. The capillary pressure curve and the bound water diffusivity depend on the density according to, respectively, an expression derived according to image analysis measurements and results of homogenization [Perre 19961. Four identical annual rings spruce were simulated. The results point that : of out at the beginning of the process, the MC is much higher in earlywood than in latewood. This is due to two complementary reasons : for earlywood, the porosity is high (more space available for water) and the weight of dry wood is low (high MC for a fixed amountof water). - during drying, the earlywood dries first. This lies in the fact that the capillary forces are weaker in earlywood. Consequently, the resulting profiles somewhere MC lie between macroscpic phenomena (low MC close to the exchange surface) and microscopic equilibrium (same liquid pressure within an annual ring).

-..-.

200 h 100 h

--........
" "

40h 20h

5h 2h Oh

0.04 0

,
B

10

Distance from exchange surface (mm)

Fig. 55

Woodasnon-homogeneousmaterialLocaldensityandsimulated MC profiles for a low temperature convective drying and the capillary pressure curves given in accordance with equation (9).

148

Perre' and Turner

These simulationsare in good agreement withthe literature [Quemerk 1982, Plumb et al. 1984, Davis er al. 19931. Moreover, small samples of green spruce were observed with a microscope during drying. The surface of green wood samples the was prepared using a sledge microtome. The convective dryingin the longitudinal direction was obtained simplyby using a fan with room air. The exchange surface was observed and filmed using a camera and a time lapse video cassette recorder. The films show very clearly that the meniscus within the tracheids disappeared at first in earlywood. It was observed even that earlywood within was the hygroscopic range while liquid still remained withinthe latewood. free

10. CONCLUSION AND PROSPECTS

From the study undertakenin this chapter it is clear the use of the macroscopic that model can capture a large percentage of transport phenomena that arise in both the isotropic and anisotropic porous media during drying. Moreover, model is able the to elucidate on the physics that transpire during configurations that induce a very intensive transfer within the medium. For all cases studied throughout the text, where the material temperatures exceed the boiling point and leadto an important internal pressure, the model was able to well represent reality and remain close to the experimental results. Furthermore, the use of the Newton scheme allows one to remain closely connected to the physics at a fundamental level, while at the same time providing fast processing times. These facts again emphasise the advantages that are provided byutilisingsuch a numericalstrategywhenresolvingthecomplicated equations of heat and mass transfer. With such a mathematical tool it is possible to envisage exciting future prospects such as : microwave drying where the transfer model is coupled with a complete power density calculation; the treatment o the f f i l l y saturated regionswithin the porous medium and perhaps the most fascinating prospect, a three-dimensional model whichcan incorporate the combination of both heartwood and sapwood. Another important point concerns the stress calculation which only uses moisture profiles that are computed from the transport code and subsequently, these values are utilised to calculate the free shrinkage - thisremains a one wayprocess. However, the surface checking that arises during drying must impact dramatically the values of the permeabilities. This effect can provide an explanation of why the model for wood agrees with experimental results only when the values of the

Macroscopic to Equations

Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

149

permeabilities are over-estimated. In the future, one can imagine a real coupling between the stress and transfer codes. Unfortunately, at this stage, the reader must be aware of the limitations of the macroscopic formulation. The interested reader is referred to the Habilitation a Diriger des Recherches writtenby Perre in 1992 for further details. Most of these limitations concern the mechanisms for which specific phenomena that arise at the microscopic scale can not be captured the macroscopic description. by Finally, once again, the reader must know that the macroscopic model requires many physical parameters which must be determined experimentally in order to characterise the porousmedium.Inorder to avoidexhaustivecharacterisation, someveryinterestingresultscanbeobtainedfromtheorieswhichallow the prediction of the macroscopic behaviour from the microscopic structure [Gibson andAshby1988,Adler1992,Suquet1985, Perre 19961. The authors intend to in investigate such possibilities future research. The results of the simulations must then be verified extensively against the overall experimental process. New techniques now available that allow non-destructive are measurements of the local moisture content duringthe process [Lindgren 1992a-b, Davis et al. 19931. These procedures appear be very promising for validation to the of the physics embodied within code. the
11. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The first author, Patrick Perre, would like express his gratitudeto the School of to Mathematics at Q.U.T. for supporting his stay in Brisbane, Australia in 1994.The second author, Ian Turner, would like to thank the E.N.G.R.E.F. for the financial assistance offered during sabbatical stay in Nancy, France. Finally, both authors his appreciated the computingfacilitiesthatweremadeavailableforthem at the E.N.G.RE.F. and at the Q.U.T. .
12. REFERENCES

Adler, P.M. "Porous Media : Geometrv and Transports"Butterworth-Heinemann Series in Chemical Engineering [1992]. Baixeras, 0. "Modklisation et mise en oeuvre expkrimentale du skchage sous-vide discontinu du ch&ne" Thbse de I'ENSAM, Bordeaux 119951. Banks, W.B. "A technique for measuring the lateral permeability o f wood" J. Int. Wood

150

Perre' and Turner

Science, 4(2), 288-307 [1968]. Basilico, C. "Le sechage convectif a haute temperature bois du massif. Etude des mecanismes de transfert de chaleur et de masse" These de Doctorat MPL Nancy d'Etat, [1984]. Bird, R.B., Steward, W.E.and Lightfoot, E. N. "Transport phenomena" John Wiley and Sons, New York 19601. [ Choong, E.T. and Kimbler,O.K. "A technique of measuring water flow in woods of low permeability" Wood Science, 4(1), 32-36 [1971]. ComstockG.L."Directionalpermeabilityof [1970].
softwoods" Wood andFiber,1,283-289

Comstock,G.L.andCote,W.A."Factorsaffectingpermeabilityandpitsaspirationin coniferous sapwood" Wood Sci. Techn.,Vol.2,279-291 [1968]. Constant, T., Perre, P. and Moyne, C. "Microwave drying of light concrete: from transport mechanisms to explanation of energy savings" DRYING'92,617-626, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.[1992]. Constant, T., Perre, P. and Moyne, C. "Drying with internal heat Generation : Theoretical Apects Application and to Microwave Heating" AIChE Journal, 42(2), 359-368 [1996]. Davis, J.R., Mc, J., and Wells,P,, "Moisture content in drying wood using direct scanning Gamma-ray densitometry" Wood and Fiber Sci., 25(2), 153-162 (1993). Dullien,F.A.L.,"Porousmedia Academic Press[ 19921.

- Fluid transport andporestructure"SecondEdition,

Farmggia, F., Lahbabi, R., et Perrk, P., "D6termination des propri6tk:Smkcaniquesdes resineux a I'echellemicroscopiqueduplanligneux"tobepublished,ARBOLOR [1996]. Gibson L.J. and Ashby M. F."Cellular solids [1988].

- Structure and ProDerties" Pergamon Press

Jacquiot, C., Trknard, Y., Dirol, D. "Atlas d'anatomie des bois des Angiospermes", CTBA, Paris [1973]. Kanagawa, Y. "Estimationofthepermeabilityofwoodinthetransversedirection" Mokuzai Gakkaishi, 31(2), 68-74 [1985]. Kanagawa, Y. "Perspectives of the vacuum drying of wood development" Vacuum Drying of Wood '93,7-11, Zvolen, Slovak Republic [ 19931. Kamke,F.A.Casey,L.J. "Gas pressureandtemperatureinthematduringflakeboard manufacture", Forest Products Journal, Vo1.38, n03, pp 41-43 [1988]. Krischer, 0. and Kroll, K. "Techniques du skchage" CETIAT, Orsay (Translation ofthe original text published 19631. in

Macroscopic Equations to Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

151

Lindgren, O., "Medical CT-scanners nondestructive for wood density moisture and content measurements" Doctoral thesis, LuleH University, Sweden [ 1992al. Lindgren, O., "Nondestructive wood density distribution measurements using computed tomography" Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff, 50,295-299 [1992b]. Lowery, D.P."Vapor pressure generated in wood during drying", Wood Science 5, pp.7380, [1979].
earlywood permeabilityofDouglas-Fir" Meyer,R.W."Influenceofpitaspirationon Wood and Fiber, Vol. 2, p. 328-339 [1971].

Pang, S. Keey, R.B. and Walker, J.C.F. "Modelling of the High-Temperature Drying of Mixed Sap and Heartwood Boards" 4th Int. Wood Drying Conference, 430-439 [1994]. P e d , P. "Le sechageconvectifdeboisresineux:choix,validationetutilisationd'un VII modele" These de I'Universite PARIS [1987]. Perre, P. "Transferts couples en milieux poreux nomsatures. Possibilites et limitations de la formulation macroscopique" Habilitation a DirigerdesRecherches,INPL,Nancy [19921. Perre,P."ImageAnalysis,Homogenization,NumericalSimulationandExperiment ComplementaryTools to EnlightentheRelationshipbetweenWoodAnatomyand Drying Behavior"a paraitre dans Drying Technology Journal, 1996.
as

Pern5, P. and Mope, C. "Processes related to drying: Part I1 - Use of the same model to solve transfers both in saturated and unsaturated porous media" Drying Technology, V01.9(5), pp.1153-1179 [1991]. Perre, P., Moser, M., Martin M., "Advances in transport phenomena during convective drying superheated with steam or moist Int. air" J. Heat Mass and Transfer, V01.36(1l), pp.2725-2746 [1993]. P e d , P. and Martin, M. "Dryingat high temperature of heartwood and sapwood : theory, experiment practical and consequencekiln on control" paper, Invited Drying Technology Journal, vol.12(8), 1915-1941 [1994]. Perre, P.and Mosnier, S. "Vacuum drying with radiative heating: experiment on different species (fir, spruce and beech) and simulation with a simple analyhcal model" Vacuum Drying of Wood '95, 251-260, Zvolen, Slovak Republic [ 1995al. Perre P., Joyet P., and Alhn, D. "Vacuum drylng : physical requirements and practical solutions" Tutorial, VacuumDryingofWood'95,7-34,Zvolen,SlovakRepublic [1995b]. Plumb, O.A., Brown, C.A., and Olmstead, B.A.,"Experimental measurement of heat and mass transfer during convective drying of southern pine" Wood. Sci. Technol. 18, 187204 [1984]. Puiggali, J. R. and Quintard, M., "Determination de propriites de transfert dans les strates d'un bois resineux", C. R. Acad. Sei. Paris, 310. Series ZZ, pp. 17 19-1724[19901.

I52

Perrk and Turner

Qutmtrt, Y., -"Mesure ponctuelle de l'humiditt du bois" Holzforschung, Vol. 36 (6), 287294 [1982].
Salin, J.G."Remarks on the influence of heartwood content in pine boards onmoisture final

content and degrade"IUFRO Wood Drying Symp., 4-6 Seattle [1989]. Stbastian,P.andTurner,I.W. "An InvestigationoftheBoundaryConditionsfor a Vacuum Drying Problem - Introducing Transition Concept", the Layer Drying Technology, 12(4), 717-760 [1994]. Siau, J.F., "Transport Processes in Wood" Springer-Verlag [1984]. Stemmelen, D. "Ebullition en milieu poreux capillaire: modtlisation et exptrimentation" Thbe de Doctorat INPL Nancy [19911. Suquet, "Element P.M., homogenization of for ineslastic mechanics" solid in Homogenization Techniques Composite for media, Lecture Notes Physics,272, in Sanchez-Palencia and Zaoui Editors, Springer-Verlag19851. [

Sohn,H.Y. "Gas-solid reactions" Academic Press, New York Szekely, J., Ekans, J.W. and [1976].
Turner, I. W., "The Modelling of Combined Microwave and Convective Drying of a Wet Porous Material", PhD Thesis,Dept. Mech. Engn. University of Queensland [1991]. Turner, I. W. and Jolly, P. G., "The Effect of Dielectric Properties on Microwave Drying Kinetics", J MicrowaveEnergyandElechomagneticEnergy, 25,4,pp.212-223 [199Oal. Turner, I. W. and Jolly, P. G., "The Modelling of Combined Microwave and Convective Drying Technology,9,5 [ 1990bl. Drying of a Wet Porous Material", WengertG.andDenig J. "Lumberdrying 45(5), 22-30 [1995].

- TodayandTomorrov"ForestProducts

J.,

Macroscopic Equationsto Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

13. AMVEX

I53

Except for particular cases which are specified in the text, the physical parameters used in the simulation are listed below :
13.1. Light concrete

For this medium, use is made of results concerning liquid migration for steady state experiments [Krischer and Kr6ll 19631. The liquid migration coefficient, named ad, defined in this way is connected to the capillary= pressure by the following equation : =

Kc x kc apC Poaml = Pc Pc ax
E

Porosity : Density of the solid matrix : Intrinsic permeability

: K=

n = 0.80
(m')

Po = 500 (kg m-3).

Irreducible moisture content : X, = 0.30 Heat capacity

:

pC,=po(840+4185X)(Jkg"C")

Vapour pressure :

P, =P,,
P,,

when X

2 0.07

~ = ~ x ~ - - - & ]when X10.07

0.07 Relative permeabilities:

k , =X*3

with

X*=

x-xi, x - xi, ,

Liquid migration coefficient:

ao=-10.5;a~=30.54;~~=-7075;a~=8397;~4=-42.92;a~=11.88

Gaseous diffision

Deff=0.2xD,xk,

(D, is the mass diffisivity of vapourair). in

Thermal conductivity: h = 0.142 + 0.46 X X(Wm"" C-')

154
13.2.

Perri and Turner

Softwood

Porosity : Density of thesolidmatrix : Heat capacity

:

l = 0.733 3
p. = 400 (kg mq3).

PCp =p,-,(1113+4.85~T+4185xX)(Jkg""C")

Vapour pressure : P, = P ,exp[(-3.3527- 0.01328 xT+23.63.1$ xTZ) ~(0.8487" 67.4.10" x T ) ~ " ] Bound and free water: X = X,, + X, where x, = min(X,, ,X) and X, = 0.325- 0.001T (at full saturation, X,, = X, Capillary pressure : Transverse direction (T) :
. for liquid :

Pc= 1.364x 1050(X, + 1.2x 10_4)-o'61

K = 5 x 10-16(mz)

. for gas (with pits aspiration) : K = 1O-I6(m2)

Relative permeabilities
:

k , =X*3

with

X*=- XI

x,

k, =1+(2X*-3)X*2
Gaseous diffusion
:

D,ff =

X D, X

k,

Thermal conductivity X 1 0 . 4 h,ff=(0.65/lOOX+0.0932)~(l+3.65~10~3T)(0.986+2.695X) X I 0.4 heM=(0.129- 0 . 0 4 9 3 x (1 + (2.05+ 4X) x 1 0 " ~ )x (0.986+ 2.695X) Bound water diffusion : -9.9=9.8X-- 4300] (Tki Kelvin) n

T k
Longitudinal direction (L) : Intrinsic permeability :
. for liquid :

K =5X
:

(m*)

. for gas (with aspiration) pits

K=

(' m)

Macroscopic Equationsto Simulate Heat and Mass Transfer

Relative permeabilities

k,, =X**

with

X*=*4

x,
Xht

k,g = 1+ (4X * -5)x

Gaseous diffusion
:

D,ff = 2.10-2

X D, X k,

Thermal conductivity: h, (L) = 2 X h,, (T) Bounddiffusion water

:

Db(L)=2SxDb(T)

13.3. Bed of glass beads

Porosity : Density of the solid matrix :

l = 0.40 l
p0

= 1500 (kg m-3).

Intrinsic permeability : K = lo-" (m') Irreducible moisture content : X, Heat capacity: Vapour pressure
:

= 0.015

pc, = p~(700+4185X)(Jkg"C")

=P, P, ,
P,,
0.01

when

x 2 0.01
when X I 0.01

Relative permeabilities

k,, =X*3

with

X*=

x-x, x, - xi, ,

k, = (1- X*)3
Capillary pressure :

Pc = J(S)XGX 0.0095 0.02 --+--00.13+a S S-1.028 a is such that 1) = 0 J(

=0.2XDV Xk,
O

IE

J is the Leverett function. Here,

Gaseous diffusion

D,,

Thermal conductivity: h = 0.251+ 3.46 x X(Wm"

C" )

156
,

Perre and Turner

NOMENCLATURE

molar concentration ( m o ~ e / ~ ~ ) molar concentration of species A (mo~e/LJ) heat capacity at constant pressure, per unit m a s (Lz/t%) binary diffisivity for system A-B (L%) binary diffusivity in the porous medium(L2/t) Knudsen diffusivity (L2/t) effective diffusivity for species A in the porous medium (L2/t) heat transfer coefficient (M/?T) diffusive flux of A (mole/tLZ) permeability (L2) Boltzmann constant (ML2/t%) mass transfer coefficient (L/t) relative permeability for phase i mass flow rate (M/tL2) heat flux (W?) molecular weight of species A (M/mole) fluid pressure (M/Ltz) saturation (volume of liquid / volume of pores) temperature (T) mean molecular speed (L/t) fluid velocity (Llt) molar fraction of species A Greek letters
E

&
p p
7

porosity (void fraction) thermal conductivity (ML/t3T) molecular mean free path (L) viscosity (M/Lt) fluid density (M/L3) tortuosity factor capillary gaseous liquid vector component relative to species A Tensor Averaged value

Subscript . c
g

x,y A Superscript

MODELLING AND SIMULATING SIMULTANEOUS LIQUID AND VAPOUR TRANSPORT IN PARTIALLY SATURATED POROUS MATERIALS

A.J.J. van der Zanden Laboratory of 'Separation Technology Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O.Box 513 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Keywords: clay; diffusion; diffusion coefficient; drying; evaporation.

ABSTRACT Simultaneous liquid and vapour transport in partially saturated porous materials is modelled with two coupled diffusionequations in which a term accounts the for evaporation. The solution of the differential equation for the vapour diffusion is approximated with the quasi steady solution. The differential equation for the liquid diffusion is solved using the numerical Crank-Nicolson method. The predictions o f the model are compared with experimentaldata of drying clay as found in the literature. The influence of sorption isotherms must be included in the model.

157

158

van der Zanden

1. Introduction

Problems associated with liquid transport in porous materials are most of the time rather complex because of the complex geometry phase. A lot of research has been done on thistopic. of the solid

See forinstance

Dullien (1992). Recently an extensive review article has been published by Sahimi (1993). The problem of flow throughporousmaterialsbecomes even morecomplex when the fluidconsists of

two phases. See againthe

review article of Sahimi or Sahimi (1994). Drying of porous materials is a special

case o f two phase flow in porous materials because evaporation (or

condensation) can take place. The geometry of the solid and the geometry of the liquidvapour interface is liquidlvapour interfaces can be not known. Computing the shape of done in an easy way in simple geometries,

for instance around axisymmetricsolids

( aa Schiin Bs,

& Salamon,1994).

When the geometries become more complex

the shape of the liquid/vapour

interface must be computed in a much more complicated way. If this shape is computed the next problem is to determine the flow characteristics. The problem is thereforeoftenapproached

in another way. Network models

have been used, recently for instance by Hirsch & Thompson (1994). More studies concerning this problem

are, for instance, Whitaker & Chou (1983),

& Whitaker (1988) and

Chen & Whitaker (1986), Puiggali, Quintard

Blumberg 8 Schluender (1993). A network model has also been used by c

Simultaneous Liquid and Vapour Transport

159

Nowicki, Davis

& Scriven (1992).

A fundamental model for

he liquid

transport inside porous materials

Coumans,Kerkhof byvan

has been given by van der Zanden, was sightly modified

& Schoenmakers(1995),which

der Zanden (1995). The interaction between the vapour phase and modelled by van

liquidphasewas

der Zanden, Schoenmakers & Kerkhof

neglected and by van der

(1996a) in thecasethesorptionisothermcouldbe

Zanden & Schoenmakers (1996b) in the case it could not be neglected. The work presented here is a reformulation of the model given by van derZandenet explicitEuler

al.

(1996a)who

solved the numerical problem using the of the

method while thisarticledescribestheapplication

implicit Crank-Nicolson procedure for solving the problem.

In section 2 the model is treated for a non-shrinking, isothermal, onedimensional drying process. The result isa set of two coupled partial

differential equations. In section 3 the numerical approach is given. Predictions of themodel profilesobtained studies only arecompared in section 4 with experimentalmoisture by Ketelaars (1992) duringdrying of clay. Thisarticle

the type of clay which Ketelaars named clay C.

2. Model description

A partially saturated porous material consists

phase and a vapour phase. For clarity let it

of a solid phase, a liquid

be assumed that the liquid is

160

van der zanden

water in the rest of this article. The liquid phase can evaporate water when the bulk of the vapour phase is not saturated with water. The local mass
flux of this evaporation process j can be modelled with a film model with a

mass transfer coefficient k as

- c,)

(1)

in which c, is the water concentration in the vapour phase and the subscript

sot meansthat it is saturated. The specific surface between the liquid and
vapour phase where evaporation the specific evaporation flux J is then
can take place

is denoted a. The

= ka(C,,

- C) . , ,

(2)

Since evaporation takes place at very low moisture contents, in the rest of
this articlethedependenceoftheparameters

k and a on themoisture

content is neglected.Theconcentration

of water in the vapourphase, c,,

C,,

c n be written as a water vapour concentration in the porous material, a

using the porosity,

E:

c, = E c, ,
in which a capital letter is used as a reminder that the concentration is now

based on a larger volume (the volume of the porous material). The volume
oftheliquidphase

is neglectedinequation

3 because of the low moisture

of solution

content during evaporation and for being able to use the method

Simultaneous Liquid and Vapour Transport

161
this

as described next in section a fordifferential equation derived in

section. The specific evaporation flux is then written as
J =
ka -C (, ,
E

CJ

The concentration of water in liquid form

in the porous material, C,, obeys

a diffusion equation including the evaporation term:

a I=at ax
where x is the position coordinate, t time and D,the diffusion coefficient of water in liquid form which is a function of

C,.

The effective water vapour flux in the pores, n,, can be modelled as

in which D, is theeffectivediffusioncoefficientofwatervapourinthe

porous material which is supposed to be constant. The water vapour flux in the porous material, N,,is as in equation 3 related to n as ,

N, = E n, ,
from which follows

(7

162

van der Zunden

The water vapour concentration now obeys the diffusion equation with the evaporation term

At an isolated surface no flux can occur and the boundary conditions are

and

ac, -= o .
ax
At a surface where a water

flux, N, is prescribed the boundary condition is

The totalflux

isformed

by a liquidflux

and avapourflux.Whenthe be formed

moisture content is very high the by

flux towards the surface will

the liquid flux and when the moisture content is very small the flux will
flux is formed

be formed by vapour flux. At intermediate stages the total

by both liquid and vapour flux. It is not clear how large both contributions

Simultaneous Liquid and Vapour Transport

163

are to the total flux. Theconditionoutsidetheporousmaterial

essential role here.

playsan

3. Numerical solution procedure

The model as described in the previous section will be applied in the

case of a drying slab of clay with thickness H. At the drying surface the
position coordinate x is 0. At position x = H is dryingthemoisturecontentat

an isolated surface. During

( s theresultswill a

x = 0 decreasesand

show) becomes eventually zero. At this time a receding liquid front occurs. The position of the receding liquid front is denoted P (figure 1). According to the arguments given by van der Zanden et

al. (1996a) the

solution of differential equation 9 can be approximated with the steady state solution.

In the appendix is derived that the water vapour profile in the clay

slab is then given by

c, = c,*
with

4 D,h

e x p ( 2 x ~- AX) + e x p w ) exp(2XH - P) exp(XP>

[a].
1
9

164

van der m e n

in which No is the water vapour flux at the drying surface. If it is assumed

thattheflux

is totallyformedbythewatervapourflux

(see below)then

this flux can be deduced from the weight of the drying sample as a function oftime.Van der Zanden et

al. (1996a) fitted the average moisture content

96.195e~p(-4.605-10-~) t

of the drying sample of clay C (from Ketelaars) as

zl(f) 198.02
=

wt f in seconds from which the flux can be calculated: ih

Before simulations

can be performed boundary the condition the at

drying surface has to be specified more clearly. The total flux is given but

as discussed in the previous section it is not clear if this is a liquid flux, a

vapour flux or a combination of these two. Here the flux is chosen to be a vapourfluxbecauseifarecedingliquid front occursthefluxmust

be a

vapour flux anyway. Even before a receding liquid front

starts to occur the

on this

precise liquid profile in the drying slab is only weakly dependent choice. The boundary conditions at the drying surface then become

ac, -=0 ax
and

atx=P

Simultaneous Liquid and Vapour Transport

165

During the dryingprocess

the gradients are large

near thereceding

liquid front (at position P) and small at the isolated surface (at position

H).

In the numerical calculations is therefore needed a grid which is fine close

to P and coarseclose to H. A grid is used which has meshes that are a
factor a larger than its smallest neighbour mesh. The number of gridpoints minus 1 is ng. To achieve such a grid a coordination transformation from

the place coordinate x to

5 is used:

from which follows

H - P dr = -at h(a) d t
a"'

-1

Using equation 20 differential equation 5 becomes

166

van der Zanden

In thisformthedifferentialequation
gridpoints have the E-values 0, 1, 2, and 17 become

is rather easy to solvebecause the

...., ng-1, ng. Boundary conditions 10

respectively

Differentialequation 21 withboundaryconditions constantmoisturecontent

22 and 23 andwith

C at t=O as the initial condition will be solved ,

numerically with the Crank-Nicolson method which is described below. The x-coordinate in solution 13 of equation 9 can be transformed with theinverseoftransformation in E-coordinates.

1 . And thesolutionisfairlysimplewritten 9

In order to compute the derivative of for instance C with respect to E ,

at position

E the function true of

C, is approximated with

a parabola

through the three gridpoints E-1, 4 and

E + 1 with the result

where for is short

C ( - ) The , E l . usefulnessthe of coordination trans24 c n a

formation is reflected in thesimplicityoftheequation.Equation

Simultaneous Liquid d Vapour Transport

167

also bewrittenforthederivative

of D p Thesecondderivativeof

C, can

likewise be written as

which again is very simple due to the coordination transformation.

Now the

Crank-Nicolson procedure requires that equation 21 is also developed in the time coordinate t:

At

in which for instance like in equation 24

Equation 26 c n be rearranged to give equation 28. a Boundarycondition 23 is approximated with a parabolathroughthegridpoints t = O , 1 and 2 with equation 29 as the result.

168

v a n der W e n

Boundary condition 22 is approximated with

whichis good enoughbecausethecurvature there. Equations 28-30 are written in a matrixform

of theprofile is verysmall

and thensolvedwiththe
(1988).

Gauss elimination procedure as described for instance by Kreyszig

Simultaneous Liquid

and Vapour Transpon

169

In equation 28 in the terms on the left side the arguments of the D, function
are notknown. As afirstestimation,forexample,

DI(Cl,s,I+ar) approxiis

mated with D,(C,,s,J.An iteration procedure showed that this approximation

was very good and no iteration was needed.

When a receding liquid front occurs the position P changes every time step.Thenew
P valueiscomputed

as thesmallest x valueoftheliquid

profile where the liquid contentis larger than zero.

4. Comparison with experimental data

The simulation process was performed with time steps of 10 morethroughoutthisstudy initialconditionof

S.

Further-

a=1.06 and ng=300. Thesimulationshadthe

C, = 294.215 kg m-3 ( s a

a uniformmoisturecontent

follows from equation 15).

A fewparametersweregiven

by vanderZandenet

al.

(1996a). A

good fit for the diffusion coefficient of the liquid D, as a function of C, was given as

in which R,is given by

I70

van der Zanden

Rf = 4

exp(O.0149 C,)

(32)

The effective diffusion coefficient of water in vapour form was given as D,

= 2.54 10-6

m'

S".

c ,

is computed Antoine's using relation the and

ideal gas law. From this C,,, is computed using the porosity (e=0.30). Experimentally obtained moisture profdes given Ketelaars were by (1992)whodriedslabsofclaywiththickness0.0295 experimentallyobtainedprofiles(solidlines with the computed lines for

m. In figure 2 these

with symbols) are compared

ka = l@S-' (solid lines) from top to bottom at

S

respectively f = 3692, 15468 30180 and KetelaarscalledclayC.Thecomputedlinesshow

for the of which type clay

a recedingliquidfront ka valueinto lo'
S-'

whichtheexperimentalcurvesdonot.Changingthe didnothaveanysignificantinfluence

on thecomputedprofiles.This

is

contrarytotheresultsofvanderZandenetal.(1996a)whocomputed profdeswhichstronglydepended value for ka is of the order lo' et al. (1996a). The discrepancy between computations experimentally and obtained valuesmustbeattributedtotheneglectofthesorptionisothermsofthe clay.Whenthese
SI,

on ka. Thesmallestphysicallyrealistic

as was also shown by van der Zanden

are neglected the liquid can evaporate until C, becomes

zero. When the sorption isotherm

is not neglected the liquid

can evaporate

Simultaneous Liquid and Vapour Transport

171

only until the moisture content is inequilibrium with the water concentration in the vapour phase.

5. Conclusion and discussion

A model has

been described which moisture with the content in

porousmaterial can becomputed as a function of timeandposition.The differential equation for the vapour phase has been solved analytically using thesteadystateapproximation.ThenumericalCrank-Nicolsonprocedure has been applied to solve the differential equation for the liquid phase. The result shows that the model needs an extension to incorporate the effects of thesorptionisotherm,theequilibriumvalue vapour phase and the liquid content
o f thewateractivity

in the

o f the porous material. This extension

has been described by van der Zanden and Schoenmakers (1996b).

172

van der M e n

x [m1

Figure 1.

A drying porous slab with thickness R inside which a receding liquidfront exists at position P. Thefiguregivesthe moisture content as a function o f the position.

Figure 2.

Comparison of experimentally obtained moisture profiles in clayduring drying (solidlines with symbols) with profiles as predictedbythemodel (solid lines) fromtop to bottom after respectively 3692, 15468 and 30180 S.

Simultaneous Liquid and Vapour Transpon

I73

NOTATION
Q

tuningfactor in thegrid [-l

c concentration vapour the phase n g m"] C concentration is the porous material @g m"] D diffusioncoefficient [mZ S"] H thickness of the drying sample [m]
j

l o d evaporationflux@g m-z S"] specificevaporationflux@g m" S"] k mass transfercoefficient [m S"] n effective flux in the vapour phase @g m-' S"] ng number of gridpoints minus 1 [-] N flux in the porous material tjcg m-z S"] P positionoftherecedingliquidfront [m] R parameter in the diffusion coefficient function [m] ' f time [S] x position coordinate [m]

Greek symbols CY specificevaporatingsurface [mz m-3] E porosity [-l X nameless parameter [m"] E logarithmicpositioncoordinate [-l
Subscripts I liquid sat saturated v vapour 0 atx=O

x 74
Appendix
Derivation of the steady state vapour profile

van der Zanden

A situation is considered as is depicted in figure 1. The porous material

between 0 and P has becomecompletely dry andbetween P and H the material is still wet. For the wet region differential equation
state becomes

9 in the steady

is vied as a solution with the result

C,,

- C,,

= A exp(-Ax)

B exp(xr)

(A.3)

with
1

h =

[ S I T .

With the boundary conditions

Simultaneous Liquid and Vapour Transport

ac, - = 0 atx = H ax
and

equation A.3 becomes

c, = c,,

-[No
DJ

e x p ( 2 ~ ~ - +expW) ~x) exp(2xH-xp)-exp(xp)

which is equal to equation 13.

176

van der zanden

References
Basa, P.,
Schiin, J.C. & Salamon, P., 1994, The use of Delaunay curves for the wetting of axisymmetric bodies, Q. Appl. Math. 52, pp. 1-22.

Blumberg,W. & Schluender, E.-U., 1993, Simultaneousvaporand liquid diffusion in partially wetted porous media, Drying TechnoZogy, 11(1), pp.

41-64.
Chen, S. & Whitaker, S., 1986, Moisture distribution during constant rate drying period for unconsolidatedporous media: Failure of the diffusion theory, Int. Drying Symp., Proceedings, Boston, USA, pp. 39-48. Dullien, F.A.L., 1992, Porous media:Fluidtransporc (second edition), Academic Press, Inc., 574 pp.

and pore structure

Hisch, L.M. & Thompson, A.H., 1994, Sizedependentscaling of capillary invasion including buoyancy and pore size distribution effects, Phys.

Rev. E 50, pp. 2069-2086.

Ketelaars, A.A.J., 1992, Drying deformable media: kinetics, shrinkage and stresses,Ph.D.Thesis,University of TechnologyEindhoven,Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Kreyszig, E., 1988, Advancedengineeringmatheman'cs 372-378, John Wiley & Sons.

(sixth edition), pp.

Nowicki, S.C., Davis, H T & Scriven, L.E., 1992, Microscopic determi.. nation of transport parameters in drying porous media, Drying Technology, 10(4), pp. 925-946.

Simultaneous Liquid and Vapour Transport

I n

Puiggali, J.R., Quintard, M. & Whitaker, S., 1988, Drying granular porous media: gravitational effects in the isenthalpic regime and the role of diffusion models, Drying Technology, 6(4), pp. 601-629.

n Sahimi, M., 1993, Flow phenomena i rocks: fromcontinuummodels to fractals, percolation, cellular automata, and simulated annealing, Rev. Mod. P h y ~ .65, pp. 1393-1534.
f Sahimi, M., 1994, Applicationr o percolation theory, pp. 99-121 (chapter 7 ) , Taylor & Francis Ltd.
Whitaker, S. & Chou, W.T.H., 1983, Drying of granular porous media Theory and experiment, Drying Technology, 1(1), pp. 3-33.

van der Zanden, A.J.J., 1995, A possible revision of the results of a model for moisture transport in partially saturated porous media, Drying Technology, 13(8-9).
van derZanden, A.J.J., Coumans, W.J., Kerkhof, P.J.A.M. & Schoenmakers, A.M.E., 1995a, Isothermal moisture transport in partially saturated porous medii, Drying Technology, 13(8-9).

van der Zanden, A.J.J., Schoenmakers, A.M.E. & Kerkhof P.J.A.M., 1996a,Isothermalvapourandliquid transport insideclayduringdrying, Drying Technology, scheduled for 14(2 or 3). van der Zanden, A.J.J. & Schoenmakers, A.M.E., 1996b, The influence of of clay, submitted to Znt. J. Heat Mass sorption isotherms on drying Transfer.

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

HIGH-TEMPERATURE KILN DRYING OF SOFTWOOD TIMBER THE ROLE OF MATHEMATICAL MODELLING

S. Pang and A.N. Haslett
Wood Processing Division, New Zealand Forest Research Institute,Ltd. Private Bag 3020, Rotorua, New Zealand

Keywordsand phrases: airflowreversal;drying stress; heartwood;kiln-wide drying model; mixed sapheartwood; sapwood; single board drying model; stack of boards

ABSTRACT
High temperature drying of softwood is used because it provides much faster drying rate than is possible at lower temperatures. However, the Occurrenceof some dryingdefects limits itsusewherethequality is critical. In order to understand the drying phenomena and to describe the drying processes, numerous mathematical models have been developed in the past two decades. The diffusion model is the earliest attempt to describe wood drying processes and is relatively simple in form, so it is often used for stress analysis. However, further substantial work is still required before it is possible to apply the stress model to kilncontrol. Recently, transport-based mathematical models have been receiving attention in modelling studies. This review discusses one of these models, a physiologicaltransport-based model, which has been further applied to thedryingofmixed sapheartwood boards and the dryingof a kiln-wide stack. The mixed boards with a thin heartwood layer parallel to the flat surface are considered to have added difficulty in drying. In the analysis the timber stack drying, kiln-wide model is of a proposed in whichtheabovephysiological-transport-basedmodel is used to generate the characteristic dryingcurves.Airflowreversal is essential inkiln

I79

I80

Pang and Haslett

drying to reduce drying lag across the kiln stack. The kiln-wide model is used to investigate the effects of airflow reversal strategies as well as providing information toc o n f i i the need to adjust kiln drying schedule determine the the or endpoint of drying.

INTRODUCTION
Due to high permeability the wood of most Pinus species can be kiln dried at temperatures ranging from 40C up to 180C. In Australia and New Zealand most of the pine lumber which is destined for structural uses is high temperature dried at temperatures of 120-160C. A typical high temperature (HT) drying kiln has a timber charge volume of 50-70 m3 held on a single track. For the drying process, the timber is stacked in flat layers of up to 2.4 m width, with each layer being separated by 20 mm thick stickers vertically aligned at 0.6 m intervals along the length ofthetimberstack.Fansblowthe air forheattransferandmoisture removal across the stack through the spaces created the stickers. by External control variables, which are used to manipulate the drying, include: temperature, relative humidity and air velocity. Temperatureis important to drying because higher temperatures provide greater potential for heat supply thus increasing the rate of moisture movement to the surface. addition, water vapour In has a temperature-dependentcapacityto mix with air, whichincreaseswith increasing temperature. Therefore higher temperature requires less volumes the of air to be vented with higher drying temperatures. In a kiln, drying temperature is sensed by dry bulb(s) placed on the air inlet side of the kiln stack with electronic or computer supervisory systems to control the introduction heat into the kiln. of HT kilns are heated either through direct firing or from heating coils. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of vapour partial pressure in moist air to the saturation pressureunderthesameconditions of temperatureandtotal pressure. Quantitatively, it is equal to the ratioof the mass of water vapour to that at saturation under the same conditions and the same volume. Decreasing relative humidity increases the drying capacityof the air. HT kilns use dry- and wet-bulb thermometerstoindirectlymeasurerelativehumidity,withuse of automatic venting as humidity rises above the set point, and vent closure and injection steam

Role o Mathematical Modelling f

181

into the kiln when humidity falls too low. For drying schedules with dry-bulb temperatures of 100-140C the relative humidity will typically be less than 30%. For drying at temperatures over 140C the wet bulb is commonly set as 100C at atmospheric pressure. Airflow is requiredtotransfertheheattothelumberandtoabsorbthe evaporated moisture. As the excess moisture is vented the same volume of cool replacement air is drawn into the kiln. The choice of air velocity depends on the rate of drying, which in turn is dependent on the lumber permeability and the kiln schedule. HT drying pine lumber at 120C requires 5-6mls velocity and 140C requires 7-9mls. During drying the airflow direction should be changed at least two times inorder to balance the drying each side of the lumber stack. at Modelling of the drying process ultimately has the potential quickly identify to theconsequences of schedulealterationsandprovide focus tothe solution of drying problems.Many of the problems of HT drying softwoods are also common to drying at lower temperatures, although the problems be more pronouncedin can the kiln the faster HT. drying.Unevendryingconditionsalongthelengthof inevitably accentuate the overall variation of the final moisture content. The heat inputandventingsystemsmustbecorrectlydesignedwiththeuseofzonal sensing and control the along kiln to minimise temperature humidity and variation. To ensure an even air velocity, all of the space around the stack must be completely baffled. It is implicit that softwood lumber species which are highly permeable, and thus may be HT dried, seldom suffer from the degrade associated with excessive drying stress. Therefore such speciesmay be HT dried using single step schedules with the main operational difficulty being the determination of the appropriate drying endpoint. Mathematical modelling and the incorporation a model within of a computerisedkilncontrolsystemcouldhelp eliminate theuncertainties of endpoint determination, For lumber species which are collapse prone and impermeable, the development of drying stresses arising from the use of severe dryingschedulesmakestheutilisation of steppedkilnschedulesnecessaryif drying degrade and times are tobe minimised. The schedule step changes must be made the on basis moisture of content and stress patterns, and again once modelling and its subsequent incorporation into the kiln control system have the potential to optimise commercial kiln drying.

"

I82

and

Pang

Haslett

Mathematical modellingof HT drying also has the potential to quickly quantify the commercial impact of changes to lumber preparation characteristics such as sawing thickness variation, the effect of mixed growth ring orientation and the mixing of heartwood and sapwood within the same kiln charge, as well as within the same lumber cross-section. Again once the effect these variables on drying of are quantified, the computerised control kiln systems adjust drying can the schedule based on a particular compositionof board stack to be dried.

SINGLE BOARD DRYING MODELSAND APPLICATION

The modelling of kiln drying of softwood timber includes two inter-related ae s (1) modelling of drying a single board and (2) modelling of drying a kilnr a: wide stack of boards. The process ofwooddryingcan be interpreted as simultaneousheatand moisture transfer with local thermodynamic equilibrium at each point within the timber. Moisture in wood can be identified to coexist in three phases within the porous structure: liquid water (or free water) in the wood cell lumens, bound water inthewoodcellwallsandwatervapour(Skaar,1988).Recently,numerous models have been developed to simulate the processes of drying single board as a reviewed by Kamke and Vanek (1994). These models may be divided into three categories: diffusion models (Kayihan, 1982; Collignan et al., 1993; Tang et al., 1994) , models based on transport properties (Plum et al., 1985; Stanish et al., 1986;Nasrallahand P e d , 1988;Chen et al., 1989;Sutherland et al., 1992; Ferguson and Turner, 1994) and models based on both the transport properties and the physiological properties of wood related to drying (Pang, 1994a, 1994b; Pang et al., 1992, 1994a). It is not our intentionheretoreviewthesemathematical models. The models which have further been applied in commercial kiln drying are only describedin this paper.

Role o Mathematical Modelling f

I83

Diffusion Model
This model assumes that the moisture migratesby diffusion due to a moistureconcentration gradientwhichcan be described by theFick'ssecondlaw. The diffusion model is the earliest attempt to quantify the drying of wood (Rosen, 1987). However, it has been realised that usingthe diffusion equation to describe overall moisture movement in wood is possibly misleading. This can be recognised from thedefinitionofdiffusion by Fick's law(low concentration, Treybal, 1968) and the states of the moisture present in the wood. Because each state of moisture (liquid water, bound water and water vapour) has a different movement mechanism in drying it is impossible to describe the overall moisture using a single relationship. Therefore, diffusion the model. is usually most applicable impermeable to species of wood where liquid the movement is insignificant. In softwooddrying,thediffusionmodel,owingtoitsrelatively simple form (Morh, 1989; Salin, 1989; F'uiggali er al., 1993), is often employed when describing the stress development. By using the Fick's second law, an equation can be derived to express the moisture-content profile within the material being dried:
(1) az To solve Eq. ( l ) , two important factors have to be considered: (i) the boundary conditions (the condition at exchangesurfaces) and (ii) the diffusion coefficient. As a simple example to solve the above equation, the diffusion coefficient is assumed to be constant and the surface fibres are consideredto attain equilibrium moisture content as soon as the drying begins. In this way, an analytical solution can be derivedto calculate bothlocalandaveragemoisture content for one dimensional dryingas given by Rosen (1987) and Adesanya et al. (1988): for local moisture content & = - 4 C -exp[-(-) (- 1)2 2 n + l 2 x 2 ,]cos[ ( 2 n + l ) x Z 1 2 x , , ~2 n + l for average moisture content -

ax -= V( DVX)

184

Pang and Haslett

However,theabovesituation is notvalidinmostpractical cases ofwood drying. The diffusion coefficient has been found to vary with drying temperatures, moisture content and wood basic density (Collignan al., 1993; Adesanya et al., et 1988; Tanget al., 1994). In the papersby Collignan et al. and Adesanya et al., the whole drying process is divided into three periods: a constant drying-rate period and two falling-rate periods. The diffusion coefficients in each period (Dl, D , D3) have been given by Collignan al.as follows: et
Q =3.9586~10-~[369.26~10 2 +1](569.64~10-~T, -1) 3(-) y
PS

(4)

4 =0.56291[9.737~10 (-) 3 F
PS

2 +l]exp(-

1.0064 X lo4
Tw

TG

+l]exp(-2658.37 ) PS T G Ithasbeenobservedthatthesurfacemoisturecontent does notattainthe equilibrium value, after even a significant period of drying. Therefore, the assumption of equilibrium at the board surface needs to be modified. One solution is the proposal of an emission coefficient concept. This concept assumes that, at the boardsurface, there is an imaginary layer in which the moisture diffuses with a transfer coefficient neitherliketheexternaltransfercoefficientnor like the internal transfer coefficient. Although the physical phenomena associated with the surface emission concept are not well known, the surface emission Coefficient may be determined experimentally as reported byLiu (1989, 1994), SBderstriim and Salin (1993) and Mor& (1992). Another attempt to describe this non-equilibrium at the board surface is to increase the external transfer resistance (decreasing external transfer coefficient, Wadso, 1993), thus the surface moisture content would be above the equilibrium value. In this case, thesurfacemoisturecontent may be calculated from the external mass transfer through the boundary layer above the board surface. The extra resistance may be equivalent to a thickness of 1 to 2 mm of wood layer (Ogura and Umehara. 1957). This thickness corresponds to a thin dry layer as proposed in a physiological-transport-basedmodel by Pang (1994a) his and colleagues (Pang et al., 1992; 1994a).This will be discussed infollowing section.

4 =6.0478~10-~[5.9484(-)~ F

Role o Mathematical Modelling f

185

Physiological-Transprt-BasedModel
Recently, someexperimentshavebeenperformed by researchers including Northway (1989) and Pang (1994a) for the HT drying of Pinus radiata, Beard er al. (1982, 1985) for yellow poplar (Liriodron tulipifera L.)and Perr6 er al., (1993) for Abies grandis. From the measured temperature profiles, itis observed that the temperatures at different depths of the board initially reach a temperature about 100C, depending on dry-bulb/wet-bulb temperatures, then progressively start to rise above this temperature. Before rising, the temperature remains at about 100C while the duration increases with position towards the mid-thickness of the board. This feature of the temperature-time profiles indicates the presenceof a receding evaporative front at the boiling point of water at local pressure. Based on these observations,Pang(1994a)andPang er al. (1992,1994a)haveproposed an evaporative front model in which the physiological properties of green wood and are the changes of these properties with drying considered. From wood anatomy, it is known that the properties of softwood timber vary substantially fromsapwood to heartwood. The bordered pits inthe cell walls between longitudinal tracheids generally aspirate on the formation of heartwood within the growing tree. This aspiration process significantly retards liquid flow within the timber. However, the pits in sapwood are usually not aspirated in wet sapwood, because the pits are required for the transport of liquid material. They aspirate only when the sapwood is damaged or dried (Butterfield, 1993; Booker, 1989). This aspirationprocess is irreversible. The aspirationofbordered pits reduces wood permeability to liquid flow on drying. In Pang's model for the high-temperature drying of Pinus radiata, the drying process of heartwood consists of threeperiods.Duringthe first andsecond periods, it is postulated that there exists an evaporative front at whichall the free water evaporates. This front recedes into the material as drying proceeds (Figure 1). In this way, the whole board is divided into two parts: a wet zone beneath the evaporative front and a dry zone above it. In the drying zone, moisture exists as bound and vapour. water water Bound water is in thermodynamic local equilibrium with the vapour pressureof water at the local temperature (Stanish et al., 1986). In the wet zone, the moisture content essentially remains at the initial value. The first period may be distinguished from the second period when the

I86

Pang and Haslet1

wood resistance to vapour movement becomes dominant the over external resistance inthe air stream.Aftertheevaporativefronthasreachedthemidthickness of the board, the drying is controlled by bound-water diffusion and water vapour flow.The subsequent dryingis defined as the third drying period.
TO

Airstream

Wet zone

Mid-thickness

Figure 1. The evaporative front model for drying a softwood heartwood board of In the drying of sapwood boards, liquid flow is significant, although the liquid flow right to the board surface is retarded. During the sawmilling process wood cells at the board surfaces are damaged and consequently the continuous water column is broken. Therefore, an evaporative front withdraws beneath the surface and generates sufficient tension for liquid flow. However, when the front reaches a certain distance (0.5 to 1.5 mm) from thesurface, most of the pits inside this zone are not yet aspirated and the liquid flow remains important to drying. The liquid flow towards the surface will keep the evaporative front at this position until the moisture content at the front decreases to the minimum value liquid continuity. for After this, the front resumes receding further into the material and the second period of drying starts. The subsequent drying of sapwood is similar to that of heartwood. Recent researchby Laytner (1994) indicates that a 0.5 to 1.5 mm staining layer close to the surface is commonly found after sapwood drying. The depth of the stain dimension corresponds to the initial evaporative front. The staining can be

Role o Mathematical Modelling f

187

explained by liquid flow towards the evaporative front, which remains 0.5 to 1.5 mm beneath the exposed surface for a substantial period of time during the early stagesofdrying. As theliquidwaterevaporatesatthefront,thechemicals concentrate causing the wood staining. While the heat and moisture mass balance equations can be applied within a softwood board, the terms in the equations need to be specified separately with are appropriate boundary and initial conditions. These equationsrespectively: for heat balance-

for local moisture balance ax aj

-Ps

in which the total moisture flux j z in the thickness direction ( z ) is the sum of the free water flux Q, the bound water flux Qb) and the water vapour flux Q,,). The $ source termCP involving the latent heat vaporisation is defined as: of cp = -AHw(>) aj (9) in whichA w is the latent heat water vaporisation. H of The flux of watervapourisassumedtobeproportionaltothegradient of vapour partial pressure.In the early stageof high-temperature drying, the steamis generated at the evaporative front and the vapour pressure in wood be as high may asabove the atmosphericpressure.However, inthelatestages of dryingthe vapourpartialpressuredecreaseswithdecreasingmoisturecontent. The water vapour movement due to vapour partial pressure difference can reflect both the diffusional movement and the bulk flow when the wood permeability is chosen in the measured values.The vapour partial pressure can be calculated function of a as local temperature and moisture content using the relationship given by Simpson and Rosen (1981). The chemical potential is taken as the driving force for bound-water movement. At thermodynamic equilibrium, the chemical potential of bound water is the same as that of the vapour. In the wet zone there is no significant vapour flow and bound water flow, the fluxes, andjb, are takenas zero. so jv In sapwood, when water evaporates at the evaporative front, the liquid water beneath the front flows towards it due to the liquid pressure gradient (Spolek and

az

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Pang and Haslett

Plumb, 1981). The pressure gradientthe in liquid is assumed to be the consequence of capillary action between the liquid and phases within the voids gas of the wood. In order to solve the model, boundary conditions for mass transfer and heat transfer between the board surface and the air stream are set up as: (10) 41 = -TT) (1 1) where N1 and 41 are the moisture vapourflux and heat flux respectively from the boardsurface. The external mass-transfer coefficient, p, is taken as theboard averagedvalueconvertedfromthemeasured data of Kho et al. (1990). The external heat-transfer coefficient, h, isobtainedfromChilton-Colburnanalogy (Pang, 1994a). Whensolvingthesingleboardmodel, wood density and initial moisture content of wood are chosen from the measured values. Wood permeability both to liquid flow (sapwood) and to gas flow is quite variable and even the measured values span a range of two orders (Booker. 1989; Kininmonth. 1970). Therefore thepermeability is chosen intheexperimentalrangetogive a close match between the predicted and the measured temperature profiles. The same boundwater diffusion coefficient has been used for both sapwood and heartwood. The full description of the model and the numerical technique employed in solving themodelcan be foundelsewhere(Pang,1994a;Pang etal. 1992). Recently, some further drying tests were conducted at the New Zealand Forest Research Institute (NZFRI) to verify the simulations. The experimental results are compared with simulations as given in Figures and 2(b). 2(a) The abovemodel is currentlybeingextended to describetwodimensional moisture movement heat and transfer along the both width thickness and directions (Pang, 1994b). Because the aifflow simulation (Langrish et al., 1993) indicates that eddies are periodicallygeneratedandspilled into main stream, moisture losses from boardsideedgesareexamined.Fromthe2-Dmodel, moisture-content profiles the over cross-section of a board are predicted. Moisture-content gradient in different layers parallel flat surfaces are compared to with new laboratory data as shown in Figure 3. In the new model, no receding evaporative front is assumed,however,thefront is observed in the predicted

4=P(d -P3

Modelling Role o Mathematical f

189

moisture-content profiles which lies in a region of 2 to 3 mm moving towards the mid-thickness of the board during the early stages of drying.

-0

14 10

12

Drying time (hours)

T6mm

TlPmm

6 8 Drying nme (haurn)

10

12

Figure 2. Comparison of predicted moisture-content (MC) temperature and profiles (lines) with measured results (discrete points): (a) drying of a heartwood board; (b) drying of a sapwood Dry-bulb/wet-bulb board. temperatures: 14O0/9O0C; air velocity: d s ; board dimensions:100x50 mm. 5

I90
120 100

Pang and Haslett

- I c
I

80

.-

S ; ;

8 60
40

20

0
020
Measured(4h)

10 50

40

30
Measured(1%)

Distance from the upper surface(mm)

Measured(Eh) Predicted(ah)
" "

Measured(12h)
0

Predicted(12h)

Predicted(16h)

Figure 3. Moisture-content gradient in sapwood boardof Pinus radiata: a simulation results and comparison with experimental data (Pang, 1994b).

Stress Analysis from A Drying Model

In kiln drying of less permeable species of wood or high-temperature drying of moderately permeable species, drying stress-induced defects such as wood collapse, surface andinternalcheckinganddistortioncancausemajordrying degrade.Appropriateschedulesand a reliable controlsystem are essential to minimise degrade. Therefore quantitative prediction of stress developmentand stress distribution become critical if it is required to allow the schedule to be adjusted when the stresses are close to the safe limit. During drying, the heat is transferred from the airstream and then through the material causing themoisturetomovetowardsthesurface. This resultsin a moisture-content gradient. In the initial stages of drying the shell of the board dries and it attempts to shrink (when the moisture content falls below the fibre saturation point) whereas the core moisture content remains above the saturation point without shrinkage occurring. Consequently the wet core restrains the shrinkage of the shell. The shell goes into tension and the core into compression.

Modelling Role of Mathematical

191

If drying in the shell progresses too rapidly,it is stretched irrecoverably anddries in a permanently stretched condition, without attaining full shrinkage. It would be expected that surface checking occurs during these stages of drying if the strain induced by the stress exceeds the ultimate limitthe, material. of As the drying further progresses, the core dries below the fibre saturation point and attempts to shrink. However, the shell has been set in a permanently swollen conditionwhichthenpreventsnormalshrinkage of thecore. This causesthe stresses within the board to reverse. The core goes into tension and the shell into compression. The tension stresses in the core may be severe enough to cause internal checking of the board. Thus both surface and internal checks may be found in commercial kiln drying. In their analysis, Wu (1993) and Milota and Wu (1994) have considered the rheological behaviour of wood on drying. They developed a model in which the changes in the net strainof a board is assumed to be the consequence four stain of components induced by combined mechanical loading, temperature and changes in moisture content:
dET d dcE l + =

+ dM + dES

(12)

where + is the total strain. 1 is the instantaneous strain component which is primarily function stress. of The creep strain component EC is affected by temperatureandduration. EM is the straincomponentduetoaninteraction between stress and moisture-content change, whichtermed as mechano-sorptive is strain. The mechano-sorptive behaviour wood is an important property for most of commercial species. However, this behaviour is not unique for wood, in some cases it may be neglected (Wanget al., 1991). The shrinkage ES is significant only for moisture-content change below the fibre saturation point. In principle,onknowingthemoisturecontent and temperature,theabove equation can be solved using the wood rheological properties. This requires the drying model to provide moisture-content and temperature profiles throughout the dryingprocess. Wu (1993) hasincorporatedadiffusionmodelinto his stress modelandpresentedcalculatedresults for eachstraincomponentandstress distribution. Mor6n (1989), Thelandersson Mor& and (1990) and Salin (1992) have reported similar approaches on the simulation of stress and strain. In all of these studies, the diffusion model used to calculate moisture-content profiles. is

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Due to the increasing complexities of wood behaviour at temperatures above 100C. stress models have been developed mainly for low temperature drying. There is some further work necessary before the stress model can be applied to commercialkilncontrol. The workwillinvolvethedetermination of wood properties ondryingandexperimentalverificationofthepredicted stress and strain. A transport drying model should be more reliable for the prediction of the moisture-contentgradientandtemperatureprofileswhich are fundamentalto predict stress and strain development.

Reducing the Difficulties in Drying Mixed Sap/heartwood Board

For commercial drying, the sawn boards can into three categories according fall to their composition: (1) entirely sapwood; (2) entirely heartwood and (3) mixed boards containing both sapwood and heartwood single board. in a In mixed boards there is a transition layer between sapwood and heartwood. Physiologically, this layer differs from heartwood in that its ray parenchyma cells are alive and are not impregnated with polyphenols, butdiffers from sapwood in it that much moisture has been lost and the in this layer are aspirated. For pits Pinus one growth-ring radiata, Booker (1990) found the transition layer to be only about wide, which is too narrowto enable its permeability to be measured. Further, Harris (1954) has observed the that transition has layer almost same the percentage of aspirated pits as does the heartwood, while the moisture content in the transition layer drops abruptly a value similar to that in heartwood. to By assuming that the permeability and initial moisture content in this transition layer arethesame as those in heartwood,thedryingofthemixedboards is simulated by employing, simultaneously, the earlier separate mathematical models for both sapwood and heartwood (Pang al., 1994b). et There may be several patterns in mixed boards, however, for this analysis two representative patterns are assumed: the (1) board is quarter-sawn the and heartwood layer is normal to the flat surfaces (at the edge or centre of the board); (2) the boardis flat-sawn and the heartwood layer parallel to the flat is surface. Inthe first case, whenthe moisturemovesinonedirectionnormaltothe airflow, the drying of each portion (heartwood and sapwood)is similar to that of

Role o Mathematical Modelling f

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the cases of entirely sapwood or entirely heartwood board. Therefore, the following discussion will be concentrated on the drying of the flat-sawn mixed boards. With the heartwood layer parallel to the board surface, there are likely be flat to some added difficulties in drying if the thickness of the heartwood layer is less thanthatofsapwood. In suchaboard,themoistureinsapwoodclosetothe transitionlayereitherflowsthroughagreaterdistance(more than half the thickness of the board) to the exposed surface must migrate a shorter distance or it across the heartwood with higher resistance (less permeability). Because the wet sapwood is highly saturated, the sapwood adjacent to the transition layer dries slowly and at the. later stagesdrying is usually the wettest region in the board. of When the thickness of the heartwood layer is equal to that of the sapwood, the drying of such a boardis similar to the drying of either an entirely sapwood board or an entirely heartwood dependingwhich board, on component reaches equilibrium more slowly.If the heartwood layeris greater than that of sapwood in thickness, the added difficulty in drying is still not noticeable compared with the drying an of entirely sapwood board. Indeed, sapwood a since hashigher permeability and heartwood has a lower initial moisture content, the middle zone of such a board may dry to the required moisture content slightly earlier than an entirely sapwood board. these As latter two situations do not any cause significantlyaddeddifficultieswithdrying, an investigationfocusingonthe drying of boards with a thinner heartwood layer has been performed by Pang et (1994a) and Pang al. (1994b). By applying the earlier mathematical models of heartwood and sapwood to mixeddrying,thetemperaturesatboththeexposedsurfacesandatthemidthickness of the board have been calculated and are plottedas shown in Figure 4. The average moisture content with drying time are also given in the figure in which the predictions are shown as solid curves and the experimental data are shown as discrete points for comparison. From the numerical results and the experimental data, it is observed that the surface temperature of the sapwood face is similar to that for the drying of an entirely sapwood board. However, the surface temperatureof the heartwood face rises more slowly than that for the drying of an entirely heartwood board. This

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indicates that in the drying of a mixed board more moisture has evaporated near the surface of the heartwood side as compared to an entire heartwood board.
Surface temperpe at heartwood face

16 4

14 6

12 8 DIylngw

10

18

m (houri)

Figure 4. Predicted (lines) and measured (discrete points) temperature and moisture-content profiles withina mixed sapheartwood board. Dry-bulblwet-bulb temperatures: 120/70C; air velocity: 5 d s ; board size: 100x50 mm; thickness of the heartwoodlayer in mixed board:6 m . m
10 6
h

140

?5 120

c;

! !
9

loo
80

g60

40 20
0
0

1 2

15

18

Drying time (hours)

Figure 5. Predicted drying curves heartwood board.

for a mixed board, sapwood board and

Modelling Role of Mathematical

195

Using the same values the parameters as those to simulate the drying of the of entirely heartwood and sapwood boards, the drying curve fora mixed-wood board can be obtained and is shown in Figure 5 in which the drying curves for sapwood and heartwood are also included. thickness of all boards is 50 mm, and for the The mixedboardtheheartwoodlayer is 6 mm. seen As fromFigure 5, theall heartwood boardsdries the slowest (% per hour). However,it reaches the required M C (10%) before the others because it started at a lower initial moisture content of 40%. The mixed board has the initial moisture content between all sapwood and all heartwood, but it need longer time (14 hours) than the all sapwood board ( 1 hours) and the all heartwood board hours) to reach the same dryness 1 (10 (10%

MC).
In commercial kiln-drying, when checking the moisture content of the dried boards in a stack, mixed boards are more likely to contain wet spots than more homogeneous boards.The added difficulty in commercial dryingof mixed boards is consistent with the simulation results. It inevitable that the mixed boards will is be sawn, but ideally the boards with a thin layer of heartwood parallel to flat surfaces should be avoided.

KILN-WIDE ANALYSIS AND CALCULATIONS FOR KILN DRYING

In the commercial kiln drying of softwood lumber, the variations in moisture content and external conditions (humidity, temperatureof the air) across the stack have been observed by kiln operators. These variations may affect timber quality withoutappropriate control. As the air flows the over boards, thedry-bulb temperature decreases and air humidity increases along the airflow direction. An example ofthemeasuredvariationsindry-bulblwet-bulbtemperatures from a commercial scale drying kiln is shown in Figure 6 (Simpson, 1994). In this kiln, the dry-bulb temperature at theair inlet was controlled at 120C and the wet-bulb 4 hours.Figure 6 temperatureat 70C withtheairflowbeingreversedevery clearly shows that the temperature at the air outlet is always lower than that at the air inlet but the differences decrease with the drying time.

196
Dry-byb at side 1

Pang and Haslett

10

15

20

25

Drylngtlme (hours)

Figure 6. Measured dry-bulb temperature variations from a commercial HT kiln (Simpson, 1994).

TG

-1

Figure 7. Schematic diagram of a well-constructed timber stack (part).

Kiln-Wide Equations

In describing the drying behaviour within a batch dryer, van Meel (1959) and
Keey (1978) proposed that drying rate curves for a specific material were

Modelling Role of Mathematical

197

geometrically similar irrespective of the external conditions. This curve known is as the characteristic drying curve. Conventionally,characteristic curve the drying describes functional a relationship between a relative drying rate and anormalised moisture content f Q, which are defined by the following expressions: f =N Ncr a= (X-&> (Xcr - Xe 1 where Nv and X are the drying rate &d mean moisture-content at any location. The drying rate Ncr and moisture contentXcr are the values at the critical point where the drying rate starts to fall. For conventional temperature drying (below 100C)of timber in a batch kiln, Ashworth (1977) has derived a set of equations to relate moisture content and drying to rate drying and time position mass from balance kinetic and considerations. In non-dimensional form, these equations become: in which n, Q, 8 and 6 are the dimensionless parameters for humidity potential, moisture content, elapsed time and distance from air inlet. the To predict temperature changes in the airstream, equation for heat balanceis an necessary. In addition to convective heat from the air stream, the boards may receive heat from the kiln walls from thewarm air by radiation. On considering or the heat balance over a short distance dz (Figure 7), an equation can be derived and the non-dimension form of the equation is obtained as follows (Pang, 1994a; Keey and Pang, 1994):
L - f -

a<

C-ll

where y is a newly introduced dimensionless parameter air temperature and is for c a constant at some given external conditions. two parameters are defined as These (l+aH)CPVTG (17) Y=
A w H.. .

c = [ Y s + -cPG Y s - Y E ) ]/( CPV

I98

Pang and Haslett

Eq. (16) can be coupled with Eq. (15) to give a full picture of mean moisturecontent, air humidity and temperature across a kiln stack of boards. Alternatively, Eq. (16)may be integrated after humidity potential (H) is known from Eq. (15) the to give an explicit relationship the fall in air temperature from the inlet value. for v) as a Fromtheabovediscussion, it isclearthattherelativedryingrate function of normalisedmoisturecontent (0)is themostimportantparameter. Only after it is determined can the kiln-wide calculation be performed to predict variations of moisture content, temperature and drying rate by solving the above equations. As this relationship v) varies with factors such as the properties of the materialandtheconfigurationofadryer(Keey,1978;Langrish,1991), it is usuallycorrelatedfromexperimentaldataobtainedinthelaboratory on small samples. Ashworth(1977),in his analysis,assumedarbitraryrelativedryingcurves (f=Q and f = to express the drying behaviour the falling period. Since in no

a)

evidence is found to support these curves, the application from this analysis is greatly limited. Furthermore, the variations in external transfer coefficients were not taken into consideration in the analysis. Asdiscussedintheprevioussection,numerousmathematicalmodelshave been developed for the single board drying and experiments in most cases were carried out to verify the model simulations. However, coupling these equations with those describing the kiln-wide conditions produces an equation set which is toocomplicatedandcomputationallytooslowforthepurposeofanalysing commercial kiln behaviour (Kayihan, 1993). Therefore, the current situation is: on one hand, extensive laboratory tests are conducted to obtainsufficientdatatogeneratedryingkineticsforkiln-wide analysis; on the other hand, separate experiments are performed for the single board mathematical models. Then, the question arises: if the single board model can describe the true picture of timber drying, why not use the simulation results to produce drying curves for kiln-wide calculations? Actually, Pang (1994a) and his colleagues (Pang and Keey; 1995; Pang et al., 1994d; Keey and Pang, 1994) have applied this concept in studies on high-temperature kiln drying of softwood boards.

Modelling Role of Mathematical

199

Development of Drying Kinetics from the Numerical Results of a Rigorous, Mathematical Model
The mathematical model of Pang (1994a) has been applied to simulate the high-temperature drying of 50 mm thick Pinus radiata boards. Typical drying curves of heartwood and sapwood boards from these simulations can be found elsewhere(PangandKeey,1995-Figures 1 and 3). The dryingprocesscan be divided into three periods. For heartwood, during the first period of drying, the influence of internal resistance to moisture vapour transport gradually dominates over the external resistance, consequently the drying rate drops sharply. The initial period lasts only 5-15 minutes during which the evaporative front has withdrawn to a short distance from the surface (about 0.5 mm). Subsequent drying can then be represented by two falling-rate drying periods referred to the second and the as third periods of drying. In the second period, the evaporative front continues to recede into the board at a rate which is not primarily determined by the external conditions. Once the evaporative front reaches the mid-plane of the board, the drying is controlled by bound water diffusion and water vapour movement. is This the beginningof the third period drying. of For sapwood, two falling-rate periods are similar to heartwood, but the first an evaporativefrontremainsneartheexposed periodforsapwoodinwhich surface is much more pronounced as the liquid water is drawn outwards from the interior region. During this period, the drying rate initially increases as theiswood warmed up, then remains relatively constant.In further analysis, a constant drying rate will be assumed for this period of drying.
Thefirst and second periodsf drying o In the first and second periods of drying, the normalised moisture content and relative drying rate are defined as:

Where N I is the first critical drying rate which can be estimated from the drying conditions (air temperature, humidity and velocity):

Haslett 200

and

Pang

N1= (PK,(Ys - YE) (2 1) The second critical drying rate N2 is found to be proportional to the fist critical drying rate with coefficients of 0.1 1 for heartwood and 0.18 for sapwood. The external mass-transfer coefficient based on humidity potential maybe obtained from that based on molar concentration difference as measuredby Kho et al. (1990). The humiditypotentialcoefficient ((p) is a function ofthewet-bulb temperature of the air as givenby Keey and Pang(1994). For heartwood, thefirst period can be neglected. However, for sapwood where a constant drying rate is assumed in the first period of drying, the relative drying rate and normalised moisture content can be predicted as follows: a31 21 (22)

fi = l (23) In the second period, the relative drying rates as function of the normalised moisture content are developed from the numerical results of a more rigorous, mathematical model as: for heartwood board4.53(1 + 1.12 A = 1+45.3[1-0.13 (1-a32)0.45~(1-a32) - 0.12
and for sapwood board2.1 1(1- cp2 + 1.22 - 0.22 A = 1+3.80 e~p[0.98(1-@~)] (1-a2)
n e third period of drying If the normalised moisture content and the relative drying rate are defined ina similar way to Eqs. (13) and (14) using the second critical values, then,
a33 = ( x - x e )

(X2- X , )

x 2 > X > X, N2>NV>O

(26)

Nv A =K

From the mathematical simulation results, a correlation has been established between the normalised moisture content and the relative drying rate as f 3 = -Q$ + 2. om3 (28)

Modelling Role o Mathematical f

201

This equation is for both heartwood and sapwood. A similar behaviour for heartwood and sapwood in the third period of drying is expected when the wood dries below the fibre-saturation point. The critical moisture contents and the critical drying rates which have appeared in the equations aredefined as thecorrespondingvaluesatthe critical points between drying periods. These can be determined from drying conditions (pang, 1994;Pang and Keey, 1 9 ) By integrating these drying kinetics to the kiln-wide 95. equation set, thekiln-wide calculations can be undertaken,andthesewill be described later in this paper.

I
0 0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

0.4

0.45

0.5

Dlsfanceh Inlet (m) alr

Figure 8. Local mass-transfer coefficient variation with distance from the air inlet with a between boardgap of 1 mm and uniform board thickness. (From et al., Kho 1 9 ) 0 7 d s ; 5 d s ;+ 3 d s . 90.

External Transfer Coefficients

External mass-transfer coefficient necessary in orderto solve both the single is boardmodelandthekiln-widemodel.Localmass-transfer coefficients over a drying sample board have been measured by Kho et al. (1989, 1990). those In tests, a 100x25 mm truncatedaluminiumboardcoatedwithnaphthalenewas placed within a kiln stack, and mass-transfer was the rate determined by measuring the amount of sublimationfromthesurface. The experiment was

202

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carried out at an air temperature of 41C with air velocities of 3, 5 and 7 m/s respectively. These results are consistent with an earlier report of SBrensen (1969) and have been recently further confirmed by Milota (1994). Therefore,Kho's data (1992) have been used in Pang's analysis (1994a) both for the drying of a single boardand for thedrying of a kiln-wide stack of timber. The mass-transfer coefficient variations over the first 5 boards with distance from the air inlet are shown in Figure 8. From the measured results, some important features can be observed: The maximum mass-transfer coefficient occurs over the first board 10-30 mm away from the leading edge. The maximum values over successive boards occur at positions close to the leading edge of eachboard,thenreach an asymptoticvaluefrom30-40 mm onwards. This phenomenon can be explained by the influence of eddy formation in the board gap, outward motion and forward movement. the deformed eddies As move the over board, vanish they into the airstream, hence the effect is diminished. From the second board along the airstream direction, the coefficient profiles over each board are identical for a fixed air velocity, with higher values for higher air velocities. In solving the single board model, the external heat-transfer coefficient is also used to define the boundary condition(Eq. 11). An earlier experiment was carried out by Stevens et al. (1956) to measure the external heat-transfer Coefficient. They dried a very wet sample board in stack at dry-bulb temperature 60C and weta of bulb temperature of 50C, with air velocities varying from 0.46 mls to 2.74 &S. By measuring the weight variations the sample board, and on assuming that the of board surface at wet-bulb was the temperature, average the heat-transfer coefficient was calculated and a correlation was suggested to predict the heattransfer coefficient at differentair velocities: h = 10.79 + 8.94 U (29) The heat-transfer coefficients calculated from this method are higher than those estimated from the Chilton-Colburn analogy where the experimental data of Kho et al. (1989, 1990) are used. This is because that the heat-transfer coefficients from the analogy is a function of the specific heat of humid air. The moist air at low temperatures has relatively lower values of specific heat (due to lower values

Role o Mathematical Modelling f

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of humidity). However, at high temperatures where the humidity is high, these two methods are in agreement. For example, for air at dry-bulb/wet-bulb temperatures of 120/70"Candwith air velocityof 3 mls, theheat-transfercoefficientfrom Stevens equation is 37.61 W/m% while the value over the front board from the analogy is 35.52 W/m2/K. The heat-transfer coefficients over successive boards predicted from the analogy are about 50% lower than this value (22.2 W/m2/K). Beard et al. (1982)haveperformedsomeexperimentstodeterminetheheattransfer coefficient under dry-bulb/wet-bulb temperatures of 149"/82"C and 121"/55"C with the air velocity of l l d s . The measured values were 47.1i5.6 W/m2/K and 53.4k10.4 W/m2/K respectively.

Kiln-Wide Calculations for Drying a Stack of Sapwood Boards

Based on the drying kinetics discussed in the previous section, the process of drying a stack of sapwood boards can be represented by three stages. The first stage is evident when the boards dry everywhere at a relatively 'constant' drying rate. The second stage starts when the wood moisture-content at the air inlet side drops below the first critical point and the drying rate at this position begins to decrease (enters the second period of drying). However, the downstream boards are still dryingthe at 'constant' (within rate the first period of drying). Subsequently, a front at the first critical point starts moving towards theair outlet side. When the moisture content at the air inlet side has decreased to the second critical point (start of the third period of drying), the subsequent dryingis defined as the thirdstage of drying. In this stage, a similar front at the second critical point to that at thefirst critical point canbe considered sweeping through the stack. During the first stage of drying, if the initial moisture content distribution is assumed tobe uniform: e = 0) = a. (30)

@(c,
@K,

then, Eq. (13) can be solved analytically: (3 1) (32) The temperature at any position can be calculated since the humidity in the is air known:
J x , ) = exp(-S) 8

e) = a0- e ex~(-c)

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From Eqs. (28) to (30), it is noticed that in the first stage of drying, the humidity and temperaturethe the in airstream only are functions of distance and independent of the elapsed time.The duration of this stage can be calculated from Eq. (29) by assuming that the moisture content at the air inlet =O) equals the

(c

first critical value, XI: elend = Q0 - 1 (34) The corresponding actualtime is T ~ . Atthe start ofthe second stage, the initial values of theaveragemoisture content in the boards and the humidity in the airstream are equal to those at the end of the first stage. Therefore, the initial conditions are known as follows: @(S, 8 = 0) = CPo - (ao 1) exp(-c,) (35)

lT(c,8= 0) = exp(-C,)

(36)

In the subsequent drying during this stage, since the variables H, CP andf2 are functions of both the elapsed time and distance 6, the kiln-wide equation (Eq. 8 15) can be solved numerically tocalculate the moisture content, drying rate, humidity and air temperature across the kiln stack. The duration the second stage8 may of , be estimated by accumulating the time intervals through the whole stage during which the relative moisture contentat the air inlet CP((=O) falls from 1 to zero. The corresponding actual drying time 22. is For the third stage of drying, the humidity in the air and the moisture in content the boards canbe predicted in a similar way to that for the second stage drying. of However, during this stage the functionf3 is used. The drying can be terminated using one of the following criteria: whether the final moisture content at the air inlet side (the driest region), or at the air outlet side (the wettest region), or the mean moisture-content through the whole stack has reached the required dryness. From this the drying time,83 (correspondingly 63) of the third stage of drying can be estimated. The whole duration of drying of the sapwood boards can nowbe calculated to be the sum of the three stages: Trot = 2 + 22 + 23 1 (37) In this way, the kiln drying of a timber load can be terminated when the final moisture content reaches the target value.

Role o Mathematical Modelling f

205

As an example, kiln-wide calculations have been performed by Pang (1994) and Keey and Pang (1994) from the proposed kiln-wide model. The results are showninFigures 9 to 12. Figure 9 showsthevariationsof relative humidity potential withtimeandFigure 10 illustrates thevariation ofthe drying rate whereas Figure 11 presents the profiles of temperatures ofthe air through the stack. With these variations of external conditions, the average moisture-contents across the stack have been calculated and results are plotted in Figure12. the In the calculations, the following drying schedule is assumed: dry-bulb/wetbulb temperatures are 12O/7O0C; air velocity is 5 m/s in only one direction. The kiln stack width is 2.4 m comprising 100x50 mm Pinus radiata boards. The thickness of sticker is 20 mm. When the air flows across the stack, the relative humidity potential at the air inlet side is always 1. The potential decreases along the airflow direction the air as takes up moisturevapour. In the first stage of drying,therelativehumidity potential is only a function of position; decreasing towards the air outlet. When the second stage begins, after about 4 hours of drying,thehumidity potential everywhere inside the stack starts to increase as the drying rates decrease near the air inlet side. After about 26 hours of drying when the wood is relatively dry, the air no longer gains moisture, so the humidity everywhereis similar to the air inlet value.
1 .m

z = 0 (olr Inlet)

0 . ~ 1 . . . . : . . . . : . . . . : . . . . : . . . . : . . . . 1 0 5 10 15 20 25

t /

z = 2.4m (olr outlet)

30

Drylngtlme (hours)

Figure 9. Variationsinrelativehumiditypotentialwithbothdryingtimeand positions across a kiln-wide stackof Pinus radiata boards.

206

Pang and Haslett

10

15

20

25

30

Drying nrne (hours)

Figure 10. Variations in drying rate with both drying time and positions across a kiln-wide stack of Pinus radiata boards.
z = 0 (air inlet)

120

2 115
c5

9 3

c 105

g 110 a E
100

p
I

z = 2.4m (airoutlet) 2.4m(air outlet)

10

15

20

25

30

Drying Hme (hours)

Figure 1 1. Variations in air temperature with both drying time and positions across a kiln-wide stackof Pinus radiataboards.

Role o Mathematical Modelling f

140 x

207

"

"

lo,
0

1 0

15

20

25

30

Drying time (hours)

Figure 12. Variations in moisture content with both drying across a kiln-wide stack of Pinus radiata boards.

time and positions

Since the external mass-transfer coefficient and humidity potential at the a r i inlet side arehigherthanthoseoverthedownstreamboards,thedrying rates during the first stage decrease along the airflow direction. At this time, the boards close to the air inlet side dry faster than the down stream boards. However,after 7 hours from the start of drying (to 15 hours), the drying rates very similar across are the stack, decreasing with drying time. After 15 hours, the drying rate at the air inlet side is lower than other positions and falls to virtually zero after 20 hours with the moisture content approaching theequilibrium value. The dry-bulb temperature in the airstream has a similar profile to that of the relative humidity potential with elapsed time,since both are related to drying rates in a similar way. When the drying rate is high, more heat is needed and more moisture vapour is taken up by the air. This will result in a drop in both humidity potential and dry-bulb temperature in the air. The uneven drying rate, particularly in the first stage of drying, through the stack of boards causes a non-uniform distribution of moisture content as shown in Figure 12. Afterabout 3 hours ofdrying,the difference in averagemoisture content between air inlet and air outlet is 25%. The maximum difference (the maximum value minus the minimum value across .a stack) occurs between and 5 18 hours with the moisture content at the inlet being 35% lower than that at the air air outlet. Afterthistimethedifferencedecreaseswith further drying. The

Haslett 208

and

Pang

predicted moisture-content distribution provides useful information for kiln operators to follow the drying and to enable them to decide when to terminate the drying.

INVESTIGATION OF THE INnUENCE OF AIRFLOW REVERSALS

From the predicted moisture-content distributions (Figure 12), the difficulties in endpoint determinationcan be clearlyobserved.Assumingthatthetarget moisture content is lo%, the board close to the air inlet side can be dry after 15 hours, however, the moisture content at positions 0.6 m away from the air inlet may be over 40%. If all of the boardsare dried to the target moisturecontent (after 26 hours) the boards close tothe air inletwill be over-dried. Therefore, in commercial HT kiln drying, periodic reversals of airflow are essential in order to reduce thelag in down steam drying. Reversing the direction of the airflow has the effect of enhancing the drying of the wetter zone of a stack. Therefore, the drying difference between two outer the et sides of the stack can be smoothed out to certain extent (Pang, 1994; Pang aL, a 1994d). different With reversal strategies, there variations are in external conditions (temperaturehumidity) and through the schedule drying and consequently the variations in local average moisture content through a kiln stack are altered too. It is possible that some reversal policies are better than others in terms of smoothing the moisturecontent distribution. In their analysis, Pang(1994)and his colleagues (Pang et al., 1994d) have investigated the influence of different strategies for reversing the airflow using the kiln-wide model. In their analysis, a drying schedule of dry-bulblwet-bulb temperatures of 12OMO"C and air velocity of 5 m/s is employed. The reversing strategies whichcan be appliedincommercialkilnoperationareassumed as follows: Strategy A: the airflow is reversed every3 hours; Strategy B: the airflow is reversed every4 hours; Strategy C: the airflowis reversed every8 hours; Strategy D: the airflow is first reversed after 2 and again after 6 hours (two reversals).

Modelling Role of Mathematical

209

Strategy A and Strategy B have been practised in commercial kiln drying in New Zealand. Strategy C is used to investigate the influence of extending the interval length for reversing airflow, the while Strategy D is proposed to investigate the effects of only two reversals. In the early stages of drying, the boards at the air intake dry faster than those further along the airstream. However, once the airflow direction is reversed, the external conditions will follow this reversal which results corresponding in changes of the local drying rate. Consequently, the boards near the new air inlet (the old air outlet) now dry faster that those close to the new air outlet (the old air inlet). This process is repeated whenever further airflow reversals are performed. Soon after the first airflow reversal, the mid-area in the kiln stack becomes the wettest zone since the external conditions over this region virtually unchanged are even though the airflow may have been reversed several times. To illustrate the improvement distribution in of average local moisture contents across a kiln stack, the maximum differences in moisture content through the stack with drying time from each reversal strategy are shown in Figure 13. The final moisture-content distribution after 24 hours of drying is given in Figure 14. From thesimulations, two important features can be observed: (1). The first reversal is critical for reducing the peak value of the maximum differences in moisture content through a kiln-wide stack. Airflow reversals every 8 hours do not reduce this peak value but can shorten the duration of this peak difference. Strategies with the first reversal 4 hours or earlier reduce this peak value of moisture content difference. The strategy of reversing airflowafter 2 and 6 hours from the start of drying is supposed to be better than other methods in respect of this consideration. (2). After 24 hours of drying, airflow reversals every3 hours or every hours gave 4 virtually the same moisture-content distribution and the least variation of the four reversal strategies.

210
Unidirepional airflow

Pang and Haslett

12

1 6

20

24

Dryingtime (hours)

Figure 13. The maximum difference in localaveragemoisturecontentusing variousairflowreversalstrategies in comparisonwith that usingunidirectional aifflow.
18 16

0
0

. I

0.4

1.6 0.8

1.2

2.4

Dlstance from the original alr inlet (m) side

Figure 14. The final moisture-contentdistributionacrossakiln-widestack timber using different airflow reversal strategies: after 24 hours of drying.

of

Role o Mathematical Modelling f

140 120

211

1c $

20

08

12

1 6

20

24

28

Drying time (hours)

Figure 15. Variations in moisture content with both drying time and positions through a kiln-wide stack of Pinus radiata boards with airflow reversal every 4 hours. Based on these simulation results, the kiln operators can select the appropriate reversal strategy for their particular situation. For example,if the minimising the maximum difference of moisture content is the key factor to be considered, then airflow reversals after 2 andhours may be suitable. 6 Usually, it is the final moisture content variation whichis of most concern to kiln operators. If target moisture content variation is to be restricted to a narrow range, reversing airflow every or every 4 hours is preferred in commercial drying 3 (Figure With 14). airflow reversal every 4 hours,moisture the content distributions across a stack are calculated as givenin Figure 15. Since HT drying is normally followed by reconditioning in order to ease the drying stresses and to level the moisture content, the final moisture content of the lumber is, in fact, affected by both the drying and reconditioning processes (Haslett and Simpson, 1992).Therefore,thequestion is stillopen for discussion as whichreversing strategy is better than others for a particular situation. Further studies are currently being conductedthe at New Zealand Forest Research Institute so that a satisfactory answer canbe obtained. Further studies will also investigate the kilnwide drying behaviour when the sapwood, heartwood and mixed wood boards are

212

Pang and Haslett

random present in a single stack. Nevertheless, the existing mathematical simulations provide necessary information the comparison. for

CONCLUSION
Modelling of kiln drying of softwood lumber includes the modelling of the single board drying and modelling the kiln-widestack drying. The single board of model is fundamentaltounderstandingthedryingphenomenaandtopredict variables such as drying curves, moisture-content gradient temperature and profiles within wood. Dryingstress can be simulated with the incorporation of the single board drying model. For lumber drying where stress-induced defects are important, a control system may be developed to adjust the drying schedule to minimise the degrade. In sawmills, it is inevitable that mixed sapheartwood boards are produced, however, the single board model predicts that only the mixed boards with thin heartwood layer parallel to the flat surface have added difficulty dry. to The single board model can be further used to generate characteristic drying curves for kiln-wideanalysis. In commercialkilndrying ofhighlypermeable softwood lumber such as the Pinus species, final moisture-content variations and endpoint determination are of most concern. In this situation the kiln-wide model is important. Using the kiln model, changes in external conditions (air humidity, air temperature) can .be calculated and local average moisture content predicted. Furthermore, the kiln-wide model canbe employed toinvestigate the influence of various strategies for airflow reversals.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was conducted with support of theNew Zealand Foundation of Research, Science and Technology (under contractC04415). The authors wish to thank Mr I.G. Simpson of NZFRI for his assistance in conductingthe drying tests and for his willingnessto supply the kiln data (Figure 6).

Role of Mathematical Modelling

213

NOTATION
exposed surface perunitvolume of drier c coefficient in Eq.( 14) Cp specific heat of moist wood based on dry wood material Cpc specific heat of air Cpv specific heat of water vapour D diffusion coefficient E: relative moisture content averaged over the board thickness, E=(F-Xe)/(Xo-Xe)
a

theexternalmass-transfercoefficientbased on the molar concentration f relative drying rate fl,f2,f3 relative drying rate in the first, second and third period of drying respectively G specific dry gas rate h heat transfer coefficient j, total moisture fluxes inthicknessdirection (z) j f liquid water flux jb bound flux water jv water vapour flux KO mass-transfer coefficient based on humidity potential L width of the kiln stack of boards Ncr critical dryingrate Nv drying rate NI, N2 drying rate atthe first and secondcritical point respectively T temperature TG dry-bulb temperature of the air To dry-bulbtemperature at air inlet T, wet-bulb temperature of the air t dimensionless parameter for drying time in Eqs.(2) and (3), t = D 2/6 U air velocity m/S X local moisture content %

214

Pang and Haslett

% %

average content moisture the at critical point initial moisture content o f wood XI, average moisture content X2 the at first and second critical point respectively X, equilibrium moisture content moisture content averaged over the whole thickness of board Y , humidity o f the air YE humidity of thethe at air air intake

X,, X,

%
% %

kgflrg kgh

Ys
z

humidity of the air when saturated at wet-bulb temperature kgkg space coordinate measured thickness in direction m dimensionless parameter for distance f o the exposed surface, Z = &. rm

Greek CXH ratio of radiative heat to the conductive heat 6 half thickness of the board y relative temperaturein Eq.( 15) AHwv latent heat of water vaporisation E voidage of the boards stack in a kiln E relative moisture content Eq.(2) in

m
J k

E=(X-XXe)/(Xo-X,)
EC

ES EM

h
ps
cp

creep strain component instantaneous strain component shrinkage mechano-sorptivestraincomponent total strain thermalconductivity of themoistwood basicdensity ofwood

J/m/K kg/m3

humidity potential coefficient CP normalised moisture content a0 initial value of the normalised moisture content a,,CP2,cP3 normalised moisturecontent in the fist, second and third period o f drying respectively ys - yc l l the dimensionless parameter for humidity potential, n =Ys - Yc"

Role o Mathematical Modelling f

215

C ,

cp KoaL thedimensionlessparameter for distance, = G

drying time

REFERENCES
Adesanya, B.A., Nanda, A.K. and Beard, J.N., 1988, Drying Rates during High Temperature Drying of Yellow Poplar, Drying Technol., 6(1), pp.95112. Ashwoth,J.C.,1977, The MathematicalSimulation of Batch-Dryingof 2. SoftwoodTimber,PhDThesis,University of Canterbury,Christchurch, New Zealand. Beard, J.N., Rosen, H.N. and Adesanya, B.A. 1982, Heat Transfer during 3. Symposium, Vol. 1, pp. 110-122. the Dryingof Lumber, Proc. 3rd Drying Beard, Rosen, J.N., H.N. and Adesanya, 1985, B.A. Temperature 4. Distribution in Lumber during Impingement Drying, Sci. and Technol. Wood 19, pp.277-286. 5. Booker, R.E., 1989, Hypothesis to Explain the Characteristic Appearance of Aspirated Pits,Proc. 2nd Pacifc Region Wood Anatomy Conference, Forest Products Research and Development Institute, Laguna, Philippines. Booker, R.E., 1990, Changes in Transverse Wood Permeability during the 6. Drying of Dacrydium cupressiumand Pinus radiata, New Zealand J. Forest Sci., 20(2), pp.231-244. Booker, R.E. and Evans, J.M., 1994, The Effect of Drying Schedule on the 7. Radial Permeability of Pinus radiata D. Don, H 1 als Roh- und Werkstoff, 02 V01.52, pp.150-156. 8. Butterfield, B.G., 1993, The Structure of Wood An Overview, in Walker, J.C.F. Wood (ed.): Processing-Principles Primary and Practice, Chapman&Hall, London. Chen, P. and Pei, D.C.T., 1989, A Mathematical Modelof Drying Processes, 9. Znt. J. Heat andMass Transfer, 32(2), pp.297-310. J.P. Puiggali, 1993, J.R., Description and 10. Collignan, A., Nadeau, and Analysis of Timber Drying Kinetics,Drying Technol.,11(3), pp.489-506. 11. Cown, and D.J. McConchie, D.L., 1991,RadiataPineWoodProperty Survey, NewZealandForestResearchInstituteBulletinNo.50(revised), Rotorua, New Zealand. 1.

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12. Cown, D.J. and McConchie, D.L., 1980, Wood Property Variations in An Old Crop Stand of Radiata Pine, New Zealand J. of Forest Sci., 10(3), pp.508-520. LW., 1994, A Two-DimensionalNumerical 13. Ferguson, W.J.andTurner, Simulation of the Drying of Pine at High Temperatures, Proc. 4th IUFRO Rotorua, New Zealand, pp.415-422. Wood Drying Conference, Don.), New 14. Harris, J. M., 1954, Heartwood Formation in Pinus radiata Phytol, 53(3), pp.517-524. after high 15. Haslett, A.N.andSimpson,I.G.,1992,Steamingconditioning temperature drying, Proc. 3rd IUFRO Wood Drying Conference, Vienna, Austria, pp.196-203. 16. Kamke, P.A. and Vanek, M., 1994, Comparison of Wood Drying Models, Proc. 4th IUFRO Wood Drying Conference, Rotorua, New Zealand, pp.121. 17. Kayihan, F., 1982, Simultaneous Heat and Mass Transfer with Local ThreePhase Equilibria in Wood Drying, Proc. 3rd International Drying Symposium, Vol.1, pp.123-134. of StochasticBatchLumberKilns, 18. Kayihan,F.,1993,AdaptiveControl Computers Chem.Engn., 17(3): pp.265-273. 19. Keey, R.B., 1978, Introduction to Industrial Drying Operations, Pergamon, Oxford, UK. 20. Key, R.B.andAshworth,J.C.,1979,TheKilnSeasoningofSoftwood Timber Boards,The Chem. Engineer,Aug.lSep., pp.593-598. 21. Keey,R.B.andPang,Shusheng,1994,TheHigh-TemperatureDryingof Softwood Boards: A Kiln-Wide Model, Chem. Engn. R&D. 72(A6), pp.741753. 22. Kho, P.C.S., Keey, and R.B. Walker, J.C.F., Effects Minor 1989, of Irregularities and Air Flows on Drying Rate Softwood Timber Boards in of Kilns, Proc. 2nd IUFRO International Wood Drying Symposium, Seattle, Washington, pp.150-157. 1990, The Variation of Local 23. Kho, P.C.S., Keey, R.B. and Walker, J.C.F., Mass-Transfer Coefficient in Streamwise Direction Over A Series of InLine, Blunt Slabs, Proc. Chemeca90 Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, V01.1, pp.348-355. 24. Kininmonth,J.A.,1970, An EvaluationofTimberDryingProblemsin Terms of Permeability Fine and Structure, PhD. Thesis, University of Melbourne, Australia. 25. Langrish, T. A. G.; Keey. R. B.; Kho, P. C. S. and Walker, J. C. F., 1993, Time-DependentFlowinArraysofTimber Boards: FlowVisualisation, Mass-Transfer Measurement and Numerical Simulation, Chem. Engn. Sci., V01.48, pp.2211-2223.

(D.

RoleModelling o Mathematical f

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26. 27. 28.

29. 30. 31.

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35. 36. 37.

38. 39. 40.

Langrish, T.A.G.; Bahu, R.E. Reay, 1991, and D., Drying Kineticsof Particles from Thin Layer Drying Experiments, Chem. Engn. R&D, 69(A5), pp.417-424. Laytner, F., 1994, Staining Radiata's Reputation, New Zealand Forest Industries, 25(4), pp.55. Liu, J; Avramidis, S. and Ellis, S., 1994, Simulation of Heat and Moisture Transfer in Wood during Drying under Constant Ambient Conditions, Holzjorschung, 48(3), pp.236-240. Liu, J.Y., 1989. A New Method for Separating Diffusion Coefficient and Surface Emission Coefficient, Wood and Fibre Sci., 21(2), pp133-141. Liu, J.Y., 1994, Derivation of Surface Emission Coefficient in Isothermal diffusion Analysis, Proc. IDS '94-Drying '94,Vol.1, pp.141-148. Milota, M.R., 1994, Mass Transfer Coefficients As A Function of Position in A Lumber Kiln, Proc. 4th IUFRO Wood Drying Conference, Rotorua, New Zealand, pp.114-121. Milota. M.R. and Wu, Qinglin, 1994, Resolution of the Stress and Strain ComponentsduringDrying of A Softwood, Proc. 9th IDS International Drying Symposium, Drying'94, V01.2, pp.735-742. Morkn, T.J., 1992, Infra-red Thermography the Analysisof Moisture Flux in from Drying WoodenSurface, Drying Technol.,10(5), pp.1219-1230. Mor&, T.J., 1989, Check Formation During Low Temperature Drying on Scots Pine:TheoreticalConsiderationandSomeExperimental Results, Proc. 2nd IUFRO International Wood Drying Symposium, Seattle, Washington, pp.97-100. Nasrallah, S.B. andP e d , P., 1988, Detailed Studyof A Model of Heat and Mass Transfer during Convective Drying of Porous Media, Znt. J. Heat and Mass Transfer,31(5), pp.957-967. Northway, R., Moisture Profiles and Wood Temperature during Very High Temperature Drying of Pinus radiata Explain Lack of Degrade, Proc. 2nd Seattle, pp.24-28. IUFRO Wood Drying Conference, Ogura, T. and Umehara, M., 1957, On the Effect of Temperature, FibreDirection and Thickness of Board on Diffusion Coefficient of Wood, J. Japan Wood Res. Soc., 3(2), pp.80-86 (fromWadsB, 1993). Pang, Shusheng, 1994a, The High Temperature Drying of Pinus radiata i n A Batch Kiln, PhD Thesis, University of Canterbury. Christchurch, New Zealand. Pang,Shusheng,1994b,MoistureContentGradientinSoftwood during Drying: Simulation and Experimental Measurement, submitted to Wood Sci. and Technol. Pang, Shusheng; Keey, and R.B. Langrish, T.A.G., 1992, Modelling of Temperature Profiles within Boards during the High-Temperature Drying of Pinus radiata Timber, in Mujumdar, A.S.(ed.): Drying'92, Elsevier, Part A, pp.417-433.

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41. 42. 43.

44.

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48.

49.

50.
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Pang, Shusheng; Langrish, T.A.G.; Keey,R.B., 1994a, Moisture Movement in Softwood Timber at Elevated Temperatures, Drying Technol., Vo1.12, NO.^., pp.1897-1914. Pang, Shusheng; Keey, R.B. and Walker, J.C.F., 1994b, Modellingof HighTemperature Drying Mixed Sapiheartwood Board of Pinus radiata, Proc. 4th IUFRO Wood Drying Conference,Rotorua, New Zealand, pp.430-439. Pang, Shusheng; Keey, R.B.; Langrish, T.A.G. and Walker, J.C.F., 1994c, Airflow Reversals High-Temperature Drying in Kiln of Pinus radiata Boards: (I) The Drying of A Single Board, New Zealand J. Forest Sci., in press. Pang, Shusheng; Keey, R.B.; Walker, J.C.F. and Langrish, T.A.G., 1994d, Airflow Reversals High-Temperature Drying in Kiln of Pinus radiata Boards: (IJ.) The Drying of A Stack of Boards, New Zealand J. Forest Sci., in press. Pang, Shusheng and Keey, R.B., 1995, Drying Kinetics of Pinus radiata Boards at Elevated Temperatures, Drying Technol.,in press. P e d , P.; Moser, M.; Martin, M:l993, Advances in Transport Phenomena during Convective Drying with Superheated Steam and Moist Air, Int. J. Heat and Mass Transfer, 1 pp.2725-2746. 36( l), Plumb,O.A.;Spolek,G.A.andOlmstead,B.A.,1985,HeatandMass Transfer in Wood during .Drying, Int, J. Heat and Mass Transfer, 28(9), pp.1669-1678. Puiggali, Quitart, J.R. and M., 1992, Properties and Simplifying Assumptions for Classical Drying Models, in Mujumdar, (ea.): A.S. Advances in Drying,Vo1.5, Hemisphere Publishing Co., Washington. Puiggali,J.R.;Nadeau,J.P.andSales,C.,1993,Assessment of Timber Drying Schedules by Evaluation of Damage Risks, Drying Technol., 1l(3) pp.507-524. Rosen, H.N., Recent 1987, Advancesthe in Drying Wood, Solid in Mujumdar, A.S. (ed.): Advances in Drying, Vo1.4, Hemisphere Publishing Co., Washington. Salin, J.G., 1989, Prediction of Checking, Surface Discolouration and Final Moisture Content by Numerical Method, Proc. IUFRO International Wood Drying Symposium, Seattle, Washington, pp.222-225. Salin, J.G., 1992, Numerical Prediction of Checking during Timber Drying and A New Mechano-Sorptive Creep Model, Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff, 50, pp. 195-200. Simpson, W. T. and Rosen, H. N., 1981, Equilibrium Moisture Content of Wood at High Temperature, Wood and Fibre, 13(3), pp.150-158. Simpson, I.G., 1994, Private comm., (unpublished data). Soderstrom, 0. and J.G., On Salin, 1993, DeterminationSurface of Emission Factors in Wood Drying, Holqforschung,47(5), pp.391-397.

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56. 57. 58.

59. 60. 61. 62.

63.

64.
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SBrensen, A., 1969, Mass Transfer Coefficient on Truncated Slabs, Chem. Engn. Sci., Vo1.24, pp.1445-1460. Spolek,G. A. andPlumb, 0. A., 1981,CapillaryPressureinSoftwood. WoodSci. and Technol., Vol. 15, pp.189 - 199. Stanish, M.A., 1986, The Roles Bound Water Chemical Potential and Gas of Phase Diffusion Moisture in Transport through Wood, Wood Sci. and Technol., 19(l), pp.53-70. Stanish, M.A.; Schajer, G.S. and Kayihan, 1986, A Mathematical Model F., of Drying for Hygroscopic Porous Media, AIChE. J., 32(8), pp.1301-1311. Stamm, A.J., 1964, Wood and Cellulose Science, Ronald Press, York. New Stevens, W.C.; Johnston, D.D. and Pratt, G.H., 1956, An Investigation into the Effect of Air Speed on the Transference of Heat from Air to Water, Timber Technol.,Vo1.64, N0.2208, pp.537-539. Sutherland, J.W.; Turner, I.W. Northway, R.L., 1992, A Theoretical and and Experimental Investigation of the Convective Drying of Australian Pinus 3rd IUFRO Wood Drying Conference, Vienna, radiata Timber, Proc. Austria. Tang, Y., Pearson, R.G., Hart, C.A.and Simpson, W.T., 1994,A Numerical Model for Heat Transfer and Moisture Evaporation Processes in Hot-Press Drying: A Integral Approach, Wood andFibre Sci., 26( l), pp.78-90. Thelandersson, S. and Morkn, 1990, Tensile Stresses Cracking and in Drying Timber, Proc. IUFRO S502 Timber Engineering Conference, New Brunswick, Canada,V01.2, pp.596-626. Treybal, R.E., 1968, Mass Transfer Operations, (2nd edn.), McGraw-Hill, New York. van D.A., Adiabatic Meel, 1958, Convection Drying Batch with Recirculation of Air, Chem. Engn. Sci., Vo1.9, pp.36-44. Wadso, L., 1993,SurfaceMassTransferCoefficientforWood, Drying Technol., 11(6), pp.1227-1249. Wang, Dillard, and J.Z.; D.A. Kamke, 1991, F.A., Transient Moisture Effects in Materials, Materials Sci., 26( 19). pp.5112-5126. J. Wu, Qinglin, 1993, Rheological Behaviourof Douglas fir as Related to the Process of Drying, PhD Dissertation, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

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MODELING THE EFFECT OF HETEROGENEITY ON WOOD DRYING

0. A. Plumb Department of Mechanical andMaterials Engineering Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-2920

Li Gong Oregon Department Transportation of Salem, OR 97310

INTRODUCTION
Woodhasbeenthesubject
of a considerable bodyof

research, likely

because it is the most widely utilized structural material. Since it is renewable it should be expected to maintain its position of importance in the future. Wood is dried subsequentto most applications to improve dimensional stability, mechanical properties, insulation value, resistance to insects biological and degradation, receptivity to finishes, and to lower transportation costs. In addition, the drying process itselfis of interest f o the standpoint efficient utilizationof energy. rm of The transport phenomena that occur in wood during drying not only of are interest because of the manycommercialapplicationsbutalsobecause
of the

complexity of the material. Like many biological materials wood is nonisotropic

221

222

Plumb and Gong

and nonhomogeneous. It is also hygroscopic and undergoes dimensional changes at themacroscopicscaleandphysicalchangesatthemicroscopicscaleduring drying.Ifthetransportphenomenawhichoccurinwoodduringdryingcan understood and reliable models developed, the groundwork
be

will be in place for

advances in the understanding transport phenomena in other biological materials of including food products and living organisms. Many studies o f the transport of heat and moisture in wood during drying have been conducted and reported over the past 70 years since the early work of Tuttle (1925). An overview of these efforts related to both drying the relevant and transport properties can be found i Skaar (1954), Stamm (1960, 1963), Choong n (1969, Simpson (1973), Nelson (1983, 1986), Siau and Babiak (1983), Avramidis and Siau (1987), Comstock (1967, 1970), Tesoro, et al(1974), Spolek and Plumb (1981), Choong and Tesoro (1989), Plumb, et al, (1984, 1985), Stanish,
l et a,

(1986) and Quintard and Puigalli (1987). Some of the more recent studies include Perre and Martin (1994), Sutherland, et. al. (1994), Shusheng et. al., and (1994) Turner and Perre (1995). This list is not intended to be exhaustive but gives the reader a flavor what consistsof a very signifant number publications. of of The first group of studies referenced above generally consider the drying process to be dimensional one and treat wood a ashomogeneous material,
as being in the

althoughitsisotropicnatureisgenerallyrecognized.Thosewhohavestudied transportpropertieshavebeencareful to reporttheirresults tangential, radial, or longitudinal direction recognizing the isotropy of wood and those who have presented models and modeling results have generally specified the drying process to be one dimensional in either the radial tangential direction. or the

In this case, then, the transport properties must

properties in the directionof interest. The second group

be assumed to be the average

of recent have more studies recognized the

of nonhomogeneity o f wood and the two-dimensional nature most practical drying

processes. Turner and Perre (1995) examine two-dimensional drying to account

for the development

of boundary during layers convective The drying.

Effect of Heterogeneity

223

development of boundary layers leads to nonuniform drying conditions even for a homogeneous material in a constant temperature drying medium. The papers by Perre and Martin (1994), Sutherland, et. al. (1994), and Shusheng, et. al. (1994) recognize the nonhomogeneous nature of wood to the extent of distinguishing

between sapwood and heartwood in developing their drying models. Three recent studies have focused on the effects of heterogeneities. These includethedissertations by Bonneau(1991)andGong(1992)andthework

reported by Salin (1992). The work reported in the above referenced dissertations issummarized by BonneauandPuiggali(1993)andGongandPlumb(1994a, 1994b), respectively. In the radial direction the heterogeneity can be treated using aonedimensionalmodel or experiment,however,fordrying

in thetangential

direction or any direction between tangential and radial two dimensional models and experiments are necessary.

This article will begin with a brief overview of the physical

woodandwaterinwood,focusingonsoftwood. discussion of themodeling

structure of a

This willbefollowedby
in woodandthe

of heatandmoisturetransport

development of a model which includes the effect heterogeneity. The next two of sections will cover numerical methods and some comparisons between the model and experiment. The final section will present a summary and some comments on future research directions.

THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF WOOD AND WATER WOOD IN

Detailed discussions of the structure of wood and water in wood can be found in a number of texts and monographs including those by Stamm (1964) and Skaar (1972). The physical structure of woodis of interestbecauseitisthe structure that is heterogeneous and thestructurethatultimatelydeterminesthe transport properties. A sketch of the structure of softwood is shown in Figure 1 . Figure l a showsamacroscopicview of the structure andFigure Ib showsa

224

Plumb and Gong

LongiNdinal

FIGURE I

Sketches of wood structure: a) macroscopic structure microscopic structure.

and b)

Effectof Heterogeneity

225

microscopic view. At the macroscopic level two types of heterogeneity readily are observed. The familiarannualgrowthringscanbedistinguished by thecolor

differences between earlywood and latewood and the the color difference between the outer layersof wood andthe inner layers distinguish heartwood from sapwood. As one might expect the physical properties can vary from earlywood to latewood and from heartwood sapwood. to At the microscopic level softwoods are made up primarily of cells called tracheids that are much greater indimension in thelongitudinaldirectionthan either the tangential or the radial direction. They make up volume of a typical softwood. The tracheids a have

90 to 95 % of the
cross section that
is

approximately rectangular, a relatively thick cell wall of cellulosic material and a hollow interior called the lumen that determines woods the porosity. The

in tracheids are interconnected through ray cells which run the radial direction and

bordered pits which are primarily in the tangential direction. The tracheids which make up the earlywood are larger thanthose for the latewood. They have larger lumen volume and, thus, larger porosity. Water can be present in wood in three different forms: bound water within the cell walls, liquid waterin the lumens, and water vaporor water vapor in air in that portion of the lumens not occupied water. The fiber saturation point (FSP) by is definedas the moisture content at which free liquid no longer exists. FSP is The in the neighborhood of 30% for many softwoods. Based on knowledge of the

physical structure it can be surmised that moisture transport in wood can result from a number of different mechanisms. Bound water can move within the cell wall materials or on their surface diffusion. Free water movement can be driven by by pressure gradients - either in the gas phase or gradients in capillary pressure. Watervapor in thegasphasecanmove underisothermalconditions inwhich bydiffusiondrivenby concentration gradients or by pressure gradients in the gas phase.

Al of the above can occur l

casethedrivingpotentialisapressure of water vapor in the gas phase can

gradient or a concentration gradient. In addition, capillary transport of free liquid, diffusion of bound water, and diffusion be

226

Plumb and Gong

driven by temperature gradients. These moisture transport mechanisms can occur

in series and in parallel depending on the drying scenario. For example, one might
expect that it possible for bound water to move across cell walls due diffusion is to thenevaporateandmove in thevaporphase by diffusionacrossthelumen. Another possible phenomena is transport by evaporation-condensation in which casewatercanevaporatefromliquidsurfacesat high temperature,move

by

diffusion through the gas phase and recondense cooler liquid surfaces within the at lumens. Several researchers identified bordered as have the pitsplaying important role

an
This is because pit the

in moisture transport during drying.

openings connecting adjoining tracheids contain a diaphragm around which liquid can pass when the'local moisture content is above the FSP. However, when the last free liquid is removed from a tracheid the surface tension forces resulting from the liquid meniscus attachedto the diaphragm can cause the diaphragm collapse to blocking the tracheid opening into the adjoining lumen. This phenomenon, termed
or pit aspiration, is presumedto be the reason permeability, to either gas liquid, is

lower for wood that has been dried to below the FSP than it is for wood that has always maintained a moisture content above the FSP.

DEVELOPMENT OF A TRANSPORT MODEL FOR MOISTURE MOVEMENT INSOFTWOOD

Review of Previous Modelsfor Wood Dwing

Fromtheabovediscussionit is clearthatwoodisstructurallyavery structure leads one to the

complex material. In addition, the fact that structural changes take place during drying make the problem more difficult. The complex

conclusion that moisture movement in wood may not be attributable to a single

Effect o Heterogeneity f

22 7
for dryingwillmost

physical phenomena. This means that the transport model

likely not be a simple diffusion model like those proposed in the earliest studies [Tuttle (1925), Skaar (1954)l. In afairlygeneralsense[Whitaker,

(1980)], a
13

complete drying model for a simple non-hygroscopic material would involve

governing equations i 13 unknowns including the volume fractions for the liquid n andgasphases,thevelocities of theliquidandgasphases,thetemperature in of air and water vapor in the gas to a set of equations like those

(assuming local thermal equilibrium), the local evaporation rate, the pressures the liquid and gas phases, the partial pressures the air in the gas phase. Because the solution

phase, the densityof the gas phase, and the partial densities the water vaporand of

developed by Whitaker would require a considerable computational effort, most dryingmodelshave,throughthejudicioususeofassumptionsrelatedtothe specific drying problem of interest, reduced the problem to a simpler model. It is alsoworthnotingthatWhitakersmodelrequiresknowledge of 5 transport coefficients - the thermal conductivity, the liquid phase permeability, the gas phase permeability, gas diffusion the phase coefficient, the and capillary pressure relationship - allofwhichcan mustbedefinedasafunction structure. The more recent models reduce the system of equations of Whitaker to a set of nonlinear partial differential equations having moisture content, temperature, and gas phase pressure (or density) as the dependent variables. This includes the works by Sutherland, et. al., (1994). Shusheng, et. al. (1994), Perre and Martin
be functions of both temperature and moisture be examined the material structure

content. Furthermore, if heterogeneity is to

of positionand

all of thepropertiesrelated

to

(1994), PerreandDegiovanni

(1990), Turner and Perre

(1995), andFerguson

(1995). Other more general discussionsof drying porous materials which arrive at
a similar set of model equations include those of Quintard and Whitaker (1993) and Couture, et. al. (1995). For the case oflow temperature, or low intensity,
be treated as constant

drying it is often assumed that the gas phase pressure can

228

Plumb and Gong

resulting in a system of two equations with moisture content and temperature as the dependent variables. The model to be presented hereis a two dependent variable model having a variation on moisture content and temperature as the dependent variables. It was developed to overcome some of the shortcomings of the earlier model developed by Spolek and Plumb (1980) and Plumb, et al, (1985). We assume that at high moisture contents, above the fiber saturation point (FSP), the dominant mode
of

moisture movement is through capillary forces on the free liquid. Below the FSP the movementof moisture is presumed be the result of diffusion of bound water to with a contribution from diffusion of water vapor in the vapor phase. Although these transport phenomenaaretheresultofdifferentdrivingpotentials it is

convenient from the modeling standpoint to develop a single potential that can be applied over the entire range of moisture contents experienced during the drying process. This is notnecessarilystraightforwardbecause transport properties are often expressed the data availableon

in terms of different potentials.

In

addition, only low temperature drying for which the drying air temperature is less than 100C is considered.

T h e Diffusion Model

As a first stepit

is necessary

to develop necessary the equilibrium or relativehumidity,which is generally water in the

relationshipsbetweenvaporpressure

specified for the drying air stream, and the hygroscopically bound wood.Wewillassume that localthermodynamicequilibrium

exists withinthe

wood. This implies that the chemical potential of the bound water must be equal to the chemicalpotential of thewatervapor relation for the vapor canbe written inthepores. The Gibbs-Duhem

Effect o Heterogeneity f Duringlowintensitydryingtheheattransfer is much faster than the moisture

229

transferoverthemajorportionofthedryingtime(Plumb allows use the of desorption isotherms

et al., 1984). This

to analyze diffusive the transport.

Assuming the water vapor behaves as an ideal gas, equation ( ) can be integrated 1 to obtain the chemical potential the bound water. of

\v*-\v
by theasterisks.Equation

=-RTl

c1

I=-RTlnH

(2)

The reference statein equation (2) is taken to be the saturated state and is denoted
(2) demonstratesthatatequilibriumthechemical
(1983) gavethefollowingresult

potential of the bound water can be related directly to the relative humidity. Based onhisexperimentalresults,Nelson for the

prediction of the chemical potential bound water: of

I-MIFSP \v * -\v = M,U,

(3)

Combining equations(2) and (3) results in a relationship between relative humidity and moisture content that is restricted to the relative humidity range from about
2% to 97%. Outside of this rangewe will use a linear model as an approximation.
(4) H = P [ - F U!'-%) , 2 % I H I 97% M I FSP otherwise

Since our model must account for the heterogeneous nature

of wood a

relationship between the fiber saturation point and the local physical propertiesof the wood is necessary. We take the density to be the local physical parameter to which other properties will be referenced. Following the work of Stamm and Feist and Tarkow (1967) we adopt a linear model.
(1964)

230

Plumb and Gong Siau (1984) suggested the following general relationship the diffusivity for

of bound water:

D, = CDw exp(-E l RT)

(6)

The activation energy, E, inequation (6) is composed of the energy required for the transformation from the sorbed to the liquid state, E l , the energy required to change bound water from the liquid to the activated state, E2, and the energy state necessary to overcome the forces resulting from molecular motion, E3. E1 is the differential heat sorption which can be expressed of

E, = R

d(ln H) ~ T

(7)

Using equation(4), equation (7) can be expressedin terms ofthe moisture content,

MIFSP.
E, = MWU;IFSP)
(8)

For simplicity equation will be approximated using a Taylors series (8) as

E, =M,[(~+I~u,)-I~u,(M/FSP)]

(9)

Based on the experimental data of Choong (1963), Nelson (1986) found that the sumE2

+ E3 isapproximated

by aconstanthavingthevalue

25362 Hkmol.

Substituting equation

(9) into equation

(6) results in an expression for the

diffusivity of bound water.

D, = C,,,exp C, --) P : $
where C1=Mdl+lnU~)+25352and C2=Mw In U . , Equation (10) illustrates that the diffusivity bound water depends on the of parameter M/FSP as opposed to the moisture content alone. This is in contrast to previous models that have assumed the diffusivity to be a function content only. of moisture

Effect of Heterogeneity

231

The diffusion model should also account for the diffusion of water vapor in the gas phase since the porosity of softwoods can be high. We begin with the diffusivity for water vapor in which can be expressed (Dushman, 1962) air as

The diffusive fluxof water vapor can be written in terms of the relative humidity

Expressing (12) in terms of the driving potential for the diffusion of bound water,

MFSP results in

where

To determine the effective transverse diffusivity which includes both the transport of bound water and diffusion of vapor we utilize the model proposed bySiau

(1984) which is based on a circuit model for a wood cell. The end result is

Since this result depends on the porosity the effect of heterogeneity on diffusion can be demonstrated if a model for the variationin wood porosity as a functionof position is developed. choose, We instead, local the density a asmeans terms of the density.
( )

of

representing the heterogeneity and recognize that the porosity can be specified in

= l-pwood
PCd/

(16)

This completes the theory for the transport of bound water at moisture content
below the fiber saturation point. However, many softwoods are dried from initial moisturecontentsfarabovethe FSP. Thisnecessitatesthedevelopmentofa

model for the transport of free liquid.

232

Plumb and Gong

The Transport of Free Liauid Ourmodel for the transport of free liquidissimilar to thatdeveloped

previously by Spolek and Plumb (1980) and Plumb, et al (1985) and, hence, will not be developed in detail. It is based on the assumption that the transport of free water is the result of capillary action. In order to predict the necessary transport coefficient, the capillary pressure as a function of liquid saturation and the relative permeability as a functionof saturation must be modeled or predicted. Wewillbeginwith theassumptionthatthecapillarypressurecan
be

expressed in terms of the saturation a simple power law as was first proposed as by Spolek and Plumb(1981).

p, = C$

( 17)

Since the capillary pressure can be shown to depend on the surface tension of water and the principal radii of curvature (Laplace's equation), we will develop a modelthataccountsfortheeffects
of heterogeneity by relatingtheradius

of

curvature to the local wood properties. The mean capillary radius is assumed to be related to the.local lumen dimension. Therefore, it should be proportional to the square rootof the porosity. Hence, we write the capillary pressure as

where 6 is the mean porosity. Although some measurements saturated for permeability are available

(Stamm, 1963; Choong and Kimbler, 1971) for wood, the relative permeabilityfor unsaturated flow has not been measured. Brooks and Corey andhavingapowerlawdependenceonthesaturation.
(1966) developed a

simple model which results in the permeability being proportional to the porosity This leads us to an expression for the relative permeability which dependson the local saturation and porosity

Effect o Heterogeneity f

233

Equations (18) and (19) can be utilizedalongwith

Darcys law to write an

expression for the flux of free water expressed terms of the gradient of the local in saturation.

The Transmrt Eauations

The completedevelopmentofthetransportequationscan

be found i n

Gong (1992). If we combine the fluxes of bound water and free liquid to form a single continuity equation which expresses conservation of moisture, the result is

+V.[D,,,V(MI FSP)] where

v . [ D , , , ~ V ( M l F S P ) ] = V . [ ( ~ ~ D , + ~ , ~ ~ ) ~ V ( M (21) P ) ] IFS
In order to write equation(20) in terms of a single dependent variable we note that the saturation canbe written
S=

MI FSP-1 M,,, l FSP - 1

since ESP

is not a constant if the heterogeneous nature of wood is to be

considered we write

where

234
[M,, l FSP],,, - 1 M,, l FSP -[M,, l FSP],, + M,, l FSP - 1 M l FSP( M,, l FSP - 1)

Plumb and Gong

M > FSP

M 5 FSP (24)

This allowsus to write

-(MI

at

FSP) =

100

P w0,dFSP

-C,V(Q(MI

FSP))-p,g)

+V.[D,,,V(MI FSP)] where

For the two dimensional drying of lumber we are interested in the radial and tangential directions.

In order to maintain generality it is important to note

must be treated as second order

that the diffusivity, D , and permeability, K ,

tensop if drying in any direction other than tangential or radial be considered. is to The energy equation for the wood drying process can be written

=V.(k,Ve)-m~h,I~ The thermal conductivity and specific heat are written

as functions of moisture

content as proposed by MacLean (1941) and Skaar (1972), respectively. G(20.09+0523M) +2.39 M 2 40% = G(20.09 +0.377M ) +239 M c 40% 0.046 M +0.0046 T-0.135 1+0.01M (28)

c,

For most lumber drying processes the appropriate boundary conditionsfor equations (25) and (27) are a convective condition at one surface and a no condition at aline of symmetry(thecenter
of theboard),

flux

and theremaining

Effect o Heterogeneity f

235
l00OC) the

surfaces. Since we are modelinglowtemperaturedrying(lessthan

convective boundary condition can be developed by setting the internal transport of moisture (or heat) to the wood surface equal to that removed by convection. Thus, for moisturewe can write

where h, is the convectivemass transfer coefficient and the subscript o is used to indicate a parameterevaluatedatthedryingsurface. coefficient, Ce8, can be expressed as The effective diffusion

M 5 FSP

Similarly, for the energy equation can write we

-kef(ve)l,=hhe,-m,lz/T
obtained in a stagnation flow, thus the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers can determined from (Kays and Crawford, 1980) 0.47Re Re'l2 5 5x 1 6 0.034 Re4/' Pro.6 5x 1 < Re c lo7 6

(32)

The experimentalresults whichaccompany our modelpredictionswere be

Nu={
S"={

(33)

0.47 Re'/2SC"~ Re S 5x 16 0.034Re4/sSc0.65 x 1 6 < Re < lo7

(34)

Several researchers have noted (Plumb,

et al, 1985, Whitaker and Chow, 1983,

Kaviany, 1989, Crausse, et al. 1981) thatconvective mass transfer coefficients obtained through analogy with heat transfer coefficients such

as those predicted

using equation (34) do not yield satisfactory results when applied to the drying of porous materials. It is speculated that this is part due to the fact that the drying in surface is not completely wetted. Since no theory is available which can predict

236

Plumb and Gong

the convective mass transfer coefficient with confidencewe have taken the simple approach first utilized by Newman in coefficientcomputedusingequation porosity. 1931. In
this case the mass transfer

(34) is corrected by multiplying the by

Drying in the radial direction, including the effects of heterogeneities, can be modeled using one dimensional calculations. However, for any direction other than radial a two dimensional prediction is necessary (excluding the longitudinal direction as discussedearlier).
This includesthetangentialdirection.

For one

dimensional radial drying the Crank-Nicolson method was utilized andfor the two dimensional results the alternating direction implicit (ADI) method was appliedto the solutionof the difference equations. Equations (25) and (27) are nonlinear because of the dependence of the transport coefficients on moisture content. However, since the drying process is veryslowthe equations can be linearizedby evaluating these coefficients at a For both the one dimensional the and two dimensional previous step. time

calculations the general solution procedure wasto first solve equation (25) for the moisturedistributionusingthecoefficientsfromtheprevioustimestep.The transport coefficients were then recalculated and the energy equation (equation
(27)) solved. Since the moisture transport and energy equations are coupled the

solution must be iterated at each time step. Under-relaxation was utilizedto speed the convergenceof these iterations. Due to the factthatthe transport coefficientforcapillary transport is greater than the coefficient for diffusive transport it is possible to have a significant variation in the transport coefficient from one computational grid to its adjacent neighbor. Patankar (1980) demonstrates that the appropriate method for dealing

Effect o Heterogeneity f

237

with such highly variable transport coefficients is through the use ofthe harmonic mean of the transport coefficients evaluated the two adjacent grids. at The grid size used for the calculations was selected so that there would be at least 3 grid nodes in each annual growth ring. This resulted in the use of a grid size of 6.8 E -04 m for the results to be reported. Since the transport via capillary action at high moisture content much faster than the is transport due to diffusion at low moisture content two different time.steps were used during the calculations. The calculations were initiated using a time step of 5 sec. As soon as the surface moisture content became less than the fiber saturation point at all locations the time step was changed to 20 sec. Based the on Richardson extrapolation

technique (Cheney and Kincaid, 1985) the numerical uncertainties associated with these time increments and the above grid are 0.001 % for t = 5 sec, 0.07% for size
t = 20 sec, and 1.45% for the Ax = A y = 6.8 E -04 m.

NUMERICAL RESULTS

One Dimensional Dwing in the RadialDirection

The one dimensional results for radial drying are presented in Gong and Plumb (1990)and thus willbe only summarized here. The most important resultis that the heterogeneous model can predict features of the experimental data which have not been predictedby previous models. This is illustrated in Figure2. In this case some of the experimental and numerical results from Plumb, al., (1985) are et comparedwithpredictionsusingthecurrentmodel. predicts local the variations The heterogeneous model

in moisture content that are observed in the

et al.,(1985). Furthermore, any

experiment. These variations cannot be predicted using a homogeneous model as indicated by thesmooth curve fromPlumb,

model, even if it includes the nonhomogeneties, will predicta smooth distribution

238 Plumb and Gong

d, X W

Q 0

."B
W

0
c,

II

Effect o Heterogeneity f

239
as most
the

of moisture if it utilizesthemoisturecontentasthedrivingpotential previous models done. have

This underscores importance using the for

appropriate driving potential for the different transport phenomena which occur above and below the FSP. One of the motivations for studying 'drying is the hope that stresses which result in splitting and warping can be predicted so that drying strategies.can be formulated which minimize waste due to this type of damage. It is possible that splitting originates from the stresses caused content predicted by homogeneous models. by the local variations in moisture content illustrated in Figure 2 asopposed to theglobalvariationsinmoisture

Two Dimensional DrvinPin the Mived Direction

The nature of the results predicted by the two-dimensional model is

illustrated in Figures 3 - 6. In this case we have examined the drying process the in mixed direction where the drying direction is intermediate between the tangential and the radial directions. The density distribution which is used to predict local the property variations and the coordinate system are illustrated in Figure 3. For this case we have selected a density distribution that represents the extreme that might be observed for Southern Pine. Other input parameters are specified

in Table 1.

The saturation and, temperature distributions early the drying process are shown in in Figwe 4. The temperature at this point is uniformly the wet bulb temperature at since free water remains at a l locations on the surface. However,.the saturation l distribution is not uniform. The surface dries faster atthe right hand side (small x) as aresultofanisotropy. The permeabilityisgreater

in theradialdirection

resulting in a higher Biot number

for mass transfer on the right hand side of the to the

sample. The nonhomogeneity gives rise to the regions oflow saturation which correspond with the low density points (earlywood) where the resistance flow of free liquid is the smallest.

240

Plumb and Gong

FIGURE I11

(a) Density distribution for thetwodimensionalpredictions. (b) Coordinate system for the two dimensional presentation of results.

Effect o Heterogeneity f

241

c
'5
0

0.80
0.60

rc,

v)

0.40

0.20 0.00
1.

0.00

"

-W

2
a

30 20

5
E c

10

1.

0.00

=/L
FIGURE IV Saturation and temperature distribution after 10 minutes of drying in the mixed direction.

242

Plumb and Gong

o.ao
g .Y

0.60

c;3

0.40

0.20
0.00 1. 0.00

2 3

30
10

E 20
Q)

1.

0.00

FIGURE V

Saturation and temperature distribution after 30 minutes of drying in the mixed direction.

Effect of Heterogeneity

243

0.10
0.60
0.40

0.20
0.00
1.

0.00

10

.r/t
FIGURE V1

0.00

0.00

0.

J/L

Saturation temperature and distribution after drying in themixed direction.

50 minutes of

244

Plumb and Gong

TABLE I Empirical Constantsand Transport Coefficients Used Numerical in Predictions

Value Coefficient
U0

units

493.6
7x 10-6

CD,
D0 V P*

m2/s m2/s Pa
O C

2.81 x 10-5 1.013x 10s

T*
C C

16
1.24 x 104 -0.62

Pa

n Kl*
nk

1.13 x 10-11

m2

After 30 minutes of drying (see

this region begins to increase

Figure 5) all of the free water has been

removed from the surface at the right side ( X LI 0.4). Thus, the temperature in

- the upper limit being the dry bulb temperature.

After 50 minutes (Figure 6) al of the free water has been removed from the l entire surface, and as a result the entire surface is approaching thedry bulb temperature. Once the saturation reaches zero at the surface diffusive transport of bound water occurs at the surface while capillary transport of free water is still dominant in the interior. This slowsthedryingprocesssincetheeffectivediffusivity for the diffusion of bound water is much less than thatfor free water. Near XL 0.0 the = moisture content remains above the fiber saturation point immediately below the dryingsurfacewhile a drying front associatedwiththeremovalof free water begins to penetrate in the region near
'

x L= 0.67. This is a result of the much /

higherpermeability

in theradialdirection.Becauseliquidmovesmuchmore

Effect of Heterogeneity

245

readily in the radial direction the left hand side (as shown in Figure 6) dries more readily.

Comparison with Exoerimental Results

The details of the experimental measurements which model with the predictions will be compared can be found in Gong Plumb and (1994b). Photographs of the actual southern pine wood samples which represent drying in the radial and mixed directions shown in Figure 7. are Figure 8 showsacomparison a good job of predicting the drying rate of predictedandmeasureddryingrate, temperature, and moisture content for radial drying (sampleR5). The model does at intermediate values of the moisture

content but overpredicts the drying rate at both low and high moisture contents. We speculate that the comparisoncould be improved if precisevalues of the transport properties for the sample of wood in question were available. The time at which surfacedry out occursis well predicted, however, the temperature history is not precise. The surface temperature is slightly overpredictedat early times and underpredicted at later timeswhileinternaltemperatures
are underpredicted at

early times. The moisture content is predicted more closelyat the surface andat a depth of 8.3 mm than it is at an intermediate depth of m . 2.7 m For the case of mixed drying (sample the M1) model yields good qualitative agreement withthe measurements of moisture content (Figure 9). The model correctly predicts that the left side sample dries more quickly than of the the right side, however, the moisture differential from the left side to the right side is predicted to be less than that measured. Again we speculate that at least part of this difference is due to the lack of precise values for the transport coefficients which must be known for both the tangential and radial directions this case. A for comparison between predicted and measured drying rates for the mixed sample is

246

Plumb and Gong

R5

MI
FIGURE VI1
Wood samples dried in radial and mixed directions.

Effect o Heterogeneity f
Radlal Drylnz (Sample No. RI). Drylnc Alr TemperaturerS4 .C (c) P Drying Rate a a Functlon ofAverace Molmture Content m
0.17
0.16

247

TO.lS

.-

$0.14

e,O.lZ

m "0.10 a

40.11

'50.09 0.08
0.06

0.05

Radlal Dryln. (Sampl. No. R ) Dryln. Alr Temperature at S4 *C S.

(a) I Temperature

as a Yunctlon of Tlme

IO8 218

324

V,Z,, pi4fiut6.4(1 758

884

972 1080

(a) P Yoleture Contentas a Functlon of Tlme Radlal Dryin. (Sample No. R ) Drflng Air Temperature-64 .C) S.

135

,120

x105 2

2
d

90 75

5 80
45

30 15
0

FIGURE VI11

Comparison between predictedandmeasuredresults for radial drying (sample R5): a) Drying rate as a function of moisture content; b) Temperature as afunctionoftime; c) Moisture content as a functionof time.

248

Plumb and Gong

Moisture Content( h )
FIGURE IX
Comparison between predicted measured and distributions of moisture content for mixed drying (sample MI, drying air temperature 55 C).

Effect o Heterogeneity f

249

Mixed Drying (Sample No. MI), Drying Air Temperaturer55 OC ( e ) = Drying Rate as a Functionof Average Moisture Content
0.13

0.12
T0.12.

.-

<O.l l
Y

Experimental Results Numerical Results

0

&O.lO

S 0.09
c:
C

.pO.08
0

-0.08

0.07

0.06
0.05 0

l0

20

30 40 50 60 7 Average Moisture Content (%?

80

90

100

FIGURE X

Comparison between predicted measured rate and drying mixed drying.

for

250

Plumb and Gong

shown in Figure 10. As in the radial case the drying rate is overpredicted at the early andlate stages of drying.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

A wooddryingmodelwhichaccountsforbothnonhomogeneityand
nonisotropy is developed. During the model development we demonstrate that an appropriate driving potential for the transport of bound water below the fiber saturation point is the moisture content divided by the fiber saturation point. This is in contrastto previous models that have utilized the moisture content. When the moisture content is utilized as the driving potential the local variations moisture in content which been have observed experimentally are of and a resultthe heterogeneitycannotbepredicted.Theonedimensionalform of themodelis

applied to drying in the radial direction resulting in good qualitative agreement with available the experimental results. model The predicts variations the in

moisture content which occur from growth ring to growth ring that are observed experimentally as opposed to a the smooth moisture distribution that is predicted by models thatdo not account for the local variation in properties.
In itstwodimensionalformthemodelisused

to predictdrying in a In thiscasethelowdensity

directionbetweentheradialandthetangential.

earlywood that is exposed at the drying surface dries the fastest during the early stages of drying. The free water tends to move in a diagonal direction across the sample becauseof the higher permeability in the radial direction. The end result is significant variations in moisture content across the samplein the direction normal to thedryingdirection. measured experimentally. One of the ultimate goals in wood drying research is to couple the drying model to a mechanical model which can be used to predict drying stresses so that drying schedules can be designed to eliminate product defects including splitting, The modelpredictsthesevariationswhichwerealso

Effecto Heterogeneity f

251

checking, and warping. In order to accomplish this goal two dimensional models are necessary to account for the variation in the boundary condition. They also are necessary to account properly for the effects both anisotropy and heterogeneity. of Considerable progress has been made these areas recently. in One of majorimpedimentstothedevelopmentofgoodmodelswhich accountforanisotropy andheterogeneityisthelack of reliablevaluesforthe of the transport

necessary transport coefficients includingvariability the

coefficients from earlywood to latewood and sapwood to heartwood. When one considersthenumber of differentwoodspecies of interestandthenumber of

transportpropertiesnecessary

for thecurrentthreeequationmodels(moisture

content, temperature, and phase gas pressuredependent as variables) this obviously represents a formidable undertaking. problemmade The is more complex by the fact that considerable biological variability occurs within a single species for the same type wood. Wood scientists have developed a considerable of bodyofknowledgeonwoodstructureandphysicalproperties. transport properties which relate the various properties properties can be developed this would
If modelsfor

to structure or physical

make the effort seem more reasonable. The permeabilitymodels

Someworkhasalreadybeendonealongtheselines.

developed by Comstock (1970) are a good example. In the model presented thispapertransportpropertyvariations in the.radialdirectionwererelated

in
to

density variations which are easily measured. Another area where additional effort is required is a systematic study of the conditions under which various transport mechanisms are important. For example, the three equation model of Sutherland, et. al. (1994) contains 21 terms many of which are likely to be negligible in various drying scenarios of practical interest. These authors as well as others have done some work in this area but more is required before the model user can, with confidence, select a model appropriate for the problem at hand. experimentaldata.
This effort is further exacerbated by the lack of detailed

Many of

theexperimentalstudiesthathavebeenreported or drying rate,

measure temperature only distribution total and weight loss

252

Plumb and Gong

presumably because theother parameters of interest are more difficultto measure. Before models can be carefully verified, as discussed above, experimental results which report moisture distribution and gas phase pressure distribution, in addition to temperature distribution and drying are necessary. rate,

If current trends continue larger

and larger percentages

of the total
of

utilization of wood products will be composite products. understanding of the The transport of heatandmoisture(andperhapsbinder)duringtheprocessing products made from fibers, chips, flakes, and particles is critical such processes. Hence, another important area to the design of

for future research includes

transport phenomena during processing wood composites. of

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This material is based

FSTY-9-0244.

in part upon work supported

by the Cooperative

State Research Service, US.Department of Agriculture under AgreementNo. 87-

NOMENCLATURE
specific heat constants definedin Equation (10) constant defined in Equation (17) coefficient defined in Equation 1) (3 coefficient defined in Equation (19) parameter defined in Equation (26) diffusion coefficient parameters definedin Equations (6)and (7)

Effect o Heterogeneity f

253

fiber saturation point acceleration of gravity specific gravity convective mass transfer coefficient convective heat transfer coefficient relative humidity latent heatof evaporation mass flux effective thermal conductivity permeability or relative permeability saturated permeability rate of evaporation per unit volume evaporation rate at the drying surface moisture content molar weightof water Nusselt number pressure capillary pressure Prandtl number universal gas constant Reynolds number molar entropy Schmidt number Sherwood number saturation temperature initial temperature free energyof bound wateras humidity approaches zero

254

Plumb and Gong

greek
U

kinematic viscosity density density of cell wall material dimensionless temperature(, -T)/To T chemical potential volume fractionor porosity
a parameter defined in Equation (24)

P
PceU

Y
Q,

a
subscripts a

drying air stream bound water liquid maximum value minimum value moisture drying surface radial direction tangential direction water vapor water vapor in air water wood

e
max

min

M
0

T
V

"a
W

wood

Effect o Heterogeneity f

255

REFERENCES
Avramidis, S. andJ.F.Siau, 1987, Experiments in nonisothermaldiffusion of moisture in wood, Wood Science and Technology, 2 1,329-334. Bonneau,P., 1991, Modelisations du sechaged'unmateriauheterogene,Ph.D. Dissertation, L'universite Bordeaux I. de Bonneau, P., and Puiggali, J-R. proportions the on drying kinetics Technology, 28.67-85.

1993, Influence of heartwood-sapwood of a board, Wood Science and

Brooks, R.H., and A.T. Corey, 1966, Properties of porous media affecting fluid flow, ASCE J. Irrig. Drain. Div.,IR2,92.61-88. Cheney, W., and Kincaid, D. 1985, Numerical Mathematics ComDuting, and Brooks and Cole Pub. Co., Monterey, CA.

1963, Movement of moisture through softwood a Choong, E.T., hygroscopic range, For. Prod. Journal, Nov., 489-498.

in the

Choong,E.T., 1965, Diffusion coefficients of softwoods by steady-state and theoretical methods,For. Prod. Journal, 15(1), 21-27. Choong, E.T., and O.K. Kimbler, 1971, A technique of measuring water flow in woods of low permeability, Wood Sci. Technol.,4( l), 32-36. Choong, E.T. and F.O. Tesoro, 1989, Relationship of capillary pressure and water saturation in wood,Wood Sci. Technol., 23, 139-150. Comstock, G.L., 1967, Longitudinal permeability of wood to gases and nonswelling liquids, For. Prod. Jour.,17(10), 41-46. Comstock, G.L., 1970, Directional permeability of softwoods, Wood and Fiber, 1(4), 283-289. Couture, F., P.Fabrie,andJ.-R.Puiggali, 1995, An alternativechoice for the drying variables leading to a mathematically and physically well described problem, Drying Technology, 13(3), 5 19-550. Crausse,P., G. Bacon,and S. Bories, 1981, Etudefontamentaledestransferts coupes chaleur-masse en milieu poreux,lnt. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 24(6), 991-1004.

Gong 256

and

Plumb

Dushman, S., 1962, Scientific foundationsof vacuum technique, Wiley, , W 806. Feist, WC., and Tarkow, H. 1967, A new procedure measuring for fiber saturation points,For. Prod. Jour.,17(10), 65-68. Ferguson, W.J., 1995, A control volume finite element numerical simulation of the high temperature drying of spruce, Drying Technology, 13(3), 607-634. Gong, L., 1992, A theoretical, numerical and experimental study of heat and mass transfer in during wood drying, Dissertation, Ph.D. Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University. Gong, L., and O.A. Plumb, 1990, A nonhomogeneous model moisture for transport in softwoods during drying, A I M A S M E Thermophysicsand Heat Transfer Conference, Seattle. Gong, L., and O.A. Plumb, 1994a. The effect of heterogeneity on wood drying, part I: modeldevelopmentandpredictions, DryingTechnology, 12(8), 1983-2001. Gong, L., and O.A. Plumb, 1994b, The effect of heterogeneity on wood drying, part II: experimental results,Drying Technology, 12(8), 2003-2026. Kaviany, M., 1989, Forcedconvectionheatandmasstransferfromapartially liquid-covered surface,Num. Heat Transfer,E A , 445-469. Kays, W.M. and M.E. Crawford, 1980, Convective Heat and Mass Transfer, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, New York. MacLean, J.D., 1941, "Thermal conductivity of wood," Heating, Piping and Air Conditioning, 13(6), pp. 380-391. Nelson,R.M.,Jr., 1983, A modelforsorption of watervapor materials, Wood Sci. Technol., W( l), 8-22. by cellulosic

Nelson, R.M.,Jr., 1986, Diffusion of bound water i wood, Part 3: A model for n nonisothermal diffusion,Wood Sci. Technol., 20,309-328. Patankar, S.V., 1980, Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow, Hemisphere, NY. Perre', P., andM. Martin, 1994, Dryingathightemperature of sapwood and heartwood theory, experiment, and practical consequence on kiln control, 12(8), 1915-1941.

Effect of Heterogeneity

257

Plumb, O.A., C.A. Brown, and B.A. Olmstead, 1984, Experimental measurements of heat and mass transfer during convective drying of southern pine, Wood Sci. Technol., 18, 187-204. Plumb, O.A., G.A. Spolek, and B.A. Olmstead, 1985, Heat and mass transfer in wood during drying,Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 28(9), 1669-1678. Quintard, M. and J.R. Puiggali, 1987, Experimental and numerical study of pine wood drying at low temperature, Drying'87, Ed. A.S. Mujumdar. Quintard, M. and S . Whitaker, 1993, One- and two-equation models for transient diffusion processes in two-phase systems, Advances in Heat Transfer, 23, 369-464. Salin, J-G., 1992, Investigation of heartwoodsapwood wood and anisotropy influence on timber drying by a two dimensional simulation model, Drving - Ed. A.S. Mujumdar, 1154-1 162. '92, Siau, J F and M. Babiak, 1983, Experimentsnonisothermal .. on moisture movement in wood, Wood and Fiber Science,15( l), 40-46. Siau, J.F., 1984, Transuort Drocesses in wood, Springer, NY Simpson, W.T., 1973, Predicting equilibrium moisture content of wood by mathematical models,Wood and Fiber, 5( l), 41-49. Skaar, C., 1954, Analysis of methods for determining the coefficient of moisture diffusion in wood, Journal of Forest Products Research Society, 4034(6), 410. Skaar, C., 1972, Water in wood, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, NY Spolek, G.A., and O.A. Plumb, 1980,A numericalmodelofheatandmass transport in wood during drying, Drving '80, Vol. 2., Ed. A.S. Mujumdar, 84-92. Spolek, G.A., and O.A. Plumb, 1981, Capillary pressure in softwoods, Wood Sei. Technol., 15, 189-199. Stamm, A.J., 1960, Combined bound-water and water vapor diffusion into Sitka Spruce, Forest ProductsJ., Dec., 644-648. S t a m , A.J., 1963, Permeability of wood to fluids, Forest Products J., Nov., 503507.

258

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Stamm, A.J., 1964, Wood and cellulose science, Ronald, NY. Stanish, M.A., G.S.Schajer,and F. Kayihan, 1986, A mathematicalmodelof AZChE J., 32(8), 1301-131 . 1 drying for hygroscopic porous media, Shusheng,P.,T.A.G.Langrish,andR.B. Key, 1994, Moisturemovement softwood timber at elevated temperatures, 12(8), 1897-1914.

in

Sutherland, J.W., LW. Turner, and R.L. Northway,A theoretical and experimental investigation of the convective drying of Australian Pinus Radiata timber,
12(8), 1815-1839.

Tesoro, F.O., E.T. Choong, andO.K. Kimbler, 1974, Relative permeability and the gross pore structure of wood, Wood and Fiber, 6(3), 226-236. Turner, I.W., and P. Perre, 1995, A comparison of the drying simulation codes TRANSPORE and WOOD2D which are used for the modelling of twoDrying Technology, 13(3), 695-735. dimensional wood drying processes, Tuttle, F., 1925, A mathematical theory o f the drying of wood, J. Franklin Inst.,
200,609-614.

Whitaker, S., 1980, Heat and mass transfer in granular porous media, in Advances in Drving, vol. 1 ed. A.S. Mujumdar, Hemisphere Publishing Co., , 23-61. Whitaker, S., and W.T-H Chow, 1983, Drying granular porous media-theory and experiment, Drying Tech., 1,3-33.

A numerical prediction of the effect of airflow and wet bulb temperature on the stress development during convective wood drying
W.J.Ferguson
School of Mathematics, Queensland University of Technology, Gardens Point Campus, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Q4001, Australia

Abstract
One of the major concerns of industrial timber drying practioners qualis ity of the dried boards. Quality of the final dried product is d e h e d such that deformations which occur during drying and surface and internal cracks are minimised. In order to predict a degrade in the timber an understanding of the fundamental physics associated with drying must be gained. This can be achieved by experimental methods, however, this is an expensive and time consuming endeavour. An alternative approach is to develop a computational model which predicts the behaviour of the timber throughout the drying cycle. In order to predict possible warping of the boards a stress analysis model must be coupled to a drying model. This paper presents a Control Volume Finite Element numerical model which predicts the moisture content, temperature, pressure, displacements and stresses throughout the board. A high temperature dryingcase is studied witha dry bulb temperature 100C. The of wet bulb temperature and theairflow within the kiln are varied to study the effects on the board deformation and stress distribution.

Keywords
Control Volume, Timber Drying, Mechano-sorptive Creep
259

260

Ferguson

Introduction
Industrial timberdryingpractionershave two aims,firstly, to decrease the drying time of the kiln charge thereby increasing the efficiencyof the batch kiln, and secondly, to ensure a highqualityof the finaldriedproduct.Quality constraints within the timber drying industry implies that excessive cracking and distortionshould be minimised.Oncedried, the timber boardsare checkedfor straightness and approximately 10 - 15% are taken offline, being rejectedor redried depending uponthe severity of the deformations. Drying isa highly energy intensive industrial process consuming between 7 - 15% of industrial energy in developed countries. To put thisfigure in perspective, drying operations the United Kingdom in consume more energy than supplied by all of the nuclear power stations. Clearly, if the volume of rejected timber boards is reduced, a considerable energy saving will result which will increase the efficiency of the batch kiln. The quality of the timber can be assessed by experimental means, however, this is an expensive and time consuming endeavour. Numerical models can be employedas a predictive tool to ensure straightness in the boards if a stress analysis model is coupledto a drying model. In this manner distortion and the potential of the board cracking can be assessed. One of the first researchers to employ numerical models applied to timber drying wasLewis et al [l,21 whocoupled a plasticity stress analysis to the Luikov equations [3]. Ranta-Maunus [4, 5 went on to develop a more comprehen1 sive rheological model which incorporated effect of mechano-sorptive creep. The the model does not take into account the observation that there is a limit for creep deformation [6] neither does it take into account the recovery of creep deformation due to rewetting. The viscoelastic deformation component is ignored, however, this is considered negligible in comparison to the component of mechano-sorptive creep.Theselimitations of the rheologicalmodelarenotconsideredimportant. when drying stresses perpendicular to the grain are calculated. The stress model developed by Ranta-Maunus has been coupled to drying models developed by many researcher [7, 8, 9, lo]. The numerical model employed by these researchers is the finite element method. This paper presents a control volume finite element(CVFE) numerical solution to a coupled drying stress/model appliedto the drying of timber boards. The

Effect o Aig9ow and Wet Bulb Temperature f

261

CVFE method is a hybrid of the finite element method and the cell-centred control volume numerical solution techniquesand has been shown previously [11]to be more computationally efficientthan thefinite element method when appliedto drying problems. When attempting to optimise the drying process drying practioners devise a schedule by varyingthe airflow velocityand wet and dry bulb temperatures of the convected airstream. This paper studies the effects of velocity and wet bulb temperature on the stress development within the timber boards.

Drying Model
This work consists of the theoretical study of the heat and mass transfer which takes place during the convective drying of timber when placed in a small scale industrial batch kiln. Wood is a natural material, with the inherent variation in the grainanddensitywhichoccursnotonlyfromboard to board within the kiln charge but also within an individual board. This mathematical model predicts the heat and masstransferphenomenawhichtakesplacewithin a singleboard which is assumed to be homogeneous and representative of the kiln charge. Wood is an anisotropic material with the relevant material properties known to be in the longitudinal, radial and transverse directions. If the board is assumed to have been cut a sufficientdistancefrom the centre of the tree, all three independentaxes become mutually perpendicular, hence: an orthogonaldescriptionsufficesfor the development of the mathematical model. In order to develop the mathematicalmodel a continuumapproachis adopted [l21 and the physicsassociatedwith a representativeaveragingvolume is considered. The mass, momentum and energy balances are written in a rigorous manner at the microscopic level and then averaged across a representative volume to obtain the macroscopic equations.In this manner, timber, whichis a porous medium, can be idealised as a continuum. Within each averaging volume, there is a solid phase (comprised of the wood cell structure and hygroscopically held bound water), a liquid phase (free water) and a gaseous phase (amixture of air and water vapour). The averaging volume, figure is associated with every point in space and 1, any shape may be used to represent it, provided the dimensions and orientations are invariant. In general the averaging volume is chosen suchthat important model parameters, including porosity and density, are measurable across it.

262

Ferguson

Rcpmautivc A v a p e
VOlYme

Figure 1: Representative macroscopic averaging volume. The transport mechanisms which are incorporated into the mathematical descriptioninclude:liquid flow due to capillarity,boundliquiddiffusion,water vapourdiffusion and liquid and watervapourconvection. The finalform of the drying model consists of three partial differential equations for the dynamic system variables of moisture content X, temperature T and pressure P .

ax aT A l l X + A n at --

= V.(KI,VX)

+ V.(K12VT)+ V.(K13VP)

The system of equations which describe drying process are tightly couthe pled and non-linear with the kinetic Kij and capacity coefiicients A , exhibiting a step change at the fibre saturation point. The moisture content is described such that:

where X w f , and X;, denote the freewater,boundwaterandfibre (typically 20 - 30 % for softwoods) moisture content respectively

saturation

The emphasis of this paper is to study the evolution of drying stresses: however, there is a directcouplingbetween the dryingandstressmodelsin the form of the changeinboundwater AXw, within a timestep,andtherefore,for completeness a briefoverviewof the dryingmodelhasbeenpresented. Further

Effect o Aiflow and f Wet

Bulb Temperature

263

details of the conservation equations, derivation of the drying equations, the terms which make up the kinetic and capacity coefficients and the numerical solution can be found elsewhere [13, 1,14,151. 1

Boundary Conditions
For timberundergoingconvectivedryingin a batchkiln,twotypes of boundary conditions exist. The board is symmetric obout the centrelines of both the x and y axes, hence only a quarter section, ABCE figure 2, is analysed numerically.Across the s-ymmetryplaces,facesBC andCE, an adiabaticconditionis imposed. The gradients in moisture content, temperature and pressure normal to the symmetry planes are assumed to be zero, henco, no flow occurs. For the exExchangeSurface

Figure 2: Cross section through the timber. change surfaces, faces AB and AE, across which air is convected, heatis supplied hot and moisture evapourates into the airstream, it is assumed that the driving force across these boundaries are of the form proposed by Perre and Degiovanni [16].

where x, and T are the molar fraction of the gas vapour and temperature at the surface respectively, and X,O and TOare the molar fraction of the gas vapour and temperature characteristic of the external drying conditions. The heat and mass transfercoefficients are denotedby Q and km respectively. The pressureinside the batch kiln is at atmospheric pressure, hence, a Dirichlet boundary condition is imposed such that surface points are fixed at atmospheric pressure (101325 N/m2).

264

Ferguson

Stress Model
The strains that evolve in timber as a consequence of the heat and mass transfer phenomena which arise during drying are comprised of three parts.
e

An instantaneous component which disappears completely on unloading. A mechanosorptive componentdue to varying moisture content(partial recovery may be realised on unloading and by rewetting). A visco-elastic component which increases under constant load.

The rheological model employed in this study is that proposed by FtantaMaunus [5, 41 whowrote the constitutive equation for the strain in timber in a onedimensional form a : s

ar. 1 du cy+mb
at
Eat

cy+^)at

axwb

where and E denote the stress and strain respectively, E the Youngs modulus, a the coefficient of free shrinkage andm the coefficient of mechanosorptive creep. The model developed by Raata-Maunus does not take into account the following:
0

There is a limit for creep deformation [S] The recovery of creep due to rewetting after unloading. The visco-elastic component which is negligible in comparison mechanosorpto the tive component.

e
0

However, these limitations are not considered to be of importance when calculating drying stresses perpendicular to the grain, i.e. in the radial-transverse plane. Equation 5 can be integrated give the following equation for to total strain,
1
t+At

at

Effect o Aig7ow and Wet Bulb Temperature f

265

Equation 6 states that thetotal straincan be subdivided into components of elastic strain E=,freeshrinkage strain and a strain due to mechanosorptivecreep E , such that:

1 , During the processing and drying of timber, boards are cut such that 1 >> 1 and 1 >> It where 1: l, and I1 refer to the length of the board in the longitudinal, radial 1 1 and transverse directions respectively.The deformations and stresses are greatest in the radial-transverse plane, therefore,the elastic componentcan be viewed as a plane strain problem. For plane strain problems there exists a well-known relationship between stress and strain [17].
U

= D(& E , )

- +

U,

(8)

where

E,

= 'fs

+Ems

{ ]{
Ezz 0

Em,

'YWO

(1 Q')(l+ m z z ) A x w b (1+&)(l m,)AX,,,b mrWAxwb

and where D is the inverse of the compliance matrix, which for planestrain problems is given by:

D=

E(1- V ) (1+ v)(l - 2 4

0
1-2u 2(l-U)

where Y is Poissons ratio. The solution procedure to evaluate the transient deformations and stress evolution is the initial strain method [17], where the free shinkage and mechanosorptive strain components are treated as initial strains. The initial E strain , equation 10, is a function of stress at the end of the timestep under consideration, however,Zienkiewicz and Cormeau 1 8 state that formostpractical 11 problems the error incurred by taking u as the stress at the start of the timestep is negligible. This avoids the computationally expensive need for an iterative proce-

266

Ferguson

dure and enables the stresses in timber to be solved after minor modifications an to elasticity program.

CVFE Discretisation
For plane strain or plane stress problems in twedimensions the following mechanical equilibrium conditions apply at each point within the solid where no internal body forces are applied.

Integrating equations 12 and 13 using Greens theorem over each control volume yields,

(a,& - r,dx) = 0
~ Y U

(14) (15)

fVzydY -

=0 W

The relationship between stress and strain, equation 8, can be rewritten as:

The strainscan be written in terms of the derivatives of the x and y components of the displacements U and v respectively.
E,,

=-

au

as

,E

=-

av

av au

Substituting equations 16, 17, 18 and 19 into equation 14 gives,

Effect o Ai$ow and Wet Bulb Temperature f

267

The control volume computational mesh is constructed from finite elethe ment mesh, figure 3, by proceeding around a finite element nodal point and joining
Qd Finite ui n M r
I

Figure 3: Construction of a control volume. the finite element centroid to the midside of a finite element face and then the midside to the centroid of the neighbouringfiniteelement and so on. The onlv restriction imposed upon the finite element mesh is that it must be comprised of either linear triangular or linear quadrilateral elements. The finite element mesh is employed solely as an interpolation gridto enable the displacements to be evaluated at any point inside the computational domain. This is achieved by employing the standard finite element basis functions [l71such that:

where Ni represent the standard finite element shape functions which, for a linear quadrilateral element, are given by:

where and 71 denote the local coordinate axes and where:

Summing each sub-control volume across vertices and sustituting equathe

268

Ferguson

tion 21 into 20 gives:

where nsc denotes the number of sub-control volumes associated with the finite element nodal point and n v e r t denotes the number of vertices of the finite element in which the sub-controlvolumeiscontained. The x and y components of the length of a controlvolumeface are representedby Ax and Ay respectively. A similar procedure is followed for equation 15, whichwhenconstructedforevery control volume in the computational domain yields a system of equations for the deformation of the nodal points. This system can be written in the usual form,

where K and f represent the stifiess matrix and the force vector respectively and where 6 represents the displacements in both the x and y directions for each nodal point in the computational domain. Utilising the initial strain method, the total strains and total stresses can be evaluated throughout the domain of interest at a particular timestep. The evolution of stresses can be determined by advancing the solution in time. Further details of the initial strain method can be found in Zienkiwicz [17], Zienkiewicz and Cormeau [l81 and Cormeau (191.

Effect ofAitjlow and Wet Bulb Temperature

269

Numerical Results
The timber board under investigation is spruce of dimensions 20 mm X
80 mm, figure 2, in the radial and transverse directions respectively. The board is

symmetric about thecentrelines of these axes, therefore, the computational domain reduces to 10 mm x 40 mm, ABCE figure 2. The finite element interpolation mesh comprises of 300 linear quadrilateral elements from which the computational mesh o f 336 octagonal control volumes is constructed, figure The mesh exhibits a high 4.

0 Fixed in X-dinction

0 Fixed in Y-direction 0 Fixed in X and Y-diitions

Figure 4: Control volume computational mesh. element density close to point A, in order to accurately model the steep moisture contentgradients whicharisein this region. The Dirichletboundaryconditions employed inthe evaluation of the nodal displacementsdue to the symmetrical nature of the board are:
1. Nodes on face EC are fixed in the x (transverse) direction.
2. Nodes on face BC are fixed in the y (radial) direction.
3. Node C is fixed in both the x and y directions.

Figure 5 shows the numerical results of the coupled drying/stress model for the high temperature drying case with an airstream having properties of dry bulb temperature 100C, wet bulb temperature 7OoC and velocity 1 m/s. The corresponding heat and mass transfer coefficients are14 W/m2K 0.014 m / s reand spectively. The initial conditions throughout the board are moisture content 150%, temperature 25OC and pressure 1 bar. The variation of moisture content, temperature, pressure and major principal stress us time for points B, F and C are shown infigure5.Theseresults are typical of drying above the boilingpointwith an overpressure existing in the centre of the board. Note also, the stress reversal which

270

Ferguson

Figure 5: Field variables us time for points B, F and C. occurs within the board at x10 hrs. Initially, the edgeof the board, point B, is subjected to a tensile stress as the surface dries and towards the end of the drying period is subjected to a compressive stress as the moisture content falls in the centre of the board. The reverse applies to points F and C, initially compressive and finally tensile. The mechanical poperties of the board are Poissons ratio 0.25, Youngs modulus 500 MPa, coefficient of free shrinkage 0.12 and the coefficient of mechano-sorptive creep 500 MPa"; Quality of the dried timber product is oneof the primaryconcerns to industrial drying practioners such board deformationand cracking is minimised. that The likelihood of the board developing cracks is related the stress evolution. The to following two sections study the effect the airflow velocityand wet bulb temperature of the airstream on the stress distribution within the timber board.

Effect of AirJIaw and Wet Bulb Temperature

2 71

Airflow Velocity
The numerical examples studied in this section have an airstream with a dry bulb temperature of 100C and wet bulb temperature of 70C. The airflow velocityranges from.1 - 9 m / s with the corresponding heat andmasstransfer coefficientstakenfrom Kho [20]. The dimensions of the timberboard and the numerical discretisation are given in figures 2 and 4 respectively. The average moisture content of the board us time is given in figure 6 for airflows of 1, 3 and 9 m/s. Figure 6 shows that as the velocity of the airstream is increased the drying time of the board decreases.

12

18

24

30

Time (HIS)

Figure 6: Average moisture content vs time.

In order to predict the quality of the final dried product the evolution of stresses and nodal displacements must be studied. Figure 7 shows the maximum tensile and compressive stresses and the maximum deformation that occurs at any point within the board with time. The compressive stresses are greater than the tensile stresses, however, the compressive stresses are not considered to be important because cracks develop due to tensile stresses alone. As the airflowvelocity is increased the effect on the maximum displacement is negligible with only a 2%

272

Ferguson

Figure 7: Maximum stress and displacement us time. variation in the deformation. Consequently, the same appliesto thestress evolution. This point is highlighted by figure 8 which shows the maximum tensile and com-

Figure 8: Maximum transient and residual stresses for varyingair velocities. pressive stresses that occur during the drying process and the maximum residual stresses. The residual stress is of importance because a partial recoverymaybe realised upon rewetting. The maximum transient tensile stress increases with air velocity, however, there is only a 5% increase when the aiflow is 9 m l s compared with 1 m / s . These numerical results indicate that there would not be a substantial decrease in board quality as airflow velocity is increasedi however, the drying time is considerably reduced.

Eflect o AilJlow and Wet Bulb Temperature f

27 3

Wet Bulb Temperature

The second numerical experiment examines effect of the wet bulb temthe perature of the airstream on the stress evolution and the deformation of the board. The dry bulb temperature and velocity of the airstream are held constant at 100C and 1 m / s respectively. The wet bulb temperature is in the range 60 - 99"C, which corresponds to a relative humidity in the range 16 - 97%. Initial conditions of the spruce board are moisture content 150%, temperature 25C and pressure 1 bur. The cross section and numerical discretisation are given in figures 2 and 4 respectively. Figure 9 shows the average moisture content of the board vs time. The

20

40

60

100

lime (HE)

Figure 9: Average moisture content vs time. total drying time to the equilibrium moisture content varies from 40 hrs (wet bulb 60C) to 160 hrs (wet bulb 99OC), where the equilibrium moisture content is 2.1% and 18.6% respectively. The evolution of the maximum tensile stress with time is given figure 10 i n with the maximum tensile stress which occured during the drying process. It can be clearly seen that as the wet bulb temperature increases the maximum tensile stresses decrease. The stresses within the timber are a function of the change in the

2 74

Figure 10: Maximum tensile stress us time. bound water, equation 8. If the change in the bound water was uniform throughout the board, the tensile and compressive streses would be zero. Figure 11 shows the variation of the moisture content with time at points E,D and C at wet bulb

15

20

25

r w m

lim (Hn)

(a) Wet bulb temp: 6OoC

(b) Wet bulb temp: 99C

Figure 11: Moisture content us time for points E, D and C. temperatures of 60C and 99OC. At 99OC the curves are very close below fibre saturation point, compared with the 60Ccase, implying a flat moisture content profile. As the wet bulb depression increases, the moisture content gradients steepen, hence, the maximum stresses increase. Figure 12 shows the maximum residual stresses and the maximum deformations which occur at varying wet bulb temperatures. The maximum deformations and residual stresses are proportional to the wet bulb de-

Effect o Airjlow and Wet Bulb Temperature f

2 75

F i e r e 12: Maximum residual stresses and deformation for varying w t bulb teme peratures. pression.

Conclusions
The numerical results presented in this paper show that the control volume finite element numerical solution technique is a valid and effective tool to be employed in the solution of the stress development which occurs during the drying of timber. Industrial timber drying practioners attempt tooptimise the drying schedule by altering the airstream velocity and,wet bulb temperature. Their aim is to reduce the drying time of the kiln charge whilst maintaining board quality. The numerical results which have been presented will assist in this procedure. Cracksdevelopwithintimber if the tensilestressexceeds the ultimate strength of the wood. The numerical results indicate that increasing the airstream velocity does not produce a marked increase in the maximum tensile stress, hence, the likelihood of checks developing does not increase. However, by increasing the velocity the drying time reduces significantly. The numerical experiments also show that by reducing the wet bulb depression the maximum tensile stress decreases, however, the drying time increases. There is a conflict in the goals of the drying practioner and a compromise has to be achieved. For construction grade timber, the wet bulb temperature can be decreased and the drying time reduced which results in an increase in the maximum

2 76

Ferguson

tensile stress. For timber where quality is of the utmost importance, e.g. furniture manufacture, a slower drying rate is required which leads to a reduced maximum tensile stress.

References
[l] R.W. Lewis, K.Morgan, and H.R. Thomas. Drying induced stresses in porous bodies - ap elastoviscoplastic model. ComputerMethodsinAppliedMechanicsandEngineering, 20:291-301, 1979.

[2]K. Morgan, H.R. Thomas, and R.W. Lewis. Numerical modelling of stress reversal in timber drying. Wood Science, 15(2):139-149, 1982. [3] A.V. Luikov. Heatandmass Oxford, 1966.

transfer in capillay-powus bodies. Pergamon Press,

Wood

[4]A. RanttcMaunus. The viscoelasticity of wood at varyingmoisturecontent. Science and Technology, 9:189-205, 1975.

[5] A. Ranta-Maunus. Analysis of drying stresses in timber. Papen' ja Puu - Paper and Timber, 101120-1123, 1989. [6]D.Hunt. Limited behaviour of creep of wood. Wood Science and Technology, 7:139142, 1973. [7] S. Felix and P. Morlier. Modelling of stresses and strains in a piece of wood under drying. Holzforschung,46(5):369-377, 1992. [S]0. Dahlblom, H. Petersson, and S. Osmarsson. Numerical simulation of the develop ment of deformation and stress in wood during drying. In 4th IUFRO International Wood Dying Conference,pages 165-172, Rotorua, New Zealand, August 1994.New Zealand Forest Research Institute.
[g] A. Hanhijarvi. Modelling of creep deformationmechanisms in wood. PhD thesis, Helsinki University of Technology, w o o , Finland, 1995.

[lo] K.

Santaoja, T. Leino, Rant*Maunus, A. and A. Hanhijarvi. Mechano-sorptive Report structural analysis of wood bythe ABAQUS finite element program. Technical 1276,Technical Research Centre of Finland, ESPOO, Finland, August 1991.

[l11 W.J. Ferguson and LW. Turner. A comparison of the finite element and control volume numerical solution techniques applied to timber dryingproblems below the boiling point. International Journal for Numerical Methods i Engineering, 38(3):451n 467, 1995.

[l21 S. Whitaker. Simultaneous heat, mass and momentum transfer in porous media: A theory of drying. Advances in Hent Zhnsfer, 13:119-203, 1977. [l31 W.J.Ferguson.A control volume finite elementnumericalsimulation of the high temperature drying of spruce. Drying Technology, 13(3):607-634, 1995.

Eflect o Airflow and f Wet

Bulb Temperature

2 77

[l41 W.J. Ferguson and I.W. Turner. A study of two-dimensional cell-centred andvertexcentred control volume schemes applied to high temperature timber drying. Numerical Heat !hnsfer Part B: findamentals, 27(4):393415, 1995. [l51 I.W. Tumer. A two-dimensional orthotropic model for simulating wood drying processes. Submitted to Applied Mathematical Modelling, July 1993. 1 6 P. Perre andA. Degiovanni. Simulation par volumes des transferts couples en 11 finis milieu poreux anisatrope: sechage bois a basse et a haute temperature. International de Journol of Hent and Mass Zhnsfer, 33:2463-2478, 1990. 1 7 O.C. Zienkiewicz. The finite element method. MacGraw Hill, London, 1977. 11 [l81 O.C. Ziedciewicz and I.C. Cormeau. Visco-plasticity - plasticity and creep in elastic solids - a unified numerical solution approach. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 8:821-845, 1974. 1 9 I.C. Cormeau. Numerical stabilityin quasi-static elasto/visc+plasticity. International 11 Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 9:109-127, 1975.

[ZO] P.C.S. Kho. Mass transferfromin-lineslabs:Applicationtohightempernturekiln drying of softwood timberboards. PhD thesis, Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1993.

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

Modelling Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems during Absorption and Desorption
Joseph Irudayaraj Biological and Irrigation Engineering Utah State University
Logan, Utah 84322-4105,

USA

Yun Wu Agricultural St Bioresource Engineering University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Canada S7N OW0 Key Words: Finite element analysis; moisture adsorption and desorption.

ABSTRACT Two sets of nonlinear coupled heat and mass transfer models are presented to describe the

absorption and desorption process. The solutions to the systems of equations were obtained by the finite element method. Model one describes temperature and moisture distribution in a generalphase system the two with a moving evaporation front. The interface condition at the evaporation front takes into

account the moisture transfer balance at the moving boundary. The effect of the nondimensional heat of vapourization parameter on the evaporation front, temperature, and moisture distribution was studied. The movement of the evaporation front had an appreciable effect on

2 79

280

Irudayaraj and Wu

the temperature and moisture distribution inside porous media. The temperature decreased the and the moisture content increased as the nondimensional vapourization parameter increased.

This model has potential applications in studying the heat and mass transfer characteristics in
food and biomaterials. Model two describesthe coupled heat, mass, and pressure transfer inporous material. The a
a model was applied to simulate the temperature, moisture, and pressure distribution in barley

kernel during steeping. Simulated results indicated

that a pressure gradient exists during the

transfer process, causing additional moisture movement due to filtration effect. This technique
can

be used for determining optimum soaking time required for soakingthe kernels with steep

water. The discussion contains two parts: Application desorption and adsorption process respectively.

I and Application I1 dealing with the

Application I : Desorption Process in A Moving Boundary Problem

INTRODUCTION
The heat and moisture transfer can be described by means of Luikovs system of coupled

partial differential equations (Luikov, 1975). Luikov first studied the steady state heat and mass transfer between a capillary porous medium and
an external gas stream during drying. The

study concluded that the movement and location of the evaporation front has a very profound

Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems

281

effect on the rate of heat and mass transfer.

In the case of intense drying and evaporative

cooling of a porous body the evaporation front deepens into the body and thus the evaporation front is at a variable depth depending upon the drying time (Luikov, 1975). The interrelation between the evaporation of moisture and the consequent movement of the evaporation front can also be attributed to the fact that moisture is transferred not only under the action of a volumetric moisture concentration gradient, but also under that of temperature gradient (Luikov, 1975). Gupta (1974) solved the Luikovs system by using a simplified boundary condition at moving interface. He concluded that the effect of deepening of evaporation front on unsteady heat and mass transfer in a porous medium is characterized by the nondimensional heat of evaporation. Mikhailov and Shishedjiev (1975) applied general boundary conditions at the moving evaporation front and solved the system of equations for a drying process with molar transfer. The main objectives of this study were to 1) use the FEM to solve the coupled heat and
mass transfer equations with a moving evaporation front which takes into account bath heat

and moisture transfer at the interface, 2) study the effect of moving evaporation front on temperature and moisture ~istribution, 3) determine the effect of heat of vapourization on and the temperature, moisture and the movement of the evaporation front in the porous medium.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS Consider the flow of heat and moisture through a porous half space in which the surface z = 0 is maintained at a temperature t,, where t , is greater than the vapourizing temperature of the liquid in the porous body. At a fixed pressure, there exists a temperature at which the liquid

282

Irudayaraj and Wu

vapourizescompletely.

The interface at whichmoisturevaporizescompletelyundercertain

conditions is known as the evaporation front. If the initial temperature and moisture in the domain be to and 60 respectively, thenthe position of the evaporation front at any given timeT is denoted by z = s ( T ) . The portion of the domain 0 C z
C
S

denotes region 1 and S < z < 00 ,

denotes region2. In region 1, moisture is in vapour form only and can be assumed be moving to out from the surface, z = 0, without taking any appreciable amount energy fromthe system, of and hence there is no moisture gadient; while in region 2, moisture is present in the mixture of vapour and liquid form (Gupta, 1974).

On the evaporation front, Gupta (1974), Mikhailov (1975) and Irudayaraj (1992) employed
constant moisture conditions with only heat balance at the interface to solve the system of
also

equation. In the case of drying capillary porous bodies, it is more realistic to

include the

contribution of mass transfer and the corresponding energy balance at the evaporation front, therefore, the boundary condition must relatethe mass transfer at the evaporation front to the mass transfer balance of the two regions (Mikhailov, 1975). Hence in this study, the heat and moisture transfer balances were applied on the evaporation front to solve the coupled system of heat and mass transfer equations.

GOVERNNG EQUATIONS AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS In the region 1 (0

C z C 3), there

is no moisture gradient, hence only heat transfer exists.

The general form of the equations describing the transfer process is givenby

PP%

= diu(kqVtl)

Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems

283

81 = B,

(2)

where pq is the density of porous medium, cI is the specific heat, kq is the thermal conductivity,

tl denotes the temperature in region 1, and

represents time.

In region 2 of the humid capillary porous body in which there exists a coupled heat and moisture transfer, the process is described by the well known Luikov system of equations,
ppcq-

dt2
87.

= div((X;q rLkmS)Vt,
802
= div[km6Vt2

+ (~Lkm)V82]

(3)

pq%-

87-

+ kmY'O,]

(4)

Subscripts
(amp,%

( I

and rn denote the respective heat and mass transfer parameters and km =

The initial distributions of temperature and moisture are uniform, ie. at time t = 0 we have,

t(J;,O)= to
O(z,0) = 80

(5) (6)

It is assumed that the surface J: = 0 is maintained at a constant temperature. The corresponding boundary condition is,
tl(O,-?-)= ts (7)

where t,

> %, t , denote the vapourizing temperature under the condition considered. ,and

At the interface (evaporation front), there exists an equality in temperature between region 1 and region 2 and the moisture is equal to the evaporation moisture content O,

284

and

Irudayaraj

Wu

A heat and moisture balance at the evaporation front yields,

k- at1(s l

ax

T)

- k2-~
8X

ax

sT ,

= (1 - c)e(s,r)P2L* dr
atz(s
T)

(9)
(10)

ae,(S,r)

+6-=0

ax

Here L denotes the latent heat of evaporation per unit mass of the sample. Equations (S)-(10) represent the boundary conditions of heat and moisture transfer front.
For the convenienceof computer simulation, dimensionless equations are used in this study.

at the moving evaporation

Using the following relations

the set of equations (1)-(10)can be represented in the nondimensional form. Hence,for region
1( O < z < s )

and

e = e, 1
are the nondimensional forms for equations (1) and (2), respectively. Similarly, the respective nondimensional forms for equations (3) and (4) corresponding to region 2
(S

< c < m) are

and

ao, -= V dFo

. [LuVOz- LuPnVTz]

(15)

Heat and M a s s Transfer in Systems Coupled

285

Here Lu is the Luikov number and

K O

is the Kossovitch number. The initial and the surface

M

boundary conditions (equations (5), ( 6 ) and (7)) can be rewritten

@(X, =0 0)
and

(17)

Tx(0, = 1 Fo)
respectively. The conditions at the moving interface x = S given by equations (S) - (10) will take the following forms TI(S,FO) = TZ(S'F0) = T"
@1(S,Fo) = @z(S,Fo) = 0 ,

The above problem is nonlinear because the interface boundary conditions given equations of by
(20) and (21). It should be noted that equations (20) and (21) takes into accountthe heat and

moisture balance at the moving interface. Solutions to these system of equations was obtained using the finite element method.

FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION

In the finite element method, the element equations are developed from the governing dif-

ferential equations by the Galerkin's weighted residual method.

The dependent variables TI

286

Irudayaraj and Wu

and 0 can be approximated in terms of the respective nodal values Tj and Oj by the following interpolating functions.

6=

J=1

c Oj(FO)Nj(X)
n

(23)

where N, is the shape function corresponding to node j in an element. Using

the Galerkin

weighted residual method and setting the integral of the residual function equal zero, equation to
(12) for region 1 yields.

/n, !vj[S . (VFl) dfl = 0 -V

dFo

Using the same approach. equations (14) and (15) for region 2 can be transformed into /n2Nj{%8FO and
V . [(l d<oPnLu)V?z

+ cI<oPnLuV&]

(25)

respectively. The application of Green%theorem (integratingby parts) and the introduction of the boundary conditions in the above expressions produce the following system of differential equations:

for region 1, and

Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems

287

and

for region 2. Here C T ~C T ~CQ,, I'T~, , ,

K 1 1 , I'12,

1'21

and

I'22

are coefficients derived from

equations (24)-(26). Application of the boundary conditions to equation (27) and further simplification, produces a system of equations which may be expressed in matrix form as,

where

PIdenotes the first derivative of TI with respect to time, and

[C(Tl)] = global capacitance matrix

[I'(T1)] = global conductance matrix

{F,} =

global source vector

for region 1. Similarly incorporating the boundary conditions into equations (28)-(29) for region

2, the resulting matrix equations can be expressed as

where (rj denotes the first derivative of

4 with respect to time, and

[IITZ
021

{#IT

[C(+)]= global capacitance matrix [IC($)] = global conductance matrix

{Fz} = global source vector

288

Irudayaraj and Wu

SOLUTION METHODOLOGY The Crank-Nicolson central difference method which is second order accurate in time (Comini,1976;Gear,1971)
was employedformarchingthroughtime. I the Crank-Nicolson n

method, the solution of 4 at time (t + A t ) can be obtained from the solution at time t , by

where { F } t = {F}t+at,because the source vector is not a function of time in the system. The solution procedure defined equation (32) is unconditionally stable (Irudayaraj, 1992). by The numerical oscillations in the calculated results can be avoided by selecting the time step At as, At 5 where X , , 2 -

h,,

(33)

is the largest eigenvalue for the system of differential equations and can be deter-

mined from [C],[ K ] and { F} . Solution of equations (30) and (31) obtained by the method mentioned above, results in

a set of nodal temperature for region 1, and temperature and moisture transfer potential for

region 2 respectively for every time step in the domain of interest. The moving evaporation front was predicted by substituting these values in equation (20) for every time step. With the information of the newly predicted positionof the evaporation front, new element meshes were generated for region 1 and region 2 respectively for the next time increment.

Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems

289

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION VALIDATION

A one dimensional finite element model with mesh generation capabilities w i ~ sdeveloped.
The initial one dimensional grid consisted of ten elements in each region. After every time step the moving interface was calculated and the finite element grid was modified accofdingly. Several variations of the coupled equations with stationary boundary conditions were solved in order to demonstrate the applicability of the finite element simulation developed in this study. The solution obtained by FEM was compared with another numerical solution of an eigenvalue problem obtained by least squares method for drying of wood (Liu and Cheng, 1990). The parameters used are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Parameters used for finite element solution didation.

The FEM predicted non~mensional temperature and moisture transfer potential profile at

X = 0 and X

==

I, dong with the approximate solution of Liu and Cheng (1990) are shown

in Fig.1 and Fig.2 respectively. It can be seen that the finite element predicted temperature and moisture profile has the same trend of that obtained by the least squares method, and the results of the two methods were in close agreement. In the above simulation the boundazy was fixed at the drying surface for comparison with the existing solution. An exact compazison was

290

and

Incdayaraj

Wu

not possible due to nonavailablility of data, however, the above simulation validates the trend and.quantifies the existing solution for a simplified problem.

Figure 1 Comparison of finite element predicted transient temperature distribution (lines) . with solution by least squares method (symbols) at
1.0

= 0 and X = 1.

as as

0.4-

Q2

.... ..,. ...

to

too

1000

LogtFo)

Figure 2. Comparison of finite element predictedtransient moisture potential distribution

( i e ) solution by least squares method (symbols) at X = 0 and X = 1. l n swith

Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems

291

0.0

10

LagtFol

Figure 3. Finite element predicted nondimensional evaporation front versus nondimension~

time (I;og(Fo))for e = 0.3, 7 = 5, Tv = 0.5, I;u = 0.008, P n = 2.4 and K O = 8.

Figure 4. Effect of nondimensional heat of wpourization, 7 on the moving evaporation front.

lrudayaraj and Wu

EFFECT OF MOVING EVAPORATION FRONT The parameters used in the numerical solution. of the system of coupled heat and mass transfer equations associated with moving evaporation front are listed in Table 2. The

FEM predicted nondimensional evaporation front (S) and the rate of movement of evaporation
for front ( d S / d F o ) versus nondimensional time (30) the value of the nondimensional heat of vapourization parameter, 7 = 5 , are plotted in Fig.3. Initially, the whole domain of the porous body was moist and the heat and mass transfer were considered to take place simultaneously. As the drying process progress, the evaporation front moves into the porous body and divides the system into two regions. The rate of motion of the evaporation front is high during the initial stages of drying, with the rate becoming lower and eventually reaching a minimum when the evaporation front reaches the other end of the body.

Table 2. Parameters used for moving evaporation front prediction.

Parameter Lu
E

Value Parameter Value

0.008

Pn

2.4

0.3
5.0

KO
a12

8
10 .
1.0

Tv

0.5
0.4

k21

Bi,

B, i

14 .

The effect of nondimensional heat of vapourization on the evaporation front movement is shown in Fig.4. The nondimensional evaporation front S is plotted against Fo for four different values of the nondimensional heat of vapourization parameter 7 = 1, 5, 10 and 100. It can be

Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems

293

seen that as the heat of vapourization increases, the movement rate of the evaporation front decreases. Hence, for a given liquid, 7 tends to increase, as At,, decreases. A large value of
7 implies that the sudace is very close to the vapouriaation temperature of the liquid, As a

result the sudace is not subjected to intense drying and consequently the evaporation front progresses at a slower rate. ~ u p t a ~ l 9 7 observed the same phenomenon. 4) The temperature and moisture transfer potential profiles predicted by the FEM at a particular point X = 1 are shown in Fig3 and Fig.6 respectively.

I
0

I
6

1
9

1
12

I
llS

F O

Figure 5. Effect of nondimensional heat of vapourization, 7 on nondimensional trmient

temperature at X = I.

294

Irudayaraj and Wu

The nondimensional temperature distribution is plotted for five different values of 7, ie. 0,

1, 5 , 10 and 100 in Fig.5. Here, 7 = 0 represents the case of pure heat conduction through a
half space. It can be seen that the temperature distribution has a identical pattern, in which the temperature rises quickly close to that of evaporation temperature T,, and then slowly approaches the value T . before the evaporation hont reaches that point.

T i is because the hs

energy supplied from the surface was fully consumed in vapourizing the moisture in this region while the evaporation front has not reached the point. From Fig.5, it can also be noted that the temperature at a fixed position decreases as y increases because the energy needed for vapourizing increases. Thus for 7 = 100 the temperature at the point

= 1.0 and Fo = 2.0

is about 50% lower than the case for 7 = 0. Hence it can be concluded that the effect of m s as transfer on heat transfer with evaporation of liquid from porous system results in the decrease of temperature.

I
0

I
5

I
9

I
1%

i
I0

FO

Figure 6. Effect of nondimensional heat of vapourization, 7 on nondimensional transient

moisture potential at

X = 1.

Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems

295

In Fig.6 the moisture transfer potential at a fixed position increases with the deepening of the evaporation front. A major amount of heat energy is consumed in vapourizing the liquid, an increase of the heat of vapourization slows the movement of evaporation front, and hence decreases the rate of moisture potential change. Thus for y = 100 the moisture potential at the point X = 1.0 and F o = 5.0 is about 30 % lower than the case for y = 5. This result is in accordance with the physical expectations. From the results of the simulation, it is obvious that the movement of evaporation front has an appreciable effect on the temperature and moisture distribution inside the porous system during drying.

Application 11 : Moisture Adsorption During Heat, Mass and Pressure Transfer

INTRODUCTION Steeping or soaking of agricultural products in general, and grain kernels in particular, is one
of the most important process in brewing (for producing barley malt) and industries involved in

the extraction of starch, protein and oils. Proper soaking with steep water softens the kernel and removes a portion of solubles in the grain. However, oversteeping wastes energy and decreases the viscosity of starch in the grain, which causes the cellulose and semi-cellulose materials not t o separate easily during subsequent processing. Inadequate steeping does not remove soluble components efficiently and may contribute to an overall reduction in yield. During soaking, moisture diffuses into the kernel till an equilibrium is attained. The rate of moisture diffusion depends upon the surrounding temperature and humidity conditions.

296

Irudayaraj and Wu

Most of the past applications the simultaneous heat and mass transfer process were limi of to drying (Irudayaraj et al., 1992; Haghighi et al., 1990; Thomas et al., 1980). A recent study
on moisture absorption in expanding alfalfa cubeswas conducted by Fasina et al. (1993). The

authors validated their finite element results using experimentalHowever, no attempt was data. made to study the applicabilityof a threecoupled systemof equations to this process. Recently, Lewis and Ferguson (1990) and Irudayaraj and Wu (1994)used the Finite Element Method

(FEM) to study the process of heat, mass, and pressure transfer in biomaterials. Irudayaraj and Wu (1994) conducted an extensive simulationto verify and validatethe numerical solution of the system of equations and demonstrated the applicability Luikovs equation for a wider of range of drying problems. Application of Luikovs system of equation thus far, was limited to drying problems. The proposed study attempts to extend this concept of simultaneous heat and moisture transfer and the effect of pressure (filtration) on moisture adsorption in a barley kernel during steeping. Hence, the objectives areto: (1)present the finite element formulation for a setof coupled heat, mass and pressure transfer equations, (2) predict the temperature and moisture transfer during the adsorption process, and (3) determine the effect of pressure on moisture transfer by comparing results from the heat, mass, and pressure transfer (HMP) and HM (heat and mass transfer) model.

Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems

297

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS This section presents the finite element formulation for a system of coupled heat, mass, and pressure transfer equations (HMP model). The heat and mass transfer (HM) model (Irudayaraj et al., 1990) is a simplified version of the HMP model obtained by assuming the pressure to be a constant. Hence the system of three equations will reduce to a system of two equations. The section below presents t he governing equations and finite element formulation for the HMP model.

GOVERNING EQUATIONS The partial differential equations given by Luikov (1975) for temperature, moisture and pressure transfer can be simplified and written in general form as (Lewis and Ferguson, 1990):

298

lrudayaraj and Wu

BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
The boundary conditions associated with the system of equations [ Eqs. (34) given by

- (36) ] are

Where

I'l

, r 2 , r 3 , r4 and s ' I

eachmakeup

a complete boundary surface. In deriving the

boundary condition equations (37) and (38) the coefficients JP. and J; were defined as

Where coefficients A,, A,, Al, A,,

JP and J ,

are

Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems

299

FINITE ELEMENT F O ~ ~ ~ U L A T I O N The governing difFerentia1 equations [ Eqs. (34)

(36) ] were transformed into element

equations using the Galerkin's weighted residual method. The dependent variables T, M, and

P can be approximated by equations similar to Eqs. (22) and (23).

Introducing the generalized boundary conditions Eqs. (37) - (41), a system of matrix equations can be obtained

IC(4Mil 3- W(4)1{4}+ {F)= ( 0 )

Where
{$)T

(44)

= [T

fVf

P]

C(4) = global capacitance matrix

K(c;S) = global conductance matrix {F}= global force vector

Solution to Eq. (44) was obtained using Lee's three level scheme (Comini and Lewis, 19'76; Irudayaraj et al., 1992). In this method , the solution 4 at time (t+ At) can be obtained from the solution at time (t-At) and t, by

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This section discusses the results of moisture absorption in barley during steeping using the

HMP and HM models. The one-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model of the barley

300

Irudayaraj and Wu

kernel consisted of 15 nodes and 14 linear elements. Initial conditions used in the simulation for temperature, moisture, and pressure potentials are 15.6%, 25 "C , and 5 kN/m2 respectively. The temperature of steep water was held at 4 . The equilibrium moisture content and 0C pressure of steep water was assumed at 100 ' M and 100 kN/m2 respectively. Because of the symmetry of the problem, insulated boundary conditions were used at the centre (r = 0). At the surface (r = 2.53) respective boundary conditions given by equations [37], [38j and 1411 were used for temperature, moisture, and pressure. The thermal and diffusion properties used for barley kernel obtained from the literature are given in Table 3.

Table 3. Material Properties used for barley kernel.

po
cq

1130
1446

kg/mg

- k,
X
cp

0.1 2.3X1O6 4.0X10'6

kg

W1m.K
J/k9

J1kg.K kg.m/s.kN

k,, 6.77X10'8

m'/N

6
CYq

0.01
110
0.1

1/K
W/m2.K

a , l.OXIO"f ,,
c,

/ m.s."M

0.004

kg/kg."M

k,,,

0.075

kg/m.soM

Heat and Mass Transfcr in Coupled Systems

301

Figure 7. Temperature variation in barley kernel at r = 0 and r = 1.4using the HMP model.

Figure 8.

Pressure variation in the barley kernel at r = 1.0 and r = 2.0mm

using the HMP model.

302

Irudayaraj and Wu

10

20

30

40

50

60

Time (h)

Figure 9. A comparison of the m s average moisture prediction from the as

models to show the effect of pressure.

HMP and the HM

0.5

1.5

25

Figure 1 . Moisture distribution in the barley kernel using the HMP (solid line) and 0
(dashed line) models at r = 0 and r = 1.415mm.

HM

Neat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Systems

303

Fig. 7 illustrates the temperature variation in different locations of the kernel. The interior
node (r = 0) required 140 seconds to reach a constant temperature while the exterior nodes (r

> 0) had a faster temperature gain. Temperature gradients at the interior will have an effect
on moisture movement because of its interdependence. The pressure variation in the kernel at two different locations (r = 1.0 mm and r = 2.0 mm) are given in Fig. 8. The pressure variation at nodes closer to the surface was much greater

than at the nodes closer to the centre because of steeper gradients between the initial and
surrounding conditions. A difference of about 40 kN/rn2 was observed after 60 h. As time progressed the pressure gradients at the exterior decreased but those at the interior increased.

This indicated that pressure cannot be assumed as constant.

The effect of pressure on moisture during the transport process was illustrated by comparing the mass average moisture predicted using the coupled heat and mass transfer model (HM model) with the coupled heat, mass, and pressure (HMP model) transfer model (Fig. 9). The HMP model predicted a faster moisture adsorption rate. A difference in mass average moisture content of about 7% was noted after 60hr of adsorption. The excess moisture movement can be attributed to the filtration effect. Under such circumstances, omission of the pressure term from the analysis will result in an under prediction of moisture content. Hence the three-way system
of coupled equations for temperature, moisture, and pressure must be solved simultaneously.

Fig. 10. shows the comparison for moisture distribution along the radial axis, during the
moisture absorption process at different time periods. As expected, the surface reached equilibrium faster and the difference in moisture concentration between the surface and the surrounding was a major driving force. During the first 20 h of the steeping process, predictions from

304

Irudavaraj arid Wu

the two models showed a minor deviation. As time elapsed the pressure gradients were more uniformly distributed towards the interior, resulting in greater deviation in moisture prediction using the HMP and HM models.

CONCLUSION Model one describes the temperature and moisture distribution in a porous medium with a finite element formulation based on the Galerkin weighted residual moving evaporation front. -4 method and solution to the set of nonlinear coupled heat and mass transfer model for the two phase system consisting of region 1 and region 2 with a moving evaporation interface was presented. The finite element results were compared with the existing results for a single phase system for model validation. In the two phase system with the moving boundary condition, the rate of movement of the evaporation front decreased, with the deepening of the evaporation front in the porous body. Different trends for the temperature distribution in regions 1 and

2 were observed because of the effect of mass transfer on heat transfer. The nondimensional
heat of vapourization parameter y has a significant effect on the movement of the evaporation front. The higher the value of 7, the slower is the movement of the evaporation front, The temperature decreased and the moisture content increased as the nondimensional vapourization parameter 7 increased. The model was tested feasible for describing the decrease rate drying process of agricultural products. Model two, a set of simultaneous heat, mass, and pressure transfer equations, describes the moisture adsorption during steeping of barley kernels. Moisture predictions from the heat, mass,

Heat and M a s s Transfer in Systems Coupled

305

and pressure transfer model showed a considerable difference when compared

to predictions

from the heat and mass transfer model. During initial absorption the pressure gradients did not contribute to a significant moisture transfer because steeper surface gradients constitute a major driving force. As time elapsed, surface moisture gradients decreased but the pressure

gradients progressed towards the interior, contributing to additional moisture transfer.

Ti hs

additional transfer of moisture by the pressure gradient causedthe kernel to reach equilibrium faster. This technique can also been used to study the adsorption characteristics of biological or other agricultural materials.

XOMENCLATURE
m s diffusion coefficient, [m2/s] as

thermal diffusivity, (k,/p,c,) specific moisture capacity, [kg~i,~~=/k~~~y*~y] air capacity, [kgm2/kg.N] heat capacity, [J/kgoK] Fourier number, (a9r/1*) specific mass flu~,[kg~lmoi~t,,,~/m~~] specific heat flux, [W/m2] coefficient of moisture conductivity, [kg/m.h.M] Kossovitch number, (Lc,Ae/(c&,)) moisture filtration coefficient, [kg.m/s.N]

306

Irudayaraj and Wu

kq

thermal conductivity, [W/mK) characteristic length, ( m ) latent heat of vapourization, ( J / k g ) Luikov number, ( a m / a q ) moisture content, [ % kg water/kg solid] moisture potential, ["M] number of nodes in element pressure, [ k N / m z ] Posnov number, (h'At./eo) position of evaporation front, (m) position of nondimensional evaporation front

L
Lu

M
n

Pn
S(T)

S(Fo)

time, [S] temperature, ["C]

Greek letters convective mass transfer coefficient, [ k g - moisture/m2s] convective heat transfer coefficient, [W/m*"K] thermo-gradient coefficient,[1/"K] mass transfer potential, ("M) nondimensional mass transfer potential, (00 - e)/(& latent heat, [ J / k g ] domain of interest, [m3]

- e,,)

Heat and Mass Transfer in Coupled Sysrems

307

p,,
7

dry body density, [kg/m3] nondimensionallatentheat of vapourization of liquid surface boundary,

[mZ]

I '
4
e

vector of unknowns, [T M

PIT

ratio of vapor diffusion coefficient to the coefficientof total moisture diffusion

Subscripts

ambient mass prescribed heat REFERENCES

1. Comini,G.andLewis,R.W.,1976, A numericalsolution of two-dimensionalproblems involving heat and mass transfer, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vo1.19, pp.1387-1392. 2. Fasina, O.O., Irudayaraj, J., and Sokhansanj, S. 1993, Three-dimensional finite element analysis of moistureabsorptioninexpandingalfalfacubes. J. Agric.Engineering Research, vo1.56, pp. 337-352.

3. Gear, G.W.1971, Numerical initial valueproblemsinordinarydifferentialequations, Prentice-Hall, Engelwood Cliffs, NJ, pp.678. 4. Gupta, L.N., 1974,An a proximation solution of the generalized Stefan's problem in a porous medium, Int. J. feat and Mass Transfer, Vo1.18, pp.313-321.
5. Haghighi, K., Irudayaraj, J., Stroshine, R.L., andSokhansanj, S. 1990,Grainkernel simulation using the finite element method. Transactionsof the ASAE, Vol. 33, pp.19571965. 6. Irudayaraj, J., Haghighi, K. and Stroshine, R.L., 1992, Finite element analysis of drying with application to cereal grains, J. Agric. Engng. Res., Vo1.53, No.4, pp.209-229.
7. Irudayaraj, J., Haghi hi, K., and Stroshine, R.L. 1990, Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of Coupled Heat an2 Mass Transfer Problems with an Application to Timer Drying.

Drying Technology An Int. Journal, vo1.8, No.4, pp. 731-749.

308

Irudayaraj and

Wu

8. Irudayaraj, J. andWu, Y., 1994, Finiteelementanalysis ofcoupledheat,,mass,and pressuretransferinporousbiomaterials,NumericalHeatTransfer, Part A, Vol. 26, pp.337-350.
9. Lewis, R.W. and Ferguson, W.J., 1990,
on the moisture content in a capillary porous body, Int. J For Numerical Meth0ds.h .

The effect of temperature and total gas pressure

Engineering, V01.29, pp.357-369.

. 10. Liu, J and Cheng, S., 1990, A parametric study of heat and mass transfer in drying of capillary-porous media. Multiphase transport in porous media, ASME, V01.122, pp.25-32.
11. Luikov, A.V., 1975, Heat and mass transfer in capillary-porous bodies, Pergamon Press, Oxford, England.

12.Mikhailov, M.D., 1975,Exactsolution of temperature and moisture distribution in a porous half-space with moving evaporationfront, Int. J. Heat and Mass Transfer, vo1.18, pp.797-804.
13. Mikhailov, M.D. and Shishedjiev, B.K., 1975, Temperature and moisture distributions

durin contact drying pp. 1g-24.

of a moist porous sheet, Int.

J Heat and Mass Transfer, Vo1.18, .

14. Thomas, H.R., Morgan, K. and Lewis, R.W., 1980, A fully nonlinear analysisof heat and mass transfer problems in porous bodies, Int. J for Numerical Methods in Engineering, . V01.15, pp.1381-1393.

FINITE ELEMENT MODELING OF GRAIN DRYING

Leandro S. Oliveira I and Karnyar Haghiglli

1 Departamento de Engenharia Meciinica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270-901 BRAZIL

2- Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1 146 USA
Key Words and Pluases: numerical simulation; nwlti-kernel system; conjugate drying; error estimation; adaptive analysis.

ABSTRACT The focus of this chapter is on the use of the finite element method to model and analyze grain drying.It states the significance of modeling grain drying, presents the current status of the use of numerical analysis for such process, and emphasizes the advantages of the finite element method. A brief description of the relevant drying models theories and available also is presented. The existing literature the on application of thefiniteelenlentmethod to simulategraindryingisreviewed in conjunction the with relevant advances in that area. In conclusion, tracks are proposed for future research this field. in INTRODUCTION

Drying is the most widespread heat and mass transport process and one of the most energy-consuming industrial operations. This unit operation is present in
309

310
several industrial sectors whichinclude,among textileindustries.Considerablequantities

Oliveira and Haghighi

others, the food, grain, wood

and

of cerealgrain are artificiallydried in

heated or near-ambient air drying systems. potential of spoilage is ~ninirnized The by the use of proper drying procedures thatwill help to improve the qualityof the grain for subsequent handling, processing and marketing. However, high-temperature

drying can cause damage to the grain. Damage from overheating reduces the value of the grain for some uses and also hinders the milling process. In addition, rapid drying makes grain more brittle. Brittleness is a major problem with dried gain and leadstobreakageduringsubsequenthandlingthroughmarketingchannels. dryingprocessmust be understoodandcontrolled reduce or minimize drying damage to The

so thatdesignguidelinesthat

the grain can be established and improved.

This requires accurate description f the drying mechanism. o Considerable work has been done in the past decades on the development of theory and mathematical models for gain drying. Comprehensive reviews of these

in models and computer simulation methods are availablethe literature (Sharp, 1982;
Parry, 1985; Jayaset al., 1991; Cenkowski et al., 1993; Parti; 1993; Waananen al., et 1993). Basically, three distinct types of models have been developed: the deep-bed, thethin-layer, and thesingle-kernelmodels.Most of thesemodelsarebasedon

systems of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations where temperature and moisture content are the primary variables. In most cases, the analytical solution o f the equations cannot
be determined, and an

approximate (numerical) solution

technique mustbe\used. Regarding!the numerical analysis technique (Spencer, 1969; Brooker

o f grain drying,

the finite difference

et al. 1974; Ingram, 1976; Martins, 1982;

Douglas, 1994) and the finite element method (Misra and Young, 1978; Sokhansanj and Gustafson; Haghighi 1980; and Segerlind, Haghighi 1988; et al., 1990;

Irudayaraj et al., 1992; Sarker et al., 1994) are the most commonly used techniques.

deling Finite Element

31 I
the finite difference

The following are the advantages of the finite element over technique, as outlined by Nieber (1983):

in the finite element method, there is no need for additional equations to assure
continuity across common boundaries adjacent elements; of complex geometries and mesh gradation are easily handled by the finite element method whereas with the finite difference technique they are very difficult tasks

to accomplish:
the finite element method can easily handle mixed boundary conditions; and

finite-element-based computer codes can easily be generalized to solve different types of problems. In the next sections, a brief discussion of the types of grain drying models is presented, followed by a review the utilization of the finite element methodin the of analysis of grain drying and a discussion of
the recent advances in this and other

related areas. As a closure, directions for future research in this area are suggested. It is noteworthy to mention that it is not

the objective of this work to present

an

exhaustive review of the subject but rather present an overview

of the extent to

which the finite element method has been used to model grain drying.

DRYING MODELS Grain drying models are usually classified as deep-bed, thin-layer, and singlekernel type. A brief descriptionof these models is presented next. Deep-bed drying models are derived from laws of heat and mass transfer the
with the assumption that there is no temperature and moisture content equilibrium

between the drying air and the

pain throughout the bed. In general, a

set of four

312

Oliveira and Haghighi

partial differential equations are generated from energy and mass balances over
air and a thin-layerdrying

control volume isolated from bed. The equations that comprisea deep-bed model the are:massandenergybalancesofgrainanddrying equation. review A of the relevant deep-bed drying models presented was by

Cenkowski et al. (1993). Thin-layer drying models are developedfor layers of many grain thicknesses with the assumption that the drying air is in the same thennodynamic state as the grain in each layer, during each drying period, i.e., there are no temperature and moisture gradients between the air and the grain. Thin-layer models can be derived fromdeep-bedmodelswiththeintroduction

of simplifyingassumptions for the

the near-equilibrium

condition of lowtemperatureandlowairflowdrying,when

condition is valid. Reviews thin-layer drying models were presented Jayas et al. of by

(1991) and Parti (1993).

The tenn single-kernel drying model is usually applied any mathematical to model, developed for hygroscopic porous materials, that is commonly used analysis single-kernel of drying. mechanisticapproach(Whitaker, The models were used derived either from
in the

1977) or fromnon-equilibriumthennodynrunics
the abovetheorieswas

theories(Luikov, 1966). Amodelthatincorporatesboth developed by FortesandOkos

(1981) andwasappliedtograindryinganalysis.

Dryingmodels for generichygroscopicporousmediawerereviewedbyBories

(1989). Puiggali and Quintad (1992), and Waananen et aL(1993).

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS Misn and Young (1978, 1980) developed a time-dependent finite element fonnulation, in one-dimensional spherical coordinates, to model moisture diffusion and shrinkage during soybean drying. The soybean kernels were approximated by

Finite

Modeling

313

spheres and a density and moisture content dependent Inass diffusivity was assumed. The finiteelementprocedure,proposed by Segerlind(1976), to evaluatenodal

displacements byminimizing the potentialenergy of the systemwasutilized.

An

iterative procedure was used for the solution of the equations of moisture diffusion and nodal displacements. The moisture diffusion equation was solved first and its results were used as input for the solution of the nodal displacements equation, for each time step. This procedure was repeated until the moisture content approached equilibrium. The finite element method was utilized by Sokhansanj and Gustafson (1980) for the prediction of si~nultaneous heatand Inass transfer during drying of a grain kernel. Linear triangular elements used were diffusioncoefficientswereused

in the analysis. Spatially variable

in theanalysis of dryingacornkernel.Drying for the first stages of drying. The for the later

simulations ofaricekenlelwasalsoperfonned.Inbothanalysesthesimulation results approximated experilnental the data

discrepancybetweentheexperimentaldataandthenumericalresults

stages of drying was attributed to the diffusion coefficient dependency on the kernel moisture.ChinnanandBakshi(1984)modeledthemoisturetransferduringthe drying of Califonlia blackeye peas using the finite element ~netllodology developed by Lolnauro B'akshi and (1985). The element finite ~netllod predictions were

reasonably good in comparison to the measured data.

An nxisymnehic finite ele~nent fonnulation was developed by Haghighi and

Segerlind (1988a) to model and simulate the silnultaneous heat and Inass transfer in an isotropic material with constant material properties, and applied it to the drying problem of soybean a kernel. triangular Linear elements used were discretization of the domain. It was shown that greatpotential
in the
of coupledheatandInass

the finite element technique has a

i explainingthecomplexphenomena n

transfer in agriculturaltnaterials.Subsequently,HaghighiandSegerlind(1988b,c) successfullyapplied the finiteelementmethod to modelandpredictthethenno-

314

and

Oliveira

Haghighi

hydrostresses in the drying of soybeankernels.UpadhyayaandRumsey(1989) solved a system of coupled heat and inass transfer equations They used one-dimensional elements for spherical bodies. The

to model the drying of soybean kernels.

thennophysical properties of the soybean kernel were assumed to be constant. The results predicted by the finite element method were compared to those reported by Haghighi and Segerlind (1988a).

A set of coupled heat and inass transfer equations

for the drying of single

barley kernel was solved by Haghighi et al. (1990) using the finite element method. The thennophysical properties consideredtemperature moisture were as and dependent. Two kernel shapes were studied: a prolate spheroid and a sphere. NinenodedLagrangianelementswereusedtodiscretizethedomain(Figure results agreed well with the experimental results. Inldayaraj finite element solutions for two sets 1). The

et al. (1992) presented for two-

of nonlinear coupled models

dimensional drying grain problems.

The models incorporated temperature and to the

moisturecontentdependentmaterialproperties,andtheapplicationswere

drying of single soybean, barley and corn kernels. The soybean kernel was modeled as anisotropicsphereandthebarleykernelasaprolate'spheroid.Nine-noded Lagrangian elements were used the analyses (Figure2). in The finite element method was used by Weres and Jayas (1994) to solve a system of coupled quasilinear differential equations grain of drying. Boundary conditions of the third kind, dependence of the moisture diffusion coefficient on the moisture content, irregularity of the kernel geometry, and nonhomogeneity
o f the

kernel material were included the lnatllematical model. effects of these factors in The onthemoisturetransportpredictions in thin-layerdrying of cornwereanalyzed.

Curvilinear isoparametric hexahedral elements were used in the analysis. The finite element results were compared to analytical solutions, and the local relative errorof approximation and a global relative error &-norm) were estimated.The accuracy of

the numerical solutions was foundto be within a reasonable range. Results indicated

Finite Element Modeling

315

0.0

r axis, mm

I 75

Figure 1 : Two-dimensional axisymmetic finite element mesh with nine-noded Lagrangian elementsto represent a prolate spheroidal modelof a barley kernel (Haghighi et al., 1990).

316

Oliveira and Haghighi

Figure 2: Two-dimensional finite element mesh a corn kernel of (Irudayaraj et al., 1992).

Finite the moisturetransportto

31 7 be moreaffected by thekernelnonhomogeneity
in the

beginning of the drying whereas, in the later periods of drying, the effects

of the

dependence of the diffusion coefficients on moisture content and irregularities of the the kernel geometry were more pronounced.

A numerical simulation of intennittent and continuous deep-bed drying

corn presented was by Franca et al. (1994). A deep-bed drying model was aimow modelnonlinear and material developed, incorporating nonlinear a

of

properties. Both the finite ele~nent control volume methods were used and

to solve

the system of coupled differentiul equations.

finite difference results presented

The results from the one-dimensional

all in good

finite element and control volume analyses were compared to each other and to the by Martins (1982). were They agreement with each other. Sarker et al. (1994) developed a finite element modelto analyze moisture diffusion in the drying of rough, milled and brown rice. kernel modeled was
as a prolate spheroid different with diffusivities

The rice
for the

endospenn, and The bran husk. two-dinlensional computational domain was discretized into linen triangular elements and the mesh was updated at every time step to account for contraction due to moisture removal. The simulated results of rough drying rice presented mean errors compared small square when experimental data. The finite element method has proved heatandInasstransferthatoccur to be very effective in modeling the to

in thedrying of grainandotheragricultural

products.However,someimportantissueshavenotyetbeenaddressed literature:

in the

thefiniteelementmethodhasbeenused some .two-dirnensional transport

to modelmostlyone-dimensionaland

in grain with simple beds very geometric

features.Realisticgraindryingproblemsusuallyinvolvecomplexgeometries and, as stated previously, this is easily handled the finite element method.The by

318

and

Oliveira

Haghighi

existing finite element methodologiesfor the analysis of grain drying are usually generic and can be easily extended to the analysis of three-dimensional problems. This type of analysis would provide a tnuch better insight into the complexity of the underlying mechanisms and also yield results that more truly represent physical problem. even though researchers have already tried assessing the accuracy of the finite elementsolutions(WeresandJayas,
1994). areliableerrorestimatorand

the

an

effective adaptive procedure, that autolnatically redefines

the mesh to improve

the accuracy of the finite element solutions, have not yet been developed.

The use of the finite element method analysisofgraindryingisonlyrestrictedby

in its full potential for the numerical

the limitations of themathematical

models, lack of some experimentally detennined material properties, and availability of adequate computer resources.

RECENT ADVANCES
Adaptive Finite Element

The finite element method has been successfully used

to simulate the heat

and mass transfer that occur during the drying of cereal grain and other agricultural products. The solution of aproblem by thefiniteelementmethodrequiresthe domain of interest to be subdivided into a mesh of discrete subdomains or elements. The accuracy of the solution is greatly affected by the size and distribution of these elements.Reducingtheelementsizesandplacingthemcorrectlyusuallyyields moreaccuratesolutionbut requirements. at acost of increasedcomputertimeandmemory

Finite

Modeling

319

It is well established in the literature that the use of adaptive techniques can increase the accuracy and reliability of finite element solutions. The objective of an adaptiveprocedureis to enhancethequalityofthefiniteelementsolutions by

continuouslyredefiningthemeshandreducingthediscretization

error untilthe

solution converges to the desired accuracy. The adaptive finite element method uses
the mathematics of error analysistopostulatethatafiniteelementsolutioncan

indicate which regions

in a given domain need refinement

or derefinement of the
the

mesh. Theerroranalysisisbasedontheuse

of errorestimatestoevaluate

magnitude of the solution error. This information can then be used to adapt the mesh automatically in order to obtain the desired level of accuracyusing the lowest possible number of degrees of freedom (Zienkiewicz and Taylor, 1989). In the past decade, considerable work been on development reliable has done the of and computationally inexpensive error estimates for finite element computations. These estimatesplayanimportantrole
in the developmentandimplementationofan

adaptive procedure. Extensive reviews of adaptive refinement techniques and error estimators were presented Noor and Babuska (1987) and Oden al. (1990). by et The adaptivefiniteelementmethodhasbeenextensivelyapplied elasticity, dynamics heat fluid and transfer problems. recent The advances on adaptive analysis Zienkiewicz (1992). in the computational mechanics were area discussed by to linear

A few studies dealing error with estimation adaptive and

in theliterature(PelletierandIlinca,

analysis for coupledproblemsareavailable

1993; Trompert, 1993). However, all these efforts dealt with either equations that were solved sequentially, and not simultaneously, or problems where different error estimators are applied to different equations in the same system. The use of error estimators that were separately developed for each equation of a coupled system

leads to difficulties in establishing a simple and efficient refinement strategy. Tlle development of a single error estimator that includes the coupling effects is crucial for the establishment of a more accurate and efficient adaptive procedure.

320

and

Oliveira

Haghighi

A new unified a posteriori error estimator

for coupled transport equations fonn of

in

was presented by Oliveira and Haghighi (1995). This single estimator incorporated the coupling effects. It was developed based on the following generalized the drying of porous media: c iL!? !!
at

the system of coupled equations describing the transport phenomena that occur

= %V.(kijVQj)+Si
j=l

i = 1,m

where Q represents the dependent variables, m is the number dependent variables, of

t is time and S is the source term. The quantities c and k are specific to a particular

meaning of Q. Boundary conditions of the first, second and third kind complete the problem definition. An error norm, based on

the definitionofenergynormfor

the system of

coupled equations, was evaluated and used calculation of the sizes of the elements

in the process of error estimation and in the adapted According mesh. to

Zienkiewicz and Zhu(1987), the error energy norm canbe defined as

(2)

where L is a differential operator applied to the dependent variable and represents R thecomputationaldomain. In thecase of problemsgoverned by thesystem
(3)

of

equations (l), L is an mxm matrix with coefficients given by L, = -Vk,V and the pointwise errore in equation (2) is expressed by

e=

(4)

Finite

Modeling

321

where 4 represents the dependent variable analytical solution and

5 represents the

finite element solution. The substitution of equations (3) and (4) into equation (2) leads to the final expression the error estimator for coupled transport problems: for

The exact solutions of the dependent variables and their gradients are usually not available for these types of problems and a global smoothed value taken as a higher-order approximation of the value given by the finite element solution can be used instead. A relative error measure
(q), defined as the ratio between the

error

energy norm and the exact energy nonn. was used in the establishment of a criterion for mesh refinement. The perfonnance of this estimator was evaluatedby applying it to awooddryingproblem. The resultsshowedthattheproposedestimatorwas of coupled transport problems. A

suitable for the adaptive finite element analysis

new adaptive strategy for the finite element solution of transient field problems was presented by Oliveira et al. (1995). The flow chart depicting the strategys general idea is presented in Figure 3. In this strategy, not only the error is checked after a fixednumberoftime steps,buttheerrorvariationwithrespect to timeis also computed. The remeshing procedure is carried out after every error isabovethespecified

N time steps if the

The

Limit and the error variationisnotsignificant.

criterion to decide if aremeshingisnecessnryisbasedontheerrorbehavior.A straight line is traced fromthe error value (q,) at the present time to the target error

(Ti) at the final time. If the rate of change of the error at the current time
newremeshing
is performed.Aschematicview

(S,) is

higher than the slopeof the straight line(S,) and the error is above the target error, a of theremeshingprocedure to woodandclaybrickdrying

is

presented in Figure 4. Applicationsweremade

322

Oliveira and Haghighi

iL_
Fhle Element Analysis

Remeshing

*advance in line = N

Enor Evaludon

RemeshingPmcedure

1
Interpolation

Figure 3: Flow chart for adaptive strategy.

Finite Element Modeling

323

.....
I l
I

I
I

I
I

c
fine

Figure 4: Remeshing criterionfor transient field problems.

324

and

Oliveira

Haghighi

problems. The proposed strategy has proved remeshings.

to be efficient, avoiding unnecessary

Coupled problems are very common in the studies of simultaneous heat and mass transfer that occur in the drying of gain and other agricultural products. The determination of temperature and moisture distributions in these products essential is for equipment and process design, product quality improvement, and the evaluation of storage andhandlingpractices.Theapplicationofanadaptivefiniteelement procedure to such problems can significantly improve the finite element solutions, providingaccuratedata for qualitycontrol.

The onlyknownapplicationofan
in the

adaptive finite element methodto problems related to grain drying was presented by FrancaandHaghighi
(1995). An error estimatorwasdevelopedandused

adaptive analysis of airflow inside grain dryers. Several dryer configurations were studied the and results agreed with well experimental showing data, significant improvements compared when finite solutions. to the conventional element

schematic diagram of a dryer configuration studied is presented initial mesh and the first and second adaptive meshes used

in Figure 5. The

in the analysis of a wheat

drying problem with an inlet pressurePi,=300 Pa are presented in Figures 6(a) to (c), respectively.Quadratictriangularelementswereemployed. and velocity vectors are presented The pressureisolines

in Figures 6(d) and (e), respectively.

The mesh

refinements reflected the physicd behavior the system, i.e., the meshes were more of refined in the regions where higher pressure gradients were concentrated.

Multi-kerrrel Systm~lCor~ugatc Approach

Numerical techniques have been successfully used to simulate grain drying. However, most of these efforts have

been restricted to analyses of single-kernel,

thin-layer and deep-bed drying for which simplifying assumptions were made. In the case of single-kernel drying analysis, tlle temperature and moisture distributions are evaluated inside the kernel only, and tlle transfer coefficients and external conditions

Finite Element Modeling

325

I .025 m

0.775 m

Figure 5: Schematic diagramof dryer configuration(a) and symmetric computational domain(b) for wheatdrying problem.

326
are considered to be constant, unifonn and known a priori.
deep-beddryinganalysis,thewholesystem

Oliveira and Haghighi

For the thin-layer and

of kernelsisconsideredasasingle

porous body, where the transport occurring inside individual kernels is not taken into account. In either case, the interactions among kernels and between kernels and the surroundingfluid are neglected. The analysis of drying of amulti-kernelsystem provides fundamental knowledge for understanding the effects of interaction on the hydrodynamics, heat mass and and transfer characteristics particles. Modeling the drying of a multi-kernel system by any of the existing theories shouldtakeintoaccountthesolution
o f equations for transportwithin the solid

of closely spaced

coupled to boundary layer equations as applied the drying medium. Analytical and to numerical solutions available are in the literature for drying models where a

conjugateproblemwasnotconsidered.Thesesolutionswereobtainedwiththe assumptionthattheheatandmasstransfercoefficientswereknownapriori.A problem is usually referred to as conjugate when coupled mechanisms of heat and/or mass transfer within and between different phases in the same system are involved. In the conjugate approach, the effects of the heat and mass transfer within the solid on the transfer in the adjacent fluid are analyzed. This approach eliminates the need for convective heat and mass transfer coefficients. Indeed, these coefficients can be evaluated during the simulation process. In the analysis of a multi-kernel drying system utilizing a conjugate approach,

the the transport both inside and outside the kernel are .studied, together with effects
ofcloselyspacedkernels

on thetransfermechanismsandcoefficients.Abetter
for theanalysis o f conjugate

understanding of these mechanisms is importantfor improving the design of existing grain drying systems. A finite element methodology

problems in the convective dryingof multi-kernel systems was developed by Oliveira

(1995). Vie interface between the solid kernels and the external convective flow was

treated as an internal boundary within a two-phase system rather than a geometrical

Finite Element Modeling

327

m
..................................... - - ................ ............ -- " "

- adaptive FEA conventional FEA --- experimentat

- e

(4

Figure 6: Initial mesh (a), first (b) and second(c) adaptive meshes, pressure isolines(d) and velociy vectors(e) for wheat drying problem.

328

and

Oliveira

Haghighi

limit. The problems of solid drying and convection boundary layer were connected by expressing the continuity of the state variables and their respective fluxes through
the interface. The exampleproblemstudiedwasthatofdryingoftwosoybean

kernels in tandemarrangementwithnospacingbetweenthem.

The kernelswere

placed in an air stream in such a way that both hemispheres were evenly exposed to the airflow. Due to the sytnmehy of the problem, only half of the two-dimensional domain was usedfor the analysis (Figure7). The analysis performed was "by separating the problem two: into the

boundary layer analysis and the solid drying analysis. Luikov's basic conservation equations for coupledheatandInasstransfer are solid clrying analysis and given by
in porous body were utilized in the

p,cq-=V.[(kq aT
at

+Ehkn,6')VT+Ehk,VU]

where S' = S/c,,, T is the temperature, U is the moisture potential, p is the solid . density, c, andc,,,aretherespectiveheatandmasscapacities, diffusivities, E is the phaseconversionfactor, k, and k,,, are the

h is the latentheat,and

6 is the

thermo-gradient coefficient. Both the heat and inass transfer considered in this study were in the moderate range and the variations
in the air density could be ignored.

Due to these facts, the hydrodynamics analysis relied on a classical incompressible flow treatment. The nondimensional fonn of the equations utilized to describe the convective drying processin the boundary layer are

Continuity

v.:

=0

Finite ElementModeling

329

r""""""""~ """"""""-1

-1 -1

I/volume
I

cootrd

-1

I
I

I"

L"

-I

CO
""

I I

""""""""""""-~

Figure 7: Drying of two soybean kernels in tandem arrangement.

330

Oliveira and Haghighi

Momentum 1 :.VG=-vp+-V'ii Re

Energy

Conservation of Species

am -+ij.vo=at

Re Sc

v'o

where the Reynolds (Re), Prandtl given by

(Pr) and Schmidt (Sc) numbers are respectively

p is the air density, V, is a datum velocity, p is the air viscosity, 4, is a characteristic .

length, c,, is the air heat capacity, k, is the air tllennal conductivity, D is the diffusion coefficient of water in air, p is the pressure,and o is the water vapor mass fraction. The following are the dimensionless variables used to transform the original equations into their dimensionless fonns:

where

xi represents

the spatial variables. The asterisks identifying the dimensionless

variables omitted were

in the equations presented above

for convenience of

presentation. The equations expressing the continuityof the state variables and their

Finite Element

331

respective fluxes

at the interface used were

as boundary conditions

for both

problems andare given by

where the subscripts f and

represent the fluid and the solid interfacial surfaces,

respectively, n is the surface unit nonnal vector, and o(T,U) is a function relating
the solid local equilibrium moisture content at a certain temperature to the absolute

humidity of the air. No slip condition, i.e.,

is assumedat the solid-fluid interface. The solution

me tho do lo^ utilizedisdescribednext.Theboundarylayer

to evaluate the heat

problem was solved fist with boundary conditions of the fist kind at the solid-fluid interface. The results of the finite element analysis were used and nuss fluxes at theinterfaceandthesefluxeswerethenused

as boundary
at the interface The procedure

condition of the second kind for the solid drying problem that was solved next. An advance in time was performed and the solid drying analysis results were used as boundary condition The meshesused for the bound'uy layer problem.

described is repeated until the final drying time is reached. in theanalyseswerecomprised of quadratictriangular elements and are presented in Figures 8(a) and (b). velocity vectors for Re = 82 The

332

Oliveira and Haghighi

Figure 8: Meshes usedfor the boundary layer analysis(a) and for the soybean kernels drying analysis and drying (b), air velocity vectors(c) for Re = 82.

Finite

Modeling

333

are presented in Figure 8(c). Typical contours for temperature and moisture content distributions are presented in Figure 9. Results demonstrated that both heat and mass transfer rates are significantly affected by the interactions of closely spaced kernels. The recirculation zone of the lead kernel, partially covering the downstream kernel, alterstheheatandmasstransfercllaracteristicsofthedownstreamkernel.The effects of the lead kernel on the downstream kernel were stronger than those of
the

downstream kernel on the lead one. The average heat and Inass transfer rates of the downstream kernel were significantly lower than those of the lead kernel. Also, the transfer rates inthe interkenlel recirculation zone were significantly lower than the in boundary-layer-flow surface areas. The analysisof multiparticle assemblages yielded average temperature and moisture content that are substantially different from those obtained by a simple analysisfor a single kernel. The particle interaction effects tend to lowerthetransferrates moisture content. The methodology proposed by Oliveira (1995) for the solution of conjugate dryingproblemspresentedareasonablygoodperfonnance more realistic temperature moisture and content distributions the than usual methods, where model parameters are based on lulnped conditions. The accuracy of
the results could not be verified due to the lack of experimental data suitnble for

andconsequentlythefinalaveragetemperatureand

in tenns ofproviding

comparison. The validation and verification would be possible exactly reproduces the conditions used experimental studies

if experiments that

in the analysis were perfonned. However, to mutual

of lnultiparticle systems, especially related

interactions,arescarcelyreported, significantamount ofCPUtime.

if notnon-existent. The solution of conjugate Ittookabout

drying problems required extensive allocation of computer memory and consumed

60 hours ofCPUtime

in aSun

SPARCstation to solve for 20 minutes of soybean drying. Nevertheless, the analysis provided a better insight into the drying lnecllanisms than the usual methods do.

334

Oliveira and Haghighi

Figure 9: (a) Temperature and(b) mass fraction isolines the boundary for layer analysis,and soybean (c) temperature and (d) moisture potential distributions a drying timeof 5 minutes. for

Finite Element Modeling

335
FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDS

In this section, some of

the future research needs on the utilization of the

finite element method to model grain drying are outlined.

Parallel Computation Computer technology is moving towards parallel computation for complex

problems. Researchthe on parallelization

of the element finite method has

demonstrated this that numerical technique great has potential a regarding improvement of its perfonnance.The parallelization of algorithms for the solution of grain drying problem would result in significant reduction computational of

requirements and allow for the study complex and more realistic problems. of

Experimental Analysis Careful investigations of the transport phenomena involved in the drying of

grain are still required in order to fully understand the underlying mechanisms. Data
available in the literature suitable for comparison with finite element solutions scarcely reported. Experiments should be designed in such way a

are

to best

approximate the conditions used i n the numerical analysis to validate the proposed mathematical model and solution methodology. The use of experimental techniques such as Laser Holographic Interferometry and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) wouldallow for the detennination of pointwisedistributions o f temperatureand moisture content within the kernels and in the surrounding air. The thennophysical

properties of the drying kernels couldbe estimated from these distributions and then used in the mathematical models to validate the finite element methodologies the for solution of grain dryingproblem.

336
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Leandro Oliveira is grateful suggestions.

Oliveira and Haghighi

to Adriana S. Franca for the helpful discussions and

REFERENCES 1. Bories, S., 1989, Recentadvances i modelisation of coupledheatandmass n transfer in capillary porous-bodies, Proc. Sixth Int. Drying Symp. (IDS89), pp. 46-62, ed. AS. Mujutndar 2. Brooker, D.B., Bakker-Arkema, and C.W., F.W. Hall, 1974, Drying Cereal Grains, AV1 Publ. Co. Inc., Westport, CO. 3. Cenkowski, S., Jayas,D.S.andPabis, S., 1993, Deep-bedgraindrying -A review of particular theories, Drying Technol.,1 l(7) pp. 1553-1581. 4. Chinnan, M.S. and Bakshi, AS., 1984. Finite element analysis to model moisture transfer in Cdifomia Blackeye peas during drying, ASAE Paper No. 84-6516, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI. 5. Douglas, P.L., Jones, J.A.T. and Mallick, S.K., 1994, Modelling and simulation of crossflow grain dryers. Part model development, Trans. IChemE, Part A, I: 72 pp. 325-331. 6. Fortes, M. and Okos, M.R., 1981, A non-equilibrium thennodynatnics approach to transport phenomena in capillary porous media, Trans. ASAE,24(3) pp. 756760. 7. Franca, AS., Fortes, M. Haghighi, and K., 1994, Numerical sitnulation of intennittentandcontinuousdeep-beddrying of biologicalmaterials,Drying Technol., 12(7) pp. 1537-1560. 8. Franca, AS. and Haghighi, K., 1995, Adaptive finite element analysisof air flow inside grain dryers, Drying Technol.,13(1-2) pp. 125-146. 9. Haghighi, K. and Segerlind, L.J., 1988a, Modeling sitnultnneous heat and mass transfer in an isotropic sphere - A finite element approach, Trans. ASAE, 31(2) pp. 629-637. 10. Haghighi, K. andSegerlind,L.J., 1988b. Failureofbiotnaterialssubjected to temperatureandmoisturegradientsusingthefiniteelementmethod,Part I, Trans. ASAE, 31(3) pp. 930-937. 11. Haghighi,K.andSegerlind,L.J., 1988c, Failureofbiotnaterialssubjected to 11, temperatureandmoisturegradientsusingthefiniteelementmethod,Part Trans. ASAE, 31(3) pp. 938-946. 12. Haghighi, K., Irudayaraj, J., Stroshine,R.L.andSokhansanj, S., 1990, Grain kernel drying simulation using the finite element method, Trans. ASAE, 33(6) pp. 1957-1965.

Finite Element Modeling

337

13. Ingram, G.W., 1976, Deep-bed simulation intraparticle drier with moisture diffusion, J. Agric. Engng. Res., 21(3) pp. 263-272. 14. Irudayaraj, J., Haghighi, K. and Stroshine, R.L., 1992, Finite-element analysisof drying with application to cereal grains, J. Agric. Engng. Res., pp. 209-229. 53 15. Jayas, D.S., Cenkowski, S., Pabis, S. andMuir,W.E., 1991, Review ofthinlayer drying and wetting equations, Drying Technol., pp. 551-588. 9(3) 16. Lomauro, C.J.andBakshi, AS., 1985, Finiteelementanalysis of moisture diffusion in foods,J. Food Sci., 50 pp. 392-396. 17. Luikov, A.V., 1966, Heat Mass and Transfer in Capillary-Porous Bodies, Pergatnmon Press, Oxford. 18. Martins, J.H., Filho, J.B.P., Fortes, M. and Sediyama, G.C., 1982, Simula@o de secagem de milho estacioniria, Brasileira calnada em Revista de Annazenamento, 7(1) p p 3 1 8. 19. Misra, R.N.andYoung,J.H., 1978, Finiteelementanalysis of simultaneous moisture diffusion and shrinkage of soybeans during drying, ASAE Paper No. 78-3056, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI. 20. Misra, and R.N. Young, J.H., 1980, Numerical solution of simultaneous 23 moisture diffusion shrinkage and during soybean drying, Trans. ASAE, pp.1277-1282. 21. Nieber, J.L., 1983, Graduate instruction in finite element analysis applicationsin agricultural engineering, ASAE PaperNo. 83-5536, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI. 22. Noor, A. K. andBabuska, I., 1987, Qualityassessmentandcontrol of finite element solutions, Finite Element Analysis and Design, 3 pp. 1-26. in 23. Oden, J.T., Bass, J.M.. Huang. C.Y. and Berry, C.W., 1990, Recent results on slnarz algorithms and adaptive methods for two- and three-dimensional problems in computational fluid mechanics, Computers and Structures, 35(4) pp. 381-396. 24. Oliveira, L.S., Franca, AS. and Haghighi, K., 1995. An adaptive approach to finite element Inodeling of drying problems, Drying Technol., 13(5-7) pp. 11671185. 25. Oliveira, L.S. and Haghighi, K.,1995, A new unified a posteriori error estimator for adaptive finite element analysis of coupled transport problems, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 38(15) pp. 2809-2819. 26. Oliveira, L.S., 1995, An Adaptive/Conjugate Finite Element Approachto Drying of Porous Single/Multiparticle Systems, Pl1.D. Thesis, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. 27. Parti, M., 1993, Selection of mathematical models for drying grain thin-layers, in J. Agric. Engng. Res., 54 pp. 339-352. 28. Pelletier, D.H. and Ilinca, F., 1993, Adaptive finite element solution of complex viscous flow, in Advances in FEAinFluidDynamics,FEDVol. 137, ASME, pp.1-11. 29. Puiggali, J.R. and Quintard, M., 1992, Propertiesandsimplifyingassumptions for classical drying models,in Advances in Drying, Vol. 5 , pp. 109-143, ed. AS. Mujumdar, Hemisphere, Washington, D.C.

338

and

Oliveira

Haghighi

30. Sarker, N.N., Kunze, O.R. and Strouboulis, T., 1994, Finite element simulation of rough rice drying, Drying Technol., 12(4) pp. 761-775. 31. Segerlind, L.J., 4976, Applied Finite Element Analysis, John Wdey Sons, Inc., & New York, NY. 32. Sharp, J.R., 1982, A review of low temperature drying simulation models, J. Agric. Engng. Res., 27 pp. 169-190. 33. Sokhansanj, S. and Gustafson, R.J., 1980, Prediction of heat and mass transfer within a grain kernel - a finite element application, Proc. 2nd Int. Drying Symp., pp. 229-232, ed. AS. Mujumdar. 34. Spencer, H.B., 1969, Amathematicalsimulation of grain drying, Agric. J. Engng. Res., 14(3) pp. 226-235. 35. Trompert, R.A, 1993, Local unifonn .grid refinement and systems of coupled partialdifferentialequations,Report NM-R9307, Centre for Mathematicsand Computer Science, Amsterdam. 36. Upadhyaya, S.K. and Rumsey, T.R., 1989, A finite element model for coupled equations, ASAE Paper No. 89-6578, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI. 37. Wmnanen. K.M., Litchfield, J.B. and Okos, M.R., 1993, Classification of drying lnodels for porous solids, Drying Technol.,1 l(1) pp. 1-40. 38. Weres, J. and Jayas, D.S., 1994, Effects of corn kernel properties on predictions ofmoisturetransport in thethin-layerdrying of corn,Trans.ASAE, 37(5) ~~1695-1705. 39. Whitaker, S., 1977, Simultaneousheat,Inassandmoisturetransfer i porous n media: a theory of drying, Advances Heat Transfer. 13 pp. 119-203. in 40. Zienkiewicz. O.C. and Taylor, R.L., 1989, The Finite Element Method, Vol. I, 4th edn., mcGnw-Hill, New York, NY. 41. Zienkiewicz, O.C., 1992, Computational mechanics today, Int. J. Num. Methods Eng., 34 pp. 9-33.

A Mathematical Modelfor Constant and

Intermittent BatchDrying of Grains in a Novel Rotating Jet Spouted bed
R.Y. Jumah and Arun S. Mujumdar
Deparhnent of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada and

G.S.V. Raghavan
Deparhnent of Agricultural Engineering, Macdonald Campus of McGill University, Ste. AnneDe Bellewe, Quebec, Canada

Key words: drying model, rotating spouted bed, intermittent drying.

Abstract
A diffusion-based mathematical model is presented batch drying of for corn in a novel rotating jet spouted bed device under constant
transfer rates

as well as intermittent drying conditions. Such a device is

suited for drying o f large particles (e.g.g an , beans, seeds, etc.) for which internal heat and ris mass

control the drying kinetics. Based on literature data for moisture dfisivities the
in the

model predictions are compared with experimental data for both continuous and time-depmdent
air supply andor heat input. Effects of relevant parameters are evaluated and discussed

light of potential practical applications.

339

340

Jumah et al.

Introduction
The rotating jet spoutedbed(RJSB)isanoveldevicedevelopedrecently bottom vessel fitted with a slowly rotating bottom at McGill

University [l] for drying of Geldart typeD particles. The contactor consists of a cylindrical flat-

air distributor with one or several radially

It is

located spoutiig air inlets (or nozzles). Depending on the particle, geometric, flow and rotational parameters as well as the dryingkinetics the bed can beconsidered to bewell-mixed. controlling rate process. This chapterdescribesamodel empiricalrelationsform forthe drying of grains in theRJSB.The
transfer is the particularly recommendedfor drying of larger particles with the internal moisture

overall

macroscopic balances and the diffusion-based internal transport equations together with published thesetofgoverningequations.Bothconstantandtime-dependent spoutinglheating schemes been have simulated. model The predictions compared are with experimental batch drying data yellow dent corn in RJSB. for the The f r t attempt to model conventional spouted-bed(CSB)dryersgoesback is to 1960

when Beckerand Sallans [2] developed a model to simulate the drying of wheat in a continuous, well-mixed, isothermal CSB. Assuming thermal equilibrium between bed particles andthe exit the
air and constant surface moisture content, the liquid diffusion equation is solved assuming a

constantmoisturediffusioncoefficient.Fromoverallenergyandmassbalances, While Bmnello et al. barley malt noted that liquid diffusion did not correlate with their drying

Becker and

Isaacson [3] extended the above analysis to well-stirred batch and continuous moving-bed dryers.
[4]

data for

in a CSB. batch Instead, developed they

a semiempirical model on based a

semipermeable membrane concept. Viswanathan et al. [S71 investigated the dynamics of both batch and continuous (start-up period) spouted bed dryers. Analytical expressions are presented for the time required to reach
steady state, the solids moisture content, and temperature at steady state which are

usefil for

Constant and Intermittent Batch Drying

341

control of these dryers. Zuritz and Sigh [8] improved the analysis of Becker and Isaacson[3] to describe the batch drying ofrough rice by relating the equilibrium surface moisture content the to changing outlet air humidity by an empirical moisture content equation developed the authors. by

Instead of using a constant average value, they used a semi-theoretical equation for the heat
desorption-vaporization as a fhnction of temperature and moisture content. In an attempt to optimize the performance both continuous spouted and spout-fluidized of beds for grain drying, Passos et al. [g] combined Becker and Sallans model [2], Vimathans model [7], andsemiempiricalcorrelationsavailablein presentedinterms of the dryingefficiency,dryer
size,

theliterature as well as information

obtained in theauthorslaboratory to describe the aerodynamicparameters.Theresults energyconsumption,andairhandling requirements for different cereal grains.

are

In a recent study, Zahed and Epstein [10,1 l] relined Zuritz and Sighs [8] analysis using

for empirid equations relating the moisture diffusivity temperature and moisture content three to
cereal g r a i n s . The modelwas also extendedto predict product temperature and moisture content

for continuous spouted bed drying and the agreement with literature data was good especially
under the assumption of isothermicity and imperfect mixing in the spouted bed. A close examination of the previous modeling studies revealsthat two assumptions have been made in order to simplify the analysis. First, it is assumedthat the spouted bedisdeep enough to assure thermal equilibrium between the particles and the air leaving the bed. The second assumption is based on the fact that temperature gradients inside the particles

can be

neglected. With these assumptions, there is no need for a single particle heat transfer equation and the exit air temperature is taken to be equal to the bed temperature in the overall energy balance. In addition, these studies used constant thermal and physical properties material air-water and
system.

for both solid

This is at with physical odds the

reality that particle

thennophysical properties are functions of moisture content system properties are afFected by temperature.

andor temperature and air-water

342

Jumah et al.

The above-mentioned simplificationsare not employed inthe present model. This follows

h m the results obtained in experimental study in which the exit temperature was found our air to
be appreciably higher h n or equal to the bed temperature and hence thermal equilibrium not ta was will attained especially inthe first hour of drying. Furthermore, the model be extendedto include different periodic boundary conditions. The objectivesof this work are:

To develop a general model for the batchdrying of grains in the rotating jet spouted bed
(RJSB), and to compare the model predictions with experimental data obtained for drying of
yellow dent schemes.
corn using both
constant

(timeinvariant) and intermittent spouting-heating

To explore, by simulation, the feasibiity ofusing continuous spouting air with different time
varying heating schemes,e.g., odo$ sinusoidal, and saw tooth.
0

To study the effect of k 9 operating parameters on average particle moisture content, particle
surface temperature, and moisture and temperature profiles inside the particle.

Model Formulation
Assumptions
The following assumptions made in the formulation o f the mathematical model: are
1. The corn kernels are uniform in size, are homogeneous, and can be approximated as isotropic

spheres (realistically over times much shorter than the drying time).
2. The grains are perfectly mixed such

that al particles within the bed are at the same l

exceeds the

temperature and havethe same moisture content at any instant during the drying process.
3. The diffusional resistance to moisture transport inside the particle signiftcantly

dffisional resistance of the gas-layer surrounding the particle during the removal of moisture

mittent and Constant

343

h m the surface to the ambientmedium. For the RJSB this assumptions implies that the diffusional time scale the kernel is much longer than period of rotation ofthe spout. in the 4. Conduction of heat and moisture betweenbed particles, heat losses and particle shrinkage are negligible.
transfer With the sforementioned assumptions,the equations governing the coupled heat and mass

mechanisms for both equipment and material are as follows [l]:

Macroscopic Balances:

Drvina and Thermal Kineticsof a Sinale Particle

Generally diffusion mass flux is related not onlyto moisture content gradient, butalso to the temperaturegradient(thermodifhsion) [12,13].

Whilst theheat

flux is related

to the to

temperature gradient and, although weakly, to the moisture gradient @four effect)[12-141.

However, both thermodiffusion and

Dufour effects are usually insignificant compared

concentration gradient driven mass diffusion during grain drying at normal conditions [15-171.

For spherical, unidimensional (radial) heat and mass diffusion,

the following equations can be

written;

344

V and k representtheeffectivemoisturediffusivityand ,

theeffectivethermalconductivity,

respectively.

Initial and boundary conditions

The initial profiles f moisture content and temperature the particle are assumed be uniform: o in to
@ t = O and OsrsR,,

X=X,andT=T,.

(5)

Because o f

symmetry,

themoisturecontent

andtemperaturegradientsat

thecenter of the

spherically assumed particle are zero:

BX Br

@ 2 2 0 andr-0,

- 0

BT oand=o.
Br

(6)

Various types of surface boundary conditions representing different spouting and heating pattern

are considered :

I Continuous spouting heating : . and

The mass transfer surface boundary condition is written based on the assumption that the surf
of the particle is moisture content equilibrium with the surrounding in gas [8,10]:

where p the number o f bed particlesis given by

Constant and Intermittent Batch Drying

345

C o m b h g equations (l), (7) and (8), the moisture transfer surface boundary condition is finally written as follows

@, r = RP, - = -Y@). a Y ( , Br m,VA,

The amount of heat supplied to the particle surface equals that which penetrates by conduction and that spent for moisture desorption-vaporization,

ax vm

me mass flux from a singIe particle,, is relatedto the total bed massrate of evaporation the n , by
following expression

Substituting equations (l), (7), (g), (11) into equation (lo), the heat transfer surface boundary condition is written as follows:

A correlation developed by Kmiec [l8 3 for conventional spouted beds is used to estimate the
overall bedheat transfer coefficient,

zp,

346

Jumah et al.

where d is the geometric average from the diameters o f adjacent screens and cp is the particle shape factor.

K,

represents a spouting cyclaaverage heat transfer coefficient during which the

particle travels in active and static zones. the

Il Continuous spouting-simrsoidal heating I (a)) @g.

The surface boundary heat and mass transfer conditiolls are still governed by equations (9) and
(12) with the inlet air temperature described by

T,=Tm+T,sin(2zt/r).

(14)
7

where T, and T are the mean and amplitude of variation of inlet air temperature and ,, , period @e., time one cycle). for

is the

m.Intermittent or odoff spouting

and heating e r e I@)) @

In this drying scheme, the spouting air flowrate is periodically interrupted to allow for a rest or
tempering period. In the rest periods, the particle is assumed be sealed [19-221: to

@ rnsts?(??+a):

-and-aregivenbyeqns. ax aT
dr
ar

(9)and(12)

where 7 is the cycle period, a is the intermittency M o n of cycle when heating is on), and n is ( the numberof heating cycles done = 0,1,2, (n

...).

Constant andIntermittent Butch Drying

347

IK Continuous spouting-odofheating figure I (c))

Spouting air is continuous while heating is periodically on and off. T~i equations (9) and (12) n
are given by

where T and Tcdenote higher and lower (cooler) temperatures, respectively, h

V: Continuous spouting-saw tooth heating@@re

l4 ()

The inlet air temperature in equations (9) and (12) rises linearly from T to TI, drops back to , and

T, at the end the cycle: of

The average particle temperature, moisture content, and enthalpy of desorption-vaporization are

obtained by integrating over the particle volume:

348

Jumah et al.
120
U
c1

0.6 0.5
0.3 0.4

100

*L80
60
40

0.2
0.1

B 5

0 200 100
120
U

t min ,

300

400

500

0.0 600
1.0

100

G%80
60
40

0.5 3"

-2

00 . 0 200 100
300 400

500

600

120 100
80

2 60
40

20
t min ,
(4
Y

06 .
0.5

100

200

300 t min ,

400

500

600

Figure 1: Spoutingandheatingschemes. (a) continuousspouting-sinusoidalheating, (b) odoff spouting-heating, (c) continuous spouting-odoff heating, (d) continuous spouting-saw tooth heating.

Constant and Intermittent Batch Drying

349

Transport and Eauilibrium Relationships

Expressions for the transport and thermodynamic equations
n dent corn and air-water system are listed i Tables l and 2.
obtained from literature for yellow

Table 1:Transport and EquilibriumProperties ofYellow DentCorn

W.#
(21)

Property

Expression
'D = 4203 x 10"

Reference
~ 3 1

exp[(-2513/ T,)+(O.O45T, -5.485)X]

(22) (23)

m d
RH

POI M,, = R , T ~ [ ( ~ ~ ~ ~ / T ~ ) - ( S ~ / T , ) + ( ~ - ~ W/ R H, ( ~ O O X , ~ )C ]

RH = I - ~ - c , ( ~ O O X , ) " ( T + C , ) ]
c, = 8.6541 x IO", c2

~ 4 1

1.8634, c3 = 49.81 in (22) & (23)

(24)

c ,

c,,,,,=M65x103+3.56x103(X/(1+X))

~5,261 [2531

(25)

k,

k,,, = 0.1409+0.112(X/(l+X))

Table 2: Thermodynamic and Transport Properties f A r and Water Systems[27,28]. o i

Eqn. #l Property
(26)
f'v

Expression
P =100exp[27.0214-(6887/T,)-5.312n(T,/273.16)] ,

(30)
(3 1)

P S

Po

=PM, /(RT*)

~I~1.691~10d+4.984~IOJT-3.187~IO"'T1+1319~10"'T3

(32)

c, c,

~,=1~83-1b737~lkT+8.4386~lO~~-2~%6~l~T' ~,~2.8223+1.1828~10~T-3~043~10~~+3.601~10~T'

(33)

350

Jumah et al.

Numerical Solution
The governing equations with initial and boundary conditions are solved using the following their numerical procedure steps:
1. Discretization of the spatial variables accordiig to the method of lines, Sincovec and Madsen

[29-3 l]:
Equations (3) and (4) can be writtenin the followinggeneral form

where j -1,2 representingX and T. The boundary conditions (equations and 12) are of the form 6,9,

Using centered difference approximations, the discretized equations are:

where

Constant and Intermittent Batch Drying

351

Boundary conditions:

4tr = r, : u,(r,r) ur,l.

a uniformmesh o f 40 points was used inthe spatial discretization.

2 The resulting semidiscrete system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations is integrated .

with respect to time using the software package LSODE [32]. This routine contains a set of integration algorithms based on the variableorder, multi-step, fully-implicit Gear's method
[33] for e a n d nonstiff problems. Time intmals of 10 S and absolute time integration error

tolerance of1 x lo4 were used in the computation.

3.

To obtain

x,

, & @the, equations ((18)-(20)) L ,, integral

are evaluated using the

Simpson numerical integration technique.

352
4.

Jumah et ai.
(2) after making a simple finite-diierence approximation for

T is calculated using equation ,

Results and Discussion

In order to assess the accuracy of the model predictions, the numerical solutions are
compared with experimental data forcorn drying in the RJSB using constant (timeinvariant) and intermittent spouting-heating schemes. These correspond surface boundary condition patterns to I and III, respectively. Only inlet air temperature and intennittency effects are verified as other
parameters showed little or no effect on the drying kinetics of slow drying materials such as
agricultural grains within the rangetested. The relevant kd experimentalparameters used in the e

model validation listed in the following table: are Table 3: Values o f Fixed ExperimentalParameters used Model Validation for

'

Constant and Intermittent Batch Drying

33 5

Sensitivity of the Model to V and Ep

Many empirical correlations are availablein the literature for the estimation of mass

diffusion coefficient, V of yellow dent corn [23,34-361. These correlations have been developed based on experimental dryingdata using many different types of equipment. In the present study and based on preliminary screening simulation, the correlation proposed by Chu and Hustrulid
[23J (Table 1) was selected to obtain an expressionfor themass diffusion coefEcientas a function

of moisture content and temperature.

The simulation results indicated that there is a very small difference estimating V usingeitherlocal

(< 0.5 %) when

or averageparticletemperatureinboththegoverningmass

a s i o n equation (Eqn. 3) or the surface boundary condition equation (Eqn. This is because 9).
of the uniform particle temperature will be discussed later. However, estimating V using local as
or average moisture content values shows a remarkable effect on the model prediction the of both

as 2. average moisture content and surface temperaturedepicted in Figure The sensitivity analysis
presented in Table 4 reveals that the best results are obtained when particle average moisture content.

D is calculated using the

It should be noted that the method by which the moisture

diffusivity correlations are developed is based on the average particle moisture content and does not take into account the non-uniform moisture profiles inside the particle is difficult, ifnot which impossible, to be measured experimentally. Figure 3 shows the effect of the characteristic particle dimension d in estimating K, used fkom equation
(13) on model predictions both of particle moisture content surface and

temperature, respectively.
=4

Four particle diameters

(DpJ

are used in

the comparison: smaller the

diameter (Dp), the geometric diameter effectivediameter

(Dp

the equivolume-spherediameter (Dp), and the

Dp),.Table 5 presents error estimatesbetweenexperimentaland

grain.

theoretical valuesfor a typical dryingrun. The results indicate that the experimental data are bes predicted when d is taken as the smaller diameter of the corn observed fact that the kernels This is justified by the
way that the smallest

align themselvesinthespoutinsucha

354

Jumah et al.

diameter is normal to the flow o f air. In fact, the smaller diameter was also used by Mathur and

Gishler [37,38] to correlatetheminimum

mechanisms i the s y s t e m . n

spouting velocity of wheatparticles.

This c l d y

indicates the important effect of the flow behavior of the particles on the heat and mass tmnsfer

Table 4: S n i i i y ofnumerical model solution D evaluation, T$= 80 "C, = 0.514 d s . estvt to U

Table 5 : S n i i i y of numerical model solution KP evaluation Td = 80 "C, U = 0.514 d s . estvt to

Constant and Intermittent Batch Drying

355

0.0
0

50150

100

t, min

200

250

100

1
t

1.2.3.4

Model

2o 0 0

m
50

100

150

200

250

t, min

Figure 2: Effect ofV evaluation on model predictions.T = 80 'C, d U = 0.514 &S. (Legends 1,2,3,4 are described i Table 4) n

356
0.5
Model:

Jumah et al.

0.4
s0.3
.y

-$=f@p) ---$=f@J -.$'f@P,)

.-..-... 4-w

x0.2

0.1

00 .
0
50

100

t, min

150

200

250

""

100

1-

Model : hp=f@&

........ ExperimIlt

1 -.-

---$=f(DJ

0
0

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 "

50

100 150 t, min

200

250

Td=80 ', U = 0.514 m/s. C Figure 3: Effect of LP evaluation on model predictions.

Constant and Intermittent Batch Drying

357

Constant Spouting-Heating
Figure 4 presents a comparison of the model predictions of the moisture evolution content with the experimental results for inlet air temperatures ranging 60 "C and 90 '. The results C exhibit a very good matchas indicated by visual comparison ofthe plotted data. Although curve
fitting is desirable not

to validatemodel, a

error analysis performed on

the curve fitted

experimental data and the model solutions indicates that the mean absolute relative error is less than 5 % and the maximum absolute erroris less than 11 % for all the tested data. These results demonstrate thereliability of the model andthe method by which and D

FP are estimated.

A test of data calculated on the basis of the model with experimental particle surface.
temperature and exit air temperature is shown in Figure
5. The maximum absolute deviations
16 and 13 YO, while the mean

between the experimental and predicted values are, respectively, might attributed be to the uncertain definition measurement and of

relative error is less than% for both particlesurface and exit air temperatures. The discrepancy 7 the particle
surface.

temperature, the simplifjing assumptions which made in the development of the model (e.g., are ignoring heat losses), and errors estimating air-watersystem properties. in

358

Jumah et al.

20.3
24

X"
0.2

0.1

0.0 0

50

100
f min

150

200

250

0.5

Expuiments

f
0.4
20.3
24

Model

X"
0.2

0.1

0.0

50

100

t min ,

150

200

250

Figure 4: Comparison between theoretical and experimental drying curves for different inlet air temperatures. D*=3 cm, = 2 rpm, U = 0.514 d s . N

Constant and intermittent Batch Drying

359

120 100
80
U
O -

-*-

m -

h -

60

40 20
0 0

50

100

150 250 200

f min

300

100 120

K
---EC xP

2
2o

Figure 5: Comparisonbetween theoretical and experimental: (a) surface temperature and (b) exit air temperature fordifferent inlet air temperatures. Da= cm, N = 2 rpm, 3 U = 0.514 4 s .

360

Jumah et al.

Numerical results o f the transient moisture and temperature profiles inside particleare the shownin Figure 6. While temperatureprofilesshownegligiblegradients,moisturecontent profiles show the existence of relatively large concentration gradients inside might be explained with reference to the Lewis number, Le = a# the particle. This or buikov number, Lu =

D / ~ T ]During simulation r n , it was observed that Le is much greater the unity and increases . us

with decreasing moisture content reaching a maximum value about 1200. This means that the of

at rate of internal heat transfer is f s compared to the rateo f mass transfer.

The predicted results demonstrate high moisture concentration around the center of the particlewhile thesurfacemoisturecontentdropsgradually,butnotinstantaneously, equiliirium value with the drying to an the surface

air. This is also displayed in Figure 7 in which

moisture content is plotted against the drying time for diferent inlet air temperature. The trend proves that assuming a constant surfacemoisturecontent,based equilibriummoisturecontent
[2,3],

on aconstant"dynamic"
isinappropriate [8,10],

duringtheentiredryingprocess

especially in first 30 minutes o f the drying process. the The transient temperature distribution

curves (Egure 6 (b)) show that the temperature

profiles inside the particle "linearizen after the initial heating-up period. After that, the slope o f
the linear temperature profiles decreases, as the center and surface temperatures approach each otherandthereafter
remain virtuallyflat.Theseprofiles,which

arecalculated based onthe

concept o f the o v d bed heat transferc & i n confirms the hypotheses that temperature o c t e, any gradients developed during the particle journey in the spouts (high heat transfer coefficients) are effectively relaxed in the static annular regions (low heat transfercoeflicients). This is by virtue of the low average heat transfer Biot number, = E&, / kW (ranged between h m 0.24 to 0.28 piN in this study) whichcan be thoughtof as the ratioo f internal to external heat transfer resistances.

This implies that theair-solid interfie resistance is higherthan the internal heat conduction
resistance of the material and therefore small temperature gradients. very

Constant and Intermittent Batch Drying

0.5
(a)

361

0.4

2 4

3
X"

0.3

0.2

0.1

00 . 0.0

0.2

0.4

06 .

0.8

1.0

rJ%

loo 80

i . "
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

c;
40

0.0

1.0

rJ%

Figure 6: P e i t d transient moisture and temperature profiles inside the corn kernel. rdce T~=9O0C,Dn=3~N=2rp~U=0.514m/~.

362

Jumah et al.
0.5

........ T,=aO"C
Td= 70 "C T6= 80 "C

0.4
0.3
3

0.2

0.1

0.0
0 50

100

t min ,

150

200

250

Figure 7: Predicted surface moisture content profiles different for i l t air temperatures. D,,= cm, N = 2 rpm, U = 0.5 14 d s . ne 3

Intermittent or On/Off Spouting-Heating

InFigure 8, modelpredictionsandexperimentaldataare error estimate is performed in this case
presented for the effect of

intermittency, a, on the particle average moisture content evolution with time. to compare between the theoretical and resultsbecause ofthedif6cultyincurvefittingtheperiodicbehavior Nevertheless, the dominant agreement clear in all cases. is

No numerical
experimental

ofthedryingcurves.

Figure 9 shows the calculated transient behavior the moisture contentat the surface of of theparticlefor
difFercnt intermittencyvalues.Theprofilesclearlydemonstrate
the periodic

response of X during which it reaches a peak value at the end of tempering or rest period and a then fallsdown to a very small equilibrium value at the beginning of following spouting period the and thus approaches the continuous spoutingheating e . Furthermore, the tendencyis to raise w the peak values with a decrease a. This suggests that long rest periods ( low a) provide more

Constant and Intermittent Batch

Drying

363

time for the moistureto diffuse fiom the interior the surface o f the particle. This is supported to by the observed moisture condensation on the surface especially in the case of long rest periods. The predicted and experimental results
o f the particle surface temperature profiles
o f the particles during the experiments

are

shown in Figure 10 for a = 1/4,2/3, and 1. Although the agreement between experiment and model for a = 1 (continuous spouting) is acceptable.A systematic di~crepan~yobserved when is odoff spouting (a = 1/4, 2/3) isapplied. combination o f the following reasons: 1. The use o f inappropriate heat transfer boundary condition at the surface f the kernel during o the rest period, i.e., zero temperature gradient. This means that particle is sealed andit has a
off e lt , constant temperature during the period. In r aiy however, the particle coolsas shown in

This differenceismostlikelydue

to one or a

Figure 10. In the case of the m s transfer boundary condition, applying a zero concentration as gradient at the surfaceo f the particle has no effect on the model prediction. This is due to the negligible dryins duringthe rest periods. In fact, the use o f zero gradients as boundary conditions was motivatedby Nusselt number the lack o f informationregardingheatandmasstransfer
is expected to be several order of

coefficients for an aggregate o f particles in a static bed at no flow. In this case the value of
(Nu) and Sherwood number (Sh)

magnitudes lessthan 2, the value o f an isolated particle [39].

2. The unreliable experimentaldata for the particle surface temperature. The complex and cyclic

aerodynamic patterns inside temperature.

3.

the bed it make

dflcult to measure the

actual suhce

N g e t of heat losses fiom the elc dryer.

It is worth pointing out that both experiments and model predictions display a disturbance

period at the beginning o f each spouting period.In this very short period, the surfhce temperature suddenly dropsto a low valueand then starts to rise. This represents the system responseto the

new conditions imposed the beginning o f the on at period.

364

Jurnnh et al.

Representative moisture content protiles using onloff spouting-heating scheme are shown in Figure 11 for a =1/4, i.e., 20 m i n . drying followed by 60 m i n . tempering (spouting air off) in each cycle. The solid lines denote the moisture.profiles at the end o f an on spouting-heating period while the dashed-dotted lines denote the corresponding profiles at the end o f a rest or

off peaiod. It is shown that tempering periods allow gradual moisture redistribution inside the
particle that ensures leveling o f the concentration field and moisture supply portions of the kernel. The general behavioro f the onfoff spouting-heating process is characterized by alternate development and reduction o f moisture gradients inside the particle. This means flatter moisture profilescompared to the continuousspoutingprocess.Thus drying-induced stresses, shrinkage, and cracking [4043].
0.5

to the outer drier

the material is protected against

0.4
z0.3
2d

0.2

0. l

0.0

100

200

300 400 fmin

500

600

Figure 8: Predicted and experimental drying awes for odoff qouting-heating. Dm= ~ mN, = 4 rpm, U = 0.475 d ~ . 3

Constant and Intermittent Batch

. "

0.4
0.3
24

Drying

365

........ 1. a = 114
2. a = V3
3. a - V2 4 .a = m
5. a
1 (contirmous)

0.2

0.1

00 .

100

200

t,

300

min

400

500

600

Figure 9 Predicted surfkm moisture content evolutionfor odOff Spouting-h~ting.D= 3 CIII, N = 4 rpm, U 0.475 d . . s
100

80
= 14 1

40

20

0 0
100 300 200
t,

min

500 400

600

Figure 10: Predicted and experimental particlesurfkce temperature evolution for onloff spouting-heating. D,,= cm, N = 4 rpm, U = 0.475 d s . 3

366

Jwnah et al.
0.5

-cndofspoutingperiod
-.end of restperiod

0.0

0.2

0.4
rb.

0.6

0.8

1.0

Figure 11: Predicted moisture profiles for odoff spouting-heating, a =1/4, D= 3 cm, = 4 rpm, U = 0.475 d s . . N

Simulation o Several Spouting-Heating Schemes f

N m r c l simulations were carried out for the following periodic heating patterns with ueia
the spoutingair kept continuousand constant: 1. ON/OFF heating with on period hction, a = 114, 1/2, and 314, hot air temperature

h . (on period),T = 80 "C and cool air temperature (off period), T = 40 "C.
2. Sinusoidal heating with mean temperature,T ,= 60 and 80 "C. Both using ,,

an amplitude, T = 20 "C. .
3. Saw tooth heating with hot temperature, T , 80 "C and cool air temperature, air ,=

To= 40 "C.

Constant and Intermittent Batch Dying

367

Yellow dent corn is used as the test material with the same thennophysical andtransport properties used in the experimental study. The fixed parameters used in the simulation are listed

in the following table.

Table 6: Values of Fixed Parameters in the Periodic Heating Used Sidation

11Parameter I

Value
60

II

=
min.

unit

0.040

It
II
m.

0.5

d S

20 12

"C

4.70 x lV3
4.35 x 10"

m m2 m3

Figure 12 shows the calculated time variationsof particle average moisture content using different periodic heating schemes while the continuous spoutingsuperficial velocity is e at air kd
0.5
&S.

A curve representing continuous heating (a= 1) is included for comparison. It can be

shown readily that the moisture content curves for odoffheating with a = 1/2, saw tooth, and sinusoidal heating(Tm = 60 "C) coincide. Whilst sinusoidal heating curve = 80 "C) harmonizes (Tm

wt the continuous heating curve. A likely explanation is that the corresponding schemes have ih
the same cumulative heat flux and thus flux at the endof each period. mass The other feature of drying curves is that, except the sinusoidal heating curve(Tm the for
= 80 "C), periodic heating requires longer drying time as compared to the continuous ( o sa t c n t n)

case. The efFect of introducing cooler air ( in the odoff heating scheme), in addition to partid
drying, is to repeat the initial steep drying curve and thus high drying rate during the following

368

J w M h er al.

heating period. This due to the favorable moisture supplyto the surface of the kernel during the off-heating periodsas portrayed in Figure13. Figures 14 presents the corresponding surface temperature profiles. demonstratedthat It is sinusoidal heatingwith a mean idet air temperature of 80 "C and an amplitude of 20 "C leads to an oscillating surface temperature around the continuous heating curve( TB: 80 "C). Again, this =

can be attributed to the & t that both have the same accumulative heat flux at the end of each c
heating cycle. Hence, little benefit would be achieved using heating schemeas h as product this temperature is concerned. Other heating schemes give rise successively higher values (peaks) to at the end of each period of heating.

Heating schemes including sinusoidal heating with

T = 60 "C, saw tooth, and ,

odoff

heating yield to lower surface temperatures than the continuous one. This might be of interest in the drying of heat sensitive materials, especially those of biological ( e.g., agricultural grains origin in this study). This is because gentle heating using these heating schemes offer flexiile control of the surface temperature and hence reduction in the common product genninability, vigor,hgility, or protein denaturation[44,45]. Typical moisture profileswithin the kernel are shown in Figures 15 and 16 for diikrent heating schemes. The resultsshown indicate steeper profiles and less moisture redistribution thus than the profiles obtained using the odoffspouting-heating scheme @&ure profiles are still flatter than those in the continuous heating case. 11). However, the
quality problems such as

Constant and Intennitrenr Batch Drying

369

50.3
24

X0.2

0.1
0.0

100

200

f min

300

400

500

600

Figure 12: Predicted dryingcurves for different heating schemes.

*-

2. odoff heating (a = 0.50) 3. saw tooth heating

4.SirmJoidalbeating~,,,=60"C,T,=2OoC)
5. mntirmousheating

100

200

f min

300

400

500

600

Figure 13: Predicted surfice moisture content profiles for Werent heating schemes.

370

Jumah et a . l

2- sinusoidal pm= 80
4- saw tooth

"c>

100

,U 80
bo

60
40

1
100

200

f min

300

400

500

600

1- contimrousheating 2- o d o f fbeating (a= 0.29

4- O d O f f heating (CC 0.75)

100

9
bo

80

60
40

2o 0 0

4
100 200
300

400

500

600

f rnin

Figure 14: Predicted particle sufice temperature profiles for different heating schemes.

Constanr and Intermittent Batch Drying

371

00 .

0.2 0.6

0.4

0.8

1.0

"4 .

0.4

2
2d

Oa3

X"

0.2

0.1

0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 r b 0.6
0.8

1.0

Figure 15: Predicted.moisture profiles inside the particle. (a) onloff heating (a=1/2), (b) s w tooth heating a

372

Jumah e al. r

0.4

Oa3

0.2

0l .

0.0 0.0

02 .

04 .
rnb

0.6

08 .

10 .

0.5

0.4

-Y

2Oe3
0.2 0.1

0.0

00 .

02 .

04 .
rnb

0.6

08 .

10 .

Figure 1 :Predicted moisture profiles inside the particle. 6

(a) sinusoidal heating(Tm = 60 " ) (b) sinusoidal heating(Tm = 80 "C). C,

Constanr and Intermitrent Batch Drying

373

Closure
A simpleparticle-basedmodelhasbeendevelopedandvalidated

by comparisonwith This

experimental data for diffusionantrolled drying of corn kernels i a batch IUSB dryer. n

model is valid for RJSB dryer operated i the well-mixed rotating spouting flow regime. It does n diffusion time scale is order-of-magnitude longer thanthe period of rotation. The model is filly predictive in the sense that no parameter isfitted using data generated for the RJSBdryer. It is shown that signi6carit energy and quality advantages accrue h m intermittent dryins of heatmay sensitive particles. In view of the assumptions made it is obvious that there are compensating

not include surfkce moisture removal period, i one exists. It is also valid for cases where internal f

errors whichyieldgoodagreementwithdata.Extension
kinetics which include surface moisture

to particles of mixed

sizes,

drying

removal and continuous drying

(sopposed to batch a

drying) with timeinvariant drying conditions should be examined e work. in Mr

Nomenclature
Symbols
sufice area ofa singIe particle,m
total suhce area of bed particles, m heat capacityat constant pressure of dry air, J k g K heat capacityat constant pressure of solid, J k g K dry heat capacityat constant pressure liquid water, J k g K of heat capacityat constant pressure of wet solids, g K Jk characteristic particle dmension, m effective moisturediffusivity i solid, m/ n s moisture diffusivity ofvapor in gas, m/s nozzle diameter, m

374

Jumah er al.

&&VC

particle diameter,m

equivalent particle diameter, m

geometric mean particle diameter, m

smaller particle diameter,m
acceleration of gravity, m/s2
overall bed heat transfer coefficient

bed height, m
local isosteric heat of desorption-vaporization at temperature Jkg T, volume average isosteric heat of desorption-vaporization, Jkg

mass transfer Coefficient

thermal conductivity of dry ar W/m K i, effective thermal conductivity of solids, W/m K wet molar mass of air, kglmol

molar massofwater, kglmol mass flow rate of dryair, kgls

mass of dry solidin bed, kg
total mass rate of evaporation of water, kg/s

number ofheating cycles,

number of particles i bed, n

mass flux fiom a single particle, m kgls '

distriitor rotational speed
vapor pressure of pure water, Pa

radial distance ftom center of sphere, m equivalent particle radius, m u n i v e d gas constant = 8.314 J/mol K

R.J" = 462 Jkg K

hctional relative humidity,
time, S

temperature, "c

Constant and Intermittent Batch Drying

375

amplitude o f inlet air temperaturevariation, 'C absolute temperature,K hot air temperature, "C
cool air temperature,

T .

"c exit gas temperature, "c inlet gas temperature,"c

mean air temperature,"C volume average particle temperature, "C initial particle temperature, "C superficial air velocity, d s volume of a singe particle, m3 total volume o f solids in bed, m3
local moisture content (dry basis), kg g k

basis), kg k g volume average moisture content (dry

equilibrium moisture content (dry basis), kg k g initial moisture contentd ybasis), kg/kg (r
surface moisture content( r basis), kgk g dy

exit air absolute humidity,kg water vaporkg dry air

inlet air absolute humidity, kg water vaporkg dry air

Greek Letters
a
a T
9

intermittency,

factor,
S

thermal d tm21s ay v, i particle shape viscosity, kg/m

P
PS
P8

density of dry kg/m3 gas, density of dry solids, kg/m3

376

Jumah et al.

n .
. T

Enthalpy of vaporization ofwater at reference temperature, Jkg period, S Sphericity,

4J

Subscripts and Superscripts

a

amplitude
exit, equivalent

e
8

hot

inlet
mean

n
0

node
initial, reference
particle

P
S
V

solid
vapor water, moisture

W
W3

wet solid

Dimensionless Groups

Ar

Archimedes number=

D* : &

Bi,
Le
Lu

hp% Ha transfer Biot number = et

k # W

PJ8

Lewis number = a,
Luikw m b e r =

V
V CL,

Constant and Intermittent Batchr i g Dyn

377

Nusselt Nu number

= hPD,
'a

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41.

J. B. Filho, M. Fortes, V. E. Sweat, and M. R Okos, "Intermittent drying of soybeans",

Drying'82, A S. Mujumdar (d.), Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, Washington, 220-226
(1982).

42. J. B. Litchfleld and M. R. Okos, "Prediction of corn kernel stress and breakage induced by

drying, tempering, and cooling", Truns. ASRE, 31,585-594 (1988).

43. D. Zhang and A S. Mujumdar, "Deformation and stress analysis of porous capillary bodies
thmnal drying", during intennittent volumetric

m TechoZogy, 10,421-443 (1992).

44.M. Mourad, M. Hemati, and C. Laguerie, "Dryingof corn kernels in a flotation fluidized bed
influence o f the operating conditions on product quality", Drying'92,

A S. Mujumdar (Ed.), E s v e ,Amsterdam, 1456-1464 (1992). leir

44.

J Beke, AS.Mujumdar, "Ynfluence of drying conditions on the h it of corn kernels", . giy l D y n g TechnoZogy, 11,603-614 (1993).

THEORETICAL STUDY OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFERS DURING DRYING OF GRANULAR PRODUCTS

Ecole

A MHIMID, S. BEN NASFUULAH . Nationaled'Ingenieurs de Monastir 5000 MONASTIR TUNISIE

key words and phrases: thick bed, drying, moisture content, numerical resolution, finite domains.
ABSTRACT

We present in this paper a two-dimensional study of heat and mass transfer in a thick bed of granular products during drying. A mathematical model has been established and solved numerically by the method of the finite domains. The numerical simulation has allowed us to determine the time-space evolution of the state variables ( solidtemperature,gastemperature, moisture content). transfer The sensitivity to different parameters such as the heating flux, air velocity, inlet temperature and air is also studied.
1-INTRODUCTION

Drying of grains is an operation of great interest in the industrial and agricultural fields. The optimisation of the cost of this operation and the preservation of the product quality require a study of heat and mass transfer during drying. Therefore, many scientists in the past have been interested in studying heat and mass transfers during grain drying 111 [21, 131 W 1 I [ 5 ) 161I V I .
381

382

Mhimid andNasrallah

As far as we are aware the studies related to grain drying thick assume the in bed that transport phenomena are one-dimensional processes. Hence, have we consideredtwoa dimensional effect. The geometrical configuration (FIG-1) , is a cylinder filled with grains opened from both ends, in which the lateral area is heated by a constant heat flux. This cylinder is crossed by air flow an which has constant physical characteristics( temperature, humidity, and velocity). In this paper we present at the beginning the set of equations which govern heat mass and transfers in the medium during drying. The solution of the system of equations has been obtained numerically by the finite-domains method[81 The numerical simulation gives the timespace evolution the of state variables (solid temperature , moisture content and the transfers sensibility to different parameters.

2-FORMULATION

OF

HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER

The medium in the cylinder is composed of a solid porous phase (solid + water) and a gaseous so it a is discontinuous phase (air+vapour); medium. The equations which govern heat and mass transfer in porous media are generally obtained by changing the scale[9]. We pass from the microscopic view , in which the averaging volume a, is small compared to the pores, to the macroscopic view in which the averaging volume is large with regard to thepores.Thisscalechangingenablesusto

Theoretical Study of Heat and Mass Transfers

383

gas

FIG-l-:Fixed bed

:: :5

........... ..........
........... ..........

...................
....................
. ! (. .
i

N- 1
. . . . . . : .
i

'I T
g$ ........
. . !
i

:
:

. . . .

. (. .
:

1.

. .

i !

. .
:

. .

.......... ..........

l+n
2 1

..... ......

........... ..........

n- 1

l.i
%?

........... ..........

control volume
........... ..........

i
.

Li
. .

..........

i4
. . : . .
;

. . . .

........... ..........

% 35 3
m-l m

..........

'F ::

m+l

M-l M

FIG-Z-:Numerical grid

384

Mhimid and Nasrallah

convert real the discontinuous medium into a fictious equivalent continuous one. Each macroscopictermisobtainedbyaveragingthe microscopic The one. macroscopic differential of the equations are obtained by taking the average microscopic equations over the averaging volume 0 andusingclosingassumptions.Themicroscopic of mass and energy equations are the equations conservation in all considered phases and at the interfaces. These equations are obtained by using thermodynamic mechanic and laws continuous of media. Severalassumptionsaremadeinorderto obtain a closed set of governing equations at the macroscopic scale: - Grains contain only liquid water The compression work and viscous dissipation are negligible

"*

-P

The air velocity is constant = V k) (V, ,

The dispersion terms and the tortuousity terms can be modelled as diffusive fluxes. Considering these assumptions, the macroscopic equations governing heat and mass transfer in the bed when the transfer is two-dimensional, depending only, are: on r and z Equation of vapour mass conservation:

E-

apv

at

a + - (pvVg)=
az

Theoretical Study of Heat and Mass Transfers

385

1 .o

W+*** Experime
0.8

Tqeoriticc

0.6
7

' I

*X \ *X

0.4

0.2

X+
FIG-3-:Curve drying kinetic of MULBAUER

Mhimid and Nasrallah

relative humidity FIG-4-:Evolution of moisture content equilibrium

Theoretical Study o Heat and Mass Transfers f

387

Eauation of air mass conservation:

Energy

EPgcpg - (TJ) PScpgVg Z (TJ)= HgS(r, - Tg) +

at

equation

of

the

gas:

ThetermCpvmax(m,O)(Ts-Tg)existsduring drying because the vapour passes through the solid131 gas interface at the solid temperature , and is zero when we have a condensation phenomena - Energy equation of the solid:
(1 - &)P, (Cps

+ X , 1 - (T,) = C
at

HgsS(Tg

- T) ,

Where AQap

= AHova,

(C, - C ) T, ,

Ts Tg respectively average and are the h intrinsic temperatures of the solid and the gas, se and hge are the effective thermal conductivities of the solid and of the gas. AHvap is the latent heat of vaporisation and& the evaporation rate. Pal pv, pg and ps are respectively the average intrinsic densities of the air, vapour, gas and solid phases. Cpal Cpv, Cpg and Cps are respectively the specific heats of the air, vapour, gas and solid. , Hgsand S are Vgisthegasvelocity respectivelytheheatexchangecoefficientand E are the solid-gas exchange De area.and

388

Nasrallah

Mhimid and

respectivelytheeffectivediffusivityandthe bed porosity. - Drying kinetic: The kinetic equation is defined by:

where X is the moisture content. m assumed be function many is to a of parameters:

- the gas temperature Tg

the the the

fluid

speed Vg humidity W content X the follawing non-

relative moisture

VANMEEL [l11 has proposed dimensional equation:

when

X+>l,

X "=l

when X+<1,

X - = f(X+) X 1

In the case of corn and for a gas temperature less than 14OoC we can take the function exhibited .. in (Fig-3)
"

X - a, +

alX+ + a2X+2 + a3X+ 3

X I

where

a ,

[-l21

- 0,81

a]

Theoretical Study of Heat Mass Transfers and

389

al = 0,97 - 0,0018% a , a ,
= -3,73
=

- 0,0022q

3,76 + 0,002%

The reduced moisture content is defined [l]: by the following expression

Xcr critical is the moisture content corresponding to the transition from a constant drying speed phase to a decreasing drying speed one. MUHLBAUER [l31 has used:

where Xi is the initial moisture content Xeq is the moisture content at equilibrium. From [l] and [ 141 we have determined the following : expression of Xeq (Fig-4-1

X , ,

- [61.

lo'

+ 0.6854

- 1. 20242 + 0 888b3] ssp[ .

PV

-21

where 4 is defined by: 4 =

Pvsat

pv is the vapour density and pvsat is the saturated vapour density.

XI is the drying speed during the first step. It can be written 1121:

390

Mhimid and Nasrallah

where is absolute Wsat the humidity air of considered as saturated f (Ts) is a correction
[0,1619 [0,2328

function[ll :

if TS<80C, f(5) = if TS>80"C, ( 5 ) = f

%-

46,6251.
71, 6561.

initial c o n d i t i o n s : Initially, the solid and gas temperature are constants. Tg(O,r,z) =Ts (O,r,z) = Ti The density of air and of vapour are also constants. = = Pai Pv(Otrr~) Pvi; Pa(O,r,z) The initial moisture content is constant: r, X (0, z ) =Xi

boundary conditions: (z=O) the temperature of the gas a- at the inlet and densities of air and of vapour are assumed constants: = pVo; Tg(t,r,O) = TgO; Pv(t,r,O) Pa(tr r, = Pa0 0) The gas temperature and the solid temperature are tied by:

b- the at outlet of the cylinder (z=h) the exchanges are not well known and the flow existing on the outlet surface is very complex. order to In

Theoretical Study o Heat and Mass Transfers f

391

solve this problem correctly, it is necessary to extendthedomainofcomputationtotakeinto account the flow and the heat transfer in the fluid near upper the surface, which complicate may enormously this study. To avoid this problem, we have introduce two heat exchange coefficients H , and Hf, and a mass exchange coefficient p:

e aZ s

8% - (t,

r, = h) T H( s s

.a P)

The sensitivity of the numerical results to the boundary conditions at the outlet and at the 1 inlet of. the cylinders studied in this paper. -c-Lateral area (r=R) is heated with a constant heating flux q, then we have: dT -Ageg(ttRr Z) -s &(t,R, z) = q ; e ar The lateral area is impervious:

d-Taking into account the symmetry about the z axis, that : - we deduce dT dT -Ase$(t,Ot Z ) = 0; -hgeg(t,O, z) = 0

392

Mhimid and Nasrallah

3-NuMERICAL RESOLUTION

Thesystem of thepresentedequationsis solved numerically by the method of the finite differences based on the notion of control domain as described by Patankar[8]. The advantageof this method ensures flux conservation, and thus avoids generation of parasitic sources. method The , , within consists of defining a grid of points P, the calculated domain and then constructs around (FIG-2) The value of a each point a control domain physical quantity '! at any point Pn,m and at the l :: The equations are time t+At will be noted . , Y

integratedonthiscontroldomainandonthe interval of time [t, t+At]. In order to discretise the resulting practical differential equations back to algebraic equations, tying together the solution values at the nodes of the grid,we make the following hypothesis: - the fluxes are constant on the face of the control domain which is perpendicular to them - the accumulation terms and the source terms can be approximated by averages on the control domain constructed aroundPn,m, - to avoid numerical instabilities we have adopted an implicit scheme. Adopting these hypothesis, for example, the energyequationofthegasintegrated on the control volume within the calculate domain becomes:

Theoretical Study of Heat and Mass Transfers

393

where

rm

~~~~]SArAtAz r e
+

rw

re and rw are the radius of the two faces of the control volume parallel to axis z At boundary the limits the of bed, the equations are discretized by integrating over half of the control domain and by taking into account the boundary conditions. At the corner we have used quarter of the control domain. In order to avoid the instability of the of transport by numerical model, terms the convection are discretized using an Upwind scheme. This scheme supposed that values the the of convected quantities at the face of the control volume are equal to their values at the grid point situated in the upstream. on The first derivatives, which are evaluated the control domain faces, are approximated over two nodes within the porous medium.

394

Mhimid and Nasrallah

Considering these assumptions, the form of the resulting algebraic equations become: A. ? l: ', ; = Awy:,2-l + Aey:,2+l + Asy:?:,m

+
The resulting system of algebraic equation is solved numerically by the iterative line-by-line sweeping method . The choice of this method is justified by its rapid rate of convergence compared to point by point methods. Sweeping along the r axis, we set: A o y ni+l = Awy:,2"l + Ae'Y,il',lcl + D ,m where D = AS n-1,m + + A, This method of resolution uses during the , evaluation the estimated values of h, h,A and D. Then, tridiagonal the resulting system of equations is solvedbythestandardGaussianelimination method. If the difference between the calculated and estimated solutions is small, the convergence to the solution is achieved; otherwise, werepeattheprocedureofevaluationofthe coefficients using the solutions which have already been calculated until convergence. A sufficient condition for the convergence of that method is:

1%

A"
A,

A* + As1 All
+

lAOl
[A,
+ +

1 for c

all equations

A,I

lAOl

1 for at least one equation

The calculation performed a was with Turbopascal program performed with personal a Computer (80486)

Theoretical Study o Heat and Mass Transfers f

395

4-RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The cylinder which was simulated was 0.60m (FIG-1) . This cylinder is high and 0.065m in radius filled with grains opened from both ends. The lateralareaofthecylinderisheatedbya constant heat flux g . This cylinder is crossed by airwhich an flow has constant physical characteristics (temperature, and humidity, velocity). The physical characteristics of the medium and [l] the gas are : ps=1260kg/m~,hse=0.13w/ (m.K) ,Cps=1463J/ (kg.K), hge=O.lW/ (m.k), Cpg=1840J/ (kg.K), De=210-6 m2/s , E = 0.4, d=7.2 m . m The area
S =

exchange
E)

between

solid

and

gas

is:

6(1 d

The heat exchange coefficient between solid and gasis given by [lo]:
Hgs =

- (
d

1.8

Re0s5)

where d is the mean particle diameter, P is the , Prandt number and Re is the Reynolds number.

We have simulated the heat and mass transfer using the following conditions:

396

Nasrallah

Mhimid and

TgO =333k,pa0 =lkg/m3 and = 0.02kg/m3. pvo = Tgi =293k,pai =lkg/m3 and pvi 0.02kg/m3 Xi = 0.67kg of water /kg of solid, and Vg= 0.5m/s The results of the numerical simulation(when Hf, H, and H0 take the value of , Hgs) are presented as a curve giving the space evolution of solid ternperature(FIG-S),andmoisturecontent(FIG-6) at different times ( t=1800s, t=3600sI t=15000sI t=36000s, t=51000s and t=72000s) In these figures , we can see a front (FIG-6) of evaporation that moves with time and divides ( dried region and wet the bed in two regions region). Evaporation is essentially localised in the zone in which the gradient of moisture content is high (front of evaporation) .When time increases, the front of evaporation approaches the outlet of the medium and the humid region contracts. After a largetime,themoisturecontenttendstoits equilibriumvalueandtheevaporationrateis diminishing. We notice can that drying more the is important near lateral the area than the at centre. In fact , in this region , the temperature is higher because the lateral area is heated The numerical simulation that shows the grains overheat more at the inlet and at the lateral area (FIG-5) . When time increases, the overheating propagatesmedium. inside solid the The temperature, these under conditions, doesn't decrease from its initial value. At the end of drying, the temperature, and the moisture content

Theoretical Study o Heat and Mass Transfers f

\

5 JQq j

t =l800

S 339 j
1

397

t =3800

FIG-5-:Evolution of solid temperature (p=O, Ho= Hf = H, =Hgs)

Mhimid and Nasrallah

t =l5000

t =36000
S

t =51ooos

t =72000

FIG-6-:Evolution of moisture content (p=O, Ho= Hf = H, =Hgs)

Theoretical Study of Heatand Mass Transfers

399

tend equilibrium and to their values the evaporation ceases. The sensitivity transfer different to parameters such gas as velocity (FIG-7) inlet I temperature (FIG-8) and heating flux (FIG-9,10) are also studied We can notice that when the air velocity and inlet temperature increase, the evaporation front movesmorequicklyand,consequentlythetime necessary for drying decreases. When the heating flux increases drying is more active( FIG-9). FIG-l0showsthetimespaceevolutionof moisture content when the lateral area is cooled (q<O). A condensation phenomena is apparent near the cooled surface. In fact, the vapour moves from the hot region to the cold region and condenses. For speeds varying between lm/s and we of the outlet have observed that effect the boundaryconditionsremainslocalisednearthe outlet of the bed( FIG-11) . FIG-l2 FIG-l3 and shows the that space evolution of the solid temperature and moisture content at different times are not sensitive to values of p . In FIG-l4 and FIG-l5 we can notice that the of results are not sensitive to the values H0 In FIG-l6 and FIG-l7 we represent the space evolution, at different times, of temperature and moisture content for Hs=Hf=O and Hs=Hf=Hgs. We can noticethatthereisadifferencebetweenthe results only near the outlet of the bed.

400

Mhimid and Nasrallah

O- 0.6

t=51000s r=R/3

o20.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 HEIGHT(m)

FIG-7-:Influence of the velocity on the moisture content X (r=R/3,z ) (p=O, Ho= Hf = H =Hgs) ,

Theoretical Study of Heat and Mass Transfers

401

t=51000s 0.7 : r = R / 3

I -

0.6

1
I I I
Oeeao T0=333

Z
W l-

Z
W

00.5
0
E 3
-

0.4

0
5.

0.3

*TO=313

T0=323 k
k

HEIGHT(m)
FIG-8-:Influence of inlet temperature on the moisture content X (r=R/3,z) (p=O, Ho= Hf = H, =Hgs)

402

Mhimid and Nasrallah

0.7

t=5 1000s r=R/3

I -

0.6

+ z
W

0 0.5 0
W

h 0.4 0 I

0.3
q=200w/m2
W+" q = - 2 O O w / m Z

q= 0 w / m 2

0.2

0.00

' ' ' ' 1 ' ' 1 ' ' ~ ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ~ ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ~

0.20 0.40 HEIGHT(m)

0.60

FIG-g-:Influence of the heating flux on moisture content X (r=R/3,z) (p=O, Ho= Hf = H =Hgs) ,

the

Theoretical Studyand Transfers Heat Massof

403

FIG-10-:Evolution of moisture content at different times where q=-200w/m2 (p=O, Ho= Hf = H 'Hgs) ,

404

Mhimid and Nasrallah

280

FIG-11-:Evolution of solid temperature (p=O, Ho= Hf = H, =Hgs)

Theoretical Study of Heatand Mass Transfers

405

72000,
A

360

S340
W

r Y 3
l-

$320
W

p 300

280

-B B

= 1 = 0

FIG-l2-:Influence of the mass exchange coefficient on the solid temperature (p=O, Ho= Hf = H =Hgs) ,

406

Mhimid and Nasrallah

1
I5
Z
W

0.7

z Ik
I

C c

0.6

<

0 0.5 0
W 3

.o 2

h 0.4 Z h - 0.4 t=72000:

0.3

f
-B B
HEIGHT(m)
= 1
= 0

0.20
L

FIG-13-:Influence of the mass exchange coefficient on the moisture content (Ho= Hf = H Hgs) ,

Theoretical Study of Heat and Mass Transfers

407

3.6 0
n

7'ZOOO!

z340 W
c c
3

2 320
W

p 300
280

1
(p=O,
Hf = H,

LI-ASA-A H0

H0 = l 000

FIG-l4-:1nfluence of the heat exchange coefficient H 0 on the solid temperature

=Hgs)

408

Mhimid and Nasrallah

0.7

t =3600

+ Z W + Z
W

0.6

0 0.5 0

l x

h 0.4 0

t=36000

0.3
MA"

t=72000

0.2

0.00

- " " " 1 1 ' 1 " " " ' " 1 " " " ' " 1 " " ' ' ' ' ~ '

0.20

0.40 HEIGHT(m)

H0 = 0 H0 =l000
0.60 0.80

FIG-15-:Influence of the heat exchange coefficient H0 on the moisture content (p=O, Hf = H =Hgs) ,

Theoretical Study o Heat and Mass Transfers f

409

380

360 I
n

72000s

5340 I
W

K
lC Y

6320 I W a H p300 I
280 I

t =3600s

H0 = 0; Hs=O; Hf =O H0 =Hs =Hf = Hgs

2600.00"o:'io"01~~"o:~o"o:~o"o:~o"ol~o"ol~
HEIGHT(m)
FIG-l6-:Influence of the heat exchange Coefficients Ho, H and Hf on the solid temperature , (p=O, Ho= Hf= H =O and p=O, Ho= Hf = H =Hgs) , ,

410

Mhimid and Nasrallah

FIG-l7-:1nfluence of the heat exchange coefficients Ho, H, and Hf on the moisture content , Cp=O, Ho= Hf = H = O and p=O, Ho= Hf = H =Hgs) , ,

Theoretical Study o Heat and Mass Transfers f

41 l

CONCLUSION

A numericalfor model two-dimensional transient heat and mass transfer during drying of thick bed is developed. This model allowed us to present the timespaceevolutionofthestatevariables(solid temperature, gas temperature, moisture content) and to make a sensitivity study of the transfers to different parameters. This study shows that the outlet boundary conditions have an effect only near the outlet of the bed and after a large drying time. The results are not sensitive to the inlet boundary conditions.

412
NOMENCLATURE

Mhimid and Nasrallah

C : D : d : h :

specific heat (J/kg.K) diffusion coefficient (m2/s) mean particle diarneter(m1 height of the bed (m) H : heat exchange coefficient between solid and gas (w/m2K) m : evaporation rate (kg/m3) q : heating flux (w/m2) R : radius of the bed drying (m) r : radial coordinate (m) S : solid-gas exchange area (m2/m3) T : temperature (K) t : time ( S ) V : gas velocity (m/s) W : absolute humidity of air X : moisture content z : axial coordinate (m)
G e k letters re

AH Ar Az At
E

h
p

:latent heatof evaporation (J/kg) :radial increment (m) :depth increment (m) :time increment ( S ) : porosity :thermal conductivity (w/m.k) :density (kg/m3) :humidity

Subscripts a : air cr : critical

eq : equilibrium g : gas i : initial m,n: spatial index p : pressure S : solid sat: saturation v : vapour vap: vaporisation W : water

Theoretical Study o Heat and Mass Transfers f

REFERENCES :

413

[l] LING SUN "Ecoulement d'air et transfert dans les sdchoirs a grain a diedres" These de Doctorat d'Universitd, Poitiers, 1991 [2lHOUCINE BEN MOUSSA "Etudedestransfertde a chaleur et de masse dans un silo grain soumis a un flux de chaleur parietal instationnaire" Thbse de Doctorat d'Universit6, Poitiers, 1989. [3] G. A N U , J-P. FOHR "slow drying simulation in RAD thick layers of granular products" Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, vo1.31, n012, PP2517-2526 ,1988 [ 4 ] H . B . SPENCER A mathematicalsimulationof grain drying It J.Agric. Engng Res. 14(4) ,pp226-235 , 1969 r5lG.W. INGRAM ' I solution of grain cooling and drying problems by the method of characteristics in comparison finite with difference solutionsT1 J.Agric. Engng. Res.24,219-232, 1979 161 D.S.BOYCE Grain moisture temperature and changeswithpositionandtimeduringthrough dryingv1J.Agric.Engng.Res 1 0 (4),pp 333-341; 1965 [ 7 ] J.R.SHARP "A review of low temperature drying simulation" J.Agric.Engng.Res 27,pp 169-190; 1982 [8lPATANKAR SUHAS "Numericalheattransferand fluid flow". publishing corporation, MC graw Hill Company (1980). [ g ] WHITAKER S "Simultaneous heat, and mass momentum transfers in porous media" .A theory of drying. Advances of heat transfer, 13, pp 119-203, 1977 [lo] W.E. R N "Friction and transfer coefficients A 2 for single particles and packed beds" Chemical engineering Progress, Vo1.48, Nos, pp247-253, 1952. [11]VAN MEEL "Adiabatic convection bath drying with recirculation of air Chem-Engng. Sci.9,36,1958 [ 1 2 ] R . B . KEEY Introductiontoindustrialdrying operations If Pergamm Press, Oxford, 1978 [l31 W.MUHLBAUER 'I Recherches sur le sbchage du mais-grain et dtude d'un dispositif de sdchage h co-courants"traduction du CNEEMA' dtude n0415, mai 1976 [ U ]J.H.RODRIGUE2 ARIAS "Desorptions isotherms and drying rate of shelled corn in the range of 40 to 140F"Ph.Thesis DepartementAgr.Eng.Michigan of state Univ., 1956

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

MODELLING CONVECTIVE DRYING GRANULAR MATERIALS OF APPLICATION TO NATURAL RUBBER

J.C. BENET, G. BERTHOMIEU, B. NAON and C. SAM Laboratoire deMkanique et Genie Civil Universitk Montpellier Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc II Case 034 - Place Eughe Bataillon 34095 MONTPELLIER CEDEX 5 France

Key words: drying; modelling; granular material; simulation; natural rubber.

ABSTRACT
The mathematical model proposed enables the description of mass and energy transfers during convection drying granular materials. Applicationis to of the drying of natural rubber, but the method can be used for any granular material. Exploitation of the mathematical model requires determination of the drying rate and the energy exchange coefficient between the material and the drying air. This was performed using a portable laboratory drier at the production site, avoiding the problem changes in the material during transport. Analysisof the of drying kinetics of material in thin layers led to modelling the drying rate at the temperatures, rates and relative humidity values encountered in industrial driers. The energy exchange coefficient was found by measurement of air and granule temperatures. Thick layer trials showed the suitability the model for simulation of of changes in moisture content and temperature air and granules in a granular of environment. The study as a whole led to the development of a computer program for simulating a zone industrial drier whose characteristics the drying air and the of flux direction can modified in each zone. This software shows evolution of the water contentof the material in time and space, air and grain temperature, relative humidity of intergranular air, settling of the layer, mass energy and mass power input. It can be used to optimise the management an industrial natural rubber of drying installation.

415

416

Benet et al. INTRODUCTION

Movement of hot, dry air is one of the most common methods used for drying of granular materials. Modelling the process requires experimental determination of coefficients of exchange of matter and energy between the granular material and the drying air. This study must be carried out immediately at the production on certain materials that deteriorate rapidly. site A complete procedure for modelling convection of a granular material drying is described here. Natural rubber is used as the example. The study is in the following parts: the mathematical model and application to natural rubber experimental determination of exchange coefficients and validation of the model at production, - proposal of a computer program for the management industrial driers. of

MATHEMATICAL MODEL
The porous medium studied consisted of a mass of granules through which flowed air of constant temperature,relative humidity and velocity (Figure 1). The pile of granules was a three-phase system.The deformable solid phase consisted of the granules themselves, the liquid phase consists of water trapped in the granules and thegas phase is formed by moist air moving between thegrains. The mathematical model proposed enables description of mass and energy transfers. The following phenomena were taken account: phasechange of the into fluid (water), filtration of the gas phase (dry air+ water vapour) and aidgrain heat exchanges by convection. The following state variables were used: the liquid water content of the granular material (W),the vapour content the dryingair (x) and air and granule of temperature flair and Tg~,,). The model takesinto account intergranular porosity (qg = gas phase volume between the granuleskotal volume ) and intragranular porosity (E = gas phase volume in the granuledtotal granule volume), making it possible to deduce settling.

Granular Materials Application Natural Rubber to

41 7

Mass balance
Constituents ofthe granular material

a k 3 pc = - (pc vc),k(solidphase)

(1)

a k % P e = - (Pe ve).k - J
W ~ P + C

(liquid phase)

(2)

Definition of the water content of the granules (W= pe/pc), can be used to write the liquid water balance:

P C P = -(WPcVe),k-J

(3)

k k Using the hypothesis of liquid water linked to the granules, v = ve = vce , :

and R = J/pc, the massof water evaporated per unit massdry granular material of per unit of time, becomes: (3) k 2 W = - Vce W,k - R

(4)

The equation for the preceding balance was drawn up without making hypotheses concerning the piling of the granules forming the sample. It can therefore be applied to thin thick layers. Witha thin layer, the hypotheses of a or nil water content gradient can be allowed; in this case R = . The drying

aw x

kinetics of a thin layerof granular material can therefore used to determine be R. Constituents of the air

a Pa = - (Pa Vahk k a k % pv = - (pv Vv).k + J

(dryair) (water vapour)

(5)
(6)

Using x =pv /Pa (air water vapour content) and assuming that there is no
k k diffusion of water vapour relation to theair ( va = v = vg ), (6) is written: in !

P a z x = - P a v gkx , k + P c R Taking the following equations into account: l-rlg * Pa = Pa 7\g Pc=PiT l + w equation (7) can be written:
k

(7)

Pa vg = Fa

418

Benet et al.

Internal energy balance

Using the general equation for the internal energy balancefor all the phases and constituents[2], mass balance equations and equations for the internal energy of the various constituents and phases, Ui=Cpi ( T - T o ) whereTo= 273Kand i=c,e,a R T u,=cp,(T-To)+L(T)Me

where: L ( T ) = A + B ( T - T o ) in which A = 2.54 106 and B = - 2.90 103 (SI), the two energy balance equations below obtained: are

+ Enerq balance for water granules

where: {pc(cpc+ W Cpe)} T p i , = voluminal power stored in moist granules, h (Tir - Ts&n) = voluminal power exchange between granules and air, k { pc(cp + W vce] (TFajn),k = voluminal power conveyed during settling, J{B(Tair - TO)

R Tair -$ + A - cPe(Tair - TgAn )] = voluminal power related

to energy transfer between granules and the gas phase during phase change, with To as the reference state, J = voluminal convective heat flux through the constituent ! i or phase i . Enerm balance for dry air + water vapour

air,

Granular Materials Application

(Fa (cpa + x(cpe

moist air.

+B -

z))}

to Natural Rubber

419

(Tair),k = voluminal power conveyed by the

Voluminal masses of the solid phase Settling

Using the definitionsof intergranular (qg)and intragranular (E) porosity, the apparent voluminal massof the granular material pc given by: is

The voluminal massof the granulesppr is expressed by:

Pgr = ( 1 - E )

** * * I Pepc ( 1 + W > / ( P e+ W P C ) I

(12)

Inter and intragranular porosity was determined experimentally. The values are relatedby the following equation:

Derivation of (13), assuming that E depends only onW, gives the settling rate gradient [3]:

APPLICATION TO NATURAL RUBBER

Themodelcan be applied to any granular material. It wasused for simulation ofa drier of natural rubber in which the most common method used is the circulation of hot air through granules about 1 cm in diameter in layers some n 30 to 50 cm thick. In this case, the conduction term z(J:i),k of the both energy i balance equationsis ignored in favour of energy transport by convection.

420

Benet et al.

Porosity values, drawn from experiments COUSIN [3], were as follows: by E = 0.2365 - 0.8548 W + 0.7879 W 2 for W I 52% and E = 0 for W > 52 % q g = 0.57.

Numerical resolution procedure

No hypotheses were made concerning the geometry the system until this of stage of the study. We consider that the mass and energy transfers are in a single direction in space, i.e. in the direction of drying air flow (k = z, Figurel). The temperature and water contentgradients were thereforecalculated in this direction (hypothesisof a one-dimensional medium). The balance equations are of the fiist order in relation to the time and space variables (t, z). They are in the form: % U + c

U = 0.

With i being the time step andthe space step, resolution was as follows: j

This is unstable when c c 0, unconditionally stable when c > 0 and 6 = 1

resolution) [141. Implicit resolution was used because of the type of equations involved and the need for unconditionally stable calculation. An algorithm for tri-diagonal systems was used for the calculation. It determined the physical values sought at all points in the drying layer at each instant. Initial conditions At initial instant t = 0, the water content of the material wasthe same as the initial water content: w(0, z) = wini whatever the z. The air in the material was saturated with water vapour; x had the maximum valuecorrespondingto saturation at ambient temperature: x(0, z) = xini. The material was at ambient temperature; the temperature was uniform throughout the layer: T(0, z) = Tini = Tambient.

Granular Materials Application Natural Rubber to

421

1 1 0 11
Moist granules

Airflow:T,V,RH

t z
Fig. 1Diagrammatical representationo f the model

Electrical resistances

Balance

Fig. 2 Diagram of the laboratory drier

422

Benet et al.

Boundary conditions At position z = 0, evolution of the water content displayed thin layer kinetics; the latter depended on the parameters setthe drying air. for dw -" (T, V, RH, ...) w(0,t) = - R.t + wini dt - R Assuming that regulation is performed in relation to the dew point, the boundary conditionfor the water vapour content the air is imposed onTr using of a function of the following type:
t

Tr(O,t)=Tra+(Tr~-Tr~(l-e-;)

This equation can be used to calculate x according to the characteristic of moist air: 3928.5 x = 0.622 .pv where pv = l@.exp ( In 140974 - 231.667 + Tr 1 P-Pv Likewise, the boundary condition for the temperature of the material is as follows: Tgrin(0, t) = Ta + (T - Ta) (1 - e - )
t

EXPERIMENTAL SET UP
In addition to knowledgeof certain characteristics of the granular material processed (pgrl E , qg), resolution of the modeldescribedabove requires determination of the drying rate R and the heat transfer coefficient h. R can be deduced from thin layer trials using equation Knowledge of Tgrain ,Tair and (4). R during the thin layertests makes it possible to determine h by using equation
(9).

Alaboratory drier (Figure 2) was designed,constructed and setfor experimental determination of R and h and to validate the mathematical model [9, 10, 1 1 The drier was small for easy transport the productionsite to overcome 3. to the problem of the degradability of undried natural rubber . The tests were performed in CBte d'Ivoire at an estate at Thoupa operated by SocittC Africaine de Plantation dHCvCas. To limit causesof variability, the latex used was from the same trees tapped at the same time.

Granular Materials Application Natural Rubber to

423

Determination of the dryingrate R

Modelling the industrial drying of a mass of granules required the scanning of as broada range of temperature (T), velocity (V) and relative humidity (RH) of the air as possible. Tests for the determinationof R were performed in two temperature ranges: 40 O < T < 80 "C with 20% C RH < 95% and 0.5 m/s < V < 2.5 m s C / and 80 "C < T c 120 "C with 5% < RH < 20% and 0.5 m/s < V < 2.5 m/s Determination of R [9, 10, 131 was calculated by differentiating the drying rate curves resulting from the variation in water content (W)against time (t) for thin layers (approximately 3 centimetres). One dryingrate plot is shown in Figure 3, together with the variation in drying rate - dwldt) withW. (R = Analysis of all the drying rate curves reveals three zones: - at a moisture content of over 60%, the kinetics display a constant rate phase. The rate here depends on the three drying parameters (T, V and RH). Study of the results led to the modelling the phase by a function as follows: of R60 = 6.10-6 ( 1-RH).T.V the drying rate during the falling rate period dependsessentially on the temperature.This result agrees with those found in the literature [ 1, 4, 6, 71. The dependence can be represented by a parabola. At point B (W= lo%), the drying rate varies according to thetemperature of the dryingair and is given by: R10 = 2.4 10-5 - 1.3 10-6T+ 1.8 10-8T2 Point C is the equilibrium water content deduced from the desorption isotherm [2]. It gives the equilibrium moisture content according to the relative humidity of the drying air. - at a moisture contentof between 10 and 60%, the drying ratewas modelled by a third-degree function allowing for the continuity at points B. A and Modelling of the drying rate when the moisture content is less than 10% is particularly important as this range forms an average 90% of the drying time. of The modelling retained in this moisture content range is satisfactory in all kinetics.

- at a moisture content of less than IO%,

424

Benet et al.

100

t (min)

x)

R (S '1)
.l0E-3 8 E-3 6 E-3
0 0

0
0

4 E-3

o o
0

I I I

I
I

I I
0.2

0.4

0.6

W(/)

C8

Fig. 3 Example of drying kinetics and drying rate for conditions follows: as (T = 1 0 C ;V= 1.5 m/s and RH = 10%) 0

Granular Materials Application Natural Rubber to

425

Determination of the energy exchange coefficient h

Determination of coefficient h was performed from the internal energy balance equation for the granules (9) using known air and granule temperatures and R in a thin-layer test [l l]. Figure 4 shows a typical example of the temperature curves plotted these tests. in The temperature and R curves deduced from the corresponding kinetics can be used to determine h. If the large h values obtained at the beginning of the experiment (resulting from the periodof thermal balancingof the system) and the infinite values of h at the end of the test (because granule temperature tended to approach the air temperature) are discarded, the curves shown in Figure 5 are obtained. In all these tests, the values of lie between 40,000 and 130,000 W.m-3.K-1. h Unlike the case of R, it was not possible to express h according to the drying parameters T, V and RH as their influence was fairly random. It is simply noted that at set values of V and R , h decreases when the temperature rises. H A study was performed to determine the influence of this parameter on the calculation of air and granule temperatures. Digital simulation drying in thick of layers performed for the purpose with values of h within the range mentioned above shows that movementsof calculated temperatures are not very sensitive to h. A fixed value of h was therefore chosen and set at 50 000 W .m-3.K-1, whatever the test conditions.

Validation of the model

The mathematical model proposed was validated from a series of thick layer trials (approximately 30 centimetres) [lo]. The measurements performedin each test made it possible to determine the overall kinetics and to measure the evolution of the inter and intra-granule temperatures at different levels in the layer of granules. Comparison of theexperimentaldata and theresults of numerical simulations using the initial conditions and the corresponding boundaries are shown below.

426

Benet et al.

i
70-

60-

50

100

t (min) 2 0

Fig. 4 Example of air and granule temperatures (T = 80C, V = 1.5 d s , RH = 20%)

1501

~
10

+ V=1.5 m/s RH:ambient " - V d . 5 d s RH=20% I + V d . 5 d s RH:ambient

V=1.5 d s RH=20%

50

20

30

40

50

60

t (min)

Fig. 5 Variations of coefficienth at T = 80C

Granular Materials Application Natural Rubber to

427

Overall kinetics The overall kineticsis the variationof the average water content the thick of layer of rubber granules against time. example of overall kinetics obtained by An experiments and numerical simulation given in Figure6. is It can be seen that all these curves the falling rate phase < lo%), which in (W formed the greater proportion of the kinetics and enabled the determination of drying duration, was modelled satisfactorily. Granule and water temperatures The variation in air and granule temperatures according to time is given in Figure 7 and shows good agreement between experiment and theory. It is noted that the fall in granule temperature observed in all cases at layer output is clearly taken into account in the model. Sensitivity study the various of terms of equation (9) shows that term R = is responsible for the decrease. Me According to the ideal gas law, this term represents the work per unit of time and mass of dry rubber required for the expansion the water vapour.This energy is of drawn from the calorific energy the moist granules whose temperature falls. of

COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL DRIERS

The study as a whole made it possible to develop numerical simulation software for the industrial drying of natural rubber. It is possible to vary the thermodynamic characteristics of the air, the flux direction and the thickness of the layer and compare several scenarios to select the one most suited to the optimisation criteria.

Simulation of the drying of a layer of granules

Application of the model proposed was performed withthe following study parameters:

428

Benet et al.
W O

06 .
0.5

0.4

Experiment Simulation

0.3
0.2 0.1

0.0

100

t(min)

Fig. 6 Comparison of measured and simulated overall kinetics (T = 120C; V = 2.5ds, RH = 20%)

120 100

T PC)

80

60
40
20

input

granule

+ Sim.granuleinput

Exp.

100

Fig. 7 Comparison of measured and simulated temperatures (T = 120 "C, V = 2.5 d s , RH = 20%)

Granular Materials Application Natural Rubber to

429

- Tair = 110C - Vair = 2 mls (= vg qg)

- thickness of the layer: 50 cm

- h = 50.103 W.m-3.OC -1
-z=~OS

- RHgr=5%(~#47g/kg)

Figures 8 and 9 show control screen displays of the program simulating management of an industrial drier. of: Figure 8 shows the variation in time a) the granule moisturecontent (at the input and the output of the layer and overall), b) the relative humidity the air atlayer input andoutput, of c) the air and granule temperatures at layer input and output (these temperatures are similar), d) mass energy and mass power used drying thelayer of rubber. for Examination of these curves shows the classic characteristics of drying in a hygroscopic porous medium. In the first phase of heating of the substance, the drying air became saturated (drainage period) before drying rapidly in contact In is with the heated granules. the second phase, there a temperature plateau at the moist temperature when water evaporates the surface of the granules. from This is the constant rate phase and relative humidity no longer falls. In the third phase, the temperature increases steadily towards the temperature set and the relative humidity of the air decreases steadily.This is the falling rate period. Figure 9 shows the variation throughout the of: layer a) the profilesof granule moisture content, b) the relative humidity of theair, c) the granule temperature, d) the air temperature.

Simulation of an industrial drier

Trolley driers with semi-continuous movement are the most common industrial type. The trolleys run in succession through drying units with own their heat and ventilation facilities. Latex drying in a 4-Zone drier as at the Ousrou plant in C6te d'Ivoire was simulated. As no accurate data was available on the air parameters when air entered the material, the calculations were performed for the following drying conditions:

430
soof
90 80

Benet et al.
f t e l r t i ~HMiditw o f a1r ~

<%>

70

so
50 30

----

-" "

40

-: lo
0

2o

--

"*L
36

."..
108

. ; -.

; '

%<?I%

72

144

180

ss
44 22 -L

I1
0

--

36

72

108

144

t ,C%

l80

Fig. 8 Simulation of the dryingof a 50 cm layer of rubber granules (T=110C,V=2m/s,RH=5%) Variations in time

GranularMaterials Application to Rubber Natural

C:~SCIOUATEXGTl\SlU4.SIU Layer

431

"

'

II

IS
2s
30
"

40
4s 50 Layer

-"

lj

'

20

40

60

80

100

2s
30 35

40
4s

Fig. 9 Simulation of the dryingof a 50 cm layer of rubber granules (T= llO"C,V=2m/s,RH=5%) Profils in the layer

432

Benet et al.

Figure 10 shows the evolution of the parameters mentioned in the simulation of this drier. Allowing for the uncertainty concerning the air intake parameters, drying time varied from 160 min to 290 min to achieve a 1% final rubber water content and 250 min to 400 min for a 0.5% final water content. It was noted that drying time was extremely sensitive to the final water content. T i is related to the low hs drying rate at water contents of below 10%. Because of the uncertainty concerning the air intake parameters and the heterogeneity of the final water content of the material observed at the output of industrial driers (0.5% to I%), it can be considered that the drying times obtained by simulation agree with the time that a trolley spends in the drier (180 min). In addition to satisfactory simulation of an industrial rubber drier, the program was found to be a valuable tool for the two following features: - the search for the best air flow reversal sequences to improve the homogeneity of the water content of the layer of material, - conservation of quality. It is known empirically that the drying parameters affect quality. When the relations between these parameters and quality criteria have been established, it will be possible to seek procedures for combining the optimisation of drying and conservation of quality.

CONCLUSION
The mathematical model proposed enables numerical simulation of drying of a granular material in a zone type industrial drier with the following input parameters: thickness of the layer and air characteristics in each zone (temperature,velocity, relative humidity, direction of the air flux).

Granular Materials Application to Natural Rubber

6o
48
70

433

'

C :\SFIOUFITEXGT 1\S I H U l S I tl &,,Granule noisture content C x ) looJ Relative Huniditv of air < x >
90

-.

30
24

--

18

-,.:..
36
72
.. +

12
6 0

---

W w
108

..-..,
144

t ,c ) -. T

180

60 48
24
t

800 6 00
400

Fig 10 Simulation of the functioning of a trolley drier (4 zones)

434

Benet e l al.

It shows the evolution in time at all points in the layerwater content of of the the material, air and granule temperature, relative humidity of intergranular air, settling of the layer, mass energy and power inputs. The laboratory drier installed at the production site was used to determine the dependency of the coefficients of the model on drying air parameters. Satisfactory validationof the model ledto the development of a simulation program for aid in the management and design of new rubber driers. The program can simulate several drying scenariosin drier management so that the one that gives the best results can used, with attention paid one or more optimisation be to criteria (durationof drying, final water content, the homogeneity of water content, energy consumption, etc.). In drier design, it enables the sizing of heating and ventilation installations, definition the optimum number zones and choice of of of the best drying conditions for each zones. of the Today, the optimisation of rubber drying does not allow for the quality criteria that are increasingly important in sales. Thisimportint parameter is the subject of research that should make possible to establish links between drying it conditions and quality. These could subsequently introduced in the model and be thus complete the simulation program. The approach involving trials at a production site has been found to be fruitful for study of the influence of drying on qualityas any degradation of the material during transport is avoided.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research programme benefited from funding by the French Ministry of Technology andthe Languedoc-Roussillon Regionandwas performed in collaboration with CIRAD-CP . (Centre de Coop6ration Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour Dtveloppement - Cultures Wrennes). le

Granular Materials Application to Natural Rubber

435

NOMENCLATURE
a
C

e
V

CP

Fa h J Jk

RH

qi

dry air constituent index solid phase index liquid phase index vapour constituent index mass heat at constant pressure, J.kg-'.K-1 dry air flux at material input, kg.m-2.s-1 relative humidity setting aidgranules volume exchange coefficient, W.m-3K-1 voluminal rateof water changing from liquid to vapour, kg.m-3.s-l voluminal convective heat flux through the constituent or phase i,
W.m-3. latent heat of vaporisation of water, J.kg" molar massof water, kg.mole-1 saturating vapour pressure, Pa mass of water evaporated per unit mass of dry granules and per unit of of time, S-1 perfect gas constant, J.mole-1.K-1 K temperature setting, ambient temperature,K air temperature,K granule temperature,K dew pointof ambient conditions, K dew point setting,K tempe'rature de rose'e de consigne, K internal energy,J drying air setting rate,m.s-1 vapour content drying air, kg of vapour (kg dry of air)-l rate of movementof moist air,m.s-1 rate of movement of the solid phase, m.s-1 rate of movement of the liquid phase, m.s-1 rate of movement of the solidand liquid phase,m.s-1 rate of movement of air, m.s-1 rate of movement of vapour, m.s-1 liquid content of the granular material, kg of water.(kg of dry rnaterial)-l intragranular porosity intergranular porosity apparent voluminal mass dry granular material, of kg.m-3 apparent voluminal mass the grain liquid water content, kg.m-3 of apparent voluminal mass water content, of kg.m-3 apparent voluminal mass the air, kg.m-3 of

L Me
Pv

F Ta
. Tair

Tgrain Tra Tr T,
U V

X V

k e '
k 'ce k a ' k

v"
W

E
qg

Pc
Pe
Pv

Pa

436

Benet et al.

PIT Pi3 * P.9

*

real voluminal of mass grains, kg.m-3 real volwminal mass of dry air, kg.m-3 real voluminal mass water, kg.m-3 of real voluminal mass the granular material, of kg.m-3 constant, time S

PC

'T

REFERENCES
1. BUDIMAN, S., 1973, Waterremokl from natural rubber hydrogel. Master o Science Thesis, Ohio State University. f 2. AURIA, R., 1988, Contribution II 1'6tude du caoutchouc naturel: structure interne et transfert d'humidid lors du sCchage.Thdsede Doctorat de I'Universitb Montpellier II, Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc. 3. COUSIN, B., 1990, Skchage du caoutchouc naturelsous forme de granulks Analyse thkoriqueet exp6rimentale des processus internes. Th&e de Doctorat de I'Universite' Montpellier 11, Sciences et Techniques du Lunguedoc. 4. AURIA, R. and BENET, J.C., 1990, Transport de l'eau dans une feuille de caoutchouc naturel pendant pCriode de stchage II vitesse dkcroissante. la Inf.J. Heat Mass Transfer, 33 (9)pp. I885-1894. 5. PLA'IT, D., RUMSEY, T.R., and PALAZOGLU, A., 1991, Dynamics and Control of Cross-flow Grain DryersModel Development and Testing. Drying Technology, 9 (I), 27-60. 6. AURIA, R., BENET, J.C., COUSIN, B. and SAINTE BEUVE, J., 1991, Drying of Natural Rubber in Sheet Form - Internal Structure and Water Transfer. J. Nut. Rubb. Res., 6(4),267-280. 7. BERTHET, D., BAKHOUYA, A.,BOUZON, J. VERGNAUD, J.M., 1992, Dryingof polymers. Modeling with diffusion-evaporation and shrinkage. Drying ' 92, 364-373. 8. COUSIN, B., BENET, J.C. and AURIA, R., 1993, Experimental Study of of Drying the Drying of a Thick Layer Natural Crumb Rubber. Technology, II(6), 140I-I413. 9. NAON, B., BERTHOMIEU, G., SAIX, C., and BENET, J.C., 1994, Drying of latex in granule form: kinetics and exploitations. IDS94 Australia, August l - 4,1994 - Vol. A,pp. 639-646.

Granular Materials Application to Natural Rubber

10. NAON, B., 1994, Stchage du caoutchouc naturelsous forme de granults:

437

cinttiques, modtlisations, applications.Thtsede Doctorat de I'Universiti Montpellier 11, Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc. 11. BENOIT, J.M., 1994, Skhage convectif de matgriaux granulaires: application au caoutchouc naturel. D.E.A. Micanique des matiriaux, structure, ginie des prockdis, Universiti Montpellier 11, Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc. 12. NAON, B., SAIX, C., BERTHOMIEU, G. and BENET, J.C., 1995, Modelling convective drying granular materials: application to natural of rubber. Drying Technology, Vol. 13, No. 2 . 13. NAON, B., BERTHOMIEU,G., BENET, J.C. and SAIX, C., 1995, Improvement of industrial drying natural rubber through analysis heat of of and mass transfers.Drying Technology, Vol. 13,Nos. 7-8. 14. LE POURHIET,A, 1988, Rtsolution numtrique des tquations aux dtrivtes partielles. CEPADUES-EDITIONS - ISBN 2.85428.1 75.6

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF DIELECTRICALLY-ENHANCEDDRYING

Peishi Chenl and Philip S. Schmidt2 'Philip Morris R&D, P.O. Box 26583, Richmond, VA,USA 23261 Tenter for Energy Studies, University Texas, Austin,TX,USA 78758 of

Abstract
Mathematical modeling of dielectrically-enhanced dryinggenerally more is difficult modelingconventional than of drying. microwave radioThe and frequency field intensity is not uniformly distributed, and the heating effects of the field differ between various species and phases within a wet material. Elevation of internal temperatures, oftento the boiling point of water, can produce significant internal pressure gradients. However, these phenomena combine to produce the unique production benefits of dielectrically-enhanced drying. A generaldescriptionofdielectricheatingispresented.Thedielectric properties of wet materials and their dependence on moisture, temperature, and composition are considered in the context of their behavior during dielectricallyenhanced drying. The effects of the dielectric heating on the transport mechanisms ofmoisture in nonhygroscopicandhygroscopicmaterialsarehighlighted.Heat and mass transfer in drying porous wet media are discussed special with consideration to the effects of internal heat generation due to dielectric heating in microwave and radio-frequency fields. Several fundamental physical models for dielectrically-enhanceddryingareintroducedandreviewedherewithaview toward achieving better understanding of the physical nature of this process and providing a more rational basis process design. for Key Words: dielectric heating, dielectrically-enhanced drying, mathematical modeling, integral methods

439

440

Chen and Schmidt

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying Dielectric Properties Industrial and of Materials Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

The application of dielectrically-enhanced drying of industrial materials has

seen wideningapplication in the past two decades.Commercialsystems

operation for dryingof
mineral products, and chemicals

ae in r

foodstuffs, woodproducts,paper,textiles,ceramics, [l].

Dielectrically-enhanced drying is
in highfrequency

characterized by combining the conventional drying techniques, such convection and conduction, withdielectricheatingofdryingmaterials elecmmagnetic fibs. Excitation of molecular dipoles and ionic species by rotation, oscillation and conduction in high frequency electromagnetic fields can produce heat if the

r medium is a dissipative o so-called "lossy" dielectric.

The heat generated in a

given medium depends primarily on three variables: the intensity of the applied
'& field, its frequency, and the dielecmcloss factor, E ' , of the medium. Water is a

of particularly lossy medium and most solid portions the materialsto be dried have

moleculesthatarenot

so lossy, hence

drying is one of themostprevalent

applications of dielectric heating. Dielectric heating is carried out two frequency regimes, radio-frequency in
(RF) and microwave

(MW). RF covers the range from about to 300 MHz, while 1

RF regime, 13.56,27.12, and 40 MHz are the

been designated the MW regime spans 300-3000MHz. Specific frequencies have

within the RF and MW bands by international conventionfor industrial, scientific, and medical applications. In the
most commonly used frequencies, whereas the M W regime 2450 and 915 MHz in
(896 MHz in Europe) are the standards. field intensity is primarily determined The

by the voltage applied the plate circuit of the generator the circuitry used to and to couple the generator to the process load. Because the frequency of RF is about
100 times lower than

MW, the electric field intensity required in R F systems are

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

441

typically about an order of magnitude higher thanWin M systems. For this reason, voltage breakdown and arcing tend to beof more concern at RF regime. This problem has, however, generally been brought under control in industrial systems. Becauseof its greater wavelength as well as penetrationdepth,RF-enhanced dryers are in widespread use today.

Dielectric Properties
Dielectric properties their and dependence temperature, on moisture

in content, and material composition are considered the contextof the behaviorof
materials during dielectrically-enhanced drying. The materials of greatest interest in in drying operations are generally dielectric. When molecular dipoles a material are exposed to the electric field, dielectric energy absorption existsdue to dipole rotation and vibration. When ionic species in a material are accelerated by the electric field, joule (i.e. resistive) heating results. The influenceoftheappliedelectricfield

is described by theelectric
is considered to be

permittivity, E. For convenience,theelectricpermittivity complex and expressed as

E = (E"jE")Eo

where j = fiand EO is the permittivityof free space ( 8 . 8 5 ~ 1 0 F/m). The real '~ part is called the dielectric constant, which signifies reversible interactions. The E',
E", imaginary part, the loss factor describes lossy interactions.

Thedielectricconstantgovernstheelectricfielddistributionwithinthe

loss material (with respect the externally applied field) and the factor determines to
the resultant heating rate. Since the heating rate volumetric heat source term or the
qv can be aprimary energy driverin dielectrically heated media, both and E" play E'

442

Chen and Schmidt

a pivotal rolein determining drying behavior. The volumetric power density the in material maybe found from the point form of the Poynting Power Theorem.

where E is the electric field strength,

6 is the angular frequency, 0 1

is the ionic

conductivity and&"@is lumped loss factor to include the heating effect the by ionic conduction, dipole rotation and vibration. At microwave frequencies, MHz to 500
10 GHz, dipole rotation of water molecules usually dominates other heating effects

in the majority of materials. The loss factor of water increases almost linearly from

500 MHz to 3 GHz, and reaches a maximum at about 18 GHz. The loss factorof
materials of interest in W fields is usually dominated by ionic conduction term, F the
o/cm. Therefore, at radiofrequencies, the dielectriceffect for purewater is

reduced; however, loss the factor becomes significantly large dissolved salts.

if it contains

TemperatureEffects
Elevations in temperature raise the mobility of ions in solution as well as therotational andvibrationalenergies.Thedielectricconstant is notstrongly affected by temperature in liquids; for water25C it is 77 between 1 and 3 GHz, at while at 95OC it is 52 [2]. The loss factor usually is affected temperature. From by the same source, the loss factor of distilled water decreases from1.2 to 0.36 at 1

GHz and from 12 to 2.44 at 3 GHz as the temperature increases from 25OC to
95OC. For nonhygroscopic materials,the as temperature the rises, dipole

component of the loss factordecreases, while component the conduction increases. room Near temperature, ionic the conductivity an of

due to ionic

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

443
1.5 to 2% perCelsiusdegree
[3].

electrolyticsolutionincreasesapproximately

Hygroscopicmaterials may be affecteddifferently.

If thereis a largeenough

bound moisture,the loss factorof the material exhibits an increase with increasing temperature. Figure 1 contains comparative plots for dielectric constant and loss factor at 28 MHz for acerealbasepetfoodproduct:a) as afunction of

X= at temperature at 9.9%;and b) asa function of moisture content 23OC [l].

The loss factor of the solid portion is seldom significant, but materials, such as nylon acrylics, increase and an for some at elevated

in lossfactor

an temperatures may result in thermal runaway, i.e., producing unstable increase

in heating rate which ultimately culminates in destruction the of structure.
Therefore, it isimportant to define the operatingconditions in dielectricallyenhanced drying these materials, especially at low moisture contents. of
0

Moisture Content Effects

The effect of moisture content on dielectric properties is fundamentally

At different at RF and MW frequencies.

F @

frequencies, moisture in most

materials acts primarily to provide mobile pathway for charge carriers. As shown in Figure 1, the increasein E with temperature and moisture content is dominated by ionic conductivity effects. In the MW regime, water itself is a particular lossy medium and significant absorber. Bound water has less rotational freedom and in lower valuesfor E . Thus, typically absorbs less energy from the field, resulting
E and E are bothlower

in absolutevaluethanformaterialscontainingfree

moisture and exhibit a more gradual rise with increasing bound moisture content, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 [4,2]. Substantial increasesin the loss factor are observed only when significant free water is present in the material.

444

Chen and Schmidt

10

-m
2.0

- 1

1.5

10

15

20

25

Moisture Content, X (%, wwb) (b)

I O

X)

X',

Yo

Figure 2. Loss factor vs. moisture content (Source: Stuchly S.S., 1970).

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

445

Heat andMass Transfer Mechanisms in Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

E f c s of Dielectric Heating on Transport Mechanisms fet

Dielectric heating in high elecmmagnetic fields can offer several distinct benefits in drying nonhygroscopic and hygroscopic materials, including increased product throughput, higher efficiency more energy and uniform moisture in the distribution in the product. The most obvious direct effect of dielectric heating is embodied volumetric heating that will quickly raise the temperature and alter the temperature profile dependingon the moisture profile the drying material.In drying practice, in
free nonhygroscopic materials contain significant amount of water but little bound

water, while hygroscopic materials have a significant level of bound water. Free an water retainedin the void space of the porous material exerts equilibrium vapor pressure as defined by the Clapeyron equation. Bound water is retained in such a way that it exerts lessthan its equilibrium vapor pressure. There are several forms

in which bound may water

exist in aporous medium. Mechanically bound

moisture exists in the interstitial space of a porous solid whose openingsor pore

m radii are less than 0.1 m . Surface tension forces are sufficiently highto induce a
reduction of the equilibrium vapor pressure, and the binding energies are typically onthe order of 100 J/mol [5]. Physicallyboundmoisture is adsorbedonthe solid, often via hydrogen bonding, and exhibits binding energies

on the order of

3000 Vmol. If the moisture is part the solid structure,or chemically bound, the of

is binding energies maybe as high as5000 J/mol. Another form of bound moisture
contained in cellular materials of biological origin (e.g. wood, grains, vegetables), and the vapor pressure depression is dependent on the permeability and thickness of the cellular membrane as well as the concentration of dissolved substances. to excitation by Further, part of the moisture contained in cellular materials may be physically adsorbed and chemically bound. The response of bound water

446

Chen and Schmidt

highfreque,ncyelectromagneticfieldsdiffersfrom

that of free water.Physical

adsorptionandchemicalbondingcanaffectboththerationalandelectronic response of the water molecule. This suggests that highly hygroscopic materials should be lesssusceptible to dielectricallyinducedmoisturelevelingthanwet nonhygroscopicmaterials. It isalso notedthat, at radiofrequencies,dielectric response of cellular materials can be strongly dependent on the concentration of dissolved substances and the orientation the electric field relative the cellular of to
[6]. structure as demonstrated in the experiments of Morrow

Energy is selectivelyabsorbedin the regionwheremoisturecontent local factor loss

is higher. In

or

fact, depending on

the convective boundary

conditions,theinternaltemperature

mayexceedthesurfacetemperature.The

evaporation of internal liquid moisture may induce a pressure gradient which can may drive moisture outwards[7] and the evaporated internal moisture recondense near the surface. The redistribution transferand of moisture, commonly known as moisture leveling, may be the result of selective energy absorption, pressure driven moisture evaporation-recondensation processes.Sometimes,aphenomenon calledmicrowavepumpingwilloccur,characterizedbyadiscontinuousgas phase and significant gas pressure driven flow of liquid the material surface[g]. to These transport mechanisms are not typically noted during conventional drying processes. Therefore, one may say that the major effects of dielectric heating on moisture transport mechanisms are actually due to the internal heating and different dielectric responses excitation among free water, bound water, and the to solid portionof the material.

Less obvious but even more challenging from a scientific perspective are
indirect that effects may influencemoisture the transfer coefficients and thermodynamic parameters. Since heating dielectric is produced
electromagnetically-induced molecular and phase motion, since transport

by

properties suchassurfacetension,viscosity,thermalconductivityandspecies

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

447

diffusivity depend on molecular-level phenomena, there is reason to believe that the molecular thermophysical properties can be modified by the presence of the electromagnetic field. Further, the excitation of certain molecules mass transfer. Roussy et or species in electromagnetic fields may change the adsorption heat and the activation energy of

al. [9] studied the effect of microwave energy on the

[lo] performedmicrowave

to adsorption energyof water in Type 13X zeolite molecular sieve produce faster dehydrationrates.Gibson,Matthews,andSamuel excitation experiments for removal of ethylene oxide (EO) in low concenfrations

(< loo0 ppm) from plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC). They found that, with
microwave heating, the devolatilization times were in the diffusion coeffkient.
Characteristics of Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

2.5- 4.5 times less than the

100% conventional heating at the same solid temperature, reflecting about increase

Dielectricheating, when it is appliedinconjunctionwithconventional drying, can produce effects that influence drying beyond the direct conversion rate of electromagnetic energy into evaporation. Several investigators have attempted to defineparameters bywhich thecombinedeffectsofdielectricheatingand useful defining in what of convectioncan be correlated.Theseparametersare data for useinpredictivemodels,and

mechanisms are likely to dominate the drying process,in correlating experimental for estimatingrelativeperformance conventional and dielectrically-enhanced drying systems. LePourhiet and Boris [1l] derived a microwave performance index based on a hypothetical equilibrium temperature which the net heat input by combined at microwaveandconvectiveeffectsbalancestheevaporationheatconsumption.

This ratio takes account the decrease convective heatingdue to elevation of the in
surface temperature by internal generation. heat The ratio can be used to determinetheequivalentconventionalstreamconditionswhichproducedrying

448

Chen and Schmidt

performance comparable to that achievable with mimwave enhancement, and if relative energycosts for fuel and electricity are known, the operation costs trade

off for thetwo drying methods can estimated. be

various drying regimes based Perkin [l21 classified magnitudeofconvectiveanddielectricheating phenomenathatcharacterize
on the relative

rates to definethegoverning q,V/hA to an equivalent

in eachregime.Heusedtheparameter

,(which has the units of temperature). The parameter amounts

stream to surface temperature difference which the convective flux would at equal the internal dielectric heat generation. For a nonhygroscopic material with high

f internal mass transfer resistance, a high value o the parameter (x%OC) would
indicate dielectrically dominating drying, suggesting that the drying rate can be modeled simply by equating the dielectric heat input to the evaporative energy flux. For low parameter values(<5OoC), convective effects become significant and both modes of energy exchange must be accounted for. Melendez, Tatsch, and Schmidt

[l31 defined a similar but dimensionless

parameter named the drying mode factor, $:

For $ = 1, drying is dielectrically-dominated, while $ > 1 indicates mixed convectivedielectricheatingeffects on drying. $ < 1, which occurs when the environmentaltemperatureislessthanthematerialtemperature,istermedthe subcooleddryingregime. The drying mode factor canbe used as a normalized parameter to define a dimensionless drying rate, i.e., the ratio of the evaporation energy to the sumo input energy r m convective and dielectric heating, f fo

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

449

where m is theevaporationrate. ,

By plottingthedimensionlessdrying

rate

againstdimensionless a moisture content, experimental drying curves under various convective dielectric and heating conditions collapse a into single characteristic drying curve for the dielectrically-enhanced drying process, as shown in Figure 4. The concept of the characteristic drying curve for the dielectricdyenhanced drying was incorporated into a process simulation

in drying activated

alumina [13]. When there is not enough information to develop a dielecaicallyenhanced drying model, characteristic drying curves are useful in extrapolating a limitedbodyoflaboratorydrying expected dryer performance. Mathematical Modeling Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying of It has been pointed out that significantinternalpressuregradients as a result of dielectric heating, the internal may be produced to affectthemoisture
differ

data fora givenmaterialandgeometry

to

temperature of the drying material often reaches the boiling point of water, and transfer inside the drying material; the electromagnetic field intensity (and hence powerdissipation)isnotuniformlydistributed,thustheheatingeffects between various species phases and within drying the material; moreover, electromagnetic fields may induce changes in thethermodynamicand properties of physically and chemically bound water. Notwithstanding complications,number investigators these a of have attempted formulation of fundamental physical models for dielectrically-enhanced drying with a view toward achieving better understanding of the mechanisms of this process and providing a more rational basis for process design. Several of these modeling efforts will briefly reviewed here. be transport

450

Chen and Schmidt

Governing Equations
The general formulation of the goveming heat and

mass transfer

equations for dielectrically-enhanced drying [l41 is based on the assumption that the wet porous material continuous, homogeneous, and isotopic is [15]. For liquid phase transfer,

-(E,p,)+V.J,

a at

=-mw

For vapor transfer

And for energy transfer

aT

pc,-+(c,J, +c,J,)VT =V.(kVT)-m,,Ah, +qv

at

Introducing an effective thermal conductivity, the energy equation becomes

aT -=V*(k,VT)+q,
at

In general, themain mechanisms of internal moisture transfer during drying are capillary flow free water, surface and microporous diffusion of bound water, of
i n and macropore vapor transfer. Therefore, the moisture fluxcondensed form,J,
consists of capillary flow of free water,

JL, and flow of bound water,

Jb.

The

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

451

driving forcefor capillary flow a gradient in surface tensioncapillary pressure. is or

If the material is assumed homogeneous the macro-sense, the capillary pressure in

gradient is closely relatedto the gradient of free water content, and the pertinent

q expression for capillary flow[1 is given by

J , = - p , L ( V P l - VP,- p,g) = -p,D,vX, - p , "(VP' P, Pw

- P,Z)

where KLis the permeability for the free water is a function of the permeability that oftheporousmaterial,

KO,and its freewatercontent.Fromstudiesonmass

thewettingphasecan
be

transfer in porous media [17], thepermeabilityof content, i.e.,

represented as approximately proportional to the third power of the

free water

Bound water plays an important role

in moisture transfer when the free

water content approaches zero. Bound water may flow through microcapillaries, throughcellularmembranes, or by surfacediffusion.Thedrivingpotentialfor boundwatermovementhasbeendefinedvariously associatedtransportcoefficientscan by differentinvestigators. on measured Vapor pressure gradientor chemical potential are particularly useful [181, as the beeasilydeterminedbased drying data. Therefore, the flow bound water maybe expressed as of

452

Chen and Schmidt

It is usually assumed that the bound wateris in equilibrium with its vapor and that the relationship between bound water content and the relative humidity,
y, at a giventemperature is expressed by thesorptionequilibriumisotherms.

Thus,

Jb = p ,

-P',
p b

*VX

ax

= -plDbVX

where P"' is the equilibrium vapor pressure of water. is the bound water transfer D, coefficient, an Arrhenius-type function of temperature,

D~ = D,, exp(-%)

where DW may be a function of bound moisture content and activation energy bound water movement for [14].

Ed

is defined as the

Water vapor and air flow through the void of a porous material by D a y flow and diffusion. Neglecting the gravity term, the equations for vapor flow may be written as

and air

where m istheratio

of air vapor and diffusion coefficients and

KB is the

permeability for the gas phase that is also a function of the permeability

of the

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

453

porous material and free water content[14]. It may be approximately expressed its as

Boundary Conditions
Representation of boundary conditions varies

in different models,
at the

depending on the formulation the governing equation and system geometry.In of general, some form of symmetry is assumed and the boundary conditions center are
J, =0 ,

J , =0 ,

J,, = 0

The surface boundary conditions vary with time. When the material is totally wet, the boundary conditions at the surface are

- h h(T, -Tw)-$,,,Ahv J=
where the surface heat and mass transfer Coefficients, h and h,,,, are functions o f velocity and properties of the convective medium. the free water at the surface If
free is greater than about 30-40%of the saturated water content, the surface water

layer remains continuous and the coefficients are nearly constant, otherwise the surfacefreewaterlayerbreaksintodiscontinuouswetpatchesandthemass [14]. transfer coefficients decrease Thus, so long as the free moisture content is

454

Chen and Schmidt

high, the heat and mass transfer coefficients can assumed as constant and their be values, h0 and h,, can be determined by traditional convective correlations. When the free moisture content at the surface is reduced to a critical value, about 3040% of the saturated free moisture content, the heat and transfer coefficients mass
*

may vary. For most cases, the variation the heat transfer coefficienth is usually of
h,,,may be determined by: small, while the mass transfer coefficient

In the falling rate period an evaporation front, S, recedes from the surface and divides the material into a wet region (1) and a sorption region (2). Moving boundary conditions obtained the and balances are from mass heat evaporation front, at the

x=x,,

T=Ts,

JL + JV1 Jb+J,, =

Jhl =Jh2

where X ,

is the maximum sorptionmoisturecontent.Usually,

the substantial

derivative of free water content with respectto time is zero, and the velocity of the
be determined. moving evaporation front can thus

In practical dielectrically-enhanced drying processes, electtic the field intensity in an applicator is not constant, but varies in space and varies with the moisture content of the drying material. In order to simplify the calculation, the

is incident electric field density assumed to be the same for the wet region (1) and

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

455
so thetotaldielectricpower

thesorptionregion

(2) ofthedryingmaterial,

absorbed by the system may expressed as be

i [191 The volume density of absorbed dielectric power in region is then

As the material dries out, and VI decrease, and VZ increases, which changes the E';

distributionofthedielectricpowerabsorbed

in thedryingmaterial.

For most

porous materials,as shown in Figure2, the dielectric loss factors in the wet region and the sorption region, E , and E, typically exhibit the following relationshipto " " . the free water content[4,19].

where E is the porosity of the material. For nonhygroscopic materials,

E"Z

is a

function of temperature, andfor hygroscopic materials it is also a function of the bound water content. Further, for MW-enhanced drying, the total power absorbed by the material, Pi,, may not change during the drying process, while for enhanced drying, does. it

RF-

Solution Methods
Due to the coupling of the governing heat and mass transfer equations, temperature and moisture dependent thermophysical properties, adsorption

456

Chen and Schmidt

properties, andtheeffectofelectromagneticfieldonheatandmasstransfer mechanisms,explicitanalyticalsolutions for dielectrically-enhanceddrying are to numericallysolvethe impossible. A numberofapproacheshavebeenused

highly non-linear problem selected situations, and several these are reviewed for of

as follows.
Orthoyonal-Collocation Method: and Wei Davis
[20] solved governing the

equations to model the fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena heated, water-laden sandstone the using orthogonal-collocation method.

in microwave
A

backward difference implicit method was used in the time domain. Their numerical results showed a rapid pressure buildup in the sample, then a decline the drying period. model The should be a valid representation

to nearly
for some

atmospheric pressure; air flow towards the center was very slow during most of nonhygroscopicmaterials; it is unclear if it canbeused maximum sample temperature was less than front was indicated. Control-Volume Finite Difference Method: By including a microwave source term based on a onedimensional plane wave and considering moisture dependence of
[21] for the dielectric loss factor, Turner and Jolly solved the governing equations

at highermaterial

temperatures and during the falling rate period, since in the reported studies the
7OoC and no receding evaporation

microwave drying of a brick slab using the control volume finite difference method
[22]. A fully implicit time discretization finite difference scheme was used in time

domain. To ensure accurate results, theerrors associated with the mass and heat balances checked. model described were Their results the evolution of temperature,moisture,pressure, andpowerdistributionthatoccurduring the
(3 drying process. The influence of sample thickness cm and 10 cm) on thedrying

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

457

kinetics was also examined and found to be important. Several interesting points were observed in their results:
1) the presenceof a receding evaporation front evident; is
2) thepresenceofthemicrowavepumpingphenomenonalluded

to earlier is

evident;
3) air flow is negligible within the material,
4) severe oscillation occurs at the evaporation frontrecedes from the as it surface.

These may be the resultsof a strong evaporation-recondensation effect may or

be due to numerical instabilities;

5 ) for the 10 cm-thickmaterial,severalmicrowavepowerabsorptionpeaks

appear within the material,whichappears

to have asubstantialeffecton

moisture profiles, whereas the temperature profiles not follow the shape of do the power density profiles the reason for this is unclear. Movine Finite Element Method: Due to the presence of a receding evaporation front observed experimentally and large differences between thermophysical and dielectric properties in the wet region and the sorption region, Chen and Pei [l41 proposed two-region and a model considered both hygroscopic and nonhygroscopic materials. In the wet region, capillary flow of free water is the main mechanism of moisture transfer, while in the sorption region bound water and vapor transfer predominates. Theirmodel included the following assumptions: 1) convective heat and mass transfer vary with surface moisture content; 2) air flow withinthematerialisnegligible;
3) gravity force is negligible;and 4) the heat

source termfor dielectric heating was assumed be proportional to the moisture to content [23]. The movingfiniteelementmethod movingevaporationfront
[24] wasused

to solvethe

governing equations. Elements were built in finer structure in areas adjacentto the to avoidnumericaloscillationandenhanceaccuracy. The model was used to generate drying curves for several materials with different

458

Chen and Schmidt

hygroscopic properties, such as wool, brick, and corn kernels. Predicted drying curves and temperature and moisture profiles compared favorably with reported experimental results.

InternalMethod: Based on ChenandPeismodel,ChenandSchmidt considered the effects of elevated temperatures temperature and gradients

[19,25]

produced by dielectricheating in dryingofnon-hygroscopicandhygroscopic materials, applied integral and an technique assumed for the moisture temperature and profiles to obtain solutions the for the governing heat and mass transfer equations. Parabolic and polynomial forms were in each region the and to a set of coefficients were determined by boundary conditions to satisfy overall mass and energy balance restraints. The integral method reduces the problem nonlinear ordinary differential equations cansolved which be rapidly and efficiently. Their has shown model been hygroscopicmaterialssuch to estimate drying rate and internal temperature histories withreasonableaccuracy for several nonhygroscopic and

as polymerpellets,glassbeads,activatedalumina

spheres, wood veneers, gypsum wallboards, and cereal grain products.

Integral Modelsand Applications

The integral method permits rapid and inexpensive estimation of materialhavebeencalibratedusingalimitedsetofexperimentaldryingdata, drying under other conditions can be estimated to assist in optimization of the drying processand equipment design. The accuracy of the integral method is, of course, dependent on how well the assumed forms for moisture and temperature profiles represent the actual situation.While the integral method is limited in its representationofthedetailedmechanismsofmoistureretentioninthesolid
drying

curves and temperature histories.Once the important transport parameters the for

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

459

medium, this limitation mustbe traded off against the speed and convenience with

can which practically useful results be achieved[19].

Model Formulation In attempting to model the evolution of moisturefrom a porous body with

ke dielectric heating using the integral method, a number of simplifications have n

necessary to permit rapidsolutionofthegoverningequations.Thefollowing assumptions are often madeto simplify the governing equations.

In mostdryingprocesses,the
vapor pressure can written as be
M" -l+-

flow of air withinthesolid,

J., maybe
and

neglected and an approximate relationship between the gas phase pressure

"

Kg
mDvcLg

(Pg - P") y =

Thus, the vapor transfer equation, 15), can be simplified to Eqn.(

" = v J

DV' M RT

vpv

-L

K DV+'-(Pg

PI L

P "

- Pv)

Neglectinggravityeffects,thefreewatertransferequation,Eqn.(lO),can written as

be

460

Chen and Schmidt

Neglecting the accumulative term in the vapor transfer equation, Eqn.(7),

VJ, = m,

Neglectingtheconvectiveterm

in theenergytransferequation,

Eqn.(8), the

effective thermal conductivity be expressed as can

Based on theaboveassumptions,thecoupledheatandmasstransfer equation for dielectricallyenhanceddrying of ahygroscopicmaterialcan written as follows:

be

In the wet region,

-= V(DLVX)+ ax at

V(DTVT)

(34)

where DT is traditionally called the thermcxliffusion coefficient. According to

it can as the above analysis and assumptions, be explicitly expressed

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

461

14 1

10

20
(a)

30

X (% wwb)

Figure 3. Dielectric constant andloss factor vs. moisture content at2.45 GHz: a) paper b) board. (Source: Metaxas and Meredith, 1983).

Figure 4. Drying behavior of activated alumina: a) dielectrically-enhanced drying rate curves b) normalized rate curves, r vs. dimensionless moisture f content Q.

462

Chen and Schmidt

In the sorption region, the free water content is zero, and the vapor flow
and the bound water movement are the major mechanisms of moisture transfer.

RT

ax -= V(D,VX)+ at

4 2 '

V(-W VP")= V(- "' W M D2 " RT

VP,)

(37)

For dielectrically-enhanced drying,

as long as the region the wet exists,

flow. accumulative term in Eqn.(37) is relatively smallas compared to the moisture

As detailed byGoodman [26], in order to obtain approximate solutions

usingintegralmethods,temperatureandmoisture assumed to have certain functional and forms conditions. The assumed profiles are integrated across

in eachoftheregionsare
to satisfy defined boundary
the region to match the

This method is ableto solve the heat overall mass and energy balance constraints.

and mass transfer equations for various drying problems in slab, cylindrical, and spherical systems. For example, a symmetric slab system is studied here, shown in Figure 5, as with x 4 representingthesymmetriccenterandx=Lrepresentingthesurface exposed to the convective air flow. The initial temperature of the slab material is

TO.The "unpenetrated depths for heat and mass transfer", b , are defined as S and ,
shown in Figure 6. The physicalmeaning is such that, at the beginning of the dryingprocess,there is no heat or masstransferredinsidethedepthandthe temperature and moisture contents will remain at their equilibrium [191, i.e., values

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

463

Figure 5. Drying Model

Bp Li
First Stage

Second Stage

Figure 6. Unpenemted depth for moisture

464

Chen and Schmidt q S , ) =0 . ax

(39)

The temperature profilein the penetrated depthof each region is assumed to be parabolic inform. When the material totally wet, is

p1 can be determined by applying the surface boundary condition at x=L,

By performing theintegral of theheattransferequation,Eqn.(34),overthe

penetrated depthand applying Eqn.(38) to cancel out the 4.1 term, the position of the unpenetrated depth can determined, be

When the unpenetrated depth equals zero, the solution is assumed

to satisfy the

boundary condition the symmemc center, and Tl(0)can be determined by at x=O,

PsCpl

-+ dT (O)

2k,p1

+ q,

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

465

As the sorption region appears, the parameter can be obtained from the moving boundary equation

2k,p,[S-6,]=

k, -

(z)s+("")
RT

A "-h v A

ax

The following temperature profile for the sorption region is assumed

be boundary condition The parameter can determined by the surface

The moisture profile in the penetrated depth of the wet region for dielectrically enhanced drying is flatterthan that for convective drying, due to the flow caused

by thegasphasepressuregradient.Therefore,
parabolic in form,
-S(x-s,)Z 2

it may also be assumed to be

ELXI=c,

where EL istheaverageliquid-phasemoisturetransfercoefficient

in thewet

region, and is dependent on the average moisture content Accordingto Eqn.( 1l), the average liquid-phase moisture transfer coefficient be expressed as may

466

Chen and Schmidt

(49)

By applying the boundary condition, Eqn.(40) and the mass balancethereceding at evaporation front, we have
c, = DLX,,

Neglecting the accumulative termthe Eqn.(36), in

If the left hand side of Eqn.(Sl) is assumed to be stepwiseconstant,the position of the meding evaporationfront can then be obtainedbyintegratingthemass balance over the whole domain,

is When the unpenetrated depth equal to zero

C,

= D L X , + -CO S 6
"

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

467

Therefore, in the falling rate period, integration of Eqn.(52) or Eqn454) yields the position of the receding evaporationfront, S, which in turn defines the temperature andmoisture p f i l e s andhencetheinstantaneousheatand transfer rates. For each step, temperature- moisture time the and contentThe integral dependent thermophysical and dielectric properties are recalculated. complete drying simulation is about minutes on a 2-3 PC-486.
0

mass

model was coded FORTRAN for solutions onIBM PCs. Typical run time for a in

Model Applications
The integralmethodwasusedsuccessfullyinthesimulationof

MW-

enhanced drying wood veneers, gypsum wallboard, glass beads, polymer pellets, of andaluminabeads[19,25].Theexperiments

on beds ofglassbeads,polymer

pellets, and activated alumina beads were conducted in a microwave drying oven with controlled temperature and air flow rates [19].Samplesofwetmaterials were placed in an insulated tray 38x27 cm in length and width, respectively, and 5

cm deep, with the air in crossflow over the surface. The tray sits
balancethatcontinuouslymeasures

on an electric

mass to aresolutionof1

gram.

Sample

temperatures weremeasured at different locations using fluoro-optic temperature probes with a resolution of 0.1OC. Forward and reflected power were measured with a directional coupler feeding a Hewlett Packard meter.Calorimetrictests samples.
438A microwavepower
on thepowermeter/directionalcouplerinthepower

range of interest indicated an accuracy of 10% for the incident power onn these

468

Chen and Schmidt

Physical properties of the polymer pellets and activated alumina and the drying conditionsfor the experimentsare listed in Table 1. The polymer, a styrene compound,essentially is nonhygroscopic. adsorption The characteristics et for activated alumina, which is highly hygroscopic, were taken from the study of Toei

al. [27].

The liquid-phase bound and moisture transfer coefficients were

estimated by trial-and emor to give the best fit the measured drying to data at two

air temperatures.
Table 1. Physical Properties and Drying Conditions for Polymer and Alumina
Material particle size(mm) bedporosity E solid density p# solid heat capacity c, Polymer Pellets
$1.5~4 0.34 688 1so0 2.oX10-7 2.0x10-9 0.13+0.40Xf 2.0~109

Activated Alumina
$3.0 0.40 770 1 3 4 W1SOX 2.0x10" 4.0~10~ 0.19+0.51Xf 1.0x1Od 0.93

D# l D b
thermal conductivity kl bed permeability K0 Drying Conditions initial moisture content X. air velocity v air temperature. T surface heat transfer coeff. h . h& surface mass transfer coeff. power density& P !

0.09 3.8 65,130OC 24 0.02s 105

3.8 65,120OC 24 0.025 10s

Figures 7 and 8 show the simulation results of MW-enhanced drying of

beds of polymer pellets and activated alumina at two different air temperatures,
65OC and 120-130OC. As shown in Figure 7, the accuracy of the drying curve

and center the temperature predictions

for polymer pellets satisfactory, are

although the surface temperature shows some discrepancy. activated alumina, For satisfactory predictions for the drying curve and the temperatureof the bed were

420Y

3 e
5 c
P

a380380-

Tcmntrr

w3203002110
0
. 1 ' 1 . 1 . ' . ' . '

10

20

30 40 tlmr (mln.)

50

80

Figure 7. Microwave-enhanceddrying of polymer pellets: a) power=O.fi kW, Ta=338 K b) power=OSkW,Ta=403 K. ,

470

Chen and Schmidt

obtained by the model, as shown in Figure 8 It was also observed . that, when the moisturecontentreaches content of the activated
0.40 which is about the

maximum sorptivemoisture

alumina,theinternaltemperaturerises,indicatingthe

dryout of the moisture within the material. free Two unique features observed these experiments marked the benefit of in using dielhcally-enhanced drying processes. First, as compared to convectiveonly drying, the rate of temperature increase beginningor the heat-up period in the was much greater. Second, as the temperature in the wet material approaches the boiling point of water, the heat pipe effect dominates, microwaves
become the
main heat source for evaporation and the drying rates remain almost constant as

long as free moistufe is present. For a hygroscopic material i e activated alumina, l as the freemoistureisdried out, thedrying rate decreases and the material to temperature rises above the boiling of free water. point The integral model for a system of spherical particles has been used simulate the RF-enhanced drying of flow-through beds of a spherical cereal grain pet food[25]. The experiments were conducted beds of a spherical cereal grain on
pet food in a RF test unit with controlledair temperature and flow rates. Air flow

was upwards through the

bd e.

The bed dimensions were 45 cm square in cross

section with depths of 18 and 30 cm respectively; the lateral surfacesof the beds were insulated with l fiberglass insulating board. The sample beds rested on a perforatedbottomelectrodethrough which the air was passed, both bed and electrode rested on an electronic balance which continuously measured mass to a resolution of 1 gram. The parallel plate hot electrode was set approximately10

cm above the top surface of the

b d Sample temperatures were measured e.

0-230 kW/m3. Absoluteaccuracyofthe

at

differentlocationsusingfluoro-optictemperatureprobeswitharesolutionof

0 1 C RF powerinputrangesfrom .O.

overall absorbed power meascrementestimated to be f 10%. is

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

471

l00

nm (mln.) m

200

300

400

200 0

100

300

Tlmm (mln.)

a)

b)

Figure 8. Micmw.%veenhanced drying alumina beads: a) p o w d . 5 k w . of Ta=338 K b) power=OSkW,Ta=393 K)

472

Chen and Schmidt Table 2 Physical Propertiesand Drying Conditions of the Cereal Grain Product

size (mm) porosity E solid density, p solid heat capacityc,

D b

$16.2 04 .0
598

product thermal conductivity k product permeability KO loss factor ' ' 2 ~ Drying Conditions moisture content initial x0 through air velocity v

14W180X 8x10-l0 0.164.493X 1x10-10 0.14+2.84X 0.26-0.30 1 .o 121OC

29 0.03

T .

h0
hd PhJv power density

0,230kW/m3

Physical properties of the productand drying conditions are listed in Table

2 The simulation model considers the flow-throughbed as a series of thin layers .

of spherical particles.
It solves partial the diffemtial equations for the dielecuically-enhanced drying over a thinlayerusingtheintegralmethodina spherical system, then performs a heat and

mass balance over the thin layer to

determine the air conditions for drying of the subsequent layer.

A numberof

assumptions were madeto simplify the problem: 1) for each particle layer, theair conditions are constantin each time step; 2) volume shrinkage of the particles is negligible during the drying process; 3) the ar flow rate is constant and high and i enough so that heat transfer in the transverse directions is negligible. The mass and energy balance analysisfor drying of each thin layer of the flow-through bed leads to the following equations [28]:

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

473

(55)

The internal moisture rransfer coefficients in the product were determined to obtain the best fitto the data. The experimental results for drying 18 cm deep
beds are shown and compared with simulation results in FigureFrom the model 9.

results, a reasonably satisfactory fit to the measured drying curves was obtained. Some discrepancy is noted between measured predicted and temperatures. to the particle surfaces Uncertainty in the exact position of the probes relative

could be a major reason the discrepancy. The moisture contents of the and for top bottom layer particles computed the simulation model were compared with the by measured data in Table 3.

Table 3. Comparison of Final Moisture Distribution in the Beds

Bed Height RF Power Measure Avg. Moisture Content Predicted Avg. Moisture Content Measured Top/Bottom Difference Predicted Top/Bottom Difference

18 cm 5kW 0.1 0.095

0 0.098 0.1 0.032 0.025 0.036 0.015

0.125 0.098 0.091 0.078 0.035

30 cm 5kW 0.125 0.1

0.050

Both experimental and simulation results show that the moisture content difference between top and bottom layer particles is smaller when dielectric heating

is applied. This proves thewell-known fact that dielectric heating can enhance the
flow-through bed drying of granular products by increasing the drying rate and reducing the range moisture content variation of the product. of

474

Chen and Schmidt

a)

b)

Figure 9 Flow-through drying of 18 cm bed of a cereal grain product: a) Ta=394 . K, convective only; b) Ta=394K,FtF powe~5kW)

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying

4 75

Conclusion
Several heat and mass transfer phenomena that unique to dielectricallyare enhanceddryinghavebeendiscussed,includingmicrowavepumping
of free

water by internal pressure gradients and selective heating and moisture leveling due to the differential loss characteristics of the free and bound moisture and solid phases of a porous medium. Simultaneous modeling of the complex electric field, temperature, pressureand mass concentration fieldsin an inhomogeneous medium

is impossiblewithcurrentlyavailablecomputationaltools.Hence,thecommon
practice has been to assume a simplified electric field distribution based on plane wavetheoryand to computetheresultinglocal heat deposition,takinginto account the dependence of dielectric loss factor on moisture, temperature, and dissolved solids (especially ionic species). Both discreet and integral models have been used to predict dielectrically-enhanced drying behavior. former approach, The whilecomputationallyintensive,providesdetailedinformationonlocalinternal transport parameters; integral methods, whilelimited in detail, appear well-suited as a practical tool for extending a minimal set of experimental drying data to a wider range of conditions.

476

Chen and Schmidt

Nomenclature
surface area (m') specific surface area (l/m) specific heat (Jkg K) .parameters, Eqn.(48) parameter, Eqn.(21) (-) bound moisture diffusion coefficient (m%) liquid moisture diffusion coefficient (m%) vapor moisture diffusion coefficient (m%) electric field strength (V/m) activation energy for bound moisture transfer (Jkgmol K) dimensionless drying rate, Eqn.(S) (-) surface heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K) surface mass transfer coefficient (m/s) mass flux (kg/m2 S) heat flux (W/m2) permeability (m') thermal conductivity(W/m K) effectivethermal conductivity(W/m K) system thickness (m) ratio of the diffusion coefficients air and water vapor of (-) evaporation rate (kg/m3s) molecular weightof water pressure (N/m2) power density(W/m3) capillary pressure (N/m2) incident dielectric power (W) vapor pressure(N/m2) dielectric (volumetric) heating rate (W/m3) gas constant (Jkgmol K) position of the receding evaporation front (m) Sherwood number(-) temperature (K) time (S) volume (m3) moisture content (dwb) (kg H20/kg solid) moisture content (wwb) (kg H20/kgwet material) bound moisture content (kg H20/kg solid) free water content (kg H20/kg solid) coordinate (m)
gravity (&S2)

Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying absolute humidity of (kg H20/kg air air) coordination in flow through direction (m) parameters, Eqns.(41) and (46) unpenetrated depth (m) heat of evaporation (J/kg) porosity (-) dielectric constant dielectric loss factor (-) electric permittivity free space (F/m) of viscosity (kg/mS) drying mode factor (-) drying rate term (kg/m2 S) density &gm3) ionic conductivity (S/m) angular frequency (Hz) relative humidity(-)
(m)

477

Subscripts
0 1 2 a b
C

cr

eff

f g h L m ms
S
S

SW

T
V
W

initial value, 4 x wet region sorption region air bound water, bed capillary Critical effective free water gas phase heat liquid, x=L mass maximum adsorption receding evaporation front dry solid, saturated surface thermal vapor water

478

Chen and Schmidt

References
1. Schmidt, P.S., Bergman, T.L., Pearce, J.A. and Chen, P., 1992, Heat and Mass Transfer Considerations in Dielectrically-Enhanced Drying, Drying92, A.S. Mujumdar ed., Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam. 2. Metaxas, A.C. and Meredith, R.J., 1983, Industrial Microwave Heating, Peter Peregrinus, London. 3. Schwann, H., 1960, Therapeutic Heat and Cold, S.Licht ed., E. Licht. 4. Stuchly, S.S., 1970, Dielectric Properties Some Granular Solids Containing of Water, Journalof Microwave Power, 5(2). 5. Strumillo,C.and Kudra, T., 1986, Drying: Principles, Applications, and New Design, Gorden and Breach Science Publishers, York. 6. Momw, R., 1980, Application of Radio-Frequency Power to Drying of Timber, IEE Proc. 27A (6). 7. Lyons, D.W., Hatcher, J.D. and Sunderland, Y.E., 1975, Dryingof a Porous Medium with Internal Heat Generation, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer,9, pp. 897-905. 8. Lefeuvre, P.S., Mangin, B. and Rezvan, Y , 1978, Industrial Materials Drying . by Microwave and Hot Air,IMP1 Microwave Power Symposium, Ottawa, Ontario, June 28-30, pp.65-67. 9. Roussy, G., Bennani, A. and Thiebaut, J-M., 1987, Temperature Runaway of Microwave Irradiated Materials, Journal Applied Physics, 62(4), pp. 1167-70. 10. Gibson, C., Matthews, and Samuel,A., 1988, Microwave Enhanced I. Diffusion in Polymeric Materials, Joumal of Microwave Power, 23(1). 11. LePourhiet, A. and Boris, S., 1980, Analysis of The Roleof Microwave Energy Contribution in Drying Porous Media, Drying80, A.S. Mujumdar, ed., V2,pp.186-194. for of 12. Perkin,R.M., 1990, Simplified Modeling the Drying A Nonhygroscopic Capillary Porous Body UsingCombination of Dielectric and Convective A Heating, Drying Technology, 8(5), 931-951. pp. 13. Melendez, W., Tatsch, D.J. and Schmidt, P.S., 1990, Characteristic Drying A Int. Curve Principle Dielecmcally-Enhanced Drying, 25th Microwave for Power Symposium, Denver, Aug. 26-29. 14. Chen,P. and Pei, D.C.T., 1989, A Mathematical Model of the Drying Process, of International Journal Heat and Mass Transfer, 32, pp.297-310. of 15. Whitaker,S., 1985, Moisture Transport Mechanisms During the Drying Granular Porous Media, Drying85,- A.S. Mujumdar,ed., Hemishe&, pp.2132. 16. Greenkorn, R.A., 1981, Steady Flow Through Porous Media, AIChE Journal, V 27, pp. 529-545. 17. Whitaker,S., 1977, Simultaneous Heat, Mass Momentum Transfer in Porous Media: A Theory of Drying, Advances in Heat Transfer, 13, pp. 119-203.

Dielectrically-EnhancedDrying

479

18. Stanish, M.A., Schajer, G.S. and Kaythan,F., 1986, A Mathematical Model of Drying for Hygroscopic Porous Media, AIChE Jomal, 32(8), pp. 1301-1311. 19. Chen, P. ahd Schmidt,PS., 1990a, An Integral Model for Drying Hygroscopic and Nonhygroscopic Materials with Dielectric Heating, Drying Technology, 8(5), pp. 907-930. 20. Wei, C.K., Davis, H.T., Davis, E.A. and Gordon, J., 1985, Heat and Mass Transfer in Water-Laden Sandstone: Microwave Heating, Journal, 31, AIChE pp. 842-848. 21. Turner, I.W. and Jolly, P.G., 1991, Combined Microwave and Convective 9(5), Drylng ofA Porous Material, Drying Technology, pp. 1209-1269. 22. Patankar, S.V., 1980, Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow, HemispherdIMcGraw Hill. 23. Stuchly, S.$. and Hamid, M.A.K., 1972, Physical Parameters in Microwave Heating Processes, Journal Microwave Power,7, pp. 117-137. of 24. Lynch, D.R. and ONeil, K., 1981, Numerical Solution of Two Phase Stefan Problems Using Continuously Deforming Finite Elements, International Journal of Numerical Methods in Engineering., pp. 81-96. V17, 25. Chen, P. and Schmidt,PS., 1990b, A Model for Dryingof Flow-Through Beds of Granular Products with Dielectric Heating,in Transport Phenomena in Material Processing., P.J. Bishop al. ed.,ASME, HTD-Vol. 146, pp. 121et 127. 26. Goodman, T.R., 1964, Application of Integral methods to Transient Nonlinear in Heat Transfer, Advances Heat Transfer,1, pp. 51-122. 27. Toei, R., Imakoma, H., Tamon, H. and Okazaki, M., 1983, Water Transfer Coefficient in Adsorptive Porous Body, Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan, 16, pp. 364-369. 28. Amaud, G. and Fohr, J.-P.,1988, Slow Drying Simulation in Thick Layers of 31, Granular products, International JournalHeat and Mass Transfer, of pp.2517-2526.

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

AND SECONDARY

MATHEMATICAL MODELS FOR THE PRIMARY DRYING STAGES THE FREEZE-DRYING OF OF PHARMACEUTICALS ON TRAYS AND IN VIALS

A. I. Liapisl and

R. Bruttini'

'Department of Chemical Engineering and Biochemical Processing Institute University of Missouri-Rolla Rolla, Missouri 65401-0249 U. S . A . 'Criof arma Freeze-Drying Equipment Strada del Francese 97/2L 10156 Turin ITALY
Keywords: Mathematical models for the Freeze-Drying of pharmaceuticals; Lyophilization of pharmaceuticals; Crystalline solutes; Amorphous solutes.
ABSTRACT

Dynamic multi-dimensional mathematicalmodels forthe primary and secondary drying stages of the freeze-dryi of pharmaceutical crystalline and amorphous solutes are presented for bulk freeze-drying on trays and for lyophilization in vials. The mathematical models accou for the removal of free and bound water and can pro the position and geometric shape of the moving inte that separates dried frozen the and layers. The theoretical models presented here could be used in the design and scale-up of the freeze-drying process, a as in the development of operating conditions and c strategies that could provide high drying rates and assure high quality for the pharmaceutical material freeze-dried.

481

482

Liapis and Bruttini

1. INTRODUCTION

Certain biological materials, pharmaceuticals, and foodstuffs, which may not be heated even to moderate temperatures in ordinary drying, can be freeze dried [l31 . The substance to be dried is usually frozen. In freeze drying, the water or another solvent is rem a vapor by sublimation from the frozen material in a vacuum chamber. After the solvent sublimes to a vapor, it is removed from the drying chamber where the drying process occurs. As a rule, freeze drying produces the highest quality food product obtainable by any drying method. prominent factor is the structural rigidity afforded by the frozen substance at the surface, where subliminat occurs.Thisrigiditytoalargeextentprevents collapse of the solid matrix remaining after drying. result is a porous, nonshrunken structure in the dried product that facilitates rapid and almost complete rehydration when water is added to the substance at a latertime.Freezedryingoffoodandbiological loss of flavor materials also has the advantage of little and aroma. The low processing temperatures, the relat absence of liquid water, and the rapid transition of local region of the material being dried from a fully hydratedto nearly completely dehydrated state minimiz a the degradative reactions that normally occur in o drying processes, such as nonenzymatic browning, prote denaturation,andenzymaticreactions.Inanyfood material, some non-frozen water, which is called b sorbed water, will almost unavoidably be present durin freeze drying, but there is very often a rather sharp transition temperature for the still wet region during drying [ 4 1 , below which the product quality improves markedly. This improvement shows that sufficient water

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

483

is frozen to give the beneficial product characteristi of freeze drying. However, freeze drying is an expens form of dehydration for foods because of the slow dr rate and the use of vacuum. The cost of processing is offset to some extent by the absence of any need for refrigerated handling and storage. Increasingly, freeze drying is used for dehydrating foods otherwise diffi to dry, such as coffee, onions, soups, and certain seafoods and fruits. Freeze drying is also increasingly employed in the drying of pharmaceutical products. Many pharmaceuticalproductswhentheyareinsolution deactivate over a period of time; such pharmaceuticals can preserve their bioactivity by being lyophilized after their production, so that their molecules are stabilized. Systematic freeze drying is a procedure mainly of applied to the following categoriesmaterial [1-161: 1. Nonliving matter, such as blood plasma, serum, hormone solutions, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals (e.g., antibiotics), ceramics, superconducting materials, and materials of historical documents (e. , g. archaeological wood) ; 2. Surgical transplants, which are made nonviable so that the host cells can grow on them as the skeleton, including artery, bone, and skin; and 3. Living cells destined to remain viable or long periods of time, such as bacteria, yeasts, and viruses. low pressures or high Freeze drying requires very vacuum in order to produce a satisfactory drying rate. If the water were in a pure state, freeze drying at or near OC at an absolute pressure 4 .of mm Hg could be 58 performed. But since the water usually exists in a combined state or a solution, the material must be

484

Liapis and Bruttini

below OC to keep the water in the solid phase. Most freeze drying is done at -1OOC or lower at absolute pressures of about mm Hg or less. 2 In short, freeze drying is a multiple operation i which the material to be stabilized is 1. Frozen hard by low-temperature cooling; 2. Dried by direct sublimation of the frozen solvent and by desorption of the sorbed or bound solvent (non-frozen solvent) generally under reduced pressure; and 3. Stored in the dry state under controlled conditions (free of oxygen and water vapor and usually in airtight, opaque containers, filled with inert dry gas) . If correctly processed, most products can be ke such a way for an almost unlimited of time while period retaining their all initial physical, chemical, biological, and organoleptic properties, and remaining available at any time for immediate reconstitution. In most cases this is done by addition of the exact amo of solvent that has been extracted, thus giving to the reconstituted product a structure and appearance as as possible to the original material. However, in some instances, reconstitution can be monitored in order to yield concentrated diluted more or products by controlling the amount of solvent. Vaccines and pharmaceutical materials are very reconstituted in physiological solutions quite differe from the original but best suited for intramuscular or intravenous injections. Freeze-dried organisms, such as marine animals, plants, or tissue extracts, can also b the starting point of an extraction process [71 using of isolating nonaqueoussolventswiththepurpose bioactive substances. Freeze drying allows dehydration

Freeze-Drying of Pharmaceuticals

485

of the systems without impairing their physiological activity, so that they can be prepared for appropriate organic processing. Another example is the freeze drying of nuclear wastes, which results in the manufacture of dry powde of medium radioactivity. with Mixed appropriate chemicals, they can then be fused into glass bricks or molded provide to low-cost, high-energy radiation sources. The freeze drying method has also been used in synthesis of superconducting materials, and produces homogeneous, submicron superconductor powders of high purity [61 . In the chemical industry, catalyzers, adsorbing filters, and expanded plastics can be used in the dry form and placed in the path of appropriate fluids or gases. Freeze-dried dyes may also be dispersed in ot media, such as oils and plastics. These examples not are exhaustive; detailed presentations on the uses of the freeze-drying process and of freeze-dried products are given in References [l8,10,16,17].

2.

FREEZE-DRYING PROCESS

Freeze-drying is a process where a solvent (usua water) is removed from a frozen foodstuff or a frozen solution by sublimation of the solvent and by desorp of the sorbed solvent (non-frozen solvent), generally under reduced pressure. The freeze drying separation method (process) involves the following three stages: (1) the freezing stage; the primary drying stage; and (2) (3) the secondary drying stage. In the freezing stage, the foodstuff or solution be processed is cooled down to a temperature where all

486

Liapis and Bruttini

material is in a frozen state. In the primary drying stage, the frozen solvent i removed by sublimation; this requires that the pressur of the system (freeze-dryer) where the product is bein dried, must be less than or near to the equilibr pressure of the frozen solvent. for instance, frozen If, pure water (ice) is processed, then sublimation of pure water at or near and at an absolute pressure of OC 4.58 mm Hg could occur. But since the water usually exis a combined state (e.g., foodstuff) or a solution (e.g., pharmaceutical product), the material must be cooled below OC to keep the water in the frozen state. For thisreason,duringtheprimarydryingstagethe temperature of the frozen layer (see Figure is most 1) of often at -1OOC or lower, at absolute pressuresabout 2 mm Hg or less. As the solvent (ice) sublimes, the sublimationinterface(planeofsublimation),which l), started at the outside surface (see Figure recedes, and a porous shell of dried material remains. The heat (2840 for the latent heat of sublimation kJ/kg ice) can be conducted through the layer of dried material and 1. The through the frozen layer, as shown in Figure vaporized solvent (water vapor) is transported through the porous layer of dried material. During the primary drying stage, some of the sorbed water (non-frozen in the dried layer may be desorbed. The desorption process in the dried layer could affect the amount of heat that arrives at the sublimation interface, and therefore, it could affect the velocity of the moving sublimation front (interface). The time at which there is no more frozen layer (that is, there is no more sublimation interface) is taken to represent the end the primary drying stage. The secondary drying stage involves the removal of

the

Freeze-Drying of Pharmaceuticals

487

ANt

9 1

I
I

7
FREEZE-DRIED
" "

x=
LAYER I
I

/ , \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ FROZEN MATERIAL I1 \ \

x=

x
L

x=

Fiuure 1: Diagram of a material on a tray (adapted from Reference [l]) during freeze-drying (the variable X denotes the position of the sublimation interface (front) between the dried layer (layer I) and the frozen material (layer 11) 1 .

488

Liapis and Bruttini

solvent (water) which did not freeze (this is termed sorbed or bound water). The secondary drying stage starts at the end of the primary drying stage, and the desorbed water vapor is transported through the pore the material being dried.
3.

FREEZE-DRYING OF PHARMACEUTICALS ON TRAYS

This session considers bulk solution freeze-drying in trays (this represents a very important freeze-dry processforpharmaceuticals),andinthissection mathematical models describing the dynamic behavior of the primary and secondary drying stages of the freezedrying process are presented. The question of drying rates is all important because of the notably long cyc times or residence times that have been required for freeze-drying. Therefore, models that could describe dynamic behavior of the primary and secondary drying stages, could be used to analyze rates of freeze-drying
[l-4,8-231 .

In Figure a material being freeze-dried in a 1 is shown. The thickness of the sides and bottom of the tray, as well as the material from which the tray is made, are most often in practice such that the re of the tray to heat transfer could be considered to be , negligible [l-4,8,15,18]. Heat q could be supplied to the surface of the dried iayer by conduction, conve and/or radiation from the gas phase; this heat is then qII transferred by conduction to the frozen layer. Heat is supplied by a heating plate and is conducted thro the bottom of the tray and through the frozen mat reach the sublimation interface or plane. The magnitud of the amount of heat in the vertical sides of the qIII tray is much smaller [l-3,8,151 than that of q or qII; , qIII represents the amount of heat transferred between

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

489

environment in the drying chamber and the vertical s of the tray. Since the contribution of qIII is rather q1 of negligible when compared to the contributions and qIIl the contribution of to the drying rate will not qIII [l-3,8,15]. The terms and N, in NW be further considered Figure 1 represent the mass flux of water vapor and the total mass flux, respectively, in the dried layer. The total mass flux is equal to the sum of the mass water vapor and inert Nt=Nw+Nin, where N,, denotes the gas, mass flux of the inert gas.
3.1

PRIMARY DRYING STAGE

In the primary drying stage sublimation occurs as result of heat being conducted to the sublimation interface through the dried and frozen (11) layers. (I) The resulting water vapor is transported by convection and diffusion through the porous dried layer, enters vacuum chamber, and finally collects upon the condenser plate.Thefollowingassumptionsaremadeinthe development of the mathematical model: (1) only onedimensional heat and mass flows, normal to the interfa and surfaces, are considered; sublimation occurs at (2) X from an interface parallel to, and at a distance the surface of the sample;the thickness of the interface (3) is taken to be infinitesimal [l-4,8,23]; ( 4 ) a binary mixture of water vapor and inert gas flows through the of dried layer; (5) at the interface, the concentration water vapor is in equilibrium with the ice; in the (6) porous region, the solid matrix and the gas are in thermal equilibrium;(7)the frozen region is considered to be homogeneous, of uniform thermal conductivity, density, and specific heat, and to contain a negligible proportion of dissolved gases. Energy balances in the dried (I) and frozen (11)

490

Liapis and Bruttini

layers can now be made [1-3,81

where Q I e = kI,/pI,C,,,, aII = k I I / p I I C p I I r and N, = N,+N,,. In the dried layer, effective parameters are considered which include the physical properties of both the gas and solid [ 1 - 3 , 8 , 2 4 1 The initial and boundary conditions are:

and ,

for radiation heat transfer to the upper dried surface,

a t x=XI aT'l-k k,,

ax
+

I e a x

aT1

V(p,ICpIIT,I-p,CpITI) +

NtC,Tx

- AHPw,

O c t t. s,,

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

491

For

radiation

only,
g 1 = fJF(%Y-T?r 1

l x'L)

For a thin film between the frozen material and lower plate ,

The continuity equations the dried (I) layer are

for

water

vapor

and

inert

where vp represents the convective (superficial) veloc of the gas (water vapor and inerts) in the porous drie (I) layer. The convective velocity, vel of the gas in the dried layer is obtained from Darcyls equation [l3,25,26] , as follows:

In equation (11) K is the permeabilityof the porous , p The dried (I) layer and is the viscosity of the gas. convective mass flux (N,=N,+N,,) N, in equation(1), could (12) be calculated from equation

492

Liapis and Bruttini

The values of the parameters D,...*,= and Dinw,= could be calculated by the expressions presented in [l] . Reference The term aC,,/at in equations (1) and (9), accounts for the change in the concentration of sorbed or bound water with time. This term can be quantified if a thermodynamically consistent mathematical model could constructed that could describe the change in the concentration of bound water with time. Different rate may mechanisms for the removal of sorbed or bound water be considered, and an expression , / t is presented a , for C a in section6 of this work. The initial and boundary conditions of equations (9)-(l11 are as follows: at t=O, at t=O, at t=O, CO , =
Cpin=O

for x>O for xs0

(13

CBW=C& for OsxsL

r

t2O

Freeze-Drying of Pharmaceuticals

493
Cpin

a t X=X,

a ax I x.x=o ,

oc t 5 tXmL

(19)

at x=o,

P=PO=P~O,+~;,t a O

(20)

The total pressure at x=X is given by P , (22) where pwx is given by expression
Pwx = Y P X )

pwx + piml

The variable p ; is the chamber water vapor pressure determined by the condenser design, and the function y ( , represents the thermodynamic equilibrium between T) the frozen product and water vapor [l-4, The mathematical model is
8 , 131.

completely

specified

by

material balance at the interface which defines its velocity as

dx v=dt
=

N W
PII-PI

where the variable X (position of the interface) is a function of time (X=X(t)). The initial condition for equation
(23)

is as follows:

494

Liapis and Bruttini

3.1

SECONDARY DRYING STAGE

In the secondary drying stage, there is no frozen (11) layer, and thus, there is no moving sublimation interface. The secondary drying stage involves the removal of bound (unfrozen) water. The thickness of the dried (I) layer is L, and the energy balance in this layer is (it has the same form follows :
as equation (1)

as

The

initial

and

boundary

conditions of equation

(24)

are:

and

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

495

for

radiation

heat

transfer

to

the

upper

dried

surface

The continuity equation for water is given by expression (9) while gas given equation is by the mass balance equation for

inert

(10)

The convective

(superficial) velocity, vpr and the total mass flux N,

(N,=N,+N,,)

through the porous dried layer are again from equations and (12). The (11) for the material initial balance and

calculated boundary

conditions

equatio

the secondary drying stage, are given by the following

496
at

Liapis and Bruttini

x=O, ~ = p ~ = p ; ~ + ptrt,,, :,

(34)

The Profiles drying stage; model

functions ofI , T stage these

(x),(x) 6 (x) and 0 (x) v , , and the

C,,

provide of the the

the primary

Cpr Cpinr

at

the

end of

or

at

beginning obtained

secondary solution The

profiles for the

are

by

the

equations

primary
=

drying

stage.

tota

pressure at x=L is given by P ,

puL -+ pin,. It should be

noted at this point that during the secondary drying stage, the temperature everywhere in the sample (OsxsL) should be kept below the scorch temperature, T,,,,.

The model equations for the secondary drying stage that were presented
of

and

discussed

above,

can

be

sol

the method External

orthogonal collocation resistances can be

[18,27,281.

transport

easily

incorpor

into the model equations by including the expressions developed designed be by Liapis and Litchfield. But, [l11 external the in a well-

freeze-dryer in

the

resistances shouldnot drying rate [1-4,8-141 .

controlling

determining

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

497

4. '
Two

TEMPERATURE CONSTRAINTS IN FREEZE-DRYING

temperature

constraints

(limits)

may

possibly

reached during the primary drying stage. First, the surface temperature of the dried layer must not become

too high because of the risk of thermal damage; in fac the surface the temperature scorch of the dried the layer must be

ke

below

temperature, of T, ,, ,,

material

being
T, ,

dried. Second, the temperature of the interface,

must be kept well below the melting temperature, T. If , the outer surface temperature
(,,) T,, limit is

encountered

first as the surface temperature of the dried layer is raised, the process is considered to be heat transfer controlled; to further increase the drying rate, the thermal conductivity raised. Many k,, of the dried layer must be freeze-drying processes are

commercial
[l-31.

he

transfer controlled temperature T is , considered to be

If melting the point first, then the and process in

encountered mass

is

transfer

limited,

order

increase the drying rate, the effective diffusivity of water vapor in the dried layer,and Dxin,cr the total mass

flux, N , must be raised (an increase N in , , implies that the convective velocity of the vapor in the pores

dried layer is increased) ; the values of Dwin,, and N , could be raised The by decreasing layer the pressure must in in be the

chamber. below

frozen

temperature which may

maintai

the

melting

point,

some10C cases

be

498

Liapis and Bruttini

or more below the melting point of [l-3, 5, 12, 15, ice

251

The

end

of

the

primary

drying

stage [l-3, 5 , occurs

9, 15, 231 when the position of the moving sublimation

interface is at X=L; this condition implies that at the end of the primary drying stage there is no (11) frozen layer, and therefore, there is no (moving) sublimation interface. During everywhere the in secondary the drying stage, be the kept

temperature below

dried layer (I)

must

the

value of the scorch temperature, T, ,, ,.

5.

FREEZE-DRYING OF PHARMACEUTICALS IN VIALS

[29] is

In Figure 2, a typical lyophilizing vial shown during freeze drying. The energy

of

sublimatio of

ice and desorption of sorbed water is supplied to the vial through radiation from the two shelf surfaces

and below the vial, conduction from vial/vial and vial/shelf contacts, and gaseous transfer along the bottom and side. The traditionally accepted course of the
3-4.

moving

sublimation

interface

is

approximately 0-1-2-

The curving of the interface. is thought to be

caused by energy entering along the side of the vial, since mostof the materials being freeze dried in

vials

are characterized by uniform transport parameters. The experimental results

[30,31] suggest that the dried-

product mass transfer resistance the is dominant

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

499

p CHAMBER

PVIAL

PCHAMBER

p VIAL

SUBLIMATION INTERFACE

q%"a CONTACT
GAS

1 Q GAS CONTACT

DRYER SHELF
RAD

Fimre 2: Modes of Energy Transfer and Traditional View

of Movement of the Sublimation Interface in a Vial during Freeze-Drying (adapted from Reference [31 )

500

Liapis and Bruttini

82

resistance, accounting for overall mass transfer

to 92 percent of the even when(13 mm) small

resistance

closures are used. Closure and drying chamber mass transfer order of resistances magnitude, are and estimated to l311 in a well be of the same

designed

freeze

dr

the chamber resistance

[l-31 should be less than the 1311

resistance of the closure. Pikal et al.

have

suggested a simple but satisfactory expression for estimating the resistance of the closure.

5.1

PRIMARY DRYING STAGE

The

frozen

substance

in

vial

is

in

the a of shape

cylinder, and in the primary drying stage sublimation occurs as a result of heat being conducted to the sublimation interface through the dried (I) and frozen
(11) layers, as shown in Figure
3.

The cylindrical is shown in and 3, Figure

system
g,, g,

considered

in

this

work

and g, represent the fluxes of heat flow to the from the top, bottom and sides, respectively.

system

terms g, ,g, and g, are taken to represent the overall heat fluxes, their and magnitudes represent the

contributions of the heat fluxes of the individual hea transfer mechanisms shown in Figure The values of 2. g,

,g, and q3 could be calculated from the expressions of

Millman et al. , Pikal et al.[30, 311 and Liapis and [81 Bruttini [1-31.

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

501

9 1

r = O
t = O

DRIED

z 2 =

I 7k
I

- SUBLIMATION INTERFACE Z = H ( r , t ) l t = t*

FROZEN + r LAYER 11,

DRYER SHELF
Ficrure 3: Lyophilization

z = L

q2
of a Pharmaceutical Product in a Cylindrical Vial and View of the Moving Sublimation Interface Separating the Dried (I) and Frozen (11) Layers of the Sample (adapted from Reference [3]) .

502

Liapis and Bruttini

The system in Figure

3 may be thought of as a

cylindrical vial (with a flat bottom) containing a pharmaceutical material being freeze-dried. In this system , P
=

PmER

(vial

without

closure),

and

for

case that the vial has a closure its resistance to ma transfer could be calculated by the simple expression presented in the work of Pika1 et al. sublimation the interface at the ttime is = 0 has
[31]

.
to

The After
t a =time

planar.

lyophilization

process

progressed

t the moving interface has acquired a parabolic shape '

because The

of

energy

entering the

along

the

sides

of

the in 3

via

progression

of

sublimation

interface

Figu

is similar to that shown in FigureThe variables of 2.

the system are considered to depend on the cylindrical coordinate variables r and as z, well as on the time

t;

physically the solution is expected to be symmetrical about r

= 0.

The following assumptions are made in the thickness

8,

(1) development of the mathematical model: the

of the interface is taken to be infinitesimal [l-4,

231 ; ( 2 1 a

binary

mixture

of

water

vapor

and

inert

ga

(e.g. air) flows through the dried layer; interface, the concentration of water vapor is in

(3) at the

equilibrium with the ice; in the porous region, the (4) solid matrix and the gas are in thermal

(5) equilibrium

the frozen region is considered to be homogeneous, of uniform thermal conductivity, density, and specific

Freeze-Drying of Pharmaceuticals

503

and to contain

a negligible proportion of dissolved

gases; and ( 6 ) the convective velocity .component in the r direction, v, ,, of the binary mixture of water vapor

and inert gas in the porous dried layer, is negligible when compared with the convective velocity component

in

the z direction [321. Energy balances in the dried (I) and frozen layers can now be made:
(11)

+ "

P Iec're

('2)

for 0

b,

0 S

i Z = H(t,r)

(37 1

504
in equations (37) and (38)

Liapis and Brutrini

we set aIer=aIez=aIe, pIer=pIez=pIc,

aIIr=aIIz=QII

CpIer=CpIez=CpIe,

kIIr=kIIz 8

PIIr=PIIz r CpIIr=CpIIzf and

In the dried layer, effective parameters are considere which include the physical properties of both the gas and

the solid [l-3, 241. With the above considerations, 8, equations (37) and (38) can be written as follows:

for

0 5

b,

Z = H(t,r)

The initial and boundary conditions of equations (37a) and (38a) are:

a t t = 0 , TI=TII=Tz=Te, 0

b, 0

(39)

Freeze-Drying of Pharmaceuticals and ,

gl= U F ( T ~ ~ - ( T ~ ( ~ , ~ ,0 O ) r ~ ) , ) 5 b, t>O

505

(43)

for radiation heat transfer to the upper dried surface,

506

Liapis and Bruttini

For

radiation

only,
(49)

q2= F ( T ~ , ~ - ( T ~ ~ ( ~ , 0 i L )i) b,) , t>O u ~ , r ~

For a thin film between the bottom of the vial and th lower plate,

The the

continuity dried layer

equations are:

for

water

vapor

and

inert

(az ( a

Dwin,ezaZ

0 i

b,

0 i

z i Z

H(t , r )

E ~ ( - $ ( D ~ , 0 S , r ~S b, ~ 0 ~ ~ ~

= H(t,r)

where represents convective vpz the (superficial) velocity component in thedirection of the gas (water z vapor and inerts) in the porous dried (I) layer. The convective velocity,v, of the gas in the dried layer ,, is obtained from Darcy's equation 25, 26, 33, 341 , 11-3, as follows:

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

507

(53)

, In equation (53)
variables p, and

is the permeability of the porous

dried (I) layer and is the viscosity of the gas; the p pin are obtained from

c ,

and

cpin,
( N ~ ,=

respectively. The total convective mass flux Nt,

NW, +

Ninz)

in equations (37) and (37a)

, couldbe

calculated from equation (54)

In

the

freeze-drying the values of

of

pharmaceuticals

the

differences

between

the

parameters D,in,er and Dwin,ez, and

Dinw,er arenegligible,andthus,inequations and

(51)

set (52) and we

Dwin,er=Dwin,ez=Dwin,e and

Dinw,er=Dinw,ez=Dinw,e. Thevaluesoftheparametersand Dinw,e could

be

calculated the by

expressions

in

Reference

[l1 . With the above considerations, equations (51) and

(52) can be written as follows:

508

Liapis and Bruttini

The

term C , a in a,/t

equations

(37) , (37a),

(51)and ,

(51a), accounts for the change in the concentration of sorbed or bound water with time. This term can be quantified model in rate could if be a thermodynamically constructed of the that consistent could water

mathemat the

describe with time.

the

concentration for

bound

Diff

mechanisms

removal of sorbed

or

bound a,/t C,a

water is

may be considered, and an expression for presented in section 6 of this work.

The initial and boundary conditions of equations (Sla) and (52a) are as follows:

a t t = 0 , Cpw =

0,

0 i

b,

z>O

a t t = 0 , Cpin = 0 , 0

b,

z>O

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

509

at z

= 0,

Cpw= COpw= M {

'

b, t2-0 (58)

at z =

0,

Cpin= Capin= Mi

f o . , ) I T R

0 s

I.'<

b,

t2-o (59)

510

Liapis and Bruttini

The

total

pressure z=O is P*=poin+poW at for

z=Z

Osrsb

and trO,

while the total pressure at variable pwz is obtained

is PZ=pinZ+pwZ. The

by

expression (66)

The variable pow is the chamber water vapor pressure determined by the condenser design, and the function
y (T,) represents the thermodynamic equilibrium between

the

frozen The

product

and

the

water [l-4,8,13]. vapor is completely specified

mathematical

model

material balance at the moving interface which defines its velocity as:

The

components

of

the

velocity V, are as vector,

follows:

Ereeze-Drying of Pharmaceuticals

51I and
(55)-(69)

Equations

(37)-(52)

represent the

mathematical model of the primary drying stage of the system in shownFicjure

3;

expressions the for

thermodynamic function y(T,) and equations and methods for estimating the values of the parameters of the

of this work, are presented in References[l-31.

This

model involves a moving boundary, the position of the sublimation interface, H(t,r) moving boundary can be

The position of the using the

fixed 32 , 3 51 by [3 ,

following

transformations:

A =r

r=t

By appropriate

differentiation of the function H(7,X)

I

(Z=H 7 , X ) (

and

substitution vapor mass

of flux, NW, in

the

constitutive (67), the

equa

for

the

water

equation

the

following

partial

differential

equation

for

functi

512
H ( 7 , X ) is obtained:

. ,

Liapis and Bruttini

The

initial

and

boundary

conditions

of

equation

(71)

as follows:
at
t = 0,

H = H ( O , x ) = H,

(72)

at

= Or

aH =or (X),l.o

t>o

(73)

The terms a , a , a , a , a d G/[ c/X n

+ (l-cpw/(qw

qin) )-l

in

equation (71) are evaluated [=l. at Equation (71) is a Monge [36, 371 type partial differential equation and can exhibit, under

appropri

conditions, shock type structures. The solution of this equation interface will as provide well as the its geometric shape The of the

movi of

position.

forms

(37)-(66)the in transformed domain defined by expressions (70a) - (70d), are found in Bruttini

.[321 The

end of the primary drying stage occurs [l-4,8,231 when the position of the moving sublimation interface is at
Z=L, for

Osrsb;

this

condition

implies

that

at the of

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

513

the primary drying stage there is no frozen (11) layer, and therefore, The be solved model by there is no for of moving the sublimation primary

interfac

equations the method

drying

stage

double

orthogonal

collocat

[28, 47-49]

5.2

SECONDARY DRYING STAGE

In the secondary drying stage, there is no frozen (11) layer, and thus, there is no moving sublimation interface. The secondary drying stage involves the removal of bound (unfrozen) water. The thickness of the dried layer L, and is energy balance in this layer is

has the same form as equation (37a)) as follows:

The

initial

and

boundary

conditions

of (74) are: equation

514

Liapis and Bruttini

a t r = b, kIe

(3)
=
Ir-b

S,, OSZiL,

t>O

(77)

and ,

For

radiation

heat
kre

transfer

to

the

upper

dried (80)

surfac

at

2 = L,

(2)
1. ZL

= q 2 , . Osrsb,

t>o

For

radiation

only,

for

thin

film

between

the ofbottom vial the

and

lower

plate,

The gas are

continuity given by

equations equations

for

water

vapor

and

iner

(51a) ,and (52a) respectively.

If solid diffusion of water in the amorphous particles

contributes to the transport water in the dried of (I)

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

515
( 3 4 ) - (38)

layer, should

then also

equations and (32) be included

of

Reference[l] balance v, ,, are The

in

the

material

for water. The convective (superficial) velocity and the total mass flux in the again calculated from equations initial equations following and of boundary the
z

direction, N, ,,
(54).

(53) and

conditions

for

the stage,

material are

bal

secondary

drying

given

expressions:

516

Liapis and Bruttini

The

functions

$(r,z) (r, ) , 6 (r, ) , and , z z

d(r, provide z)

of ,, the profiles T,, CPU, Cpin and C, respectively, at the

end of the primary drying stage or at the beginning of the secondary drying stage; these profiles are

obtained

by the solution of the model equations for the primary drying stage. It should be noted at this point that during the secondary drying stage, the temperature everywhere in the sample (Osrsb, 05ZSL) should be kept below the scorch temperature,, T, ,. , The model equations

for the secondary drying stage can be solved by the method of double orthogonal collocation [28, 47-491.

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

51 7

External transport resistances be can easily incorporated into the model equations by including the expressions developed by Liapis and Litchfield [11,14]. But,inawell-designedfreeze-dryertheexternal resistances should not be controlling in determining

drying time [l-4, 8-141.

6.

EXPRESSION FOR THE TERM aC&

The term a , / t C,a

in equations (l), ,(9) , (37) (24) ,

(37a) (51) (51a), and (74) accounts for the change in , , the concentration of sorbed or bound water with time. This term can be quantified if a thermodynamically consistent could mathematical the
.

model in

could the

be

constructed

that

describe

change

concentration

of

boun

water with time.

Different rate mechanisms may be

considered [l-3,8,13,26,38]. One of the rate mechanisms could be represented by the following expression, (94)

a caw a = klCm (CT-Cm) - k,C,, t

where C denotes the maximum equilibrium concentration of , sorbed water, and and k represent k , , the rate constants

of the adsorption and desorption steps, respectively. The parameters , and k can k , physically be functions set of of temperature expressions

[l-3,391; one

possible

the rate constants, and k is given by equations (95) k ,

518

Liapis and Bruttini

and (96) as follows:

In equation

(94), the term

a,/t C,a

is negative

(desorption prevails) ifk C , is greater than k,q, (cT,, C, ,)

Of course, if k2Csw>>klCp, (CT-Csw) for all times a,a C/t

everywhere in the dried layer, then the term could be set equal to significant and time. error in

- , , without introducing any kC, the calculations of the drying

In the equations of the model8 presented in the above sections, the mechanisms for water removal and transport the in porous dried layer (I) involve sublimation at the interface between the dried and (I) frozen (11) layers, convective mass transfer in the pores, Knudsen bulk and diffusion
[l-3,321,

and

adsorption/desorption (equation (94)) at the interface between the solid (surface of the pores) and vapor

fluid) phases. In certain hydrophilic amorphous systems

[l21 , it

may

be

possible

that

solid

diffusion

of

wate

the amorphous particles could also contribute to the transport of water in the dried (I) layer. The

amorpho

particles could be taken to be spherical [40], and the

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

519

transport of

waterintheamorphousparticlesis

considered to takeplacebysoliddiffusion.The differential mass balance of water in the amorphous particles (the size of these amorphous particles is rather small
[12],

and could they be called

,

microparticles) is given by

The

continuity

equations on

of

water and in

in

the dried (I) layer are then

for freeze-drying

trays
(99),

vials,

give

by expressions ( 9 8 ) and

respectively,
(98)

ac,
+

a
Z ( V P C P W ) +@-&P)

&P=

where

the

term

ac,/at

is obtained from expression (100)

520

Liapis and Bruttini

since

The

right-hand-side equation of

(100)

replaces

the

temac,/at in

in equations (98) and (99). Also, the term a , / t C,a

equations (1), (9), (24), (37), (37a), (51) (5la) , and

(74) has to be replaced by

a term with the partial

derivative of C , and the boundary following at

with respect to time, t. The initial conditions equation ( 97) may of expressions: be given by

t=O

C, = C , ,, &,

for osrasrp

(102

at

ra=O ,

-K

a c m =o ,

t>O

(103

at
(104)

ra=rpf C,,(t,rp~=g(Cpw,K) t>O ,

The function g C , ) (,K

in equation (104) represents the

equilibrium sorption isotherm; denotes the vectorof K the equilibrium constants of the equilibrium sorption isotherm g ( % , , K) . .One could be obtained by possible setting expression the a/ ca ,t term in g % , K) for (, equation

Freeze-Drying of Pharmaceuticals
(94) equal to zero; this would give the following

521

expression

for C ,

(t,rp)

where K amorphous matching

k,/k,.

The radius,

rp, of the spherical could be

particle
[42-461

(microparticle)

determined

theexperimentaldryingratedata

(especially those drying rate data obtained from the secondary drying stage discussed in the next section) with the predictions of the theoretical models

presen

above. It should be mentioned at this point that if a system has a distribution of amorphous particle sizes, then the continuity equation for the water in the amorphous particles presented above may be used to

toge

with the particle size distribution

[12, 39, 411

determine the concentration profiles of water in the amorphous particles at different times.

7 . CLOSURE

The

mathematical

models

presented

in

this

work

can

describe the dynamic behavior of the freeze-drying separation process and together with the experimental information obtained from the freeze drying of

product

having complex molecular structures (i.e., proteins), have contributed significantly in the increased
[501

522

Liapis and Bruttini

scientific engineering and understanding this of separation process. At the same time, this increased scientific and engineering understandingthe of process

indicates that additional [ S O ] significant theoretical andexperimentalresearchanddevelopmentworkis required so that the objectives for the quality of a product be of interest during and after freeze drying,

realized.

Freeze-Drying of Pharmaceuticals
NOMENCLATURE

523

radius of cylinder in Figure m 3, heat capacity kJ/kg*K

Cpin

of

gas

in

the

dried

layer,

concentration of inert gas in the dried layer, kg/m3 concentration of inert gas at x=O or concentration of water layer,kg/m3 concentration of water kg/m3 vapor vapor in
z=O,

kg/m3 dried

the

at x=O or z=o,

effective heat capacity of dried layer, kJ/kg*K effective heat capacity direction,kJ/kg*K
Cp1ez

of of

dried dried

layer layer

in in z

the the

effective heat capacity direction, kJ/kg.K

heat capacity of frozen layer, kJ/kgwK heat capacity of frozen layer in the r direction, kJ/kg*K
CpIIZ

heat capacity of frozen direction, kJ/kg*K concentration of bound particles, kg/m3

layer in

in the z the amorphous

,

water

initial concentration of bound water in the amorphous particles, kg/m3

concentration of bound water, kg/m3 dried layer initial concentration dried layer average concentration equation (110), kg/m3 of of bound bound water, water kg/m3 defined

in

524

Liapis and Bruttini

c ,
Dinw,e

maximumequilibriumconcentrationofbound (sorbed) water, kg/m3 dried layer effective pore diffusion coefficient of inert gas in a binary mixture of inert gas and vaporinthedriedlayer,m2/s

wat

effective pore diffusion coefficient in the r direction of inert gas in a binary mixture of inert gas and water vapor in the dried layer, m2/s
Dinw,ez

effective pore diffusion coefficient in the z direction of inert gas in a binary mixture of inert gas and water vapor in the dried layer, m2/s solid diffusion coefficient of bound water in the amorphous particles, m2/s effective pore diffusion coefficient of water of vapor in a binary mixture water vapor and inert gas in the dried layer, m2/s effective pore diffusion coefficient in the r direction of water vapor in a binary mixture water vapor and inert gas in the dried layer, m2/s effective pore diffusion coefficient in the z direction of water vapor in a binary mixture of water vapor and inert gas in the dried layer, ma/s activation energy (equation (95)1 , kJ/kg activation energy (equation (98.)1 , kJ/kg radiation factor view

D , Dwin,.

Dwin,er

Dwin,ez

E ,
E2

h,
H (t,

heat transfer coefficient, kW/m2K r) or function of free surface

H(T, X)

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

525

function of free surface t = 0 at (H" = H(0,r), 0 L r L b) equilibrium sorption parameter (K=k,/k,) , m3/kg vector of equilibrium sorption parameters

rate constant in equation 4 ) (9 constant in

, m3/kg.s
S-'

equation (95), m / g s 3k.

rate constant in equation , (94) constant in equation 9 6 ) , s-l ( effective thermal layer, k / . WmK

conductivity

in

the

dried r

effective thermal conductivity in the direction in the dried layer, kW/m.K effective thermal conductivity in z the direction in the dried layer,W m K k/. thermal k/. WmK conductivity in in the the frozen r

layer, in the the

thermal conductivity frozen layer, kW/m.K

direction in

thermal conductivity in thedirection z frozen layer, kW/m.K sample thickness,m molecular molecular mass flux kg/m2.s weight weight of of of inert water gas gas,

kg/kg

mole mole layer,

vapor, the

kg/kg dried

inert

in

mass flux of inert gas in z the direction of the dried layer; kg/m2.s total mass kg/m2 S flux in the dried layer (N,=Nin+Nw) ,

526

Liapis and Bruttini

N W N, W
Pin

mass fluxof water kg/m2 S

vapor

in

the

dried

layer, of

mass flux of water vapor the dried layer, kg/m2*s

inz direction the

Pi",

partial pressure of inert gas x=o or = o ; , at z N/m2 partial pressure of inert gas x=XI N/m2 at partial pressure of inert gasz=Z, N/mZ at

Pn ix
Pin2

Pw
partial N/m2
Pwx

pressure

of

water

vaporX=O or at

Z=O,

partial pressure of water vaporX"X, N/m2 at partial pressure of water vapor z=z, N/m2 at total Pressure (P=pi,+p,) in the dried layer, N/m2 total pressure at x=O z=O, N/m2 or total pressure in the drying chamber, N/m2 vial pressure, N/m2 total pressure at X=L or Z=L, N/mZ total pressure at x=XI N/mZ total pressure at z=Z, N/m2 heat flux at x=o, kW/m2 heat flux at the bottom the tray, kW/m2 of

Pwz

P
P O

Freeze-Drying of Pharmaceuticals
9 1
q2

527

overall heat flux to the top of the vial, kW/m2 overall heat flux at the bottom of the vial, kW/m2 overall heat flux to the sides of the vial, kW/m2 conduction heat flux, kW/m2 heat flux due to gaseous transfer, kW/m2 radiationheatflux,kW/mz
3),

q 3

,,,, g

qA Gs

qA RD

rradialdistanceinvial(Figure r a r P
R

radial distance in amorphous particle (equation (9711, m . radius of sphericalamorphousparticle, gas law constant
S

time, t
TI TI1

temperature in the dried layer, temperature in the frozen layer, initial temperature,
K K

T "
TlP

temperatureoflowerplate, melting temperature, scorch temperature,

K

T m T,,,, TP U
Tx

temperature of upper plate, K temperatureofmovinginterface(freeze-drying on trays) K , temperatureofmovinginterface(freeze-drying in vials) K , velocity vector of the moving interface (equations (23) and (6711, m/s

Tz

528
VP

Liapis andBruttini

the binary convective (superficial) velocity of gas mixture ofwater vapor and inert in the in 1 the porousdried (I) layer (equation (11) , m/s

vel-

convective (superficial) velocity of the binary mixture of water vapor and inert gas in the r direction in the porous dried layer, m/s (I) convective (superficial) velocity of the binary z mixture of water vapor and inert gas in the direction in the porous dried layer (I) (equation (53)1 , m/s x-coordinate, m z-coordinate, m positionofthemovinginterface, positionofthemovinginterface,
Letters

V. P

X
Z

X
Z

m m

Greek

y(T,)

functional expression of the thermodynamic equilibrium between the water vapor and the T,, frozen layer at the temperature, of the T, (pwx=y 1 , N/m2 (T,) moving sublimation interface, functional expression of the thermodynamic equilibrium between the water vapor and frozen layer at the temperature, of the T, , T , (T,) moving sublimation interface, (pwz=y ) , N/m2 heat of sublimation of ice, kJ/kg heat of vaporization of bound water, kJ/kg void fraction in the dried layer defined in the

y(T,)

dimensionless space equation (70d)

K

variable

permeability of the porous dried layer, m2 (I) space variable defined in equation (70a), m

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

529

viscosity of the binary mixture of mater vapor and inert gas in the porous dried layer, kg/mes dimensionless space equation (70c)
PIe
PIer

variable

defined

in

effective densityof the dried (I) layer, kg/m3 effective density of the dried (I) layer in the r direction] kg/m3 effective densityof the dried (I) layer in the z direction, kg/m3 density of the frozen layer, kg/m3 density kg/m3 of the frozen layer in the r

P1ez

PI1 PIIr

direction

PIIZ

density of the frozen layer in the z direction] kg/m3 Stefan-Boltzmann constant

U
7

time variable defined in equation (70b), S

Subscripts

dried layer I frozen I1 layer

530
REFERENCES
1.

Liapis and Bruttini

Liapis, A. I., and Bruttini, R., 1994, "A Theory for the Primary and Secondary Drying Stages of t Freeze-Drying of Pharmaceutical Crystalline and Amorphous Solutes: Comparison between Experimental Data and Theoryv1, Separations Technology, 4, pp.
144-155.

2.

Liapis, A. I. , and Bruttini, R. , 1995, "Freeze Drying", in A. S. Muj umdar (ed) "Handbook of Industrial Drying1' (second edition) , Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York and Basel, 309-343. pp. Liapis, A. I., and Bruttini, R., 1995, "Freeze Drying of Pharmaceutical Crystalline and Amorphous Solutes in Vials: dynamic multi-Dimensional models of the primary and secondary drying stages and qualitative features of the moving interfacell, Drying Technology,13, pp.43-72. Mellor, J. D., 1978, llFundamentalsofFreezeDrying11 Academic Press London. , , Dogan, F., and Hausner, H. , 1988 , "The Role of Freeze-Drying in Ceramic Powder Processing" in Vol. 1 (Ceramic Powder Ceramic Transactions, , E. Science 11) (G. L. Messing, R. Fuller, Jr., and , The American Ceramic Society, H. Hausner, Editors) Inc., Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A., pp. 127-134. Johnson, S. M., Gusman,M. I., and Hildenbrand, D. L. , 1988, "Synthesis of Superconducting Powders by Freeze-Drying", Materials in Research Society 121, Better Ceramics Symposium Proceedings, Volume Through Chemistry 111, (C. Brinker, D. E. Clark, J. and D. R. Ulrich, Editors) , Materials Research Society, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 413pp.
420.

3.

4. 5.

6.

7.

Goldblith, S. A., Rey, L., and Rothmayr, W. W., 1975 , "Freeze Drying and Advanced Food Technolog , Academic Press, London, England.
M.,

8.

Millman, M. J., Liapis, A. I., and Marchello, J. 1985, "An Analysis the of Lyophilization Process Using a Sorption-Sublimation Model and , AIChE Journal, 31, Various Operational Policies11

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f

531

pp. 1594-1604.
9.

Tang, M. M., Liapis, A. I. , and Marchello, J. M., 1986, "A Multi-Dimensional Model Describing the Lyophilization of a Pharmaceutical Product in a Vial1I, in Proceedings of the Fifth International 1, (A. S. Mujumdar, Drying Symposium, Volume Editor) , Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, New 57-65. York, New York, U.S.A., pp. King, C. J., 1971, I1Freeze-Drying FoodsI1, of Chemical Rubber Press, Co. Cleveland, Ohio, U.S .A. . Liapis, A. I., and Litchfield, R. J., 1979, llOptimal Control of a Freeze-Dryer: I. Theoretical Development and Quasisteady-State Analysis, Chemical Engineering Science,34, pp. 975-981. Pikal, M. J., Shah, S., Roy, M. L., and Putman,R . , 1990, "The Secondary Drylng Stage of Freeze-Drying: Drying Kinetics as a Function of Temperature and Chamber Pressure, International of Journal Pharmaceutics, 60, pp. 203-217. Litchfield, R. J., and Liapis, A. I., 1979, "An adsorption Sublimation Model for a Freeze Dryer", Chemical Engineering Science,34, pp. 1085-1090. Litchfield, R. , and A. I. Liapis,1982, "Optimal J. Control of a Freeze-Dryer:II. Dynamic Analysis", Chemical Engineering Science,37, pp. 45-55. Bruttini, R., Rovero, G., and Baldi, G. , 1991, I1Experimentation and modelling of pharmaceutical lyophilizationusingapilotplant1I,Chemical Engineering Journal, 45, B 6 7 - B 7 7 . Snowman, J. W., 1988, llLyophilization Techniques, Equipment, and Practicev1, in Downstream Processes: Equipment and Techniques, AlanR. Liss, Inc., New U.S.A., pp. 315-351. York, New York, Van Zyl, A. , 1988, "The application of freezedrying the in chemical processing industry", ChemSA, pp. 182-185.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

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18.

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Holland, C. D. and Liapis, A. I., 1983, llComputer Methods for Solving Dynamic Separation Problems1I, McGraw-Hill, New York, New York, U.S.A.. Belter, P. A., Cussler, E. and Hu, W.-S., 1988, L., IlBioseparations-Downstream Processing for Biotechnologyt1. Wiley-Interscience, New York, New York, U.S.A.. Litchfield, R. J., Farhadpour, F. A., and Liapis, A. I., 1981, llCyclical Pressure Freeze Drying", Chem. Eng. Sci.,36, 1233-1238. Livesey,R.G.andRowe,T. W. G., 1987, "A Discussion of the Effect of Chamber Pressure on Heat and Mass Transfer in Freeze-Drying", Journal 41, 169-171. of Parenteral Science and Technology, Masterson, P. M., 1989, IIApplying Automated Process Control Lyophilization", to Pharmaceutical Technology, 48-54. Roy, M. L. and Pikal, J., 1989, llProcess Control M. in Freeze Drying: Determination of the End Point of Sublimatlon Drying by an Electronic Moisture Sensor", Journal of Parenteral Science and Technology, 43, 60-66. Geankoplis, C. J. , IITransport Processes and Unit Operations11, 1983 , Allyn and Bacon, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.. Bird, R. B., Stewart, W. E., and Lightfoot, E. N., 1960, llTransport Phenomenal1, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, New York, U.S.A. Liapis, A. I. and MCCOY, M. A., 1992, !!Theory of Perfusion Chromatography", Chromatogr., 599, 87J.
104.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

Liapis,I. Litchfield A.and R. J., 1979, llNumerical Solution of Moving Boundary Transport ProblemsMedia Finite in Orthogonal by , 3, Collocationll, Computers and Chem. Eng. 615-621. Villadsen, J. and Michelsen, M. L., 1978, llSolution ofDifferentialEquationModelsbyPolynomial Approximationv1, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs,

28.

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New Jersey, u.S.A.

29.

CiSe, M. D., 1982, Freeze-Drying Cycle Design: Effects of Process Physics, AIChE Summer National Meeting, Cleveland, Paper 22d.

30.

Pikal , M. J. , Shah, S., Senior, D. and Lang, J. , E., 1983, PhysicalChemistryofFreeze-Drying: Measurement of Sublimation Rates for Frozen Aqueous Solution Microbalance a by Technique, J. Pharmaceutical Sci., 72, pp. 635-650. Pikal, M. J., Roy, M. L., and Shah, S . , 1984, Mass and Transfer Vial Heat in Freeze-Drying of J. Pharmaceuticals: Vial, the Role of Pharmaceutical Sci.,73, pp. 1224-1237. Bruttini, R., 1994, Analytical,Modelling,and Experimental Studies of the Primary and Secondary of Drying Stages Freeze-Drying the of Pharmaceutical Crystalline and Amorphous Solutes, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Missouri-Rolla, U.S.A. Stephanopoulos, G., and Tsiveriotis,K., 1989, The Effect of Intraparticle Convection on Nutrient Transport in Porous Biological Pellets, Chemical Engineering Science, 44, pp. 2031-2039. Liapis, A. I., and McCoy, M. A., 1994, Perfusion Chromatography: Effect of Micropore Diffusion on Column Performance in System Utilizing Perfusive Adsorbent Particles withBidisperse a Porous Structure, Journal of Chromatography A, 660, pp.
85-96.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

Duda, J. L., Malone, M. F., Notter, R. H., and Vrentas, J. S., 1975, Analysis of Two-Dimensional Diffusion- Controlled Moving Boundary Problems, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 18, pp. 901-910. Garabedian, P. R., 1964, Partial Differential Equations, Wiley, New York. Courant, R., and Hilbert, D., 1966, Methods of Mathematical Physics, vol. 2, Interscience/Wiley, New York.

36. 37.

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Ruthven, D. M., 1984, Principles of Adsorption and Adsorption Processes. John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York, .A. S U. Liapis, A. I. , 1990, Modelling Affinity Chromatography. Sep. Purif. Methods, 19, pp. 133210.

39.

40.

Liapis, A. I. and McCoy, M. A., 1994, Perfusion Chromatography: The Effect of Micropore Diffusion on Column Performance in Systems Utilizing Perfusive Adsorbent Particles with a Bidisperse Porous Structure, J. Chromatogr., 660, 85-96. King, W. E., and Jr. Jones, W. S. , 1981, Noncatalytic Fluid- Solid Reaction in an Agitated Slurry of Polydisperse Particles, Chem. Eng. Sci.,
36, 1841-1848.

41.

42.

Liapis,A.I.andMarchello, J. M., 1982, A Modified Sorption-Sublimation Model for FreezeDryers, In Proceedings of the Third International Drying Symposium, Volume 2, pp. 479-486. J. C. Ashworth Wolverhampton, ed., England: Drying Research Limited. Petropoulos, J. H. , Petrou, J. K., and Liapis, A. I., 1991, Network Model Investigation Gas of Transport in Bidisperse Porous AdsorbentS. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 30, 1281-1289. Mason, E. A. and Malinauskas, A. P., 1983, Gas Transport in Porous Media-The Dusty-Gas Model, Elsevier, New York, New York, U.S.A. Bates, D. M. and Watts, D. G., 1988, Nonlinear Regression Analysis and its Applications. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, New York, U.S.A. Seber, G. A. F. and Wild, C. J., 1989, Nonlinear Regression. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, New York, U.S.A. Liapis, A. I. , Xu, Y. Crosser, 0. K. , and Tongta, , A., 1995, Perfusion Chromatography: The Effects of Intra-Particle Convective velocity and Microsphere Size on Column Performance, Chromatogr. A, 702, J.
45-57.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

Freeze-Drying o Pharmaceuticals f
48.

535

Xu, Y., 1995, The Modelling Analysis and of Adsorption Elution and Stages of Perfusion Chromatographic Systems, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Missouri-Rolla, U.S.A. Heeter, G. A . and Liapis, A. I. , 1995, Perfusion Chromatography: Periodic Performance of its Countercurrent Column Operation and Comparison J. with Fixed-Bed Operation, Chromatogr. A, 711, 3 21.

49.

50.

Liapis, A. I. , Pikal, M. J., and Bruttini, R. , 1996, Research and Development and Needs Opportunities in Freeze Drying, Drying Technology, Volume 14, Issue Number6.

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

A MODELFOR SUPERHEATED STEAM DRYING OF PARTICLES IN AN

IMPINGING STREAM DRYER

S.M. Hosseinalipour and Arun S. Mujumdar

Thermal Fluids Group Department of Chemical Engineering,McGd University Montreal, Canada Key words: Drying,k--E model, Lagrangian modeling, impinging opposingjets, jets, particle trajectory, particulate drymg, residence time, superheated steam, two phse flow, turbulent flow

ABSTRACT
Impinging stream contactors provideanovel efficient configuration for drying andor chemical reactionsinvolvingparticulates, pastes or suspensionswhichcanbe dispersed in a flowing stream. Essentially they consistof one or more highly turbulent impingement " zones formed by collision of two opposing jets in a confied channel or duct. The objective of t i study is to present computational fhid dynamic predictions hs for drying of particles entrained m two-dimensional"opposing jet" contactors using superheated steam as the drying medium. A single phase flow studywas performed first in which a numberof different turbulence models were.tested ( e.g. highReynolds, LamBremhorst, Launder and S h a m models etc.). Then the numerical simulation for drying of a single particle in superheated steam is presented. Finally a two phase simulation model presented to investigate the steam dryi s characteristics of a two dimensional n opposing jet contactor. The effect of particles on the flow is considered &a additional
l'

537

538

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

momentum,energyandmasssource terms m the momentumequations. To simulate particle dispersion by turbulent motions in the carrier fluid a random-walk model was deployed.Wall-particlecollisions were modeledstochasticallyassuminga Gaussian distriiution of the wall roughness angle. A power law, M e volume method based on the "SIMPLEC" algorithm was used to solve the governing equations and the RungeKutta fourth-order scheme was employed to solve the particle motion, energy and mass transfer equations. The two-phase turbulent flow model was found to give satisfictory agreement with published results flow in a two dimensional channel. for

INTRODUCTION
The two impinging stream (or opposing jet) configuration has attracted research efforts only recently. In t i cdonfiguration two oppositely directed fluid stream are made to hs impinge normally. As a result of their collision a relatively small impingement zone of high turbulence intensity is formed which offers excellent conditions for enhancing the interphase heat and r r rates. This special characteristic opposingjets makes mass d te of them a good contacting method applicable m a large variety of fields. For example, Kitron and Tamk (l) studied the performance of a coaxialtwo-impmging-streams reactor. They reported a very high volumetric heat transfer efficiency of such reactors. Tleu investigation also showed that the heat transfer co&cient between the gas and particles WBS independent of the volume of the reactorwell as ofthe distance between as the inlet pipes. Wood et al. (2) presented results of experimental and computational studies of the fluid mechanics of two laminar cylindrical opposed jets m an injection of flow moldingprocess. Their experimentalandnumericalresultsreportedonset oscillations at higher Reynolds numbers. KudraandMujumdar (5) have presentedanin-depthliteraturereview on the various aspects of the opposing jet technique and its applications. Applications of the ma impinging stream configuration are covered m detail recentbook by Tamir (4). Superheated steam drying (SSD)is gaining renewed interest m commercial scale drying of pulp, foodstuffs,chemicals, biomass etc. SSD uses steam m direct contactwith the material to be dried. This concept was i proposed by Hausbraud 1908 (2). As n t t m

Superheated Steam Drying

539

the material to be dried. This concept was & proposed by Hausbrand in 1908 (5). A s t s noted byMujumdar (G),steam is potentially an attractive drying agent for any direct dryer as fluid flash, suchspray, bed, spouted bed or impinging stream dryers. Considering the advantages of superheated steamdrying and alsothe high heat and mass transfer capabilityof OJ systems this study of the characteristics of an opposing jet dryer (OJD) using superheated steam was undertaken. The present work is a &t attempt in s this emerging area.

THEORETICAL MODEL
Continuous Phase Governing Equations
A realistic investigation of the drying characteristics OJ systems requires a two-phase of simulationmodelmwhichcompletetwo-waycouplingbetween the continuous and dispersed phases is incorporated. The gas phase is modeled by a system of steady two dimensional turbulence equations written m the Eulerian fiame while the particle equationsarewritten in theLagrangianfiame.Two-waycoupling is consideredvia interaction source terms in the governing equations. A two-equation k E turbulence model is used to compute the gas phase flow properties. The equation motion for the of particles is the simplified Basset, Boussinesq and Oseen (B-B-0) equation. Polydispersed particle dynamics and particle tubulent dispersionaremodeledusing a Monte Carlo method. The effect of turbulence intensity on heat transfer rate is considered via a new model. A stochastic model is applied to account for particle-wall collisions. Finally, the superheated steam drying model considers hygroscopic both and non-hygroscopic materials to define the particulate drying kiuetics.

Mean flow equations

The time-averaged conservation equations

of mass, momentum energy and

:

for

evaporatingparticlesin a hotgasarewrittenasfollows

540

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

2. Momentum:

d a d - ( tP v i ) + a x - ( p v j v i ) J
3. Energy:

aP
'xi

"ji
' x j

" "

+$v. +$v. 1 t,p

In the above equations, and terms) of particles to be defined later. model was employed. Thus

S,,.p represent interaction terms (or source To account turbulence, an eddy viscosity type

in which p , is :

Two-phase turbulence model

The two-equation effective diffusivity model introduced in the previous part is used for gas-particle flow prediction by adding modulation terms resulting fiom the presence of particles m the gas flow. The turbulent kinetic energy, k, and its dissipation rate, c, can be modeledfiom the following turbulent traxkport equations, Shuen (l):

Superheated Steam Drying

1. Turbulent kinetic energy:

541

2. Turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate:

dt

dx. J

dx.

(9

where :

S presents additional the source due tenns to the presence of particles the and @*P evaporation, Berlemont et al. (a). A summary of the source terms is presented m Table 1.

Table 1. Additional source terms dueto prescence ofparticles and evaporation

542

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

Particle Trajectoy Model

In this study the particle phase is assumed to behave as a discrete system with velocity and temperature slip between the gas and theparticle phases.Particlegroupsare identified by theirinitialsize distriiution, eachhaving the samesize,velocityand temperature at any time. Each particle group moves along its own trajectory fkom a specified initialposition; the particle mass, velocity'and temperature changes are tracked along the trajectory by solving the ordinary differential governing equations. The equivalentparticle mass, momentumandenergysources or sinks arecomputed via additional sourceterms m the governing equations the gas flow. for

Equation o Motionfor Particles f

The equation of motion of a slowly moving, accelerating, rigid sphere in still fluid was developed by Basset @),Boussinesq (U)and Oseen (U).The generalized equation for the caseof a fluid moving with variable velocity is (Baxter (E) : )
d ui m p dt
inemnl force

31r,udpf(vi-q)
c

ax,

sready-state aemdynamicdrag

d buoymrey

In the case of the Magnus force,nj,l i collinear with particle angular momentum s vector and for Safhnan force, nk2 is in the direction of the gradient m the k component of gas phase velocity. The third-order tensors, and q b are dehed as follows: sijk

Superheated SteamDrying
1

543

for ijk = 123, 231 or 312 for ijk = 132, 213, or 321 otherwise

and
1
0

for ijk = 123, 312, 213,

...

(non - repeated indices)

(repeated indices)

for ijk = 124 224 322,

...

(14)

The steady-state aerodynamic drag of the particle accounts for both skin fiction and form drag imposed the particle by a steady relativegas velocity. on The forces considered m the present model are the drag force, the gravitational forceand lf force due to shear stresses anddue to particle rotation. The following it equations present governing equations of particles motion m carrier stream: the the the
particle motion:

particle position:

d.? - = vp dt

particle rotation:

The above equations particles for motion can be integrated analytically or numerically to computepositionandvelocity(translationalandrotational) of the particles. Thegas velocity m above equations the instantaneous local velocity. the is

Model for Turbulence Modulation

The additional sourceterms h'kp and sGp the modulation effect mto the governing bring equations for the gas phase (Eqs. 8 and 9). Shuen (U)derived the expressions basedon

544

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

the gas phase momentum Eq. (2) with the interface sourceterm S + . , written as follows:

These can be

The instantaneous properties the two-phase interaction force in the Lagrangian frame of take the following o m f

where & is the instantaneous particle velocity, zp is the particle relaxation time,mp and m e , are the particle mass and evaporation rate, respectively. The particle relaxation time is defined as the time it takes a particle released rest to acheive 63 % of fiee stream from velocity andis expressed as follows:

(18) Considering the Reynolds decomposition procedure, Eq. can be rewritten as:
sk.p

'i'

&.p

(22)

Thus it is possiile to evaluate the modulation source term directly without modeling by considering a Gaussian distriiution for v;.,but for the &-equation the modulation term e n no has to bemodeled. M andO'Rourke (U)proposedamodelwhichuses modeling for the k equation and the following model for E equation: the

Superheated Steam D y n rig

545

Turbulent Dispersion o Particles f

Lagrangian modelsof turbulent transportof particles must account fluctuations inthe for gas velocity if they are to succeed as accurate representations of dispersed two-phase flow. Turbulence effects on particles are modeled by adding the fluctuating velocity to themeangasvelocitywhentrackingparticlesthroughacontinuoussuccession of turbulent eddies. Assuming isotropic turbulence Gaussian and probability density function (PDF) of the stochasticvelocitydistribution the stochastictrajectories are calculated by usingthe well-known Monte Carlo method. The standard deviation of the Gaussian dimiution is equal to k ,where k is the speciiic turbulent kinetic energy of the gas phase in the computational cell m which particle is located.

,/$

The sum of mean and fluctuating gas velocities transfers momentumthe particle to which sees the eddy. The interaction time (the time which a particle needs to cross the eddy) depends on the eddy life time and the particle transit time w t i each eddy. I ihn n present work the Lagrangian integral time scale suggested by Tennekes and Lumley (U) is used l 1 3 v The length scale,l, is obtained fiom dimensional analysis:

trz

ZZ-

Vf3

&

andassuming isotropic turbulence (v w-ritten as:

= 23 k ) /

the Lagrangianintegraltimescale

is

2 k rrE -9 E

Particle- Wall Collision Model

Particle-wall collisionis an essential event occuring in all coniked gas-particle flows. It has considerable influence on the trajectory of the particles after impact. For a realistic numerical calculation it is necessary to include models which simulate the momentum

546

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

loss during collisions. It is also necessary to consider the effectof wall roughness. Tsuji et al. ( 6 have calculatedthe change of the particle translational and rotational velocities 1) during the "bouncing" process fiom impulse equations of classical the mechanics. Three possible types of collisions can be distinguished:

+
+

particle stops sliding in compression period. particle stops sliding m the recovery period. particle continuesto slide alongthe wall throughout thecollision.

The corresponding velocities after sliding and non-sliding collision are summarized m Table 2 in a generalthree dimensional form Table 2. Prticle velocity components after particle-wall collision prosess
Velocity

vp2= - evpl

Non-sliding

@ypl

= W',,

Vp1 =

-W p l

Subscripts 1 and 2 refer to the conditions before and after collision, respectively. p, is the static coefficientof fiiction and e i the coefficient of restitution relating the s normal velocity components. up, vp and upare the translational particle velocities parallel and normal to the wallandtheparticle angular velocityrespectively. YR1 expressesthe

Superheated Steam Drying

547

particle-dace relative velocity and W; and yzdefhe the direction of the motion of the particle contact pointto the wall surface, given by following relations:

= The static and dynamic Ection coefficients are assumed to be puo 0.4 and pd = 0.3, respectively ( Tsuji et al. (l6) According to Brauer (U) coefficient of restitution, ). the depends strongly on the particle velocity, the collision'angle and the material properties of the particle and the wall. Experimental studies performed by Goval et al. (B) have shown that the coefficient of restitution is subject to some scatter due to wall roughness and non-sphericities in the particle shape. h order to bring the effect of wall roughness into the calculationthemodelproposed bySommerfeld (19) is used m this study. According to this model ( originated by Tsuji et ul (U)and (2) the plane wall ofthe ) channels is replaced by a virtual wall when the particle collision angle is below a certain value. This method was introduced to eliminate particle settling, so as to conform with experimental observations. This "abnormal bouncing" model causes an increase m the collision angle by a certain value given by a random number. A Gaussian distribution with a given standard deviationA y and a mean value of zero degree considered for the is wall roughness angle.

?'he dependence of the normal coefficient of restitution on the collision angle is assumed to follow the relation proposed Grant and Tabakoff by (a).
e =

2 9 = - ( 0.49 a: - 156 a1 + 1.76 a1 ) + 0.993

vPI

(29)

Superheated Steam Drying o a Single Particle f

Drying of a single particle m an opposing jet contactor with superheated steam as the dxying medium is modeled mathematically. governing The equations were sobed numerically for two cases of different initialmoisture content in the particle. The basic assumptions made the model are as follows: the spherical wet particles entrained in for is

548

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

superheated steam at atmospheric pressure and saturation temperature. Three merent periods are consideredin the drying process and the governing equationsfor each period are presentedas follows.

Heat-up period
h this period the particle is heated to the boiling point of water at atmospheric pressure. As no condensation and drying take place, only heat transfer governs the process at this stage: dT N U , ~ ~ ~ , , ( T T,) = m C 2

p p

dt

in which Nu,, i calculated by the following correlation,CM, et. ai. (a): s

Nu, = l+(l+Re,,Pr) f(Re,)

f @e,)
Constant rate period

=1

Re,, I 1
I400 .

f e e , ) = Re,on Re,

Failing rate period

A power law type relation assumed for drying rate-moisture contentin this period. It is is also assumed that the particle is small enough so that its temperature is uniform within the particle.It is m e r assumed that radiant heatta sa is unimportant. The goveming r nf equations m this period areas follows:
(33)

Superheated Steam Drying

549

Due to the assumption of non-hygroscopicity no heat of desorption is considered in the righthandsideofEq. (33). The properties for superheated steam were taken fiom Thomas et. al. (B) were fitted as polynomials over temperature range 100-600 and the "C.

SOLUTION PROCEDURE
The conservation equations the continuous phase solved usingthe control volume for are method incorporating the SIMPLEC algorithm proposed by van D o o m 1 and Raithby (24). A l l l y staggered grid system was adopted for the velocity components and the scalar variables. A power law scheme was used to discretize the convection terms. The TDMA andline-by-linemethodwereused to solve the setofalgebraicequations iteratively. Under-relaxation factors were employed to promote smooth convergence of the discretized equations. Typical relaxation factors were 0.5, 0.5, 0.6, 0.4, 0.4 and 0.6 for U, v, P', k , E and T, respectively.The turbulent viscosity was under-relaxed a value at of 0.7. To venfythealgorithm,numerical tests were performed to ensurethat the solutions were grid-independent. In low-Reynolds programs successive doubling of the grid was chosen as the grid independence test strategy and in each trial half of the grids in the vertical direction were placed m a verysmall zone near the wall and the rest were placed m the core. In the high-Reynolds program a doubling procedure and changing the exponent of power law grid generation formula optimum gridwas selected. Typically the a 70 x 47 grid for the high-Reynolds cases and a 70 x 95 grid for the low-Reynolds cases were used in the program The following algorithm was usedthe two-phase computations: in sohe the continuous phase governing equations method (by mentioned above) without particles; solve the particle trajectory and energy equations by tracking the group of particles released fiom entrance ports i order to evaluate the history of position, temperature n

550

and

Hosseinalipour

Mujumdar

rotational speed the moisture content each group. A Runge-Kutta fourth order and of method was usedfor t i step; hs evaluate interaction the source due terms evaporation; to the presenceparticles of
and

solve the continuous phase governing equations considering particle the source terms;
0

repeate the second fourth steps until the convergence criterion satislied. to is

Considering the discretized equation of the goveIlling equations for continuous phase (Eq. 35) the maximum normalized errorof all dependent variables was monitored in each iteration and the convergence criterion was chosen Eq. (36). as

where Qj and NOG the values the variable andthe corresponding number of grids are of respectively. This criterion ensuresa reasonable checkof the accuracy ofsolution which is also independent of the number of grids chosen each simulation. in

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Computer Program Verrfication
In order to examine the performance of the computer code the steady two dimensional turbulent flow m a side-inlet rectangular combustor with an aspect ratio of 4:l was simulated. This simulation was conducted with the geometry tested experimentally by Liou et al. (Z), la. The incoming jets after head-on collision against each other Fig. undergo a 90 degree t r before entering the combustor channeL Two pairs of dounterun rotating vortices are produced by sudden expansion of the ilt flow, by the shear of the ne the jet,and bythe spread of the impinging jets.

Superheated Steam Drying

551

.l

( m
025 03 0.31.0 122 16

21

3.0

4%

9%

1.o

0%

m
Figure 1. Turbulent flow m inlet side combustor: (a) contiguration; (b) streamlines; (c) comparisons between predicted and experimental axial velocity distriiution at different axial locations

to

552

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

Simulations were conducted at a Reynolds number of 4.1 x lo4 based on the combustor hydraulic diameter 2H and average fluid velocity. Leschziner and Rodi's streamline curvature modification (SCM) (Z)was incorporated m the numerical simulation. The results consist of streamlines contours, comparison of the computed axial velocity and profjles with the experimental data obtained by Liou et al. ( g ) the recirculation zone lengths. Plots of the nondimensional axial velocity along the axial direction at ten different axial locations are given m Fig. lc. The streamline plot is presented m Fig. lb. The agreement with the experimental data of Liou et al. (25) is very good both the shape of the velocity profjles and the magnitudes of the velocity are reasonably predicted. The computed and measured secondary recirculating zone lengths are presented in Table 3 and again good agreement is found. No data are available for heat transfer, however. Table 3. Comparison of experimental and numerical results for vortex sizes in a side inlet combustor, Liou et al.

(a)

Numerical Result

Single Phase Flow Results

Figure 2 describes the basic flow configuration modeled for the single phase studies. Al l fluid properties are taken to be constant. Both upper and bottom surfaces are held at a constant temperature different fiom the gas temperature. The boundary conditions for this domain are as follows:

Nozzle exit: A power law turbulent velocity profjle in ducts was speciiied as nozzle exit velocity:

k = 0.O03vje,

= cp k3" I 0.03 (W I 2 )

(38)

Superheated Steam Drying

553

Nozzle centerline: The jet centerhe axis was taken as the symmetry plane which implies all the variable
gradients are zero except for velocity componentU which is zero. the

Solid wall:
The no-slip boundary condition velocities and specified values temperatures were for for used alongthe solid walls.
, , w I .

= VIw,

=O

' .

q,w. =

= 45 "C

(40)

The boundary conditions for the tubulent kinetic energy and energy dissipation rate are listed Table 4. In the case ofthe high-Reynolds number model simulation m the law of the wall is applied at the upper and lower walls. The boundary conditions for k and E are based on vanishing normal derivative of k at the wall and tubulent energy production equal turbulent energy dissipation near wall to the

Outlet:
Fullydevelopedboundaryconditionswereassumed at theoutletsurface. variable gradients are zero except for velocity componentv which is zero: the

Thus all

; I?

. -. .....-

Figure 2. Contiguration of flow field studiedsingle phase investigation m

554

Hosseinalipour and Mujumaizr

The eddy viscosity turbulence models tested m this part of the study are summarized m Table 4. These are models due to Jones and Launder (27) , Launder and Sharma (2s) , Lam and Bremhorst (29), Abid (30),Fan et ul. (31)and Abe et al. (32) which hereafter are referred to as standard model, LS, LB,AB,FLB and AKN, respectively. Table 4 High and Low Reynolds
1
. I

Abe-Kmdoh Nagano

Fan-Bamat Lakshminanvana

1.4

1.9
1.4 _. .

1.so 1.0
. I

1.4

1.0

10 .

I+[?)

1.0

(1 -ap(-OOlSSR,))I

4 - 1 4 1(1+ R 1501')

0
0

k, = O
&"

k, = 0

= 2 vkp/y;

);(
W

=o

);(
W

=o

Ew

=o

Superheated Steam D y n rig

555

where

Theseequationscontain Enre empirical constants: cp C, , C?, 0, and a,. The three damping functions and f , along with terms D and E are added to the standard model P m order to make possible the integration of the turbulence equations downto the wall. Pate1 et a . (33) have discussed the role of each one of these additional terms in detail. l The number of empirical constants and additional terms each one of the models used for are summarizedin Table 4.

Flow FieldResults
The flow fieldin the form of streamline contours is presented m Fig. 3. Two small recirculation zones are formed on the top and bottom walls. The simulation shows that theeffect of jet Reynoldsnumber on the length of these zones is negligible,while decreasing the aspectratio of the channelcauses a decrease inboth.Thishappens because by decreasing the aspect ratio the top and bottom boundary layers meet each other at a shorter distancefiom the jet centerline and consequentlya d recirculation e r zone is generated.

Figure 3. How field inOJ configuration ( single phase study): Re=4000,HM=1.5

556

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

The normalized pressure distriiution on the solid wallis shown m Fig. 4. The pressureat the stagnation pomt at the mid-plane of the channel was chosen to normalize pressure. AU the turbulencemodelstestedpredictverysimilarresults as far as the flow is concerned.

10

20

30

x/w/2

Figure 4. Normalized pressure distributionon the bottomwall. Re = 4000, H/W=1.5 The normalized shear stress along the solid walls is computed as C = , l O.Spv,fi. , z Fig. 5 shows Cy calculated by various turbulence models. The standard k E model is expected to show some degree of over-prediction over a region downstreamof the jet discharge zone.This means ahigher wall shear stress is predicted bythis modeL Launder noted that the standard model predictsa high generation rate of turbulence energy m modelingflowswithnormalstraining. This excess of turbulence energy creates a higher level of turbulent viscosity whichis convected downstream and can cause underof prediction of the recirculation zones and over-predictionthe skin fiiction coefficients.

(x),

a S
L
0

0.G 2

.c
0

2 8

O.O1 0
(0.01) (0.02)
0
I

., .,
I .

10

20 x/ W12

30

30

Figure 5. Skin fiction coefficient distriiution on the bottom wall:R e 4 0 0 0 , H/W=1.5

Superheated Steam D y n rig

557

Heat Transfer Results

where

hr

(qv- qer). value of h, can be normalizedin the form of a local Nusselt number as The

is the local heat transfer coefficient based

on temperature difference

follows:

/ of where W and ; are the nozzle width and thermal conductivity the fluid, respectively.

In the high-Reynolds number model the heatflux fiom the wall is calculated using following empiricalwall law:

In the low-Reynolds number modelsqw, is calculated using Fourier's law:

Figure 6 presents the predicted Nusselt number distriiutions using different turbulence models. All the models predict a peak at the reattachment point and decay just after or somedistance M e r downstream. Most of the low-Reynoldsnumber versions predict aflatter Nu profile over a largerportion of the channel This interesting feature of such systemsmay be due to a higher turbulent energy which causes stronger mixing downstream of the impingement zone.

558
50 I

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

i

40

0'

10

20
x / FY/2

30

40

Figure 6. Nu distribution on the bottomwalk Re = 4000, H/W= 1.5 Concerning the predictive performance of the turbulence models tested, the LB model has convergence problems dueto its inconvenient boundary condition E. FLB for and AI3 models have almost no problems in this regard. The E boundary value at wall the in the AB involves second derivativeof k with respect to the normal distance fiom the wall, which makes it alittlebit difficult and tricky to handle. LS model has no convergence problem but is strongly grid dependent. The AKN model performs very well as far as grid independence which can be attriiuted to its moreconsistentand correct boundary condition for E The HR model does not yield good Nu prediction m the stagnation zones due to its use of wall functions, but as fkr as the flow field is concerned it can be a reliable model especially when flow is not vortexdominant. On the the otherhand, it is very robust due lower number of grids needed. to The main problem m the simulation heat transferin the OJ configurations arisesin the of recirculation zones especially the separation and reattachment points where fiction at the velocity 9 becomes zero and consequently a physically meaningless result predicted is by models whichuse fiction velocity to account for near wall and low-Reynolds effects. Among.the models tested m this work, AJCN and A3 models which do not use fiction T velocity are expected to havemore a resonable prediction for Nusselt number distriiutionthan the other models. The effectofjet Reyn'olds numberon heat transfer along confinement channel wall the is presented m Fig. 7. Increasing the jet Reynolds number causes a flatter Nu distriiution

Superheated Steam Drying

559

along the channel walls whichhas some potentially valuable merit m some applications, i.e. cooling of electronic elements.
120 S 6

k 1005 80-

-.- "-----""""" -.-.-.-...._..". I._.-. -.

5

loooD2ooW3ooW4owO

--.._..-.-..-..I.-

2 602 40 -

..-..-..-.. ..-..-.._.._*. -""_ -..._._. -. ".." -" -..-..-. -.-.-._. -.-.-._, _. -.-._
I

20b
Single Particle Simulations

10 x/ W

15

20

Figure 7. Effect of Reynolds numberon the distributionofNusselt number

The objective of this paper is to focus on the model itself rather than a fidl parametric study. Hence, specific conditions are chosen for illustration purposes. The superheated steam and particle conditions the simulation runs are thefollowing: for
10000

mber Reynolds Jet pressure Steam

1 atm
400 "C

temperature Steam Particle iiiltemperature nta Particle initial moisture content moisture Critical diameter Particle

60 "C
1.2,0.5 kgkg
0.3 kgkg

500 p m

Two cases with merent iiilmoisture content are presented m order to evaluate the nta model results for both the constant and W g rate periods. Note that the conditions chosen are arbitrary.

560

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

Partide Motion Results

The particle motion simulation results are presented m terms of the Stokes number. According to Crowe (35) the Stokes number is deiined as the ratio of the particle relaxation time (aerodynamic response time)to a time charactexistic of the process h,; that is,

st

=-A P

A ,

m which the particle relaxation time and characteristic time mows:

of process are defined as

The trajectories and residence times di6krent particles (entering flow regime of the with the jets) with different Stokes numbers are presented Figure 8 shows the trajectory of a single particle released fiom different points m the jet. As expected, before exiting the impingement zone the larger particles perform oscillatory (zigzag) motion. an

Figure 8. Trajectories of particles released fiom different locations m the top jet

Superheated Steam Drying

561

This OsCiIlatory motion increases the residence time o f particles m the high turbulence intensity impingement zone and consequently a higher interphase transport rate o f mass
and heat i expected. For smaller particles this penetration into the opposite jet was not s paths m the system, as expected. observed; particIessimply followed the fluid particle The residence time for a spherical particle 0.5 mm m diameter and 1000 kg/m3 density was investigated when released fiom diffuent pointsm the jet at various Reynolds numbers and aspect ratios o f the channeL Typical resultsare presented m Figs. 9 and 10.

\
10
20 30 Stokes Number

40

50

Figure 9. Residence time distribution for Werent startmg points:H7W= 1.0

1.6

0.2

-.
2
4

Stokes Number

Figure 10. Residence timedistriition for different starting points:H , = 3.0

562

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

It was observed that for lower Reynolds numbersthe residence timehad a greater spread and it became independent of the jet Reynolds number and release point location for higher Reynolds numbers. Also, increasing the aspect ratio of the channel resulted m higher residence times which is also expected behavior. In an impinging stream configuration change o f the spacing and Reynolds number can affect mean residence the time as well as the residence time dishilution both are key parameters which affect drying ofparticles or droplets m such configurations

Particle Drying Results

For the specified initial temperature, moisture content, shape, size, and density Figs. 11 and 12 show the drying history of a particle releasedfrom different positionsin the upper jet along the contactor for case 1 and 2, respectively. A reduction mmoisture content m the range of 19 to 36.5% for the iirst case and of 46 to 65% for the second case can be observed. This is high despite the short residence times presented m Fig. 13. There are two main reasons for the high drying rate in this type of contactor, one is the large velocity difference between the particle and conveying medium specially at the "dead" points of the oscillatory motion of the p d c l e m the impingement zone, andthe other is by the effect of the high intensity turbulent flow caused impingement o f the two jets on heat transferto the particle. A relatively uniform residence time over width of the jet the (except for particles released fkom the midpoint which shows a maximum) is interesting fkom the drying pointof view.

Superheated

Dyn rig

563

It should be mentioned that only m the second case the particle experienced the falling m took rate period while the first case the entire drying process place only m the constant rate period.

2 $0.11, p.

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

DtrmceJivm m l e centreline (m)

Figure 12. Particle moisture content cariation along trajectory: Case 2 its

0.7.

0.6 -

Distmrcefimnozzle centerline (x/w/2)

Figure 13. Residence times particle released for &om different locations the upper jet m for cases1 and 2 The peakm residence time for particle released middle of the half ofthe jet is worth fiom mentioning.

564

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

Two-Phase Simulation
In this part thedrying o f parricles in superheated steamis simulated consideringfkll twoway coupling between continuous dispersed the and phases. conjiguration The investigated is displayed in Fig. 14. Thesolidwallsareinsulated.Theparticlesare entrained m the stream iiom the top jet and after undergoing oscillatory motion m the impingement zone they enter the discharge channel and finally exit fiom the exit port. The particle flows considered dilute and flow configuration is two dimensional. is the
Steam & Pamcles

Re

T 150.0 s

= 3000.0

St 9.5 M n = 1.5

= 0.2

Steam

Figure 14. Configuration o f flow field for two-phase flow studies program Figure 15 presents the particles flow pattern predicted by the two-phase Due to the large Stokes number the particles do not follow the streamlines. A zone gas o f deposition can be distinguishedat the bottom comer right at the entrance port of the discharge channel which due to the low momentumof some o f the released particles is at the top jet. A high concentration zone is established around the impinging zone of the two jets which is due to theoscillatorymotion o f theparticles. This phenomenon enhances the overall performance of the contactor because due to the high turbdence intensities m that region a higher rate o f heat and mass transfer would occur there.

Superheated Steam D y n rig

565

Figure 15. Particle flow pattern predicted by two-phase program Figure 16 documents the steam and particle axial velocity component at selected axial positions of thedischargechannelThedevelopment of bothstreams cm be distinguished fiom this figure. At the very beginning the channel the particles lag the of

Figure 16. Particle and steam axial velocity distributions at Wment axial locations

566

Mujumdar

and

Hosseinalipour

superheated steam. Butthis difference becomes smaller andsmaller and &om some pomt M e r and the steam velocity trails the particles. It is also noteworthy that the two phases do not become developed at the same pomt and this is due to the high particle Stokesnumber.

s One of the most important Characteristics of a dryer i its residence time which mustbe equal to (or exceed) the necessary drying time. This parameter can limit the types of materials that can be processed a specific contactor. A typical residence time m distriiution for the speciiic configuration studied m present work is presented mFig. the
17.

"0

0.5

1
R i w trine 6) m &

1.5

Figure 17. Residence timedistriiution of particles at exit portof discharge channel

This figure showsthe distriiution of residence timesfor different particles released the m top jet as a density hction. As is obvious thatthe residence timeis in the order of the fiaction of a second which dictates need for a relativelyhigh transfer rate m order to the achieve a reasonable amount of drying m one stage. In practice, several stages may be necessary.
Among the many particles released to 2000) into the system themaximum and (up minimum trajectories are monitored and the variation of moisture content along these two s p e d c pathsare shown m Fig. 18. Theflighttimeandmoisturecontentare normalized using their maximum values. On the maximum fight time path a reduction of

Superheated Steam D y n rig

567

40% of iuitial moisture content is achieved which is a significant amount considering the

small overall residence time the system. of

Time / Tmax Figure 18. Moisture content along maximum and minimum flying timepaths the
at someaxial Finally,Fig. 19showstheparticlesmoisturecontentdistribution locations of dischargechannelThedecreasingand as well as flattening of these distriiutions

568

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

CONCLUDING REMARKS
Merent k - e modelswereapplied to predicttheturbulent flow and heattransfer numbers and aspect characteristics of confined opposing jet flows for various Reynolds ratios .of the channel Details of the mathematical developed the model and computational scheme implemented to solve the highly nonlinear coupled set of equations are presented. The predicted heat transfer results and drying ratesparticles of m opposing jet systems, which to the authors' beliec is the first attempt in this area, showedsomeinterestingfeatures of this systems whichneedmoredetailedfhture studies. Such workis being canied out by the authors.

NOTATION
coefficientsm the discretized governing equations empirical constant m turbulence model specific heat particle drag coefficient skin fiction coe5cient particle diameter extra termsin k and E equationsm low-Reynolds models restitution coefficient r t ai y a forces in equation of motion drag, g v , Magnus and S for particle empirical functions for low-Reynolds turbulence models turbulent kinetic energy generation termk equation m gravity acceleration channel width channel height nozzle width ratio to enthalpy latent heat convection heat transfer coe5cient turbulent kinetic energy turbulence length scale particle mass particle number

Superheated Steam Drying

569

Nu

NOG
P h p, ,'

local Nusselt number over bottom surface the number of grid points m the solution domain pressure laminar and turbulent Prandtl number, respectively heat transfer resistance the laminar sub layer of heat flux through solidwall drymg rate critical drying rate jet Reynolds number( pJ / p ) ,V Reynolds numberbased on gas-particle relative velocity turbulent Reynolds number defined basedon the distance fiom the Wall Stokes number additional sourcr termsmcontjnuity,turbulentkineticenergy, momentum turbulent and kinetic energy dissipaton equations respectively temperature wall temperature bottom wall temperature top wall temperature jet temperature Lagrangian integral time scale gas velocity component m x-direction the particle velocity component in x-direction the particle velocity component the x-direction, before collision in particle velocity component m x-direction, after collision the Kolmogorov velocityscale, (vE)"~ fiction velocity,

P+
qw R

R,
Re

T T W Tb.w. Tt.w.

rjor
*l

1 uP2
us

U, U+
V

(m

g2 xp 3 Y
Y C

vP vPl

nondimensionalvelocity gas velocity componentm the y-direction particle velocity component m y-direction the particle velocity component the y-direction, before collision in particle velocity component in y-direction, after collision the jet width particle x-position particle y-position &om the solid wall nondimensional distance particle moisture content d ybasis) (r critical moisture content

570

Hosseinalipour and Mujumd5r

Greek Symbols
time increment turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate flow characteristic time particle relaxation time general presentation each of the dependent variables for thermal conductivity laminar viscosity turbulent viscosity static and dynamicection coefficients, respectively fluid density particle density empirical constants in turbulence model equations shear stress wall at

Subscripts
b.w. E, W, N, S fP. jet P t.w. t
W

(P

bottom wall four adjacent nodes P to first point nearthe wall jet quantities indices used refer to particle quantities to top wall indices used turbulent quantities for refers to values at the wall refers to dependent variables

Superscripts
I

pertains to fluctuations m turbulent flow pertains to mstantanuous velocities used for non dimensionalform of the variables time average in turbulent flow equations

Superheated Steam Drying

571

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The financialsupport of Ministry of Culture anHigherEducation Republic o f Iran, to one o f the authors ( S.M.H. ) is gratemy acknowledged.
o f Islamic

REFERENCES
1. Kitron, Y. and Tamir, A. 1988. Performance o f a Coaxial Gas-Solid Two-Impinging-

Streams (TIS) Reactor:Hydrodynamics,ResidenceTime Distriiution, andDrying Heat Transfer. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res, VoL 27, pp. 1760-1767.
2. Wood, A., Hrymak, A, Yeo, R, Johnson, D. and Tyagi, A 1991. Experimental and Computational Studies o f the Fluid Mechanics m an Opposed Jet Mixing Head. Phys. Fluids A 3 (5), pp. 1362-1368.

3.Kudra,T.,Mujumdar, A. S. andMeltser, V. L. 1991.ImpingingStreamDryers; Principles, Practice and PotentiaL Drying f Solids. Sarita Prakashan, Meerut, India. o
4. A. Tamir, Impmging-Stream Reactors Fundamentals Applications, and

l ed., a

Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1994.

5. Beeby, and C.,

Potter, 0. E. 1984. Drying, Steam

4th International Drying

Symposium, Kyoto Japan.

6. Mujumdar, AS. 1981. Plenary Lecture, 32nd Conference, Madras, India,Dec 14-17.

Indian Chemical Engineering

7. Shuen, J. S. 1984. A Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Dilute ParticleLaden Turbulent Gas Jets. Ph. D. Thesis, Department f Mechanical Engineering,the o Pennsylvania State University.
S. Berlemont, A., Dejonqueres, P. and Gouesbet, G. 1993. Particle Traking in Turbulent

Flows. FED-VOL 166, Gas-SolidBOWS, 121-129. pp.

9. Basset, A. B. 1888. A Treatise on Hydrodynamics, Cambridge: Deighton, Bell and Co., Vol. 2, Ch. 21.

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10. Boussinesq,

Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar

J. V.

1903. Sur La Resistance ... d'une Sphere Solide, C. R des Seances

de I'Academie, VoL 100, pp. 935.

11. Oseen, C. W. 1927. Hydrodynamik. Leipzig: Akademissche Verlagsgesellschaft. 12. Baxter, L. L., 1989. Turbulent Transport of Particles. PhD. Thesis, Department of

Chemical Engineering, Young University.

13. Amsden, A. A., O'Rurke, P. J., andButler,T.

D. 1985. KIVA-IT: A Computer Program for Chemically Reactive Flows Sprays. LA- 11560-MS.. with

14. Tennekes, H and Lumley,J. L. 1972. A First Course m Turbulence. TheMIT Press.

15. Tsuji,Y., Oshima, T. and Morikawa, Y. 1985. Numerical Simulation of Pnumatic

Conveying m HorizontalPipe. KONA, VoL pp. 38-51.

16. Brauer, H. 1980. Report on Investigation on Particle Movement

m Straight

Horizontal Tubes, Particle/Wall Collision and Erosionof Tubes and Tube Bands. J. Powder and Bulk Solids Technology, 4 pp. 3-12. VoL ,
17. Govan, A

R,Hewitt, G. F. and Ngan, C. F. 1989. Particle Motion m a Turbulent

Pipe Flow. Int.J. Multiphase Flow, Vol 15, No. 3, pp. 471481.
18. Sommerfeld, and M.

Zikovic, G. 1992. Recent Advances m the Numerical Simulation of Pnumatic Conveying Through Pipe Systems. Computational Methods i Applied Sciences, Ed.C h . Hirsch, pp. 201-212. n

19. Tsuji,

Y ,Morikawa, Y., Tanaka, T., Nakatsukasa, N. Nakatanj, . and M. 1987. Numerical S i t i o n of Gas-Solid Two-Phase Flow m a Two-Dimensinal
Horizontal Channel Int.J. Multiphase Flow, VoL 13, No. 5, pp. 671-684.

20. Grant, G. and Tabakoq W., 1975. Erosion Prediction m Turbomachinery Resulting

fiom Environmental Solid Particles. Journal Aircraft, VoL 12, pp. 471-478. of
21. Clift, R,Grace, J. R, and Weber, E. 1978. Bubbles, Drops, and Particles. Academic

Press, New York, . . . USA

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22. Thomas, F.,Irvine, Jr., and Hrtnett, P. 1976. Steam andAir Tables in SI Units. 23. Van Doormal, J. P., and Raithby,

STMPLE method for predicting iucompressiile fluid flows. Numerical Heat Transfer, Vol. 7, pp. 147-163.
Wu, S. M.andHwang, Y. H. 1972. ExperimentalandTheoretical in a Side-Inlet Rectangular Combustor, J. Investigation of Turbulent Flow Propulsion, vol. 6, pp. 131-138.

G. D. 1984. Enhancementsofthe

24. Liou,T.M.,

25. Leschziner M. Aand Rodi, W. 1981. Calculation of Annular and Twin Parallel Jets

Using Various Discretization Schemes and Turbulence-Model Variations, Journal of Fluid Engineering, voL 103, pp. 352-360.
with 26. Jones, W. P.and Launder, B.E. 1972. The Prediction ofLaminarization a TwoEquation Modelof Turbulence. Int. J. HeatMass Transfer, Vol.15, pp. 301-3 14.

27. Launder, B. and E.

S h m , B. I. 1974. Application of TheEnergy-Dissipation Model of Turbulence to the Calculation of Flow Near a Spinning Disc. Letters m Heat and Mass Transfer,Vol. 1, pp. 1- 138 13

28. Lam,C. K G. and Bremhorst, K 1981. A Modified Form of the k-E Model for Prediction Wall Turbulence. Journal ofFluids Engineering, Vol. 103, pp. 456-460. 29. Abid, R 1993. Evaluation of Two-EquationTurbulenceModelsforPredicting Transitional flows. Int. Engng. Sci, VoL 3 1, No. 6, pp.83 1-840. J. 30. Fan, S., Lakshminarayana,B.and Barnett, M. 1993. A Low Reynolds Number k-E Model Unsteady for Turbulent Boundary Layer Flows. AIAA vol. 31,

NO.10, pp. 17771784.

31. Abe, K, Kondoh, and T.

Nagano, Y. 1994. A Turbulence New Model for Predicting Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer m Separating and Reattaching Flows-I. Flow Field Calculations. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer,VoL 37, No. 1, pp. 139-151.

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v. C., Rodi, W.and Scheuerer, G. 1985. Turbulence Models for Near-WaJJ and Low-Reynolds Number Flows: A Review. AIAA Journal, Vol. 23, NO. g, pp. 1308-1319.

33. Launder, B. 1991. Current capabilities for modeling turbulence m industrial flows. Applied Science Research, Vol. 48, pp. 247-269.
34. Crow;T. C. 1991. The State-of-the"
m the Development o f Numerical Models

for Dispersed Flows. Phase Proceeding of the International Conference Muitiphase Flows '91-Tsukuba, Japan' pp.49-60.

on

MATHEMATICALMODELLING OF KILN AND ONSITE DRYING OF CONCRETE

Zhen-Xiang Gong and Arun S. Mujumdar Department of Chemical Engineering McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2A7

ABSTRACT

Following a detailed l t r ! i uesurvey on modellingdrying of concrete a finite m element model is presented for drying of concrete pieces cast into various s a e . hps Simulations are carried out for drying of refractory concrete castings. The effects of permeability, heating rate and slab thickness on pore pressure and moisture removal rate are investigated for on-site drying of refractgr concrete slabs. Different drying schedules are modelled and analyzed for kiln and on-site drying of refractory concrete castings. Simulation results from both one- and two-dimensional modelsare compared for kiln drying. New schedulesare proposed to provide guidelinesfor both kiln and onsite drying opemtions.

INTRODUCTION
Concrete is used to build buildings, highways, nuclear

reactors, as well as high

temperature! installations industry. Destruction of concrete structures of a building in in

severe fire, frost damage of concrete highways, Mure of concrete r a t r vessels in eco

accidents as well as explosive spalling occurring in the drying process of refmctory

575

576

Gong and Mujumdar

concrete are all related to the heat and mass transfer processes in concrete. Therefore,

prediction of the heat and mass transfer process in mncrete is of practical importance
not only in prevention of the above mentioned disasters but to the improvementof also the quality of concrete. Modelling the heatand

mass ttansfer process in

concrete

requim a detailed

understanding of the process. Based on diffusion theory, Bazant andThonguthai (1978) developed a mathematical model to describe heat and mass transfer in c n r t .They ocee using solved this model
a linite element method compared and

the numerically

predicted moisture loss with the experimental data of England and Ross (19'70). They
also compared the temperature and pore pressure distributions with the experimental

data of Zhukov et al. (1971) and Zhukov and Shevchenko (1974). In another paper
Bazant and

Thonguthai ( 9 9 compared the predicted moistme loss with the 17)

et

and (1977). Bazant experiment data of Chapman England

al. (1981) further

compared the numerically predicted cumulative water release with the experimentaJ

results of Postma et a. (lan),McCormack e al. (1979) and Chen e al. (1980). In the l t t
of a same paper they also compared their results with the numerical results Dm (1977) and Knight and Beck (1979). Dhatt et al. (1986) utilised a finite element method to simulate the temperahue and pore pressure responses to various heating rates for an axisymmetrical refractory amcrete fumace wall. Gong e al. (1991) developed a finite t elementmodel
to simulatethedrying

of refractory amcrete byconvectionand

volumetric heating.The first attempt to simulate kiln drying of rehctory concrete was

carried out byGongandMujumdar(1993).They

element model simulated and different

set up a onedimensional finite

for refmctory concrete slabs of different thicknesses. New realistic drying schedulesfor kiln drying of refractory concrete were suggested on the MS the simulation rsls Gong and of eut. Mujumdar (1995) also investigatednumerically the influence of an impermeable
surfaceon pore pressure during dryingof refmctory concrete slabs.

t ee p r h e schedules i t m ea u m

Kiln and On-Site Drying o Concrete f

577

Huang developed (197%)

threepamneter (temperature, moisture and

pore

pesr)mathematical modelto describe the heat and transfer process in concrete rsue mass
using evaporationandensation theory. Huang et a. (1979b 1991a, 1991b) solved this l model using Huangand

an implicit difference finite method

to predict the responses of

concrete slabs to

tempture, moisture and pore pressure in concrete slabs to elevated t m e a u e . eprtrs

Mle (1986)simulatedthedryingoflight-weight ilr

investigate the effects of Lewis number and Biot numbers of heat and coupled heat and mass transfer in light-weightconcrete.

mass on the

Based also on emporntionandensation mechanism Sahota and Pagni (1979),

Dayan and Gluekler (1982) and Dayan (1982) modelled the heat and moisture transfer
process in concrete structures subjected to elevated temperatures. Dayan and Glueklers (1982) model were tested favourably with the experimental data of McCormack and

Postma (1979).
Moyne and Degiovanni (1985) derived a drying model which accounts the of concrete experimental mults obtained for drying light-weight for total pressuredriven f o . Theoretical predictions were qualitatively lw compared with

slabs in

superheated steam. predicted andexperimental curves werefound to have similar shapes. Constantet al. (1992) simulated combined convective and microwave drying of light-weight concrete and found that the drying time d be greatly reduced even with d very low volumetric power whenmicrowave was applied during the final stage of drying. Li et al. (1994) computed the temperature and pore pressure in concrete slabs duringthemicrowavedecontamination
natural drying

process. SelihandSousa(1994)modelled
its construction using

of concrete during

a control-volume f n t iie

difference method.

In this paper, a finite element model is pmented for drying of concretepieces cast
into various shapes. Simulations are carried out for reffactory concrete castings. The effects of permeability, heating rate and slab thickness on pore pressure and moisture removal rate are investigated for on-site drying of refmctory concrete slabs. Different

578

Gong and Mujumdar

dryingschedules are simulated and analyzed for both kiln and on-site drying of

refmctory concrete castings. Simulation results from one- and twodimensional models

are compared for kiln drying.

After curing concrete castings amtain extremely h e pores whichhold

large

amounts of w t r Initial heathg of the concrete castingscausesthemoisture ae.

to

evaporate in the pore and produce pore steam p e s r . This p~'essure postulated t rsue is o
be the drivingforce formoisture transfer in drying of concrete. Following this concept
of the governing equations the heatand mass transfer process in concrete are as follows
(Bazant and Thonguthai, 1978):
L2

aw-(--)+ a a "- a (")+ P a &g&

aaP

a~ pc--"Cc.-=-

4gav

a ~ df

(1)

at

aw
at

L( ""

a 8

~ apaT~ 8
-I

--)+ @@

"(k-)+

a~
&

ax

-(k-)

aT

@ @

() 2

where W is free water content; W,is the water liberated by dehydration during iiil nta heating; Q is relative permeabiity c ds); g is gravity acceleration ( . 0 ds?; P is m 986

porepressure;tistim~xandyarespatialcoordinates,pandCarethemassdensity
and the isobaric specific heat of the concrete, respectively; C,, is the evaporation heat of

free wtr C, is the specific heat of wtr k is thethermalconductivity ae; ae;

concrete; and

of the

T is temperam. This model for drying is only an approximate one;

however it is considered suitablefor engineering a p i a i n plcto.

Since W is a function of both ternperam T and pore pressure P (W=W(P,Z)) we
can wie rt :

Substitution of Eq. 3 into Eqs. (1) and (2) yields

Kiln and On-Site Drying o Concrete f

ap a~ a aP aT aPaT ~,-+~,-=-~~-(--+--)+-((k-)+-(k-)
a t a t
gaxax

aT

aT

a y a y . &

av au

where

The boundary conditionsare:

for pressure

or

P,

P=

and for temperature

or

T =T,

where B, and BT are convection m s f e r coefficients for moisture and respectively; T and P are ambient temperature and ambient steam partial pe s r , , , r s ue respectively; P and T are the steam pressure and temperature at theboundary, , , respectively; n is the outwardn d to the boundary.

ELEMENTFORMULATION
After the spacewise discretization of Eqs. 4 and 5 , subject to convective boundary
conditions (Eqs.

7 and g), is accomplished using Galerkin's method (Zienkiewicz and

[cl

Taylor, 1989), the following s mds r t matrix system is obtained e i i c ee

+ [K1{W = {F)

(1 1)

in which

580

Gong and Mujumdar

In the preceding equations, n e Z is the total number of elements; the superposed dot denotes differentiationwith respect to time; the superscripte designates an element;C,,,

(?#=l, 2,3,4),KIand KZare submatrim; F, and F2are subvectors. The coefficients in the submatrim and subvectors are calculated according to the following equations:

cE=II,A,N~N~~~~~~

(13)

It should be noted that no special treatment is requiredfor the convection terms in

Eq. 2 since the contribution of these terms is less important t the heat transfer t a o hn

that ofthe conduction terms. Discretization of thetimederivatives

in Q. 11 is achieved with a predictor-

cmector scheme (Hugheset al., 1979).

hdcos eitr:
{Ull+d= { U n ) + (1 - Y )At{Un}
{ : = (0) U> ,

(19)
(20)

Kiln and On-Site Drying o Concrete f

581
(22)
step,

{ 21= {ULd+ {A ULJ U1

In the preceding equations, subscript

n denotesthe nth time

superscript i

designates the ith iteration; y is an integral parameter which controls the accufacy and

stabiity of the time integration, y=(Fl;and At is time step. In the computations of this
work, ~ 0 . 7 5 . Substitution of Eqs. 21and 22into Eq. 1 yields 1

[KW
where

U:,}{R'.+d
=

(23)
(24)

[K'] = [C(V'.+,)l+ Y tKU 1 1 h[ ( L 1

{WL,)} = {F(u;+l)} - ~~(ULI)l{VL,} - rc(uLl)l{Ul+,>

The solution procedure for Eq. 2 is as follows: 3

(25)

(1) At the beginning of each time step, calculate { U:+,} { v,} according to and ",

Eqs. 19 and 20.

Eq. 3 (2) With the two starting vectors, solve 2 for {A U:,}.
(3) Update {

U, { :and }

} by Eqs. 2 and 21. 2

set

{A

g,,}and { e:,,} some selected constants TOLl and TO=), to

{ , }= {V2J U,
{U,,} = {g:,>

(4) If the mvergence condition is met (here, we compare theCartesian norms of

(26)
(27

and

if not, using { U :
next iteration.

} and {

U, as starting vectors, go to step (2) and undertake the :}

a two-dimensional finite element
77.

Based on the procedure described above,

computer code (called DRY-RC) was developed in FORTRAN

Using this code

simulations were carried out for both kiln and on-site drying of refractory m r t . c e e

582

Gong and Mujumdar

Refi-actory concreteis often used to build linings of high temperature installations

used, for example, in the iron and steel industry and the petrochemical industry. The
linings must be dried fully before putting them into service to avoid destruction by explosive spalting when initially exposed elevated temperatures. to Refmtoq concrete is either prefabricated into pieces of castings with various
shapes or cast into a monolithic installation. Prefabricated castings

are always dried

or either by one-side heating in a kiln before they are used. A monolithic installation is
di on site by oneside heating. r d
In thedrying p~ocess,heating of refractory concretecastingsproduces

pore

pressure. This pressure is both the driving force for moisture transfer and the direct

cause of explosive spalling. Although the causes of explosive spalling are numerous

(ee to Gitzen and Hart, 1961, CrowleyandJohnson, 1972, and Smith, 1990) the rfr
drying operation is without doubt the direct one. The drying-indued stress is mainly attributed to the pore pressure. T stress and shrinkage induced stress are small h d compared to the pressure-induced stress. The magnitude of the pore pressure determines the occurrenceof explosive spaUing in the concrete slab. The higher the pore p e s e the larger the pressureinduced rsu,
stress. When

this stress exceeds the

strength of the concrete explosive spatling occurs. Therefore, the pore pressure is a

parameter which needs be caremy controlled in the drying process. to During drying rapid heating rates may lead to excessive build-upof pore pressure, resulting in explosive spalling. On the other hand, slow heating rates not only t k ae longer production time, but also are more energyamning. An appmpriate drying schedule should not only shorten the drying time but also produce quality. In spite good of the m o m i c significance of drying schedules, little research appears to have been devoted to this problem.

Kiln and On-Site Drying o Concrete f

583

In the following simulationsfor both oneside heating andkiln drying of re

concrete castings are carried out. Merent drying schedules

analyzed.

are simulated and

Two point linear elements and isoparametricquadrilateral elements are utilized for o e and two-dimensional problems, respectively. convergence criteriaare selected n The to be TOLl=O.O5 and TOL2=O.O5 for all the computations.
1. One-side Heating Drying of Refractory Concrete Slabs
Suppose that initially a slab has a uniform temperature of 25 "C and a relative humidityof P/P*(25 "C)=W% inthe quality possibly and shorter drying and time timetempemture scheduledeterminedempirically. both moisture and heat with the environment.
A large concrete slab can be approximatedby a onedimensional model. The

p r . When oe

the slab is dried by oneside

heating, the heatedsurface is exposed to the hot air (e.g. combustion). To assure good
to avoid explosive spalling, the

tempemture of the heated surface is required to rise in accordance with a prescribed The unheated surface exchanges

moisture flux on boththeheatedandunheatedsides

is describedby Eq. 7. The

, moisture transfer coefficient B,,, and the ambientsteam partial pressure P are taken to
be 1.0~10~ and 2850 N/mz respectively.The heat flux on the unheated side be s/m can

described by Eq. 9. The heat transfer coefficient BT and the ambient temperature T ,

are taken to be 1 0 W/mzs and25 "C, respectively. . The following physicalproperties are assumed constant:
p=2200 kg/m3, C=1100 J/kg K, k=1.67 W/m K, G=4100 Jkg K.
C, is dculated from the following equation:

3.5~10~(374.15-Z')"~(Ts374.15 "C) (">374.15 "C)

(28)

584

Gong and Mujumdar

T e permeability h

is strongly dependent on moisture and temperature and is

computed according to the following empirical formula (Bazant and Thonguthai, 1978,

99: 1979 and Song, 1 8 )

.={
the pore, h=PlPs(7); and

aof*(h,T ) f , ( T ) 5.6 a f, 0 (0

( T $95 "C) . ( T > 95 " C )

(9 2)

in which Q is the permeability at the e p 25 "C; h is the relative humidity in t u mr t e

T-95 j3(' exp[0.881 + 0.214(T 95)1 =

(32)

mli9 and

%IbT are obtained from the state equation, W= W(P,Z),which i as s

follows (Bazant and Thonguthai, 1978,1979and Song, 1 8 ) 99:

(h $0.96)

in which W, and W,are the anhydrous cement content and saturation water content at
25 "C per cubic m t r of concrete, raspectively ee
Wo=lOO
(ii

this model,

K 3 0lrg/m3, =0

wm?; and W,are the free water mtent corresponding to h=0.96 and W,
m(T) = 1.04 (T + 1) 0' ( T + 10)' + 223(T0 + I) O'

1 0 ,respectively; m(T) is a coefficient relatedto e pr .4 t mte u ,

The cenhal difference scheme is employed for the calculation of 6%?/6P 6%?/D. and

Kiln and On-Site Drying o Concrete f

585

(35)

(39

in which 6&/mis obtained from the dehydration curveof Fig. 1 (Dhatt et al., 1986)
10
L
I

0 400 200

600 Temperature ("C )

800

1000

Figure 1 Dehydration C w e

Computationof A , and 6is as follows:

i which nen is the node number an element. n of

carried out for a conmte slab of 200 mm thickness heated at a rate of 20 "C/h using 40 elements with a time step of 15 seconds
For accuracy tests computations W= and 80 elements witha time step of 7.5 seconds. It was found that the diffemce of the maximum pore pressure produced i the drying process was within 1.8%.Considering n

586

Gong and Mujumdar

both a c c u ~ i ~ c y computing time 40 elements with a time step of 15 seconds are used and

for all the computations in this section.

1.1 Effe43.s of Permeability

To investigate the effects of permeabiity on the drying process four permeability

valuesaslistedinTablelweretestedforaslabof100mmthicknessheatedatara~
15 "Ch. In the drying process the temperature in the concrete slab rises with the

elevation of the temperature of the heated surface. The tempemture rise in the slab
resultsinariseoftheporepressure.Ateveryinstantth~isonepeakinthepore

pressure along the thickness of the slab. The magnitude and the position of this peak

pore pressure vary with the progress of the drying p o e s In other words, this peak rcs. pore pressure is timedependent.The peak pore pressure has one maximum in the
drying process. This maximum is called maximum pore p e s r . Table 1 shows the rsue maximum pore pressures cOrzeSpOnding to M m t permeability values for a concrete
slab of 100 m m thickness when it is dried ata heating rateof 15 "Ch.

Table 1 Effects of Permeabiity on Pore Pressure

thickness= 100 mm, heating rate= 15 "C/h

cs ae

permeability

(ds)

maximum pore pressure (1.Oxld N/m?

1.69
2.57

1 2 3
4

1.ox 10-l2 5.0~10-l~ 3.0~10-l~ 1.5~10-l~

3.72 6.33

Fig. 2 displays the peak pore pressure Wy curves cOrreSpOnding to the r computed cases in Table 1. The solid, dashed, dotted and dashdot lines present cases

Kiln and On-Site Drying o Concrete f

587

1 , 2 , 3 and 4 (this notation will be followed in the subsequent fe . i ) expected, As the lower the permeability the higher the maximum pore pesr. One c n see from rsue a
both the table and the figure that the increasing rate of the maximum pore pressure

goes up rapidly with decrease of the permeability. When the permeability is 3.0~10"~
m/s the maximum pore pressure is 3.72xld N/mz. With this pore pressure t m is no h

danger of explosive spaUing since the maximum pore pressure observed in refractory
concrete

is around 8.0xld N/m2. Therefore, it is safe to dry a slab of100 mm

OC/h

thickness at a heating rate of 15

when the permeability of the concrete is greater

than 3.0~10"~ As the permeability of m/s. the

slab decreases to 1.5~1O"~m/s the

maximum pore pressure inmasea to 6.33xld N/m2. pressure is possible to result This
in cracking of the sa. For a slab with such a low permeabiity the heating rate of 15 lb
"C/h is too rapid. A lower heating rate or a Constant temperature period in the drying

schedule is required to damp the elevation of the pore pressure in this case.

10

20

30

40

"
(hour)

10

20

30

40

Time (hour)

Time

Figure2PeakPorepressUreHistory

Figure 3 Cumulative Water Release

Curves (for 1) Table

Curves (for 1) Table

588

Gong and Mujumdar

Theeffects of permeabiity on pore presswe are obvious. Different types of

refractory m t have different values of permeability. Therefore, when d i f f m t m e

types of concrete are dried, different timetemperature schedules shouldbe

p sre . rc d eb i

Fig. 3 shows the cumulative water release curves cotresponding to the computed
cases in Table 1. From this figure one c n see that the water release rate is lower when a

the permeability is s d e r even if the maximum pore pressure in the lower

permeability case is much higher than that in the higher permeability case.
1.2 Effectsof Heating Rate 'Table2 Effects of Heating Rates on Pore Pressure

(1.0~101 N/m?

2.66

3.16

100

To investigate the effects heating rate on the maximum pore pressure four cases of
were computed as listed in Table 2. Table 2 shows the maximum pore pressures carresponding to different heating rates for a concrete slab of 100 mm thickness with a

permeability of 1.0~10"~ &S.

corresponding to

Fig. 4 displays the peak pore pressure history curves

the computed cases in Table 2. As expected, the larger the heating

rate, the higher the maximum pore p e s r . Far this computed slab a heating rate of rsue 100 "C/hr produces a maximum pore pressure of 3.16~101 N/m2. With this pressure
there should be no danger of explosive spalling. Therefore, it is safe to dry a m t m e

slab of 100 mm thickness with a permeability of 1.0~10"~ at a heating rate of a m/s s

KilnDrying and On-Site

o Concrete f

589

high as l0Ooc/hr. Also it is not necessary to have a constant temperatme period i the n drying schedule when drying such concrete slabs. Corresponding to the computedcases in Table 2 Fig. 5 shows the cumulative water

release c r e . From this figure one can see that the smaller the heating rate, the uvs
smaller the water release rate.

I n

3.0
9

c 2.5

2.0

U)

2 1.5

F %
2

2
0

"

5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (hour)

5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (hour)

Figure4 PeakPorePresureHistgr
Curves (for Table 2)

Figure 5 CumulativeWater Release

Curves (for Table 2)

Table 3shows the maximum pore pressures cOrzeSpOndingt diffixent heating rates o

for a concrete slab of 100 mm thickness with a permeability of 5 . 0 ~ 1 0 " ~ From &S.
this~leonecanseethatthemaximumporepressurecorrespondingtotheheatingrate

of 4o"c/hr is 3.64xld N/m2. This pressure w not result in explosive spalling. i l

However, simulation results (not listed in this table) showed that when the heating rate
isn to 50 "C/hr themaximum pore pressure can reach 7.4xld N/m2. With i d
such a high pore pressure occurrenceof explosive spauing is possible.

590

Gong and Mujumdar

Table 3 Effects of Heating Rates on Pore Pressure

case

I
I

t h i ~ h ~ ~ = lmO , ~ = 5 . 0 ~ 1 0 " ~ mo ms /
heatingrate(Whr)

I maximum porepressure
(l.0xld N/m2)

2
3

1 1

30 40

I
I

2.85 20 3.29
3.64

1 3.5
n

4.0

0,

8
v)

3.0

r 2.5 : v

a
Y

3 1.5

f 2.0
g 1.0

g 0.5 m W 0.0 -

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (hour)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (hour)

Figure6 PeakPorePrewueHistory
Curves (for Table 3)

Figure 7 Cumulative Water Release

Curves (for Table 3)

Corresponding to thecomputed cases in Table 3 Figs. 6 and 7 display the peak

pore presswehistory curves and the cumulative water release m srespectively. e,

1.3 Effects of Slab Thichm

Kiln and On-Site Drying o Concrete f

591

To investigate the effects of slab thickness on the maximum pore pressure a total of
six cases were computed as listed in Tables 4 and 5. Tables 4 and 5 show the

maximum pore pressures cOrzeSpOndingto Werent thicknesses for a concrete slab with a permeability of l.OxlO-'* m/s when it is dried at heating rate8 of 20 " C h and 3 0
"Ch, respectively. It is clear that the thicker the slab, the higher the pore pressure.

Fmm Table 2 one can s e that the maximum pore pressure is only 2.88xld N/m2 e
when a slab of 200 mm thickness is dried at a heating rate of 20 "C/hr.One can further

see from Table 3 that even using a heating rate of 30 "Chrthe maximum pore pressure

i a slab of 200 mm thickness is only 3.32xld N/m2. Thmfore, it is safe to dry a n concrete slab of 200 mm thickness at a heating rate of 30 "Chr when the permeabiity
is greater than or equa~ I.ox~o-'* to m/s.

~ = 1 . 0 x 1 0 ~ ' 2 dhating rate=2OoC/hr s,

case

thickness(mm)

maximumporepressure
(l.0xld N/mz) 1.85 2.39 2.88

100 150 200

2 3

Table 5 Effects of Slab Thickness on Pore Pressure

I
case

&=1.0x10-'2m/s,heating rate=30Ch

thickness(mm)
100 150 200

maximumporepresswe
(1.Ox Id N/m2) 2.10 2.75 3.32

1
2 3

592

Gong and Mujulndar

20
E
heating rate 20 'Chr heating rate 20 ' C h r

T 4-0 1 3.5
1 0

g
v)

3.0 2.5
2.0
1.5

! 1 5 ~ I
U)

._...... .

m
P)

$ l

Q
0

f
9
m
0

10:

;/-"
100 mm

3 0.5 m
2 -

2 1.0

..-... 200 mm .
0 5 10 l 5 20 25 30 15
Time (hour)

150 mm

0.0
0

5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (hour)

Figure 8 P a P r hessure History ek oe

Curves (for Table 4)

Figure 9 Cumulative WaterRelease

Curves (for Table 4)

,P4.0 v)

N -

20

1 3.5 0 r; 3.0
9

3
m
W

g 15

eo=l.~lo"z~s heating rate 30 "Chr

.....

c 2.5
2.0
U)

a
Q

g!

1.5 1.0
0.5

2 0.0
0

10

15

20

10

15

20

Time (hour)
Figure 10 PeakPorepressureHistory

Time (hour)

Figure 11 Cumulative Water Release

Curves (for Table 5)

Curves (for Table 5)

On-Site and Kiln

Drying o Concrete f

593

Figs. 8 and 10 display the peak pore pressure history curves cOrreSpOnding to the computed cases in Tables4 and 5, respectively. Correspondingto Figs. 8 and 10, Figs.

9 and 11 show the cumulative w t r release curves, respectively. Since the thicknesses ae

of the computedslab are different the total weight of the w t r released corresponding ae
t each thickness is different. T e thicker the slab, the greater the released wtr This o h ae.

explains why the dashed l n a are higher t a the solidlines and the dotted h s higher ie hn e
t a the dashed lines in these two hn

figures.

1.4 Simulation of Drying Schedules for a Slab of 200 mm Thickness

Generalyspeakingathinrefractoryconae&slabcanbedriedbyadirect

temperature elevation at the heated surface without danger of explosive spalling (a

concrete slab with extremely low p r e b l t is an exception) since the thinner the emaiiy

ammete slab, the larger the permeability, the smaller the moisture transfer resistance.

The c s is not the same for a thick and/or low p r e b l t slab since the moisture ae emaiiy

tnnsfer resistance increases with increase of the slab thickness and decrease of the

permeability. For athick and/orlow permeability slab a direct temperature elevation at

the heated surface can not provide enough time for maisture migration and t h d o r e

causes excessive pore p~.essurebuild-up in the concrete. This may produce very high
pore pmsure, resulting in micmaack which d@es
the quality of the castings and

even sometimes explosive spalling. For this reason, drying of athick and/or low
p r e b l t slab requires a well prescribed timetemperature schedule according to emaiiy
both the thickness and the p r e b l t . Such a timetemperature schedule includes emaiiy in general one or several constant temperature periods. During a umstant temperature
period, the tempera-

of the heated surface is held constant. This allows the moisture

to migrate out from inside under a certain established pore

to haveenoughtime

pressure field. A constant temperature period has damping effects on the elevation of

the pore pes r. An appropriate use of the constant temperature periods can not only rsue

594

Gong and Mujumdar

effectively reduce the maximum pore pressure and therefore the the constant temperatureperiod only prolongs the drying time.

occurrence of

explosive spalling, but also shorten the drying time. h contrast, an bppmprhte use of

Both the tempemture and the time of a constant temperature period are influential
on the pore pressure. To investigate the eiTects of a constant tempemture period on porepresswe a t t l of ten schedules were simulated as listed in Tables 6 , 7 and 8 for a oa
concrete lab of 200 mm thickness with a permeability of 1.OX
m/s.

~=1.0x10-*2m/s, thichm=200 mm

case
1
24'Clhr 25'C-625' 25hrs

temperature schedule

maximumporepresm
(1.0xld N/m?

3.09
3.26 2.76 2.52 2.46

30' C I hr 30"CIhr jOOoc O'Clhr 6 2 9C 25C300'C917hrs Shrs 1083hrs 25'C25'C25'C30"CI hr O'Clhr250oc 30C/ hr 6250c 250'C75hrs 5hrs 125hrs 30"Clhr O'Clhr 200c-2000c583hrs Shrs 3O"Ct hr O'CI hr 225'C---225'C6.67hrs Shrs 3O"Cl hr6250c 1417hrs 30aCthr62pc 1333hrs

Schedule 1 in Table 6 is a direct tempemture devation schedule. Schedules 2-5 have a constant temperature period of 5 hours and r e q h the same drying the, 25

hours, as that of schedule 1. Schedules 2-5 are designed to be identical except the
constant tempera-.

A Comparison between schedule 1 and 5 shows that the

maximum pore pressure cOrreSpOndingto schedule 5 is only 80% of that corresponding

to schedule 1 although the two schedules need the

same time t oomplete a drying o

p~ocess.A schedule which includes

an appropriate constant temperature period can

Kiln and On-Site D y n o Concrete rig f

595

effectively reduce the

maximum pore p e s r . When the rsue time

of the constant

temperature period is h d different constant temperatures produce different e, produce a high p presswe (e.g. case 2 in Table 6 . )

maximum pore pe s r s An hppqniate selection of the constant temperature may r sue.

10 15 20 25
Time (hour)

"

10 15 20 25
Time (hour)

Figure 12 Peak Pore PressureHistory

Curves (for Table 9

Figure 1 CumulativeWater Release 3

Curves (for Table 6)

Corresponding to the computed cases in Table 6 Figs 12 and 13 display the peak

pore pressure history curves and the cumulative water release curves, respectively. The dashdotdot lines in these two figures present case 5 in Table 6 (this notation wl be il

followed in the subsequent figures).

Schedules 2-4 in Table 7 have a constant temperature period of 10 hours and need the same drying time(25 hours) as the schedules in Table 6. With this longer constant temperature period the constant temperature can be further reduced to reach a lower

maximum pore pressure. A comparison between schedules 1 and 4 shows that

although it takes thesametime to completethedrying proam the maximum pore

596

Gong and Mujumdar

pressure using the direct temperature elevation schedule (case 1) is 42% higher than
that using schedule 4 w i h has a 200 "C and 10 hours canstant temperature period. hc

Table 7 Effects of Constant Tern-

on Pore Pressure
maximumpompressure
(l.0xld N/m?

I
case

~=1.0x10-~2m/s, thickness-200 mm

tempemture schedule
25'C- 24'Cl hr 6250c 2Shrs
2C 5'

3.09 3.29 2.23

2.17

3O'Cl hr O'Cl hr 1500c439'CI hr 150' C 62PC 417hrs lOhrs 1083hrs OC1hrl,Pc 45'Clhr 625'C lOhrs lOhrs

30'Clhr 25'C------17S0CShrs
25.C-

30eClhr2wCO'CIhr 46.4'Clhr 62YC 5.83hrs lOhrs 200gc 917hrs

2 n

$ 4*0
3.5

1 - ......

casa3

-.-

caw 4

30 .
2.5
2.0

$
v)

p!

1.5

1.0
0.5

2 m

00 . 0

1 15 20 25 0
Time (hour)

10 15 20 25
Time (hour)

Figure 14 PeakpOreF'mwureHistgr
Curves (for Table 7)

Figure 15 Cumulative Wtr Release ae

Curves (for Table 7)

Kiln and On-Site Drying o Concrete f

597

Corresponding to the computed cases in Table 7, Figs. 14 and 15 display the peak pore presswe history curves and the cumulativew t r release curves, respectively. ae Table 8 Efcs of the Time of a Constant TemperatureP r o on Pore Pressure fet eid
~=1.0x10-12m/s, thickness=200 mm

I
(1.Oxld N/mz)

case

tempemme schedule
24OCl hr 625"c 2SC25hrs
250 C3oOcI175O

maximumporepressure 3.09
C

COOClhr1750 C-62S0 3OOClhr

Shrs lShrs

2.86

Shrs

30'Clhr 0"Clhr 25C17YC-17S'CShrs lOhrs

45'Clhr625"c lOhrs

2.23
1.86

3OoC/hr 1750c OC1 hr 1750 W 0 C lhr 6250c 25OC5hrs l5hrs Shrs

Schedules 2-4 in Table 8 are designed to be identical except for the time of the constant temperature period to investigate the effects of the time of a constant temperature period. Again Schedules 2-4 in ti table need the same drying time as hs those in Table 6. A compafison between schedules 1 and 4 shows that the maximum pore pl.essure using the direct temperature elevation schedule (case 1) is %% higher

than that using schedule 4.

Corresponding to the computed cases in Table 8, Figs 16 and 17 display the peak

pore pressure history curves and the cumulative w t r release curves, respectively. ae
From a comparison of Tables 6 , 7 and 8 one can note that with an approPriate constant temprature period (including both the constant temperature and the time of the constant temperature period) the maximum pore presswe can be greatly reduced. Diffaent constant tempemture and time of the constant temperature period produce

598

Gong and Mujumdar

diffemt maximum pore pressures. Thedesign of a constant temperature period is important t damp the elevation of pore pes e o rsw.
p

1 3.5 ....... case3

U)

4.0
case'
"

-.-

case4

g 3.0 X
9
a l
v)

2.5

5 2.0
1.5
1.0

a
m

a 0.5
c ?

0.0
0

10 15 20 25
Time (hour)

10 15 20 25
Time (hour)

Figure 16 Peak Pore PressweHistory

Curves (for Table 8)

Figure 17 Cumulative Water Release

Curves (for Table 8)

It should be noted that the schedules simulated in Tables 6 , 7 and 8 are based on a specific permeability. Whenthe permeability of the slab changea a different t e i m temperature schedule should p s r e . be r c d eb i
1.5 Simulation of Tempera- Schedules

for a concrete Slab of 400 mm Thickness

f Table 9 shows the simulated schedules for a concrete slab o 400 mm thickness. Schedule 1 is cited from the Handbook of Mechanical Engineering (Shen, 1982) in

C i a This scheduleis hn .

used as a guideline for the drying of refractory concrete

castings or monolithic refmctory concrete installations of 400 mm thickness. Simulation

results indicatb that both the constant temperature and the time of the two constant temperature periods in schedule 1 m irrational. Although this schedule takes more

Kiln and On-Site Drying of Concrete

599

than 1oOhourstocompletethedryingprocessthemaximumporepressureisstillas

high as 3.9xld N/m2. From this table one can see that schedule 5 requires only 62.1

hours to complete the drying p o e s However the maximum pore pressure is only rcs.
2.36xld N/m2 which is only 61%of the pressweproduced by schedule1.

Table 9 Simulated Schedulesfor a Slab of 400 mm Thickness

a,,=1.Ox1OPm/s, thickness=400 m m
case

I I

tempera- schedule maximumporepressure

I
hr 350' C

1 I
l
I

250 c 1 5 0 1 5 0 0 C-150' / hr 0' C 833hrs lOhrs 36hrs O'Clhr 20' C / hr ~35OoC-600'C 125hrs

c20'Cl -

(l.OxldN/m2) 3.90 (102.8hs r)

192'Clhr 25'C- 15gClhr200ecOeClhr2 0 0 " C " 6 0 0 ' C 2083hrs 1167hrs 36hrs

2.59 (68.5hrs) 2.49 (68.5 hrs) 2.36 (68.5hrs) 2.36 (62.1hrs)

2 5 . C 1 5 " ~ ~ h r 2 5 0 ' C O e ~ ~ h r 2 2o"CI hr W ' C 50'C l5hrs 36hrs 175hrs

25'C- 1 5 ' C / h r 2 5 0 ~ c O ' C / h r 2 5 0 ~ c 1 9 . 6 ~ C l h r ~ ~ c 1333hrs 36hrs 1913hrs

25OC-

1PClhr 1333hrs

225' C -

O'Clhr 30hrs

20' C1hr 2 2 9c 600' C 18.75hrs

Corresponding t the computed cases in Table 9, Figs 18 and 19 display the peak o

pore pressure history curves and the cumulative water release curves, respectvely. It

need to be indicated that the dashdot and the dashdotdot lines which pment cases 4 and 5 in Table 9 respectively in t ese two figures are identical from t=O to 43.33 h
hours. This is because that schedules 4 and 5 ae identical before t=43.33 hours. r

600

Gong and Mujumdar

40
case1
v

--.case 4

case3

0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (hour)

0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (hour)

Figure18 PeakPmPres.meHistory
Curves (for Table 9)

Figure 19 Cumulative Water Release

Curves (for Table 9)

Whenaconcretecastingisdriedinakilnthesurfacetemperatureofthecasting
also r W to be raised in accordance with a pmcrikd time-temperature schedule. e q

Since the boundary mditions in kiln drying are differentfrom those in oneside heating dryingWerent tmtmetr schedules need to be p e c i e . ieepmue rsrbd
Whenacastingisdriedinakilnallthe~ofthecastingareexposedtothe

hot air (e.g. combustion). The moisture flux on the heated surfaces can be described by
Eq. 7. The moisture transfer coefficient B,,, and the ambient steam partial pn?ssw P , aretakentobethesameasth~usedintheonesideheatingdrying
2.1 O e e so a Model n h ni n l

Kiln and On-Site Drying o Concrete f

601

A concrete slab c n be approximated by a onedimensional model. Because of the a

symmetry of the boundary condition on both

surfaces of the slab the computational

domain can use only one-half of thethicknessof the slab. Grid dependence study found thatfor a concrete slab of 100 mm thickness with a
permeability of 1.0~10"~ s dried at a heating rate of 20 "C/h the dffme of the d
en maximum pore pressure produced in the drying p~ocesswas within 0.16% We

using 40 elements with a time step of 15 seconds and 80 elements with a time step of
7.5 seconds. Considering both accuracy and computing time 40 elements with a time
step of 15 seconds are used

forall the computations inthis section.

2.1.1 concrete sl b of 100 mm Thicknm a

Table 10 Effects of Heating Rate on Pore Pressure

I
1
2.50 2
3
4
i

thickness=100 mm,

~,=I.OXIO"~

m/s2

1
I

CC&)
15
20
30

1
I

(1.Oxld N/m2)
2.20

1
1

I I
1

3.03
3.50

40

To investigate the influence the heatingmte on the maximump pressure four of heating

re were simulated as listed inTable a

10 for a concrete slab of 100 mm

thickness with a penneabiity of 1.0~10"~s . Table 10 shows the maximum pore d

pressures cOrreSpOnding to the computed cases. Figs. 20 and 21 display the peak pore

pressure history curves and the cumulativewater xelease curves, respectively. One can
see that for a concrete slab of 100 mm thicl<ness with apenneab~ty of
IX" . I ~ OO

m/s a

602

Gong and Mujumdar

direct temperature elevation of 40 "Chr produces a maximumpore pressure of 3.5xld

N/mz. T m is no danger of explosive spallingwt this pressure. h ih

"
Time (hour)

10

20

30

40

lime (hour)

Figure 20 Peak Pore PressureHistory

Curves (for Table 10)

Figure 21 Cumulative Water Release

Curves (Table 10)

2J.2 Concrete Slab of 200 mm Thiclaress

To develop an efficient temperature schedule for a slab of 200 mm thickness w t ih

a permeability of 1.0~10"~

m/a thxe schedula are simulated as listed in Table 11.

Schedule 1 is a direct temperature elevationschedule.Schedule 2 is cited from the

Handbook of Mechanical Ehgineerhg (Shen, 1982)in China and is a guideline for kiln
drying of concrete castings of 200 mm thickness.Schedule 3 is designed by the

er authors. A direct tn

elevation for a slab of 200 mm thickness wei at a

heating rate of 15 "Cproduces a maximum pore pressure of 4.27xld N/m*. Although schedule 2 needs over double time more than schedule 3 the maximum pore pressure using schedule3 is lower than that using schedule2.

Kiln and On-Site Drying o Concrete f

603

Table 11 Simulated Schedules for a Slab of 200 mm Thickness

~ , = I . o x I o " ~ ~ /thickness=200 mm ~~,

case

e peschedule t w m t

1
2

l5"Cl hr 600C 25C3833hrs 20Clhr1500cOoClhr 30OClhr 150C- 35OoC 25C625hrs 6.67hrs 24hrs 0"Clhr 24hrs 30C I hr 350C833hrs

I
(l.0xld Nlm2)
4.27 (38.33 hs r) 2.70 (69.25 h )
600C

c
40"Clhr
1 l5hrs

20"Clhr 0"Clhr 25C140'C- 140C8hrs5.75hrs

" l I
2.29 (25.25 hs r)

For the maximum pore pressure histories and the cumulative water release curves

about the computedcases i Table 11 one can see Figs. 22 and 23, reqxctively. n
N -

"

S 4 X
p!
3
v)

9 S 3
" 2 e!

a
c? 24 m

E o

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time (hour)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time (hour)

Figure 22 Peak Pore Pressure History

Figure 2 Cumulative Water Release 3

Curves (for Table 1l)

Curves (for Table l l)

604

Gong and Mujumdar

Table 12Smltd Schedules for a Slab of 400 mm Thickness iuae ~=1.0x10-12m/s, i C k n ~ = 4 0 0m m th case
temperature schedule

maximumpore pressure

(l.0xld N/m?)
2C 5'

1S'Clhr O'Clhr 20'CIhr350"c 150C150'C833hrs lOhrs 36hrs VC/hr 20'Cl hr 350C6WC 36hrs 125hrs

2.69 (102.83 ius)

Shrs

204Clhrlso~cO'Clhr 15-Clhr 150'C200.c 625hrs 333hrs 26hrs 15Tlhr3WCO'C/hr300'C O'Clhr 200C6.67hrs 3hrs 30"Clhr 6oo'c lOhrs 2-5c
~~

2.69 (60.25 hrs)

E
m '

3.0
2.5 2.0 1.5
thickness 400 mm

ol
v)

0 & 1.0
3

0.5
0.0 0

20 40 60 80 100
Time (hour)

0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (hour)

Figure 24 Peak Pore PressweHistory

Curves (for Table 12) 2.1.2 Concrete Slab of 400 mm Thickness

Figure 25 CumulativeWater Release

Curves (for Table 12)

Kiln and On-Site Drying of Concrete

605

Table 12 shows the simulated schedules for a slab of 400 mm thickness with a

permeabiJity of 1.0~10~2 . Two schedules m simulated. Schedule 1 is cited from ds

the Handbook of Mechanical Engineering (Shen, 1982) in China and is a guidelinefor
kiln drying of concrete castings of 400 mm thicknes. Schedule 2 is designed by the

authors. Although the maximum pore pressures produced by these two schedules are identical the drying time schedule 2 is only 59% of that using schedule1. of
Carresponding to thecomputed cases in Table 12 Figs. 24 and 25 showthe

maximum p pressure histories and the cumulative water release c u ~ ~ erespectively. s,

2.2 Two-dimensional Model

Figure 26 Model Geometry

Figure 27 Finite Element Mesh

A long castingcan be approximated by a twodimensional model. A s q section m

as illustrated in Fig. 26 is taken as the model geometry.

The four sides of the square

can be appxmimated as having the same e p r t r and moistureboundary conditions tmeaue

(ii

practice,there is some difference for different sides). Such a simplification is made

not because the numerical model can not simulate the non-uniform temperature and
moisture boundary but because of the

lack of needed information since there is no

experimental data available about the non-uniformity. Due to the symmetry of the

606

Gong and Mujumdar

geometry and the boundary conditions, we

can use only one half of a quarter of the

qa as the computational domain. The linite element mesh is demonstrated in Fig. ur e

27. Sides AB and C are insulated for heat as well as moisture. A

A total of 300 bilinear quadrilateral isoparametric elements with a time step of 15

seconds are used for all the computationsin this section. Computations are carried out for twothicknesses of concrete castings,one i s
L=200 mm and the other is L=400 mm (see Fig. 26). Schedule 3 in Table 11 and

schedule 2 in Table 12 are used for L=200 mm and 4Wmm respectively.

% 3*0

,? 2.5 5

-M rndel
"

ld model

5 : Y4:

2 model d

"

Id model

5 15 10
Time (hour)

20 25

10 15 20 25
Time (hour)

Figure 28 Comparison of Peak Pore

Figure 29 Comparison of Cumulative

PressureHistory Curves &=200 mm)

water Releaseculves(L=200 mm)

Fig. 28 displays a comparison of the peak pore pressure history curves resulting

from the two-dimensional

Qd) model and the onedimensional

( d model of l)

reference for concrete casting of 2 0 mm thickness. The solid line for the 2 6 model, 0 is and the dashed line for the ld model. The predicted global maximum pore pressure from the 2 d model is 2.32xld N/m2, almost identical t that of the l model o d
(2.29xld N/m3. The predicted time of reaching the first local maximum (also the

Kiln and On-Site Drying of Concrete

607
to the 2 d model than bythe ld

global maximum), however, is shorter according

model. This is because heat transfer is faster in the 2 d case than in the ld case since more heated surfacesexist in the 2 d ,model. The second local maximum pore pressure is much lower in thecase of 2 d than that of ld model.
E

3.0

16 L

,5! 2.5 ?
v

4
W
v)

2.0 1.5

5
a,

& 1.0

g a 0.5
x

0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time

(hour)

Time (hour)

Figure 30 Comparison of Peak Pore

pressure History curves &=m mm)

Figure 31 Comparison of Cumulative

Water Release Curves

&,=m mm)

Fig. 30 shows a comparison of the peak pore pressure history curves resulting

from the 2 d and ld models for concrete castings of 400 mm thickness. From this
figure one can make the same observation those for Fig. 28. as
Since the ld model is for concrete slabs, the section of the castings must be long andwideenough
to neglecttheheatand

mass transfer inthelengthandwidth

directions. In the 2 d model, a square section is selected to be as the model geometry.

These two cases can be taken as two extreme cases of the possible geometry of long
castings. The maximum pore pressures produced with these two schedules (schedule 3 in Table 11 and schedule 2 in Table 12) are far from those inducing explosive spalling.

608

Gong and Mujumdar

T e em it can be concludedthat these two schedulesused are appropriate for hrf ,

concrete castings of less t a or equal to 200 mm and 400 mm t h i c k n respectively. hn ~

Fig. 29 compares of the cumulative w t r release curves resulting from the and ae 2d

l models axresponding to Fig. 28. The predicted water release is higher according d
tothe2dmodelthanbytheldmodel.Thisis~~thereislargerspecifcsurface
formoisture~withacastingofasquaresectionthanthatofaslab.

Fig. 31 shows the comparison of the cumulative water release curves resulting

from the 2 and I models for conark castings of 400 mm thickness. The same d d observation can be made as in Fig.29. It is notedthatalongcasting with a square section is easier for removal of m o i w t a a slab, and the two schedules simulated in this section are safer for the hn
drying of non-slab like castings. 'Ibis further indicatesthatthetim&empemt.we schedules (schedule3 in Table11 and schedule2 in Table12) are appropriate.

A finite elementmodel is presented for drying of concrete. Using this model simulations were c nd out for both kiln and on-site drying of refractory concrete ai castings, The effects of permeabiity, heating rate and slab thickness on the drying
process are investigated.Differentdryingschedules
Efficient schedules
were modelled and

a az d n ye . l

were developed. Experimental verification

is requid before

putting the simulatedt ee p r me schedules into industrial use. finite element i t m ea r m The code DRY-RC c n deal with any arbitrary cross-section as long as it can be modelled a

as a two dimensional problem with known boundary conditions. Future work wl i l

extend this model to predict the drying-induced stress field.

Kiln and On-Site Drying o Concrete f

609

1. Bazant, Z P , and Thonguthai, W., 1978, POE Pressure and Drying of .. Concrete at High Tempemhue, proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 1 4 NO.EM5, p ~ 1059-1079. 0, .
2. England, G.L. and Ross, A.D., 1970, Shrinkage, Maisture, and P r oe in Heated mproceedings, herim C h!&Uk h k m i t t i d seminar , o n e on Concrete for Nuclear Reactors, Special Publication NO. 3 4 , West Berlin, Germany, pp. 883-907.
3. Zhukov, V.V., Robsman, V.A., Shevchenko, V.I. and Cyganm, L.P., 1971, Analysis O Structures O Heat-resistant Concretes, f f Thmophy&A , ('kplofkicheskie Rawhety K a n a iz Zharostoikogo Betona M AVM i 0 m, Volgograd.

4. Zhukov V.V. and Shevchenko, V.I., 1974, Investigation of Causes of Possible Spalling and Failm of Heat-resistant Concretes at Drying, FirstHeating and Cooling, zharostoikie Bebny (Heat-resistantConcrete), edited by E.D. Nekrasov, Stroiizdat, Moscow, U.S.S.R., pp. 3245.
5. Bazant, Z P and Thonguthai, W., 1979, Pare Pressure in Heated Concrete .. walls: Theoretical Prediction, Magazine of Concrete Research, Vol. 31, NO. 107, pp. 67-76. England, G.L., 1977, Effects of Moisture Migration on 6. Chapman, D.A and Shrinkage, Pore pressure and Other concrete pmperties, Transactions, fourth International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology ( dt d by e ie B.A. Boleyand T.A. Jaeger), August, San Francisco, paper MY3.

7 Bazant, z P , C m J.C. and Thonguthai, W., 1981, F n t Element . .. h , iie progtam for Moisture and Heat 'kansfer in Heated Concrete, N u d ~ Engineering and Design, Vol. 68, pp. 61-70.
8. Postma, A.K., MccormaCk, J.D. and Schur,J.A.,1977, A Study of Water and Gas Release from Heated Concrete, Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory, TC-996 @kcem&).
9. MccOrmaCk, J.D., Postma,A.K. and Schur, J.A., 1979, Water Evolution from Heated Concrete, Hanford En@&g Development Laboratory, H D T E 78E LM e r ay. 87 F bu r )

610

Gong and Mujumdar

10. C h e n , K.H., Gluekler, E.L., Lam, S T and Shippey, VS., 1980, Comparison of .. Mechanistic Codes for Predicting Water ReleasefromHeated Concrete, GEFR00521, General Electric (April).

11. DmA., lw7, COWAR-2 User's Manual, General Electric Company, GFFR a , (L), W ) . 12. Knight, R.L. and Beck, J.V., 1979, Model and Computer Code for Energy and Mass "ransport in Decomposing Concrete and Related Materials, m. the Int. of WA M. on Fast Reactor Safety Technology, Seattle, (August), pp. 19-23. 13. Dhatt, G., Jacquemier, M. and Kadje, C., 1986, Modelling of Drying Refractory Concrete, Drying' 86 (editedby AS. Mujumdar),Vol. 1, pp. 94104. 14. Gang, Z.X., Song, B. and Mujumdar, A.S., 1991, Numerical Simulation of Drying Of Refractory concrete, Drying TeChn~l~gy, 9, NO. 2, pp. 479Vol.
500.

15. Gong, Z. X. and Mujumdar, AS., 1993, A Model for Kiln-Drying of Refractory Concrete, Drying Technology, Vol. 11, No. 7, pp. 1617-1639.

16. Gang, Z X.and Mujumdar, AS., 1995, The Influence of an ImpermeableSurface . on Pore Pressure during Drying of RefractoIy Concrete Slabs, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 38, pp. 1297-1303. 17. Huang, C.L.D., 1!479a, Multi-phase Moisture Transfer in Porous Media Subjected to Temperature Gradient, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 22, pp. 1295-1307. 18. Huang, C.L.D., Siang, H.H., and Best, C.H., 1979b, Heat And Moisture Transfer in ConcreteSlabs, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 22, pp. 257-266. 19. Huang, C.L.D. and Ahmed, G.N., 1991a, Influence of Slab Thickness on Responses of Concrete Walls under Fire, Numerical Heat Transfer, Part A, Vol. 19, pp. 43-64. 20.Huang, C.L.D., Ahmed, G.N., and Fenton, D.L., 1991b, Responses of Concrete Walls to Fire, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 34, pp. 649-661. 21. Huang, C.L.D. and Miller, P.L. 1986, Drying Light-Weight Chem. Eng. Commun. Vol. 49, pp. 1-1 1.
Concrete Slabs,

Kiln and On-Site Drying of Concrete

611

22. Sahota, MS. and Pagni, P.J., 1979, Heatand Mass Transfer in Porous Media Subject to Fires, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 22, pp. 1069-1081. 23. Dayan, A. and Gluekler, E.L., 1982, Heat and Mass Transfer within an Intensely Hated Concrete Slab, ht. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 25, P . 1461-1467. p 24. Dayan, A., 1982, Self-similar Temperature, Pressure and Moisture Distributions within an Intensely Heated Porous Half Space, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 25, pp. 1469-1476.

25. Moyne,C.and

Degiovanni, A., 1985, Impoaance of Gas PhaseMomentum Equation in Dryingabove the Boiling Pointof Water,Drying 85,(edited by DC, Mujumdar, AS. and Toei, R.), Hemisphere Publishing Corp., Washington, pp.109-116.

26. Constant, T. Perre, P. Moyne, and C., 1992, Microwave Drying o Light f Concrete: From Transport Mechanisms to Explanation of Energy Savings, Drying 92, (edited by AS. Mujumdar), Elsvier Science Publishers, Part A, pp. 617-626. 27.Li, W., Ebadian, M.A., White, Grubb, and T.L., R.G. Foster, D., 1994, Temperature and Pore pressure Distribution in a Concrete Slab during the Decontamination PKKYXS, proceedings of loth I n t e I M t i d H a t Transfer Confmnce, Taylor & Francis, New York, Vol. 5, pp. 321-326. 28. Selih, J. and Sousa, C.M., 1994, Prediction of Heat and Multiphase Flow During Drying in concrete, proceedings of loth I I d Heat Transfer Conference, n i e t t M Taylor & Francis, New York, Vol. 6, pp. 259-264. 29. Zienkiewicz, O.C. and Taylor, R.L., 1989, The Finite Element Method, 4th Ed., Vol. 1, McGraw-Hill, London. 30. Hughes, T.J.R., Pister, K.S. andTaylor,R.L., 1979, Implicit-Explicit Finite Transient Analysis, Comput. Meths. Appl. Mech. Elements in Nonlinear En=. Vol. 17/18, pp. 159-182. 31. Gt e , W. H. iz n and Hart, L.D., 1961, Explosive Spalling of Refractory American Ceramic Society Castables Bondedwith CalciumAluminateCement, Bulletin, vol. 40, No. 8, pp. 503-510.

612 32. Crowley,

Gong and Mujumdar

Drying Refractory Concrete Linings in Petroleum and Petrochemical American ceramic society Bullelin, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 226-230.

M.S. and Johnson, R.C., 1972, Guidelines

for Installing and Uis nt,

. 33. Smith, K , 1990, Refmctory Heat Dry pIocessing, Jan~ary,pp. 57-59.

Considerations, H d o a b n yrcro

34. Song, B., 1990, Finite Element Analysis of Heat and Mass Transfer in Porous Bodies, Master thesis ( Chinese), Tianjin Institute of Light Industry, i n Tianjin, China.
35. Shen, H 0, Handbook of Mechanical Engineering (n Chinese), . 1982, i Mt?chanical Industry Publishing House, Vol. 3,chapter 16.

Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Techniques for Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

Stig G.Stenstrom
University of Lund Department of Chemical Engineering I P.O. Box 124, S-221 00 Luna Sweden Key Words and Phrases: Mathematical modelling, paper drying, multicylinder, condensate entrainment, condensate flow, numerical techniques, heat and mass transfer
ABSTRACT

I this work three mathematical simulation models for different paper dryer processes n resulting in non-linear ordinarydifferential equations as well as partial differential equations with different levels of complexity willbe presented. The processes discussed are multicylinder paper dryers, condensate entrainment and condensate flow inside steam heated drying cylinders. The mathematical models presented this work are in based on a systematic analysis of the physical phenomena occurring the paper dryer. in and modelling the processesis a matterof correctly describing the transport processes involved. The numerical techniques used solve these differential equations to cover the Runge-Kutta method with adjustable step length, finite difference formulas and extensive schemes for computational free surface flow. Further the numerical results are validated against experimental data.

613

614

Stensirom

1. Introduction
Simulation models are versatile and useful tools to study a large number of different alternatives when rebuilding existing and designing new machines with regard to capacity, energy use and control of the paper machine. It can also be used to study rate limiting steps and perform sensitivity analysis of the process. Finally a good model will enable us to get a better understanding of the complicated interaction of a large number of process parameters. The mathematical models presented in this work are based on a systematic analysis of the physical phenomena occurring in the paper dryer. The physical phenomena can be classified either as external or as in temf depending on whether the process is occurring outside or inside the drying web. From each class the phenomena include the transport of momentum, heat and mass. Some examples of the different classes are given below:

momentum external
siphon pressure

heat
convective heat transfer in blow
bOXeS

mQTS

&P
internal

fabric mass transfer coefficients vapour diffusion in the web

convective flow of conductive web vapour heat transfer

Thus, modelling the dryins process is a matter of correctly describing the transport processes involved and perhaps the most crucial issue in modelling the drying process is to use proper transport coefficients. Some coefficients, whether of heat or mass transfer are of critical impomce to the simulation results, whereas some are of less importance. In modelling multi-cylinder paper dryers the most important phenomena are the external momentum and heat transfer phenomena as well as the internal heat and mass transfer phenomena. In through drying as well as in impulse drying applications convective vapour flow will be of larger importance.

In this work three mathematical simulation models for different paper dryer processes resuiting in non-linear ordinary differential equations as well as partial differential
equations with different levels of complexity will be presented. The numerical techniques used to solve these differential equations cover the Runge-Kutta method with adjusiable step length. finite difference formulas and extensive schemes for computational free surface flow. Further the numerical results are validated against experimental data.

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

615

2. Modelling and simulation of the paper drying process

2.1 Discretization of the drying process

The paper dryer is based on aquite simple principle where the sides of the web are alternating between contact with a hot iron surface and transport in hot humid cast air. This process is repeated with different boundary conditions between to 100 times 30 until the moisture content been reduced to below 10 % moisture. has
[l]. n The following model is based on the work presented by Wilhelmsson I order to analyse the dryer section ofthe paper machine, the process was broken down in a hierarchical manner into fivelevels of differing complexity,see Figure 2.1. This makes the mathematical treatment the process more systematic and more of suitable for computer simulation.

Seaion
l

0
Group
I

fi
Group
I

Group

hw15

Figure 2.1

Division o the paper dryer in different levels. f

The levels are defined according to:

The section

The top level in the hierarchy is the dryer section as a whole. If the paper machinehas a sizepress or some kind of coater placed in-line, then it by definition has two sections. The first section begins after the press section and endsprior to the coater, whereas the second section begins after the coater and ends as the paper web is reeled up on the pope or, if it is calendered,

Figure 2.2 A section in thepaper dryer.

616

Stanstrom

before the calendar. rule of thumb is that asection is bounded in the machine A direction by the dryer hood. The section level holds information that is general tothe model, such as specificationsof paper properties, heat transfer coefficients and certain machine data.
The group

The steam pressure in the cylinders normally hasto be increased from the wet to end the dry end f the section.This is achieved by dividing the dryer o section into a number of separate steam groups, whichare supplied by steam of differing pressure. Each such group comprises one or several cylinders, although these not necessarily are consecutive, making the numberof groups smaller than the number of cylinders. All cylinders within a omup are supplied by steam of identical pressure. Henceforth, the term "Jgoup" will be used with the meaning "steam group".
The cycle

Due toits rather symmetric construction, a paper machine can easily divided into a be number of cycles, which is the third level in the hierarchy. By definition, cycle cona sists of one cylinder and its subsequent free draw. The free draw is the geometric distance travelled bythe paper web between the last andfmt points of contact on two consecutive cylinders, i. e., the distance between E and F in Figure 2.3. The cycle level is the most important level, since this is where the most crucial, and also timeconsuming, calculations take place.The geometry, i. e., cylinder diameter, lengthof the free drawand wrap anglesof the paper web andthe fabric, is specified for each individual cycle. The condition the of f drying air and the steam pressure constitute Figure 2.3. Division o the process in cycles. additional input at the cycle level.

The phase
A unique set of boundary conditions to Equations (2.la) andor (2.Ib) constitutes a computational phase. A phase describes, therefore, the immediate surroundings of the paper andor the shell. Dependingon position, machine geometry and machine

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

617

operation, seventeen different computational phases identified and used the are in program, see Figure 2.4.

Cylinder
1

Paper on hot cylinder

Paper on cold cylinder

2 ,
~ B N

,+,
,3

Paper in draw

1N I

2 N0 T F

%WO

Figure 2.4

The seventeen different computational phases used in theprogram.

In earlier models by Nissan and Hansen[2,3], each cycle was divided into only four phases, see Fie2.3. The classic phases often referred to in literature can be the identified as I = 2+B, II = 2 m R B m , III= 2T/2B and N = 3. Thus the present model can be seen as an extension of the "four-phase" concept developed by Nissan and Hansen. The index "top" is used only todistinguish between the two sides of the paper web. It has no relationto the physical concepts the top and the wire of the sheet, of side stemming from the formation of the paper sheet in the wire section.
The step

The lowest level in the hierarchy called a step. This is a fictitious concept used by the is solution algorithm.Each phase contains at least one step. Equations(2.la) and (2.lb) are solved numerically for each step.Thus, it is imperative for the accuracyof the solution that the size of the step be kept sufficiently small.The influence of the step length and other numerical variables on the accuracyof the calculations is discussed below.

618

Stenstrom

2 3 Mathematical model

Wet paper is a heterogeneous material, consisting a three-phase mixture solids, of of liquid water and water vapour/air. The proportions of these componentsare not constant but vary as the drying proceeds. A further complication to modelling that the is structure of the fiber skeleton changes as it dries.In the work presented, the paper matrix is considered as a homogenous system, e., the various components not i. are analyzed separately.The model considers the structure to shrink in thedirection normal to the paper surface only.
A lumped parameter approach employed in considering heat transfer through the is paper. Mass transfer inside the paper is not included in this work. Great emphasisis placed on the different external boundary conditions the paper web and of the dryer of cylinder. A unique feature of the model presented its inclusionof the effects of the is dryer fabric on both heat and mass transfer and from the web. The model also takes to account of the heattransfer through the dryer cylinders, a necessary prerequisite to predicting the cylinder surface temperatures that critical to the dryingas a whole. are

Equation (2.1) concerning unsteady state heat conduction [4] represents the mathematical basis of the model. The equation is applied to boththe paper web and the cylinder shell, appropriate boundary conditions being taken account of. heat The transfer is considered to be one-dimensionaland perpendicular to thepaper web (in the zdmction). The cylinder shell is approximated as a flat surface in order to avoid using cylindrical coordinates. (2.la)

(2.lb)

Boundary conditions for the equations are found at the following interfaces:
Equation (2.la) Equation (2.lb)

Paper-air Paper-fabric-air Cylinder-paper Cylinder-fabric-paper

Cylinder-paper Cylinder-fabric-paper Cylinder-air Steam-condensatecylinder

The two equations are linked via the "Cylinder-paper'' and the "Cylinder-fabric-paper'' boundary conditions.

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

619

2.2.1 Paper-air interface

As already pointedout, the model does not consider internal mass transfer phenomena. Thus all evaporation is considered to take place onlyat the surfaces of the paper web. When convergence for the current time increment reached, the remaining moisture is is assumed to be distributed evenly throughout the thickness. web
2.2.1.1 Coupled heat and mass transfer

The boundary condition at the paper-air interface is given Equation (2.2). which by states that heat used for evaporation of water iseither conducted to the surface or convected from the ambient air. Since drying involves simultaneous heat and mass transfer, the convective heat transfer coefficient must be corrected for the additionalsensible heat carried by the water vapour from the interface to the surrounding According to air. Krischer and Kast[5] the corrected coefficient.hpa*,is definedby Equation (2.2).The relation between the uncorrected and corrected coefficientsis expressed by the Equation (2.3). The plus sign should be used when. the temperature of the paper surface is lower than the air temperature. The minus sign is valid when thesurface temperature is higherthan that ofthe ambient air.

Tp c Ta : Tp > Ta :

" "

" "

The complex geometry ina paper machine poses many problemsdetermining the in convective heat transfer coefficients. This topic is explored further in next section. the Suffice it to say here that, because these complications, it was decidedto use stanof dard Nusselt correlations for parallel flow past aflat plate toobtain the uncorrected coefficient, hpa. Equation (2.4) is valid for laminar flow and Equation (2.5) for turbulent flow.The transition region between laminar and turbulent is approximately in the range 103 flow < Re < 105. By combining Equations (2.4) and (2.5) to Equation(2.6), an expression valid for laminar, transition region and turbulent flow past flat plate is obtained. a Equations (2.4) - (2.6) all yield a Nusselt number that is averaged the entire length over

620

Stenstrom

L. Partly becauseof the difficulties in defining the geometry and partly achieving a for reduction in computational time average values were employed.
Krischer and Kast compiled the results from [5] several experimental studiesand obtained excellent agreement between experimental and Equation (2.6). The majority data of this experimental data concerned heat transfer,although some were obtained for mass transfer.

NU,&

= h L =
ka

1 + 2.443

0.037

Pr

(2.5)

1)

The mass rate flow, containedin the second term the left hand sideof Equation of on (3.2) must also be calculated. Itis assumed that the water vapour diffuses from the paper surface through a stagnant layer of air. Air diffuses in the opposite direction towards the surface, which itis unable to penetrate. In order for the continuity requirement (no accumulation of air at the surface) to be fulfilled, amixture of air and water vapour must be convected away from the surface. Whereas net transfero f air the is zero,the convection mechanism can increase the vapour transfer rate considerably at higher temperatures.This situation is described bythe Stefan Equation(2.7). which is often usedin models of the dryingof solids [5,6]

Sh = Nu

The moisturecontent of the air,pa, is used as input data to the simulation program and is assumed to be constant for a given position the machine.The determination of the in parrial pressureat the paper surface, p p is discussed in Section 2.2.1.3 below. Equation (2.7) contains the parameterKG,po. which is the coefficient for mass transfer from the paper surface to the ambient air. It is obtained by combining Equation (2.8). which is known as the Chilton-Colburn analogy[4] between heat and mass transfer, and Equation (2.6). The analogy canbe used in the uncorrected form in which itstands in Equation (2.8) provided the corrected heat transfer coefficient, hw*, is used in calcu-

Multi-CylinderPaper Dryers

621

lating the heat transfer Equation (2.7) is used in calculating mass transfer [5]. and the Kneule [6] argues that, theoretically, the analogydoes not apply when the difference in partial pressure becomes too large, but that the errors are so small that the accuracy can be considered sufficient.
2.2.1.2 Geometry considerations

A difficulty in using Nusselt correlation is the definition the characteristic length the of (L) that is part of both the Reynolds and the Nusselt numbers. the ideal case an air In boundary layer forms immediately after the paper leaves the cylinder and its thickness increases monotonously until paper reaches the next cylinder. In reality, there are the many complications to this ideal picture. Modem high permeability dryer fabrics are purposely usedto ventilate the dryer pockets, thereby inducing complex patterns. flow Blow boxesare often installed on high-speed machines to balance the over- and underpressures thatarise when the sheetmeets the cylinder and leaves it, respectively.Air flow across the width of the machine is not unusual, due toerroneous settings of the pocket ventilation valves.The formation o f vortices of circulating air in the enclosure bounded by the incoming web, the cylinder surface, the outgoing web, and the fabric on the guide roll seems probable. Under many these circumstances. the velocity of gradient in the boundary layer is likely be larger than the velocity of the moving surface. to

flow Because o f these and many additional factors, the o f air in the dryer hood is a subject that is still in its infancy, although new measuring techniquessuch as LaserDoppler velocimetryare beginning to make a mark. Figure and Equations (2.9a) 2.5 (2.9~) illustrate how the characteristic lengthshave been defined in the model.

(2.9a)

(2.9~)

In the single-tier case, asimple arithmetic mean value o f the twosides of the paper web is taken as the characteristic length. The two-tier case is more complicated in that the fabric parts from the web and forms a new boundary layer at least in theory. forms, Equation (2.9b) describes the boundary layer length adjacent to the fabric. Equation (2.9~) describes the arithmetic mean of the length of the boundary layers both sides on of the paper when theyare directly exposed to the air. The Nusselt number the twofor tier case is calculatedas the arithmetic mean of two separate Nusselt numbers based on the lengths as obtained from Equations (2.9b) and (2.9~). respectively.

622

Stenstrom

These somewhat arbitrary definitions, together with the complications described above, clearly show the difficulties and uncertainties involved determining theconvective in heat transfer coefficient.

Single-tier

Two-tier

Figure 2.5

Definitions o the characteristic lengthfor different dryerfabric f configurations.

In multi-cylinder paper drying, convective heatexchange between the paper and air the is negligible as compared with the conductive heat exchange between the cylinder and the paper. Thus, an erroneous value for the characteristiclength and the resulting convective heat transfer coefficient will not impair the accuracyof the calculations.In the absence of sufficient experimental data and of a better understanding, Equations (2.4) - (2.6) and (2.9) will have to suffice. The corrected coefficient, however, is calculated locally for each space increment as the solution of Equation (2.la) progresses. This is welljustified since the mass rate of flow heavily temperature is dependent, whereasNu and hp are not.
2.2.1.3 Vapour pressureof water andhygroscopicity

has Paper is a hygroscopic material, which means that watera naturalaffinity for the cellulose matrix of the paper due to polar propertiesof the two substances. the According to Polat and Mujumdar the drying rateof paper canbe divided into the [7], three classic drying stages: warming-up, constant and falling rate. During thetwo rate f i t stages the transportof water from within the web rapid enoughto keep up with is the vapour removal f o the surface, a rm state which is conveniently treatedas evaporation from a free water surface.It should be remembered thatthis is valid for

Multi-CylinderPaper Dryers

623

constant external conditions. However, normally in a paper dryer the cylinder surface temperature varies along the machine in order increase the drying rate in the falling to rate period.The partial vapour pressure at the paper surface is determined by the Antoine Equation (2.10)for a free water surface, and is a function of temperature only.

p(T) = 133.322 exp 18.3036

m)

(2.10)

(CMC) has been reached, thedrying enters the falling Once a critical moisture content rate stage, where the internal water transport cannot keep up with the external mass transfer. The vapour pressureof the hygroscopically bound water will be lower than that of free water and will depend not only on the temperature but also on the moisture content of the sheet. relation between vapour pressure, temperature and sheet moisThe ture content is given by the desorption isotherm.
An isotherm for never dried pulp, described by Equation (2.1 has been used consisl), tently throughout this work. It is taken from Karlsson and Soininen [8], who fitted data from measurements made Prahl [g]. A value of 0.40 kg HzO/kg solidsis used as the by CMC in the present model. Figure 2.6 shows the temperature dependence of the isotherm employed Karlsson and Soininen [8]. equilibrium moisture decreases by The as the temperatureis increased. However, the effectis not very significant.

Texp ( - 15.03~ - exp ( - 13.53~- 2.90a + 2.90)

(2.1 1)

0 0.1 0.2 0.3. 0.4 Paper equilibrium moisture content *#g)

Figure 2.6

0.5

The desorption isothermfrom Karlsson and Soininen 181at different temperatures.

624

Srenstrom

2.2.1.4 Flash evaporation

The reasoning above does not apply if some reasonthe temperam of the contact for surface of the paper has a corresponding vapour pressure that exceed surrounding the total pressure. This may arise if there has been a build-up pressure at the contact of interface the instant the sheetleaves the cylinder. Therefore, has been assumed that it the web is impermeable to bulk flow of vapour that a slight over-pressure can build and up. There is some experimental evidence for this assumption [ 101. The build-upof a slight over-pressure is of no mathematical significance here since the internal mass transfer phenomena are not considered.

To overcome this complication, the concept of flash evaporation is employed. When the web leaves the cylinder, the over-pressure developed at the surface of the web canbe expected to be released instantaneously. The result of this expansion is dual: the surface temperature drops and moisture is flashed from surface. The implementation of the flash evaporation in the modelis as follows: The evaporation increased in small is increments until the partial pressure the papersurface is lower than the surrounding at total pressure:
(2.12)

Equation (2.la) can then be solved usingthe original boundary conditionat the paperair interface, the only difference being calculation of t e mass rate of flow, which in the h this case is not governed by the Stefan equation. solve the Ramaswamy [1l ] used asimilar approach inhis work but apparently did not heat transferequation simultaneously withthe flash calculations, thereby creating an exaggerated temperature gradient the sheet. Both in the present work and in in Ramaswamy's, the cooling of the sheet was foundto be significantbut the moisture loss due to flashing to be insignificant.
2 3 3 Paper-fabric-air interfaces

The influence ofthe fabric on the mass and heat transfer from the papersurface to the air is a sparselystudied subject. In order to remedy this lack, two major experimental investigations were undertaken to determine what extentthe fabric reduces the to evaporation rate and the mass transfer coefficient 1 1 [12, 3 . When the papersurface is covered by a dryer fabric, the mass and heat transfer from the paper to the air are affected in a negativeway since the fabric acts as an extra resistance. One ofthe most important conclusionsfrom the studyis that thefabric reduces the size of the mass transfer coefficientKCp by 30-50 9 depending onwhich type of . fabric is used. The model takesthis into account by introducing anew parameter, called

Multi-Cylinder Paper D y e r s

625

the fabric reduction factor, FRF. The reduced mass transfer coefficient, KG,pfa, is obtained by multiplying the mass transfer coefficient withoutfabric by the FRF, as shown in Equation (2.13). The reduced mass transfer coefficient,KGmPfa. then inserted is in Equation (2.7) to yield the reduced mass rate flow, m@of

The heat transfer properties of the fabrics have not been investigated the sameextent to as have those relating to mass transfer. The computational results from the model3J [1 indicate thatthe uncorrected heat transfer coefficient,hparis reduced only slightly, on the order of 5-10 %. In consideration of the combined effect of the experimental and numerical errors, it is assumed that Equation (2.14) applies. The corrected coefficient, hpfa*, is given by Equation(2.15). which is verysimilar to Equation(2.3).
(2.14) (2.15)

Since the characteristic length in the experiments was only 1 m it is probable that 0.3 the reduction percentage decreases as the boundarylayer becomes thicker close the to trailing edge at the end of a free draw. However, the samedifficulties in determining the characteristic length that were discussed the Section2.2.1.2 apply here.An addii n tional objective in the experimental work was to correlate reducing effect with some the property of the fabric, g., permeability or porosity. However,no d e f i t e trends were e. found among the 12different fabrics that were tested. The final expression for the boundary conditionat the paper surface when it is covered by adryer fabric is given by Equation(2.16). Account hasbeen taken hereof the fabric, both in the convective and the evaporative term.
(2.16)

2.23 Cylinder-paper interface

There is a considerable heat transfer resistance at the contact interface between the cylinder surface and the paper web.The resistance is quantified by a heat transfer coeffi-

626

Stenstrom

cient often referred to the contact coefficient. The work in theliterature on contact as coefficients show a veryconsiderable scattering of results, mainly to thedifferences due in experimental conditions techniques. and The influence of various dryer fabrics on the contact coefficient was studied experimentally under variousconditions in a bench-scale drying apparatus Wilhelmsson by [141. The study showedthat the key parameters affecting the contact coefficient were the hot surface temperature and the moisturecontent of the sheet, whereasthe fabric tension and the topography of fabric did not have any the significant influence. The boundary condition the cylinder-paper interface governed by Equation (2.17). at is The moisture dependenceof the contact coefficient is reflected in Equation (2.18).for which the intercept,h,(O) at U = 0, should be in the interval 200-500 W/mZoC. This equation agrees rather well with the experimental results obtained when modelling industrial dryers and is consistently employed in present work. the (2.17)

+ 955u
2.2.4 Cylinder-air interface

(2.18)

The boundary conditionis given in Equation (2.19). Only convective heat transfer is considered, radiation effects having been neglected. (2.19)

The curvature of the surface is relatively large and can, reasonable accuracy, be with approximated as W i g infinite. Hence, the convective heattransfer coefficient, h, from the cylinder surface to the air when not covered by the is governed by paper Equations (2.4) (2.6). The characteristiclength neededin the Nusselt number the is distance shown in Figure 2.5. The convective heatloss from thecylinder surface constitutes 1-2 % of the total heat from the condensing t e m inside the cylinder. s

L , .

2.2.5 Cylinder-fabric-paper interfaces

(2.20), is applicable when the fabric sandis The fifth boundary condition, Equation wiched between the cylinder and the paper in a single-tier configuration. heat The transfer from the cylinder through thefabric to the paper has not been even sparsely

Dryers Multi-Cylinder Paper

627

investigated. To the author's knowledge, there no published studies on this topic are hitherto. All resistance at the interfaces, i. e., two contact resistances and the resistance of the fabric itself, are lumped together in the heat transfer coefficient h&.
(2.20)

A model in which the heat transfer through the fabric takes place by pure conduction in

the fabric yams andin the entrapped air yields unreasonablylow values for the heat transfer coefticient, as the following example illustrates. A typical modem synthetic dryer fabric made of PET yam has the following properties:

= 0.21 W/mC k, = 0.03 W/mC = 0.47 df= 1 . 9 m

If a parallel conduction model givenby Equation (2.21) is employed, theeffective thermal conductivityof the fabricis 0.12 W/mC, whereas a serial conduction model, sovemed by Equation (2.22). yields a valueof 0.05 W/mC. If these thermalconductivities are transformed toeffective heat transfer coefficients, the values are 63 and 26 w/m'oc, respectively.
(2.21) (2.22)

Quite in contrast to this, a value of W/m O C was found to provide good agreement 300 between the predicted and the measuredcylinder surface temperatures on nine different paper machines.The results of some of these comparisonsare presented in Section
2.4.2.

The indicated enhancement of the heat transfer rate implies that other mechanism some than pure conduction must be involved. Mathematical analyses that nanual conshow vection and radiation can be ruled out, their being insignificant. Forced effect convection is an impossible candidate to thestructure of the fabric. Capillary due flow of liquid water fromthe paper to the fabric is unlikely too, since the pores ofthe fabric are larger than thoseof the paper. Apparently, this is an area in which much research needs to be done. At the present stage, the best indicator of the magnitude of h& is obtained

628

Srenstr6m

by matching the measured cylinder surface temperatures with those predicted by the simulation model.

2.2.6 Steam-condensate-cylinder interfaces

One of the cornerstones of the model is the heat transfer from the steam inside the cylinder throughthe condensate layer to the innersurface of the cylinder. This is governed by Equation (2.23). which constitutes the sixth boundary condition.h a mannersimilar to the approach taken in Section 2.2.5, the condensation heat transfer coefficient of the steam and the heat transfer coefficient through the condensate layer lumped together are into one coefficient, h , .
(2.23)

This heat transfer coefficient is known to be muchincreased by the installation of axial

bars on the inner cylinder surface. It is also heavily influencedby the efficiency of the condensate removalsystem (siphon type,siphon clearing, differential pressure, rotational speed, condensate layer thickness, etc.). Values ranging from below 500 to more than 4 000 W/m2"C have been reported. The condensate coefficient the second is parameter used to tune the model. However obtained coefficients have shown good the agreement withthe correlation presentedby Heikkila [l51 and one alternative to reduce the number of fitting parameters from two to one could be to usehis correlation given by:
(2.24)

The correlationrequires the condensate thickness which normally is not known explicitly. Values between 0.002 and 0.004 m should give a good initial estimate for this coefficient.

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

629

2.3 Numerical solution techniques 2.3.1 Numerical method

The numerical method usedfor solving the partial differentialequations (2.la) and (2.lb) is a standard finite difference technique. This method involves approximating differential equations with difference equations, which are easily solved. There two are principal ways the equation for one-dimensionai unsteady-state heat conduction be can formulated by finite differences, the explicit and the implicit formulations. The advantage with theexplicit forward-difference procedureis the direct calculation of future nodal temperatures.The disadvantage is that it can easily beunstable unless the length and time incrementsare matched andare relatively small. No such limitations impede the implicit formulation, which means that larger time increments can be selected to speed up the calculation. The obvious disadvantagethe implicit methodis of that the temperature node nat time p+l depends on the temperatureof both its of neighbors accordingto:

Thus, for each timestep, a wholeset of equations mustbe solved simultaneously in an iterative manner. However,for problems involving a large numberof nodes, the implicit method may result less total computer time being expended the final in for solution, since stability requirements mean that with the explicit methodsmall very time increments may imposed. be The implicit method was chosen becauseits superior stability qualities. of There are a number of ways to solve for the unknown temperatures.An obvious approachis to use simple Gauss elimination, which involves cumbersome matrix operations, however. For most problems the coefficient matrix involved contains a large number of zero elements, whichis inefficient from a computational point view. Another disadvanof tage is that implementation of the flash evaporation procedure. described in the Section 2.2.1.4, is problematical if Gauss elimination is employed. A better approach is use to iterative methods of solution, which may be very efficient. The Gauss-Seidel methodof iteration issuch an iterative method and was usedin this work. For a given time increment it uses the following procedure:

1. An initial set of values is assumedfor the nodal temperatures. Once the calculation is in progress,this set represents the temperatures from the previous time increment, T$.
2. Next, the values for the nodal temperams at the current time, the T$+I :S, are calculated. It is important to always use the most recent values of the neighboring nodal temperatures.

630

Srenstrom

3.

The process is repeated until successive calculations differ by a sufficiently small amount, 6 This test is preferably performed non-dimensional form , . in so that the accuracy the solution can specified in percent. of be

The Gauss-Seidel method requires three arrays: that holds the temperaturesfrom one , second the previous time increment(the TP :S), and two that hold the most recent and most recent temperatures from the current time (the T P ' :S). It is the values of step ,+ the latter two that are compared to determine when to terminatethe calculations at time increment p+ 1.
As stated at the beginningof Section 2.1, a major assumption the model is that of the

heat transfer is one-dimensional and perpendicular the surface of the paper web (in to the z-direction).This assumption permits the drying the continuous web to be treated of as the drying of consecutive discrete elementsof the web, which simplifies the computations vastly.Since the sameassumption is madefor the cylindershell, the same technique applies there too. The length of the shell elements identical to the length is of the web elements.

23.2 Calculation case

Thus, by following the step-by-step progression a smallelement of the paper web in of the machinedirection, it is possible to simulate the entire dryer section of the paper machine. During this procedure it is imperative to keep track position of the of the element so that the correct boundary conditions can applied. This is wherethe phase be concept comes in handy. algorithm is best illustrated by an example. The Consider the top cylinder and the subsequent free draw shown in Figure2.3. In this example a as two-tiered fabric configuration used, but the basic algorithm identical to that in the is is single-tier case, except some phases being different. for
A simulation was performedto illustrate how the temperatureof the papersurfaces and

the local drying change during one cycle. The rate results are shown in Figures 2.7 and 2.8, which employ the same system of position labelling as used in Figure 2.3.
.I

Points A +B

The calculationof a cycle always starts at o'clock for a topcylinder and at twelve six o'clock for a bottom cylinder, e. at point A. According to Figure 2.4 this corresponds i. to phase 1. Equation (2.lb) is solved for the cylinder shell with the two boundary conditions "Steamxondensate-cylinder", Equation (2.23), and "Cylinder-air",Equation (2.19). The calculation proceeds clockwise until position is reached where the the web contacts the cylinder at point B.
Points B +C

The appropriate phase changes from phase 1to phase 2~ The index T is usedbecause it is the "top" side of the paper thatis exposed to the air. During all phases type 2, of Equation (2.la) and (2.lb) are solved simultaneously for both the cylinder shell and the paper web, linked boundary conditions "Cylinder-paper", by Equation (2.17), or

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

631

"Cylinder-fabric-paper",Equation (2.20). The second alternative is used for only every second cycle in the single-tier case. At point B the temperature of the contact side of the paper begins to increase, whereas that of the open side continues to decrease. The drying rate falls continuously until point C. There it dips sharply, due to the resistance of the dryer fabric.

0.2

04 .

0.6

0.8

Fractional cycle location

Figure 2.7

Simulated local paper temperatures during one cycle.

0.2 04 . 0.6 08 . Fractional cycle location

Figure 2.8

Simulated local drying rates during one cycle. 2 N.B. Expressed as kghm paper suflace!

Points C+D
The fabric covers the top side of the paper al the way from point C to point D. The l code for this phase is h o . Equation (2.16) governs the heat transfer at the paper-

632

Stenstrom

fabric-air interfaces. During contact with thecylinder both temperatures increaseas does the drying rate. Points D+E At point D the fabric and the paper web separate. Because the symmetry of the paper of machine, the boundary conditions between points D and Eidentical to those are between points B C. Thus, the appropriate phase 2T. The temperature of the and is contact side of the paper continues to increase, whereas the temperaturethe open side of instantly falls as the dryer fabric is removed. At point D there a large increase in is drying rate.
Points E + : A

At the first position where the web leaves cylinder and enters the free draw, the the phase changes again back to phase1. The calculationthen proceeds until the starting point at A is reached, e. at six or twelve o'clock. At point, one revolution of the i. this cylinder has been completed. test is performed to determine whether a steady A state has been attained, i.e., whether the solution for the last revolution is identical that for to the second to last revolution. This test can be carried out in numerous ways. The following simple method used the program has shown itself to be reliable and stable. by The nodal temperaturesof the cylinder shell from the startand the endof the revolution are compared. The convergence criterion is that the difference in temperature of any node, calculated as a percentage, is not allowed to exceed the accuracy limit &.
T;nd n

p a n
part

&

n = l...nmax

(2.26)

If the test fails to meet theconvergence criterion, the calculation of a new revolution starts with updated TnStane new values. In order to speed up the convergence, arelaxation factor is employed in accordance with Equation (2.27). It has been foundempirically that a value the relaxationfactor of around 5.0 works very wellin most cases.For of some machine geometries, values to 15 or even20 still give convergence. Note that up a value of zero is equivalent to not using relaxation at all. any

Since quasi-steady state conditions exist, an energy balancefor the cylinder shell can enters the cylinder at the inside wall also be used as a convergence test. All heat that must in theory be transferred to the by conduction and to the airby convection in web the unwrapped portion the cylinder surface. The energy balanceis described by of Equation (2.28). The estimated heat transfer rates the inner wall and r m the outer to fo cylinder wall should agree within a certain percentage.

Multi-Cylinder Paper D v e r s

63 3

(2.28)

The methodof Equation (2.26) was selected for use in the program. However, the energy balance is useful confirmation of the accuracyof the numerical solution. for
Points E -+F

When convergence of the shell temperatures is attained, the cdculation proceeds with the paper web in the free draw the same cycle. The progression of the web element of continues from point E, where it parts from the cylinder, and the calculations enter phase 3. Now, Equation (2.la) is solvedfor the paper only. Once the end the draw is of reached at point F. the simulation o f one cycle is completed and the next starts. At one point E a dramatic increase drying rate occurs, mainly to both sides being exin due posed tothe air.

23.3 Accuracy of the numerical solution

There are two main issuesto consider in representing the differential Equation (2.1) by the difference Equation (2.25). The first issue is thesize of the incrementsin both time and space, i. e., 4 and A.These increments should chosen so small, that a further f z be reduction in size does not yield a differing solution to the equation. second issue is The the accuracy with which differential equationsare solved, i. e., the iteration limits the 6,, h, S,. Simulations were performed in which these numerical parameters were and varied. Based on the results from these simulations, following guidelines are the recommended

At

The time step is not used as input. Rather,it is determined by the ratio of the size of the small element of the webkylinder shell and the velocityof the paper. Theelement should beI 0.05 m, a value which normally yields at least 50 solutions of Equation (2.25)during the passageof a dryer cylinder.
This parameter represents the distance betweentwo nodes. Similar to the

Az

time step, it is not used as input to the program. Instead,the number of nodes in z-direction isentered and z is calculated fromthe thickness. It has been found that, although temperature gradient may rather large, it is the be sufficient to employ 3 nodes in the paper and in the cylinder shell, respectively.
6,

Determines how well the difference solution is solved for each time step. 6, represents the difference in nodal temperatures. calculated a percentage. as Should beI 10-3.

634

Stenstrom

4 4

Determines how well the solution for the last revolution o f a cylinder should match thatfor the secondto last revolution,as used in Equation (2.26). Should be S 10-5. Determines how well the energy balance in Equation (2.28) is fulfilled. This parameter is calculated each cylinder and thenlisted in one o f the output for files generatedby the program.Should be S 10-3.
'

2.4 Experimental validation

2.3.1 Experimental techniques

Evaluation and development sirnulation models require comparisons with of accurate experimental data. Mostof the published simulation models the multi-cylinder for paper dryer have been compared to sets of experimental data, taken either from slow-running pilot machinesor from full-scale industrial dryers. However, only a few measurements and comparisons of the web moisture content have been presented. the ambition in Thus an extensive work at the department 161 was topresent experimental data [ and operating conditions for a numberof industrial paper dryers that thesesets are so available and can be used by everybody involved in the development of simulation models for the multi-cylinderpaper dryer.

In these industrialevaluations the web moisture content and surface temperature, theair
temperature and humidity, and cylinder surface temperature have been measured. the The web moisture content was measured with a gamma back-scatter instrument available from NDC Systems, USA. The probe measures the total mass and the since dry basis weight can be determined from measurements of dry paper, the amount of water in the web is easily calculated. The paper surface slides along the meter, which is fastened to a small vertically adjustable chart so that it can be exactly positionedin the free draw between two cylinders. web temperature was measured with airThe an cooled infrared thermometer and the temperature with a traditional resistance air thermometer. The air humidity was measured a standard dew-point meter with from MBW. The cylinder surface temperature was registered by an instrument developed at the department consisting of contacting a thin Teflon band where the temperature is measured at the back with a surface resistance thermometer. data were collected and All stored by'a data acquisition system.

2.4.2 Comparison of computational and experimental results

Comparison withtwo sets of experimental data will be presented, the first from a machine producingfine paper with a basis weight 80 @m2,the secondfrom a of machine producing cardboard withbasis weightof 80 @mz.This would thus reflect a the ability o f the model to simulate machines a large range of basis weights over without including internal mass transfer phenomena.

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

635

Two parameters, the condensatecoefficient and the contact coefficient at zero moisture content, were usedto tune the output ofthe program to the measured values.Both values were assigned physically reasonable values confined to a narrow range. rather 2.4.2.1 Fine paper80 glm' The fine paper machine was equipped with single-tier configuration the first six on cylinders. The three cylinders for which the fabric ran between cylinder and the web the were nos. 2.4 and 6. A comparison with the cylinder surface temperatures (circles) and the paper surface temperatures (triangles) can be seen in Figure 2.9. The cylinder surface temperature was overpredicted by 5-6 "C for cylinders 2 and 6, whereas for cylinder 4 it was underpredicted by "C. Cylinder 3 was not heated at the timeof the 15 survey. The measured and the predicted increasein temperature follow each other closely in general,except for cylinders 28 and 36 for which the deviationwas less than 7 "C.

Figure 2.9

Comparison between predicted and measured temperamresfor the machine producingjine paper.

The moisture contentgraph in Figure 2.10 likewise shows a close correlation between the calculated and the measured values. It is possible that the slope during theconstant rate period should be somewhat moresteep so as to yield better agreement with the values for cylinders 22-30.The paperwas overdried to a final moisture content of only 0.012 kg waterkg dry substance. This due to the fact that the drier immediately was followed by an in-linesize press.

636
2.4.2.2 Cardboard 240 dm2

Srenstrom

No single tier configuration was employed this machine. The predicted cylinder in surface temperature curve as shown in Figure 2.11 has jagged form. This is due tothe a top and bottom cylinders being fed with different steam pressures. a strategy employed to prevent curl. The program predicted a difference of around 4 "C, whereas the measured values indicated differences of 7-8 "C. Apart fromthis the agreement is excellent. According to measured paper temperatures, the simulated values a bit the are too low in thelast third of the dryer section.
The comparison for the sheet moisturecontent is shown inFigure 2.12. The agreement must be considered as more than acceptable, although some uncertainty exists regarding the moisture content on the first ten cylinders. The discontinuity in the curve in Figure 2.12 is explained by a 5.00 m diameter Yankee cylinder that was placed after cylinder no. 47.

Predicted

Cylinder number

Figure 2.10 Comparison betweenpredicted and measured sheer moisture conrentfor the machine producing paper. fine

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dvers

637

machine producing cardboard.

- Predicted
0 Measured

Cylinder number

Figure 2.12 Comparison between predicted and measured sheet moisture contentfor the machineproducing cardboard

638
3. The condensate system Modelling of condensate entrainment

Stenstrom

The main part of the energy neededfor the paper drying process supplied by is condensing steam onthe inside cylinder surface. Fromthis surface the heatis transferred by conduction through the cast iron over to the paper. Condensate shell accumulates on the inner surface and efficient condensatedrainage is required to maintain high heat fluxes and control the paper drying process. is done by This evacuating the condensate with a certain amount of blow-through steam through a tubular arrangement normally referred to siphon riser tubes. In a modem paper as dryer operating at higher speeds, rapidly increasing centrifugal forces and with efficient energy and paper quality control, the calculations the condensate behaviourfor of different speeds, geometries and flow rates are thus important. This will be studied in section number4.

In the siphon shoe or the siphon inlet the condensateis subjected tolarge relative velocities splitting the condensate into small drops which traveleither as separate drops
,

throughout the riser tube or form a condensatefilm on the inside of the riser tube. I n this model the movement of liquid drops in such a system will be studied. T i will be hs of importance to establish the appropriate flow-regime (annularmist) and design of siphon shoes and riser tubes.It will further be of importance in the calculation of the minimum amountof blow-through stem. This topic willbe studied in the following section.

3.1 1Vathematical model

The problem is studied in two rectangular coordinate systems x, y, z and x*, y*, z* whose axes are rotated relativeto one another and where the origins of the two sets of axis coincide. The starred system rotates with an angular velocity, equal to thecylinder velocity o, relative to the unstarred system. The equation of motion for a dropin the starred coordinate system is given by Symon [171a : s

Note that o is also a vector quantity.F is thesum of external forces on the drop (drag + gravitation + buoyancy, the second term is the centrifugal force andthe third term is the coriolis force. For a droplet accelerated to the centre of the cylinder it is directed in the positive angular direction. The fourth term appears only systems with nonuniform in motion such as a startup of a drying cylinder and will not considered in these be calculations. The drag force is defined by:

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

639
(3.2)

Great uncertainty stillremains concerning the experimental drag coefficients in accelerated flow. Normally the drag coefficient accelerating spheres is increasedbut for results with a decreasein the drag coefficient have also published. Theoretical been models for the drag coefficient have only been presented creeping flowand the free for fall of drops in air. No models are available for the rapid acceleration drops in air of streams with relative velocitiis on the orderof 25-100 d s . Thus, due to lacking fundamental data for the drag coefficient in accelerated flow, the steady stare drag coefficient will be used inthe following calculations. explicit form a : s The differential equations can finally be. written in more

x*

d*y* + 20- dt

w2y*

The equations are to be solved with the initial conditions the position and the for velocity in the x* and y* directions. The maximum stable drop diameter was calculated from a balanceof surface tension anddrag forces. The result is:

In order to drain the cylinder from the condensate it must lifted from the inner be
cylinder wall into the siphon and accelerated by the gas in the riser towards the tube centre of the cylinder. Stenstriim [l81 showed thattwo criteria must be fulfiIIed for this process to occur. In this work the second criterion will investigated in more detail. be The second criterionfor cylinder drainage is that thedrag force on the drop in the siphon inlet is larger than the centrifugal force acting the opposite direction. in Gravitational forces are neglected which can shown to be a reasonable assumptionat be

640

Sttnstrom

cylinder speeds above rimming speed. the inlet of the siphon riser tube the At requirement for negative acceleration(towards the centre) as given by Eq. (3.3) is:

Elimination of the gas velocity together with typical at the inlet of the siphon data results in the following correlation the minimum gas velocity: for (3.7)

Re > 500

3.2 Numerical method

These coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations (3.3) and (3.4) can be solved for the drop trajectoryin the tube quite easily with numerical methods. In this work fourth-order Runge-Kutta with adjustable length was used. It is assumed thatdrops step are formed at the inlet of the riser tube and that the diameter does change as the not drops are accelerated and subjected to lower relative velocityin the risertube. All a drops are assumed to have the same diameter given by equation (3.5).

3 3 Model validation
3 . Numerical results 31

The drop behaviour in saturated steam and condensateat 150 "C is investigated with zero initial condensate velocity Figures 3.1 and 3.2. Given a gas velocity 50 m/s i n of the radialdistance and the azimuthal velocityare shown in Figure3.1. The drop reaches much furtherin the risertube at lower cylinder velocities, mainlydue to higher drop radial velocities. Howeverthe drops do not travel the whole riser tube without hitting the frontside wall resultingin the formationof a liquid film. The drop radial velocities for gas velocities between 25 and 100 m/s at a cylinder velocity of 1500 m/s are shown i Figure 3.2. The maximum stable dropsize as n calculated from equation (3.5) largelydepends on the gas velocity.Thus at 100m/s the maximum stable dropsize is only 0.034m . Drops with this size would travel270 mm m in the tube while drops with asize of 0.55 mm only would travel a distance of m . 40 m The explanation can be taken fromFigure 3.2. A gas velocityof 25 m s is only / marginally above the minimum velocity cylinder drainage, thus the drop is only for accelerated to 2 m/s while at higher velocities the drops are accelerated close to the gas velocities.

Multi-CylinderPaper Dryers

641

The condensate slip relative to the cylinder results in an initial backward motionof the drops before they are accelerated to frontside. Thus part o f the drops will hit the the This film will also be subjected backside wall resulting the formation of a liquid film. in to theCoriolis force acting to displace the liquid from the backside to the frontside wall.

250
h

-a-

600 d m i n

; ;
cl .

" c 1200

200

. 'EI"

150

a a a

&

100

'

50

Figure 3.1. Drop trajectoryfor different cylinder velocities. Gas velocity in riser tube 50 d s , drop diameter0.14 mm.

Azimuthal distance y (mm) '

Figure 3.2. Drop radial velocityfor different gas velocities. Cylinder velocity 1500 d s .

642

Stenstrom

33.2 Experimental validation

Experimental data for the system &/water at room temperature and atmospheric pressure have been measuredin a 1.5 m model cylinderby Stenstrijm and Svanquist [19]. These data have previously been compared by Stenstr6m1181 with Equation (3.7) detail, in in this work onlyone set of data is shown in Figure 3.3. The two sets of squares represent experimental data just before flooding and occurrence of flooding. The correct value c m thus be considered to lie between these two data. As can be seen gooda-geement is achieved between the calculated and the experimental data.

300

600

900

1200

1500

1800

Cylinder speed, (dmin)

Figure 3.3. Comparisonof calculated and experimental gas velocinesfor cylinder drainage in a 1.5 m model cylinderat room temperature and atmosphericpressure. Waterflow-rare27 k g k siphon diameter 0.0236 m,siphon to wail distance 0.015 m.

Multi-CylinderPaper Dryers

643

4. The condensate system Modelling of condensate flow

The objective of this part is to investigate the condensate flow in a rotating cylinder at different realistic conditions by using computational techniques and validate the simulation by experimental measurements [20]. The problem is treatedas laminar flow in a two-dimensional cylindrical coordinate system employing the radius the angle r and 8. Surface tension effects are considered. Numerical formulation free surface of problems introduces additional complexities such as the evolutionof the free surface in time andspace and themanner in which the boundary conditions should be imposed. The geometry ofthe system is shown in Figure 4.1. The cylinder has an inner radius of R and rotates counterclockwise with an angular velocity0.

Figure 4.1

Definition of the cylindrical coordinate system. Thefilm thichess not in scale!

4.1 Mathematical model

h this section a computational method is outlined, developed primarily study of for

three-dimensional free surface flows in either Cartesian or cylindrical coordinates[21]. The code, referred to as IPST-VOF3D. was developed by John F. McKibben as part of his doctoral thesis. The conservation of mass and momentum for a fluid with constant physical properties (e.g., density and viscosity) are given respectively, in non-dimensional form by
= 0

V.V'

and

av - + v*
at

VV'

= -VP'

+p

644

Stenstrom

The radius R andthe angular velocityW of the cylinder wall are used for the length and time scales, respectively. The dimensionless variables used the equationsare in therefore given by
r' = I R
(4.3)

t'

tW

(4.4)

The parametersin the equationsare the Froude number, Fr, and the Reynolds number, Re, defined by

Fr
Re=

d& S
ob2p -

(4.6)

The Froude number a keyparameter since it represents the ratio of the centrifugalto is the gravitational forces. Reynolds number is a measureof inertia versus viscous The forces. It combines the angular velocity. the square of the mean fl thickness andthe im viscosity into a dimensionless parameter. mass and momentum conservation EquaThe tions (4.1) and (4.2) are solved subject to four boundary conditions.

Boundaly condition I
The first boundary condition states that the tangential stress is zero at the free surface:

where z is the stress tensor, t is the unit vector tangent to the free surface and n is the outward unit vector normal tothe free surface. In order to compute the normal and tangential vectors.define a free surface film function G(r*, e), given by:

Multi-CylinderPaper Dryers

645

where ((0) is the distance of the interface from the center of the cylinder.
Boundary condition 2

The second boundary condition is a normal stress balance governed by Equation (4.9). At the liquid-vapour interface the normal stress is continuous:

The where K(e) is thelocal surface curvature accounting for surface tension effects. capillary number, Ca. is a dimensionless group defineds a:
Ca = P @ R d

(4. IO)

Boundary condition 3

The third boundary conditionis a no-slip conditionat the cylinder Wall:

(4.11)

(4.12) (4.13)

Boundary condition 4

m e fourth boundary conditionstates the periodicity of the COrnpUtatiOnd domain around the cylinder.
(4.14) (4.15)

646
4.2 Numerical solution techniques

Srenstrom

The equations of continuity and motion are solved using a modified version the of SOLA algorithm, originally formulated Hirt et al. [22]. SOLA is an Eularian finiteby difference method, which uses linear combination of first-order accurate upwind a differences and second-orderaccurate centered differences for the convective derivatives and second-order accurate centered differences for all other spatial derivatives. Equation (4.2) can be rewritten in a discretizised form, where the velocity and pressure fields are expressed atthe current and next time step, indicated by the superscripts. as

This equation can be substituted into Equation (4.1) to yield

(4.17)

where (V/R3)is thedimensionless volume of the computational cell which is needed to ensure a symmetric system of equations. Advancingthe solution through one increment in time is a three-step procedure. First, Equation (4.17) is solved to obtain the pressure field at the next time.PST-VOF3D solves this Poisson equation for pressure by the conjugate residual method, which a highrate of convergence. In the second step, has the new velocities resultingfrom the new pressures are computed Erom Equation (4.16). In the last step, the location of the free surface is calculated. The VOF method employs a function F to identify the locationof the fluid. A fictitious point in any cellin the computational domain occupied by fluid is assigned an F-value of unity, whereas fictitious point that does not contain any fluid is assigned an F-value a of zero. Within a particular cell, the average ofall F-values is a measureof the fractional volumeof the cell that is occupied by fluid. Consequently, = L denotes a F fluid cell and F = 0 denotes anempty cell, whereascells with F-values between zero and unity are considered to be surface cells. The variation F as a function of time free of and space is governed by:

aF - + V * .VF = 0 at

(4.18)

Multi-CylinderPaper Dvers

647

The computation of F can be thought of as convection of F-flux across a cell face. There are three important criteria that the convection algorithm must fulfill. The sharp definition of free boundaries mustbe preserved, no more fluid void) may be fluxed (or across a cellface than the cell losing flux contains, and negative diffusion errors must be avoided. Thealgorithm employed in IPST-VOF3D uses a type of donor-acceptor flux approximation. Information about downstream as well as upstream is used to F establish a crude interface shape, which is subsequently used to compute the flux. The location of the surface within the boundary ceIl must also calculated. Computing be the spatial derivatives of F and combining them with the surface tension yieldsan expression for the curvature of the surface.The derivatives are also used tocalculate the vectors tangential and normal the surface, which appears in Equations and (4.9). to (4.7)
4 3 Model validation 43.1 Numerical results

Computation of results were obtained for the of dimensionless Reynolds sets and Froude numbers presented in Table These parameters were chosen as to give the 4.1. so analysis a practical significance. For the common of a cylinder radius of 0.75 m, case the Froude numbers in Table 4.1 correspond to machine speeds 600 to 1500 from d i ,in effect covering most present-day machines. Given the m n same radius and a temperature of 10OoC. the mean thicknessof the film range from approximately mm 1 for the Re = 100, Fr = 85 case, to about 8 mm for the Re = 3000, Fr = 14 case.

Table 4.1

Sets of Reynolds and Froude numbersfor which computational malyses were performed.

Reynolds

Froude number

number
10 0

14

85 24

38

300
1000

4
J
.If

J J

J J J

3000 72 763 1463

J
Jt

Jt

* Three different grids used

t Validation cases

648

St ensfrom

Grid spacing

As mentioned above, IPST-VOF3D uses an Eularian representation, i. e.. the grid remains fixed in space. In the majority of the computational analyses the grid consisted of 25 cells in the radial direction and 100 cells in the -direction. To obtain adequate resolution in the viscous sublayer adjacent to the cylinder wall, the spacing of the grid points was graded; the smallest cell always being U100 of the mean film thickness. The radial extent of the grid was twice the mean thicknesses, allowing sufficient space for the thickness variations.

Variation in thickness

Figure 4.2 shows how the position of the free surface varies in the direction for different Froude numbers. There is a clear trend toward larger deviations as the Froude number is decreased. This trend is anticipated since the influence of ="nvity becomes increasingly important at small Froude numbers. Regardless of the Froude number, a maximum is observed near 90" and a minimum at approximately 270". The largest deviation from the mean thckness occurs at 270". In general, the curves resemble sine curves.

v1

c w

E
> -9!

6
Figure 4.2

45

90

135 180 225 270 315 360

e
Deviation ofjilm thicknessfrom mean film thickness around the cylinderfor diflerent Froude numbers at a constant Rqnolds number of 3000.

Velocity profiles for the entirefilm

All velocity profiles, both in the r- and in the )-direction,are presented in terms of the three dimensionless groups q, 5 and defined by Equations (4.19) - (4.31).The first group is a measure of the film thickness, the second of the azimuthal velocity and the third of the radial velocity.

x,

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

649

(4.19)

(4.20)

;G = Fr(

"-) R U

(4.21)

X general observation made for all cases is that the flow domain can be divided into two parts. Adjacent to the cylinder wall there is a sub-layer where viscous effects have a relatively large influence. Close to the free surface there is a layer that has no azimuthal velocity gradients in the radial direction, i. e., dt/dq = 0. It moves in a plug-flow fashion and acts as it is practically inviscid. These two layers will henceforth be referred to as the viscous and the inviscid layer, respectively. On the whole, the flow is very similar to that near an oscillating flat plate [23] (Stokes' second problem).
Fisure 4.3, corresponding to Re = 1000 and Fr = 38, shows that the viscous layer constitutes only a fraction of the condensate film thickness. This fraction varies from about half of the total thckness in the Re = 100, Fr = 85 case to about 1/20 of the total thickness in the Re = 3000, Fr = 14 case.

-1.2

-0.8

-0.4

0.4

0.8

1.2

Figure 4.3. Azimuthal velocity profiles for Re = 1000 and Fr = 38 at eight digerent positions.
The calculated radial velocities for the Re = 1000, Fr = 38 case are plotted in Figure 4.4. 8 = 0" the radial velocities throughout the thickness of the film are negative, At indicating a flow towards the center of the cylinder. At 8 = 90" all radial velocities are close to zero, whch is in agreement with the maximum in film thickness at this

650

Stenstrom

position, see Figure 4.2. A similar reasoning applies to the other positions. The general behavior o f this particular case was foundto be valid for all cases.

25 I

-0.005

-0.003

-0.001

0.001

0.003

0.005

X
Figure 4.4. Radial velocity profiles for Re = IO00 and Fr different positions. Velocityprojiies for the viscous sub-layer
38 at eight

Figures 4.5 and 4.6 show the superimposed velocity profiles the viscous sub-layer in for four different Reynolds numbers(100,300, 1000 and 3000) at a Froude number of 85. The values at each different position are seen coincide very well, whichindicates that to for a given Froude number, the thickness the viscous layeris independent of the of

-1.2

-0.8

-0.4

0.4

0.8

1.2

Figure 4.5. Comparison o azimuthal velocity profiles for different Reynolds f f numbers at a.constant Froude numbero 85.

Multi-CylinderPaper Dryers

651

6
5
4

F 3
2
1

-0.001

-0.0005

0.0005

0.001

x
Figure 4.6. Comparison of radial velocity profilesfor different Reynolds f numbers at a constant Froude number o 85.

0 -1.2

-0.8

z, ( -0.4

, 0.4

0.8

1.2

1 I:i
6

-1.2

g_; -0.8 -0.4

0.4

0.8

1.2

F4
W .!:I
2

-1.2

-0.8

-0.4

0.4

0.8

1.2

Figure 4.7. Azimuthal velocity profiles at of O", 459 90"and 135"for different Froude numbers a constant Reynolds number 3000. at of Reynolds number.It is also evident that the shape and magnitude the velocity of gradients are not functions of the Reynolds number. close inspectionof the A graphs suggests an almost perfect symmetry about a horizontal plane, going through 0" and 180".

652
50
40-

Stensrrom

e-001

30-

2010i.012
-0.606

0.k

0.012

F30/
20 10
0 -0.012

20
10

f#; 4q
0

-0.006

0.006

0.012

0 -0.012

-0.006

0.006

0.012

Figure 4.8. Radial velociiy profiles at o 0 454 90Oand 135Ofor different f: Froude numbersat a constant Reynolds number 3". of

Velocity profrlesfor different Froude numbers at a constant Reynolds number 3000 of are plotted for four different angles of rotation in Figures4 7 and 4.8. Two important . features distinguish the constant Reynolds number cases from constant Froude the number cases. First, the variations both radial and azimuthal velocity increase the in as Froude number decreases.This is in agreement with the variations in thickness which, according to continuity requirement, also increase when Fr is lowered. The second distinguishing feature is that the velocity ,gadients for different Froudenumbers in Figure 4.7 have a similar shape. Expressed as a physical quantity this means that the thickness of the viscous layer no longer remains constant, but decreases as the Froude number increases. sharp outer No boundary of the viscouslayer can be discerned. However, appears that theazimuthal it velocity profilesin Figure 47 become relativelyconstant for q > 4. Based on this . observation, an arbitrary definition the thicknessof the viscouslayer is introduced; of the transition from inviscid to viscous flow occurs as dudq < 0.005 when 1 goes from 1 its maximum value toward zero. If this definition is used, a practical implication of the results is thatfor a 0.75 m radius cylinder at 100C. the thicknessof the viscous sublayer decreases from 0.8 to 0.5 mm as Fr goes from 14 to 85.

~ulti-Cylinder Paper Dryers

653

432 Ex~erimental .. validation

4.3.2.3. ~ x ~ e r i m etn ~ ~ q u e s eci
The computational results of IPST-VOFSD was tested against air-water measurements on an 1.50 m inner diameter, 0.30.m wide cylinder, which can rotate up to 5 rps. One side of the cylinder is open so that equipment such as siphons and various meters can be easily accessed. Two quantities were independently registered: * The thickness of the condensate film was measured by a non-contact sound distance meter.
0

The pressure at the cylinder wall was measured by a small pressure transducer mounted in the wall.

The measuring principle for the thickness measurements is the pulse echo method where the d e t e ~ n a t i o n the distance to an object is based on the transit time of a of sound pulse from the sensor to the reflecting object and back to the sensor. The resolution is reported as 0.1 mm. Thickness readings were taken at eight positions, separated by 45O, around the cylinder. The second method used for validation was to measure the pressure normal to the cylinder wall. A pressure transducer, type PDCR 22 from Druck Ltd., LJK, was mounted flush with the cylinder wall. In selecting an appropriate meter a compromise had to be made between reasonable reso~ution ~ ~ i m allowed pressure. The m ~ i m u m and u m pressure for the selected meter is 3700 Pa gauge. The pressure sensitive membrane is situated 15.3 mm from the flush mounted top of the narrow inlet, an arrangement which limits the applicabili~ lower Froude numbers; already at a Froude number of 24, to equivalent to a rotational speed of 800 mlmin, the max~mum pressure generated by the hydrostatic head in the inlet alone is approximately 3700 Pa. When evaluating the real trials, account was taken to the stagnant water by sub~acting contribution from the its measured signal. 4.3.2.2 C5rnpar~5~c o r n p ~ ~ t i oandle x ~ e r i m e nresults of ~a ~l C o m p ~ s o nbetween calculated and measured data are shown for two cases with Re = s 72, Fr = 6 and Re = 763, Fr = 6, see Figure 4.9. The experimental conditions were: w = 8.80 s-1, p = 998 kg/m3 (20 "C), b = 2.87.10-3 m in the first case and b = 9.32.10-3 m in the second. Since the variations in both thickness and pressure during one rotation are larger the smaller the Froude number, the illustrated cases are more likely to expose any errors in the computed results than comparisons made at higher Froude numbers. The accuracy of the thickness measurements was good; the deviation between the measured average thickness of the film, based on the eight separate measurements, and the mean film thickness calculated from the amount of added water was maximum 6 %. mum experimental uncertainty is indicated by bars on the data points.

654

Stenstrom

0.996"*.-**-~ -4 -.... .."" -2""

....- 4 - - - - . - -P- . . . . 2 ...... .

0.9920.988; 0.984-

-R-763.

Fr=6

Expcrirnenu.1

0.98-

45

90

135 180 225

270 315 360

e
Figure 4.9. Comparison o calculated and measured dimensionless thickness f for Re = 72, Fr = 6, and Re = 763, Fr = 6.

In the case o f the pressure measurements the agreement was also goodthe predicted for and measureddifference between minimum and maximum The predicteddifference P*.
of 2.5.10-3 compares favorably with the measured difference 3.2.10-3. However, the of values are consistently too high, which most likelydue to an offset voltage from is the pressure transducer.

PST-VOF3D code is capable of From the comparisons above it is concluded that the solving the specific problem of condensate flow inside horizontal rotating cylinders at lower Froude numbers with very good accuracy. Since thickness measurements were carried out at Froude numbers up to 38 and the predicted and measured values follow each other closely, it is reasonable to assume that the computed solutions are accurate also at even higher Froude numbers. Due the decreasing accuracy the experimental to in data as the variations in thickness and pressure become smaller this assumptionis, however, verydifficult to verify.

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

655

5. Discussion
Paper drying process

In the paper dryer thedriving force for the process is increased by increasing steam the
pressure as the web movesalong the dryers. Thedrying conditions are not constant and in many cases a constant drying rate is maintainedeven though the isotherm and internal resistances would predict decrease in the drying rate. a The comparisons between thepredicted and the measured drying data, indicate good a-geement for lighter grades with basis weights below @mz,such as newsprint and 100 fme paper. Somewhatsurprisingly, good agreement was obtained for a paperboard also quality witha basis weightof 240 @m'. Thus the approach by modelling the heat transfer but not the mass transfer inside the sheet seems to work well also for rather high basis weight sheets.

It could be argued thatthe internal mass transfer resistances are accounted for in the decrease of the contact coefficient. decrease in the contact coefficient results a A in lower drying rate due to a lower paper temperature. On the other hand maintaining a constant contact coefficient and reducing the internal mass transfer coefficient would also result in alower drying rate butalso a higher paper temperature. is interesting to It note thatthe contact coefficient at zero moisture from ten different dryers showed no correlation with the basis weight.
The importance of thecontact coefficient at zero moisture content was compared with the external mass transfer coefficient by the following calculations.A decrease from 3'00 to 400 W/ m ' T of the contact coefficient at zero moisture content yield roughly the same drying behaviour as decreasing the external mass transfer coefficient a full from value at 1 kg/kg moisture content to 50 % of its full value at zero moisture content. Thus a decrease by 20 % of the contact coefficient at zero moisture content is equal to a reduction in the masstransfer coefficient with a factor of 2. More work should bedirected towards mass transfer phenomena in the sheet.This will be of importance not onlyfor modelling the dryingprocess but alsofor understanding the close coupling between thetransport phenomena (mainly temperature and moisture content) and the different qualityparametep of the sheet such as curl and strength. The model today requires roughly 5 minutes of computational time on a modem Pentium PC for modelling a typical dryer with 60 cylinders. This time would increase drastically if internal mass and heat transfer equations have to be solved simultaneously but can be overcome by using more efficient numerical algorithms.
Condensate entrainmen1

Drop trajectories for flow in riser tubes has been investigated. results indicate that The the drops travel only a small of the riser tube length before they are deflected tothe part frontside of the riser tube. Thus the flow-regime incentrifugal hvo-phase flowin is a separated regime,similar to stratified horizontal flow. For system &/water the drop the

656

Stensrrom

radial velocity when hitting the does not exceed 50 % of the gas velocity while tube with the system steamlwater the radial velocity can be up to90 % of the gas velocity. The azimuthal velocities are in the range 2-10 mls.
A criterion for cylinder flooding to occur based on the fundamental differential equations is presented whichenables calculation of the minimum amount blowof through steam for cylinder drainage. The importance of the steam pressure is shown for the minimum gas velocities.

When setting up a model the balance between of sophistication, available model level parameters and program and computer timesolve the equations is one the most to of important tasks. The presented modelfor drop accelerationdoes not include all of the physical phenomena occurring effect of acceleration on the drag coefficient, the (the deviation fromideal drop behaviour, drop-drop interactions etc.). shown in this As example, sometimesalso a simplified approach will produce results of high validity and show good agreement with the experimental data.

Condensatej7ow
The rimming, laminar flow condensate in horizontal rotating dryer of cylinders has been studied computationally by solving the full Navier-Stokes equations coupled with a volume of fluid methodfor tracking the free surface. was shown that significant It variations in both radial and azimuthal velocity well as in condensate thicknessexist as at moderate dryer speeds, whereas higher speeds the variations of less signifat are. cance. Regardless of dryer speedor condensate fl thickness, the film can divided im be into two distinct regions: a sublayer adjacent to the cylinder wall where viscouseffects m influential, and an apparently inviscid, oscillating layer close to thefree surface. At high liquid loadings and low Froude numbers, the steady laminar flow destabilizes and is replaced by unsteady wavy flow. Thecritical Re and Fr numbers for transition from laminar to turbulent flow in free surface centrifugal flow is a topic which has not been investigated very much detail. Extendingthe calculations to include also in turbulent flow, waves and considering the effects on heat transfer would an be important challenge for a furtherstudy requiring all the present knowledge available f o computational fluid-dynamics codes. rm

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

6. Nomenclature

657

A b
CP

d D f F

FRF
g

G h

KG
k L

m Area m Condensate film thickness JkgK Specific heat m Thickness m Drop diameter Friction factor N Force, chapter3 Fraction of computational cell containing liquid, chapter 4 Fabric reduction factor d S 2 Gravitational acceleration Free surfacefilm function Whn K Heat transfer coefficient d S Mass transfer coefficient WlmK Thermal conductivity m Length
Mass
Mass rate of flow

m m M n
P P

Q
r
R R

RF t t T
U

x, y,

Molecular weight Outward vector normal the freesurface to Partial pressure Pressure Heat transfer rate Position vector Cylinder radius Gas constant, Eq.2.7 Relaxation factor Tie Vector tangent to free surface the Temperature Moisture r t o ai Velocity vector Volume of computational cell Space coordinates

kg kg/s kg/mole

Pa Pa
W

m
Jlmole K
S

Oc

kg waterkg d.s.
d S

m m

658

Stenstrom

Accuracy of numerical solution Heat of vaporization Density Dynamic viscosity Porosity Kinematic viscosity Surface tension Shear stress tensor angular velocity of the cylinder Azimuthal coordinate Angular coordinate Local surface curvature Distance for the free surface from the centre of the cylinder Dimensionless film thickness Dimensionless azimuthal velocity Dimensionless radial velocity

m2/s Nlm kglms

S
o

rad

Index a b-l
C

air boundary layer cylinder

&P fabric, felt
0 -

d f
g

1 lam max min

P El
S

liquid laminar maximum minimum Paper relative steam surface total turbulent water vapour water (liquid)

surf

tot
turb
V W

Multi-Cylinder Paper Dryers

8

659

azimuthal direction

Dimensionless groups Capillary number Fr Froude number Nu Nusselt number Re Reynolds number FY Prandtl number Sc Schmidt number Sherwood Sh number
Ca

660
7. References
1.

Stenstriinr

Wilhelmsson, B..1995, An Experimental and Theoretical Study of MultiCylinder Paper Drying, PhD-thesis, University of Lund, Lund. Nissan, A.H. and Kaye, W.G., 1955. An Analytical Approach to the Problem of Drying of Thin FibrousSheets on Multicylinder Machines, Tappi 38(7) PP. J., 385-398. Nissan, A.H. and Hansen. D., 1960, Heat and Mass Transfer Transients in Cylinder Drying: Part I. Unfelted Cylinders, MChE J., 6(4) pp. 606-61 1.

2.

3. 4.
5.

EN.,1960, Transport Phenomena, John Bud, R.B., Stewart, W.E. and Lightfoot, Wiley & Sons, New York, 780 p.
Krischer, 0. and Kast, W., 1978, Die wissenschaftlichen Gmndlagender Trocknungstechnik, Erster Band, Dritte Auflage, Springer-Verlag. Hamburg,pp. 489 Kneule, F., 1975, Das Trocknen. Dritte Auflage, Verlag Sauerlbder, Aurau, Germany, 720 pp. Polat, 0. Mujumdar, A.S.. 1987, Drying of Pulp and Paper, pp. 643-682 in and Handbook of Industrial Drying,AS. Mujumdar (Ed.), Marcel Dekker, New York. Karlsson. M. And Soininen, M., 1982. The influenceof the Hy,mscopic Properties
o f Paper on the Transition Phenomena During Contact Drying of Paper Webs, pp. 494-503 in Proc. Third Int. Drying Symposium,Vol. 1, Wolverhampton.

6. 7. 8.

9.

Prahl, J.M., 1968, Thermodynamics Paper Fiber and Water of ~Mixtures,PhD-thesis,

Harvard University, USA.

10. Brundrett, E. and Baines, W.D., 1966,The Flow of A r Through Wet Paper, Tappi i J.,

49(3) pp. 97-101.

11.

Ramaswamy, S., 1990, Analysis of Heat andMass Transfer During Dryingo f PaperBoard Under Conventional and High-Intensity Conditions, PhD-thesis, State University of New York, Syracuse, 201 pp. and . Wilhelmsson. B.I., Nilsson. L.S., Stenstriim, S.G. Fagerholm, L , 1993, Measurements of .Mass Transfer Resistance Paper Dryer Fabrics, Presented at of 1993 National Heat Transfer Conference, Atlanta, HTD-vol. 238, pp. 1-7.

12.

13. Wilhelmsson, B. and Stenstriim, S., 1995, Experimental and Computational Evaluation of Mass Transfer Resistance Paper Dryer Fabrics, Nordic and of Pulp Paper Journal 10(3), pp. 174-182. 14. Wihelmsson, B., Fagerholm, L., Nilsson, L. and Stenstram, S., 1994, An Experimental Study of Contact Coefficients in Paper Drying, Tappi J.. 77(5) pp. 159168.
15.

Heikkila, P., 1992.A Study on the Drying Process of Pigment Coated Paper Webs, Dr. Tech. Thesis, Ab0 Akademi, Finland, 150pp.

Dryers

Multi-Cylinder Paper

661

16. Stenstram, S., Wilhelmsson. B.. Nilsson, L., Krook, R., Wimmerstedt, R., 1994, Measurement of Reference Experimental Drying Data the Multicylinder Paper for Dryer, IDS94,gth Int. Drying Symposium, Gold Coast, 1179-1 186. pp. 17. Symon, K.R., 1969, Mechanics, pp. 277. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Inc. Reading. the 18. StenstriSm, S.. 1992, Calculation of minimum amountof blow-through steam for condensate drainage in paper drying cylinders,Tappi J., 75, pp. 190-193. 19. Stenstrom, S. and Svanquist, T., 1991, A general modelfor calculating pressure drop in siphons and siphon riser tubes. Part 2 Experimental results, Tappi J., 74, : pp.157-162. 20. Wilhelmsson, B.I., McKibben. J.F., Aidun, C.K, Stenstrijm, S.G., 1995. Condensate flow inside paper dryer cylinders, J.of Pulp and Paper Science 21, pp. 1-9. 21.
22.

McKibben, J.F.. Aidun, C.K., Computational Analysisof Free-Surface Flows, Tappi J. 77(5) pp. 143-148. Solution Algorithm for Transient Fluid Flows, Report LA-5828,Los Alamos.

Hirt. C.W., Nichols, B.D., and Romero, N.C., 1975, SOLA - A Numerical

23.

. 1979, Boundary layer Theory, Seventh edition, MC-Graw Hill, Schlichting, H , New York. 8 17 pp.

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

Index

A posteriori errorestimator. 320 Abies alba. 135 Abies grundis. I 12. I 16, 185 Absolute humidity, 390 Accumulative heat flux, 368 Accuracy of the numerical solution, 633 Acrylics, 443 Activated alumina, 461,468,470 Activation energy. 230. 447 Adaptive finite element method, 318,319(seea/soFinite element) Adaptive techniques. 3 19 meshes. 327 Adjustable step length, 614 ADLSOR, S, 36,38 Adsorbing filters, 485 Adsorption energy, 447 Aerodynamic parameters. 341 Agricultural products, 295, 304. 318,324 Air conservation, 9 density, 330 flow rate. 472
663

reversal sequences, 432 velocity. 261 handling, 34I heat capacity, 330 humidity, 198 intake parameters, 432 liquid meniscus, 90 mass conservation, 387 outlet, 195 stream, 186 temperature, 206 thermal conductivity, 330 velocity, 180. I8 I. 202.27 I , viscosity, 330 Airflow reversals. 208, 209. Z IO. 21 1.432 Airflow simulation, 188 Alfalfa cubes, 296 Algebraic equations. 392 Alternating direction. implicit. 236 Alumina beads, 467 Amorphous particles. 5 19, 521 Analytical solution. 183 Angular frequency, 442 Angular velocity. 644
384

664

Index

Anisotropy, 46.47, 113, 118,239, 250-25 I material, 26 1 porous, 8, 148 ratio, 16.22, 127 Annual growth rings, 146,225 Antiones relation, 170, 623 Arithmetic averaging, 22-23,25 volume, 261,382 Arrhenius-type function, 452 Aspect ratio, 16,48,568 Automatic venting, 180 Average intrinsic temperature, 387 Average moisture content, 73, 164,
204,27 l , 273

in a porous medium, 144-145 temperature, 103, 1 I I Bordered pits, 90, 101, 185,225,
226

Bound liquid diffusion. I I. 13.66,

262

Bound liquid flux definition, IO mechanism. 70 Bound water, 6, I I , 182, 185. 225. 226.244.445.450.45 I .
488,494.508.5 I 3

Average particle moisture contents,

353

diffusion, 94,147, I86 movement, 187 transfer coefficient, 452 Boundary conditions, 14.23.32.
162.164.168. 187,234. 263,282,285,298. 33 I , 344,350.35 I, 390,422, 453,490,494,504. 508. 512,513,520,579,618 Boundary control volumes, 23 Boundary integration point, 24 Boundary layer, 96, 184, analysis, 328,332,334 problem, 33 1 theory, 15 Bran, 3 I 7 Brewing, 295 Bulk diffusion, 5 I 8 Bulk flow. 187

Axisymrnetric finite element mesh,

315

Azimuthal velocity gradients, 649 profiles, 649-652 Banded matrix solver, 38 Barley, 296 kernels, 300-302 malt, 295 Batch drying, 341 of grain, 342 Batch RJSB dryer, 373 Bed ofglass beads, 84, 144, 145,
155

Bed porosity, 388 Bi-CGSTAB, 5,7,36,40,53,57,

58,62,99

Bi-dimensional transfer, 1 IO BlLU (0). 59,62 Binary diffusion, 92,93 Bioactive substances, 484 Bioactivity, 483 Biological degradation, 221 Biological materials, 221,482 Biological variability, 251 Biomaterials, 296 Biot numbers, 239,360,577 Block ADSLOR, 53 Block bands, 32 Block iterative schemes, 4 Block penta-diagonal, 32 Block solution methods, 32,76 tridiagonal, 38 Blow boxes, 62 1 Boiling, 137

California blackeye peas, 3 13 Capacity coefficients, 16.262 Capillarity. 6,262 Capillary action, 125, 188 flow, 450-45 I , 627 forces, 228 migration, 88 porous medium, 280 pressure, 12,65,87, 146-147.
225,227.232,45 I

transport, 236 Cardboard, 634,636 Catalyzers, 485 Cell lumens, 182 Cell-centered scheme, 3, I 7 volume, 261 Cellular materials. 445 Cellular membranes, 445.45 I. Centered difference approximations, 350

Index
Centrifugal force, 638 Ceramics, 440 Cereal-based pet food products, 444,470 Cereal grain, 310 products, 472,474 CGSTAE, 59 Chamber resistance, 500 Characteristic length, 330,621 Chemical potential, 1 , 11, 187, 0 228 of bound water, 229 Chemicals, 440 Chilton-Colburnanalog, 202,620 Clapeyron equation, 445 Clay, 163-164,170 Coater, 61 5 Coaxial two-impinging-streams reactor, 538 Coefficients, 327 of free shrinkage, 264,270 of mechano-sorptivecreep, 264, 270 (see also Diffusion coefficient) Coffee, 483 Commercial kiln drying, 191, 195 Complete drying model, 227 Complex flow patterns, 621 Complex geometrics, 31 1 Complex molecular structures, 521 Compliance matrix, 265 Compression, 190 work, 384 Compressive stress, 270,271 Computational domain, 269,320, 601 Computational free surface flow, 614 Computational grid, 236 Computational mechanics, 3 1 9 Computational meshes, 46,47,267 Computation time, 53,57 59.60 of Newton iterations, 58 Computer codes, 3I 1,58I Computer program, 427 verification, 550 Computerized kiln control system, Ill(see also Kiln) Concentration of water, 161 Concrete, 101,583 casting, 600 slab, 601 Condensate entrainment, 638,655 Condensate flow, 643,656

665
Condensate slip, 64I Condensation phenomena, 399 Condenser design. 5 10 Conduction, 440 Coniferous wood, 101 Conjugate approach, 324,326 and drying problems, 333 gradient methods, 5.39 squared, 40 residual method, 646 Conservation equations, 98.328 Conservation laws, 21,25 Conservation of species, 330 Constant drying period, 104, 1 13. 184,548 and light concrete. I 0 1 Constant rate. 423.622 Constant spouting-heating,357 Constant temperature drying, 223. 593 Constituents of the air, 4I 7 Constituents of the granular material, 4 I 7 Constitutive relations, 10 Contact drying, 84 Continuity. 328. 539 equations, 506 Continuous deep-bed drying. 3 I 7 Continuous spouting and heating. 341,344,346,341 Continuum approach, 85.26 I Control domain, 392 Control volume methods, 16. 317 finite difference method, 456 nodal points, 24 strategy, I Convection, 22,576 boundary layer, 328 conditions, 235 drying, 8 84.91.99, 105. 107. . 109, I I I. 147 and mass transfer coefficients. 235 Convective transport components. 23 Convective velocity. 503. 5 I5 Conventional drying, 441 (see UISU Drying1 Convergence.43.44.394.633 condition, 581 criterion. 632 rate, 35,39 Coordination transformation, 165. I66

666

Index

Coriolis force, 638,641 Corn, 361,388 drying, 352 kernels, 313,316,373 Correction vector, 32 Correctors, 580 Correlating functions, 6 Coupled heat and mass transfer, 281,619 equations, 3 14 Coupled heat and moisture transfer model, 303 Coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations, 640 Coupled partial differential equations, 159, 280 Coupled quasilinear equations, 3 14 Coupled solution strategies, 27-28 Coupled systems, 4 Coupled transport equations, 320 Couple transfers, 1 17 Cracking, 260,364 Crank-Nicolson method, 166-167, 17 I,236,288 Creep deformation, 260 Creep strain component, 191 Critical moisture content, 389,623 Curl, 636 CV-FE, 5, 17,75,260 discretization, 266 CV-UM, 5 Cyclic aerodynamic patterns, 363 Cylinder, 639 drainage, 640,642 shell, 630 speeds, 640 surface, 62 1 temperature, 636 wall, 644 Cylinder-air interface, 624, 626 Cylinder-fabric-paper interface, 626,63 1 Cylinder-paper interface, 619,625

Darcy's equation, 49 1,506 Darcy's Law, 9, 87,233 and flow, 452 Data structure, 36-37 storage, 76 Datum velocity, 330 Deformable solid phase, 416 Deformation, 265,271,275 Dehydration, 483

curve, 585 Desorption isotherms, 229,423. 623 Dew point, 422 Dielectric constant, 44 1-442.444. 46 1 Dielectric heating hygroscopic materials, 445 Dielectric heating, 10. 448,459 enhanced drying, 439-440.460 loss factor, 440 properties, 44 I rates, 448 response, 446 Differential heat of sorption, 230 Differential operator, 320 Diffusion, 22.92.226.234.328 coefficient, 161, 169,183,184. 3 17,227.447 of bound water, 228.230,23 I equation, 161. 162. 340 model, 183, 191,227,228,231 movement, 187 tensor, 92 theory, 576 of water, 330 Diffusive flux, 23 I, 384 Dimensional stability, 22 I Dimensionless equations. 284 Dimensionless variables, 330 Dipole component. 442 Dirichlet boundary conditions. 269 Discrete conservation law, 33 Discretization of the drying process, 615 formulae, I9 scheme, 70 strategy, 16, 76 error, 3 I9 Dispersion terms, 384 Displacement, 268,272 Dissolved gases, 503 Distortion, 260 Distribution, 10 Divergence theorem, 18 Division of the paper dryer. 6 I5 Donor-acceptor flux approximation, 647 Double orthogonal collocation, 513,516 Drag coefficients, 639 Drag force, 638 Driving force, 85, 94 potential, 239

Index
Drop, 638 radial velocity, 640-64 I trajectory, 64 I Dry bulb temperature, 1 18, 180, 185,203,207,261 Dryers, 427,429,432,566 configuration, 325 cylinders, 618 size, 341 spray, 539 , Drying, 6 180,222,280,296,309, 310,382 case studies, 45 chamber, 489,500 concrete, 575, 578 refractory, 516 and conditions, 44,468 configuration, 324 curves, 12,212,362,369 deep bed, 310,311,326 degrade, 181 efficiency, 341 equations, 24,25 front, 108 kinetics, 48,49,112, 114, 116, 126, 130, 131, 132, 136, 137, 199,352,373,388, 424 models, 146,261, 31 1 of alayer of granules, 427 of fir, 112, 116 of grains, 81,335,339,340 of granular materials, 4 16 of granular products, 381 with imposed heat, 137 of larger particles, 340 of lumber, 234 of wood, 94,289 process, 18I, 222,292,360,582 rates, 203-207,245,423,424 curves, 423 schedule, 181,205,208,250, 516,582,593 softwood, 1 17 speed, 389 states, 13, 14,42 strategies, 239 stresses, 250,262 induced, 364 time, 260 DRY-RC, 608 Dufour effects, 343 Dyes, 485

667

Earlywood, 146.147. 148.225. 239.25 1 Eddy viscosity model, 540 Effective diameter, 353 Effective diffusion coefficient, 1 I, 170,235 (see also Diffusion) Effective diffusivity. 13,244,388. 497 Effective moisture diffusivity. 344 Effective thermal conductivity, 344.627 Efficiency study. 45 strategies, 32 Eigenvalue problem, 288,289 Elastic strain. 265 Elderley formation, 202 Electric field, IO, 44 I. 446,454. 475 strength, 442 Electric permittivity, 44 I Electromagnetic heating, 137 Electromagnetically-induced molecular motion. 446 Embolism. 101 Emission coefficient, I84 Empirical constants, 244 Empirical moisture content equation, 34 I Empirical relations, 340 Energy, 85.98.330.540 balance, 632 conservation, 9 consumption, 341 efficiency, 445 equation, 549 exchange coefficient. 425 flux, 14 ENGREF, IO0 Enthalpic period, I38 Enthalpy-temperature relations, IO Enzymatic reactions, 482 Equation of motion, 542 Equilibrium surface moisture contents, 34 I Equilibrium, 185 vapor pressure, 452 Equivolume-sphere diameter. 353 Error analysis, 3 19 Error energy norm, 320 Error estimator, 32 I , 3 19.324 Error norm, 320 Ethylene oxide, 447

668

Index

Eularian finite-difference method,

646
Eulerian frame, 539 Evaporation 158 front, 199,280-282,283,284,

Finite difference, 3.3I I , 392,629 formulas, 61 4 technique, 3 IO Finite element, 3. 26I , 267. 269.

311,317,576

293,295 model, 185-187 rate, 387, 396, 544 Evaporation-recondensation,446 Evaporative cooling, 281 Evaporative energy flux, 448 Exact energy norm, 321 Expanded plastics, 485 Experiments, 2, 84,99, 112, 116, 129, 131, 133, 139, 185, 467,620 and analysis, 335 and data, 169, 190,237, 25 I, 296,363 and drying curves, 449 parameters, 352 results, 105, 107, 109, 113,245 sensors, 1 6 3 techniques, 634 validation, 642 Explicit Euler method, 159 Explosive spalling, 582,589 External conditions, 195 External control variables, 180
External heat-transfer coefficient,

adaptive, 3 1 . 83 I 9 analysis, 31 2 basic functions. 267 formulation. 285 mesh, 3I 6 method. 3 IO. 326. 577.

579.

581,605 model, 608 procedure, 324 volume, 3

First critical drying rate, 200 First critical point, 203 First drying period, 104. 136.

199,

204,3l3
First order convergence. 30 First reversals, 209 Five point stencil, 38 Fixed point, 63 iteration, 3,30,3 I Flash dryers, 539 Flash evaporation, 624 Flat plate, 6I 9 Flow chart for adaptive strategy,

322
Flow field results, 555 Flow-through drying, 474 Fluid bed dryers, 539 Fluid dynamics, 3 1 9 Fluid phase, 89 Fluoro-optic temperature probe.

188
External mass-transfer coefficient,

200
External transfer coefficients, 95,

198,201
Extrapolation, 24 Fabric reduction factor, 625 Factorizations, 37 Falling rate, 423, 622 period, 184,467, 548 FEM, 281,289,293,296 Fiber saturation point, 6, 14.42, 115, 191,201,225,228,

470
Flux, 1 9 conservation, 17,392 Flying time paths, 567 Food, 3IO Foodstuffs, 440,482 Force vector, 268

FORTRAN-77.49 FORTRAN-90.49
Four node interpolation formula,

250,262 Fiber skeleton, 618 Ficks Law, 85,92

Ficks Second Law, 183 Film model, 160 Film theory, 15,95 Filtration, 296 Fine paper, 635 Fine pores, 578

20
Four node scheme, 75 Fouriers Law, 85, 557 Fourth-order Runge-Kutta, 640 Fragility, 368 Free molecule diffusion, 92,93 Free shrinkage, 148 strain, 265 Free surface problems, 643

Index
Free water, 6,244,445 content, 578 Freeze dryer, 496,500 Freeze drying, 482,483,488,507, 519,521 of pharmaceuticals, 481 in vials, 498 Freezing stage, 485 Front, 396 Froude numbers, 644,652 Frozen layer temperature, 497 Frozen material, 488 Frozen region, 489 Fruit, 483 Full saturation, 6, 128, 137 Full shrinkage, 191 Fully saturated regions, 148 Fully staggered grid system, 549 Fundamental physical models, 159, 449 Funicular state, 6 Galerkins weighted residual method, 285,286,299, 304,579 Gamma back-scatter instrument, 634 Gas energy equation, 387 Gas flow, 188 Gas migration, I35 Gas phase, 227 pressure, 227 Gas streamline, 564 Gas velocities, 640,642 Gaseous diffusion, 92 Gaseous permeability, 104 Gaseous phase, 136 Gaseous pressure gravitational effect, 88 Gauss elimination, 168,394,629 Gaussian probability density, 545 Gauss-Seidel method, 629,630 Gears method, 351 Generalized representative conservation equation, 15 Geometric diameter, 353 Geometric factors, 25.3 I Geometry considerations, 621 Germinability, 368 Gibbs-Duhem relation, 228 Glass beads, 467 Global capacitance matrix, 287, 299 Global conductance matrix. 287. 299 Global force vector, 287.299 Global relative error. 3 14 GMRES. 5.40 Governing equations, 282.297. 450 Gradients, 20, 165 Grains, 3 IO, 352,445 angle, 127 drying, 309.341 kernels, 295 models, 3 I I problems, 3 14 Granular material, 4 15,422 Granular temperatures. 426,427 Gravity, 144 Greens theorem, 286 Green spruce.148 Green wood, 185 Grid, 99.60 I points, 165 size, 237 spacing, 648 Growth ring, 237 orientation, 182 Gypsum wallboard, 467

669

Harmonic averaging, 22.23.25 mean, 237 Heartwood, 101, 127,128, 129, 130,131,133,134.138. 148. 182, 185. 186, 188, 189, 192-195. 199-201, 223.225.25 I Heat and mass capacities, 328 Heat and mass diffusion, 343 Heat and mass transfer, 7, 84,26 I , 38 I,382,445,576 coefficients, 263, 269 model, 297 process, 309 Heat and moisture transfer, 280. 282 Heat exchange coefficient, 395 Heat flux, 85 Heating period, 138, 548 Heating plate. 488 Heating rates, 588. 60 I Heat of vaporization. 295 Heat pipe effect, 470 Heat transfer. 295.296.3 19,324, 557.6 18.62I

670

Index

boundary conditions, 363 coefficient, 100,202,203,557, 345,360,619,628 surface boundary, 345 Heaviside function, 42 Heterogeneity, 223,250,251 Heterogeneous, 84,618 model, 237 nature of wood, 229 High anisotropy rations, 6, 125 Higher-order approximation, 321 High frequency electromagnetic fields, 440 High gradient, 99 High temperature convective drying, 102, 103 High temperature drying, 6,49,47, 127, 187, 190, 198,310 experiments, 100 High temperature, 84.91, 105, 107, I 1 I,117, 125, 180,226 High turbulence intensity, 538 High vacuum, 483 Homogeneous, 146,147 boards, 195 coefficients, 146 Humidity, 181,204,382 potential, 207 Husk, 3 17 Hydrophilic amorphous systems, 518 Hygroscopically bound water, 228 Hygroscopic material, 460,622 Hygroscopic range, 8.94, 1 I I , 104, 118, 130, 133,222 Ideal gas law, I70 ILU(O), 4 I,99 Image analysis measurements, 147 Impingement zone, 538,561,564 Impinging steam dryer, 537, 539 Implicit finite difference, 577 Implicit formulations, 629 Implicit resolution, 420 Implicit scheme, 392 Incident power, 140 Incomplete factorizations, 42 Independent variables, 3 1 Industrial dryers, 427,429 (see also Dryers) rubber, 432 Industrial materials, 440 Inert gas, 489,506

Initial conditions. 15, 166, 169, 187,269,344, 390,490. 494,504,508, 512,513, 520 Initial strain method, 265 Injection molding process, 538 Inner iteration, 4,27,45.57,58 best, 75 bi- , 59 Inner product, 3 I Instantaneous particle velocity, 544 Instantaneous strain component, 191 Instrumentation, 102 Integral method, 458,459,462 Integral models, 458.470 Intense drying, 281 Interface boundary conditions, 285 Intergranular porosity, 4 16.4 19 Intermittency, 362 Intermittent or on/off spouting and heating, 346. 362 schemes, 352 Internal checking, I90 Internal energy balance, 41 8 Internal gaseous pressure gradient, 6 Internal overpressure. 125 Internal pressure, 90, 106, 112, 117, 126, 127, 129.449 Internal transfer coefficient, I84 Interphase transport rate, 561 Interpolation factor. 22 Interpolation grid. 267 Intrinsic average representative elementary volume, 86 Intrinsic permeability, 66,89, 106. 131 Ionic conductivity, 442.443 IPST-VOF3D. 643,646,647,648, 653.654 Irreducible saturation. 137. 144 Irregularities, 3 I7 Isobaric specific heat, 578 lsoparametric quadrilateral elements, 583 Isothermal, I59 solid, 557 zone, 144 Isotropic, 45,46, 64 material. I IO, 3 13 medium, 103 porous media, 148 spheres, 342

Index
Iteration, 169 best inner, 75 best outer, 75 Iterative line-by-line, 394 Iterative procedure, 3 13 ITPACK, 37

671

Jacobean matrix, 5,32,33,41,53, 99

k-E turbulence model, 539 Kiln charge, 260 Kiln drying, 195,600 Kiln schedule, 181 Kiln stack, 180, 198,209 Kiln-wide analysis, 195 calculations, 203,205 conditions, 198 equations, 196 model, 201,205 Kinematic viscosity, 97 Kinetic coeffkients, 16, 22, 25,
262

Kinetic curves, 44 Kinetic tensor, 15,2 1 Knudsen diffusion, 92,s 18 Kossovitch number, 285 Krylov sub-space, 40

Laboratory drier, 421 Lagrangian frame, 539,544 Lagrangian models, 545 Laminar cylindrical opposed jets, 538 Laminar flow, 619,643 Laminar regime, 96 Lanczos, 40 Large aspect ratio, 6 Laser-Doppler velocimetry, 62 1 Laser holographic interferometry, 335 Latent heat of vaporization, 187, 328,387 Latewood, 146, 147, 148,225,25 1 Laws of conservation, 85 Laws of transfer, 87 Least squares method, 289 Lees three level scheme, 299 Lewis number, 360,577

Light concrete, 84. 100. 103. 105. 107.109. 115. 138.153. 577 Line-by-line method. 549 Linear elasticity, 3 19 Linear elements, 269,300 Linear iteration, 36 Linear model, 229 Linear system, 32.36 Linear triangle elements. 3 I3 Liquid conservation, 9 Liquid convection, 262 Liquid flow. 186. 188 Liquid flux, 164 Liquid front. 164, 165. 169. 170 Liquid-gas interface, I O I. I58 Liquid meniscus. 226 Liquid phases, 227 Liquid pressure, I3 Liquid saturation, 232 Liquid transport, 158 Liquid water, 182.225 balance, 4 17 Living cells, 483 Local average moisture content. 210 Local density, 146. 147.23 I Local drying rates. 63 I Local evaporation rate, 227 Local mass flux, 160 Local mass-transfer coefticient. 20 1 Local paper temperatures, 63 I Local surface curvature. 645 Local thermodynamic equilibrium. 182, I85 Longitudinal gaseous diffusion, Il 8 Longitudinal migration, I27 Longitudinal permeability, I I I,
125

Loss factor, 44 l , 444,46 I Low intensity, 227 Low partial pressure of air, 137 Low pressures, 483 Low temperature drying, 6.46.48, 192,227,228,235 LSODE, 35 I LU factorizations. 37.38 Luikov number, 285, 360 Luikovs equation. 296 Luikovs system, 280.283 Lumber permeability, 181 Lumens. 225

672

Index Measurement points, IO0 Mechanical equilibrium conditions, 266 Mechanically bound, 445 Mechanical model, 250 Mechanical properties, 22 I , 270 Mechano-sorption behavior, 191 creep, 260,265 Melting point, 497 Membrane. I O I Mesh,38,72.75, 76. 165,319. 327.332 constraint, 2 I , 22 orthogonality, I8 refinement. 321,324 Method. 236 o f lines, 350 Microcapillaries, 45 I Micro-crack. 593 I Microparticles, 5 I9,52 Microporous diffusion, 450 Microscope, 148 Microscopic, 149,261 equations, 384 level, 225 scale, 66,222 view, 382 Microwave, 10, 440 Microwave drying, 84, 137. 148 of alumina beads, 471 of light concrete, I39 of polymer pellets, 469 Of Softwood, I4 1- l43 of spruce, I39 Microwave heating, 38. 137 Microwave performance index, 447 Microwave pumping, 475 Mineral products, 440 Minimum velocity, 640 Mixed board, 195 Mixed boundary conditions. 3 I I Mixed convective-dielectric heating, 448 Mixed direction, 239 Mixed drying, 249 Mixed sample, 245 Model geometry, 605 Modeling, 181,543,647 of convection drying, 4 16 Modern synthetic, 627 Moist air, 84, 106, 108, 115-117, 122- I24 Moisture absorption, 295

Lumped parameter approach, 618 Lyophilized, 483 Macropore vapor transfer, 450 Macroscopic, 149,261 averaging volume, 8 balances, 340,343 differential equations, 384 equations, 11,84,92, 146 level, 225 model, 148 phenomena, 147 scale, 6, 85,222, view, 382 Magnetic resonance imaging, 335 Mass, 85 ,98 average moisture, 302 density, 578 diffusion coefficient, 353 diffusivities, 65 flux, 85,88,489 fractions, 10 rate o f flow, 620 transfer, 296,621 coefficient, 96, 160, 202,207,236,453- 454 Material balance, 493 Material properties, 300 Mathematical models, 2, 8 , 182, 199,416,488,489,502, 577,614,638 o f dielectrically-enhanced drying, 449 Matrix equation, 287 Maximum absolute error, 357 Maximum equilibrium concentration, 517 Maximum normalized error, 550 Maximum sorptive moisture content, 470 Maxwell equations, 10 Mean absolute relative error, 357 Mean capillary radius, 232 Mean flow equations, 539 Mean free path, 89,91 Mean moisture-content, 198 Mean particle diameter, 395 Mean porosity, 232 Measured dry-bulb temperature, 196 Measured sheet moisture, 636, 637

Index
process, 303 concentration gradient, 183 content, 7,42,72, 119, 122, 227,262 169,207.21 I, curves, 73 diffusion, 312,341 distribution, 302 effects, 443 field, 141 gradient, 190,212 leveling, 446 migration, 125 movement, 303 potential, 328 profiles, 5 1,54,67, 194 transfer coefficient, 465 transfer potential, 289 transfer surface boundary condition, 345 Molar concentration, 93 Molar entropy, 11 Molar flux, 93,94 Molar fractions, 14 Molar gaseous diffusion, 92 Molecular diffusion, 95 Molecular dipoles, 440,441 Molecular motion, 230 Momentum, 85,330,540 flux, 85 Monte Carlo method, 545 Mooter content, 388 Moving boundary equation, 465 Moving evaporation front, 292 Moving finite element method, 457 Moving interface, 281,285,510 sublimation, 498 Multi-cylinder paper dryer, 613, 614,622,634 Multi-kernel system, 326 Multiparticle systems, 333 Natural rubber, 415,419,422,427 Network models, 158 Newton iteration, 3,32,57,59,60, 65 Newton method, 30,33 Newton scheme, 53.63.85, 148 Newton-Raphson, 146 Nine-node Lagrangian elements, 314,315 No-slip condition, 33 I, 645 Nodal displacement, 271,3 13 Nodal point, 268

673

Nodes, 300 Nondestructive measurement. 149 Nondimensional heal of vaporizaton. 292-294 Nonenzymatic browning, 482 Nonhomogeneity. 222,239,250. 317 Nonhomogeneous macroscopic medium, 84, 146 Nonhomogeneous material, 147 Nonhygroscopic materials, 227. 455 Nonisothermal. 94 Nonlinear, 285 airflow model, 3 I7 equations. I6,2 I . 26.227. 262,285,351,614 functions, 28 material, 3 17 Nonliving matter, 483 Nonsaturated porous media, 66 Nonshrinking, 159 Nonstiff problems. 35 I Nonwetting phases, 87 Normalized moisture content. 197198,200 Normalized pressure distribution, 556 Norway spruce, 129. 130 Nozzle centerline, 553 Nozzle exit, 552 Nuclear wastes, 485 Numerical. code, 84,99 domain, IO0 instabilities, 392 method, 629,640 models, 260 oscillations, 288 results. I99 scheme, 63 shift factor, 35 simulation, 2 solution technique, 25 Nusselt number, 97,235, 557,619 Nylon, 443 NZFRI, 188.2 12 Octagonal control volume, 269 Oils, 485 On/off heating, 366. 368,370 One-dimensional drying process, I59

674

Index
turbulent dispersion, 539 Particle-wall collision model, 545, 546 PCGPACK, 37 Peak pore pressure, 586, 588.607 Pendular state, 6 Periodic heating simulation, 367 Periodicity, 645 Permeability, 6,48,87, 101, 115, 125.136, 180, 187,188. 193,227,233.234.239. 244,45 I,452,491,507, 586.587.593.601 correlations, 66, 584 dryer fabrics, 62 I models, 25 I Petrochemical industry, 582 Pharmaceuticals, 482,484,488. 507 Phase conversion factor. 328 Phase potentials, 9,616 Phase velocity, 22 Physical characteristics, 65 Physical modeling, 125 Physical parameters, 99, 127, I53 Physical properties, 182,468,472, 583 Physical structure of wood, 223 Physics of drying, 85 Physiological transport based model, 184, 185 Pine wood, 6 Pinus radiara, 180, 185. 190. 192, 199,205-207.2 II Pit aspirations, 128,226 Plane strain problem, 265 Plane wave theory, 475 Plasticity stress analysis, 260 Plasticized polyvinyl chloride, 447 Plastics. 485 Plug-flow, 649 Pointwise error, 320 Poisson equation, 265.270, 646 Polydispersed particle dynamics, 539 Polymer pellets, 467, 468 Polyphenols, 192 Pore level, 89 Pore pressure, 582, 587, 589.601 Pore size, 93 Pore steam pressure, 578 Porosity, 147. 160, 170,225.23 I . 292 and half space, 28 I

One-dimensional results, 237 Onions, 483 Operator, 3 1 Opposing jet, 538,568 Optimal numerical solution strategies, 75 Organoleptic properties, 484 Orientation, 72 Orthogonal collocation, 456,494, 496 Orthogonal meshes, 19 Orthogonality, 72 Oscillation, 440 Outer iteration, 3,27,30,45,53, 27 best, 75 Outgoing web, 621 Outlet, 553 air humidity, 341 Overall kinetics, 427 Overpressure, 48,49, I 11, 113, 118,125, 127, 130 Paper, 84,440,622 dryers, 614,615,634 (see also Dryem) process, 655 machine, 614,615 matrix, 6 I8 web, 625,630 Paper-air interface, 619,625 Paper-fabric-air interfaces, 624, 626,63 1 Parallel computation, 335 Parallel flow, 619 Partially saturated porous material, 159 Particle, 373, 537 dimension, 353 drying results, 562 flow pattern, 565 interaction effects, 333 mass, 544 moisture content, 342 motion, 543,560 position, 543 relaxation time, 544 rotation, 543 surface, 345 temperature, 363 tracking, 549 trajectory, 549 model, 542

Index
Porous materials, 7,158 Porous media, 44,84,86, 133 Positive definite, 39 Positivity constraint, 2 I, 22 Poynting power theorem, 442 Prandt number, 97,330,395 Preconditioners,5,7,40-41,57, 58,60,63 best, 75 Preconditioning matrix, 40 method, 62 techniques, 36 Predicted moisture, 189.636,637 (see also Moisture) Predicted temperatures, 635,637 (see also Temperature) Predictors, 194,580 Pressure, 72, 74, I 1 1, 121, 124, 132,137,227,301,653 field, 143 gradient, 89, 118 isolines, 324 profiles, 50,56,69 transducer, 653,654 transfer, 296 variation, 303 Pressure-driven moisture transfer, 446,577 Pressure-temperaturesensor, 102 Primary drying stage, 485,486, 489,497,500 Primary variables, 14.25.26 Principal radii of curvature, 232 Process parameter, 614 Product quality, 381 Prolate spheroid, 314 Protein denaturation, 368,482 Pseudo code, 26.29

675

Quadratic convergence, 35 (see also Convergence) Quadratic function, 39 Quadratic triangular elements, 324, 33 1 Quality, 432 constraint, 260 Quarter-sawn, 192 Quasi-steady state conditions, 632

Radial direction, 222,239 Radial drying, 237,245,246

Radial velocity profiles, 650.65 I Radial, 234 Radiation. 514. 627 heat transfer. 490. 495. 505 (see also Heat transfer) Radiative heating, 135. 136. 137 Radio frequency. 10.440.442.446 Rate mechanisms, 517 Ray cells, 225 parenchyma, 192 Receding evaporation front. 466. 467 Receding liquid front. 163 Recirculating zone, 333. 552, 558 Reconditioningprocesses, 21 I Refinement techniques, 3 19 Reflected power, 140 Refractory concrete, 582. 593 Relative drying rate, 197 Relative error measure, 321 Relative humidity, 229 potential, 205 Relative permeability, 12.65.66. 232 Relaxation factor, 632 Relaxation parameter. 39 Remeshing criterion, 323 Remeshing procedure.32 I Representative radius, 94 Representativevolume, 26 I Residence time, 566 Residual function, 286 Residual norm, 63 Residual reduction, 60 Residual stresses, 272.275 Resolution strategy, 26,208 Reynolds decomposition procedure, 544 Reynolds number, 96,330,395, 538,552,554, 557-558, 644,652 Rheological behavior of wood, 191 Rheological model, 260,264 Rice endosperm, 3 I7 Rice kernel. 313 Richardson extrapolation technique, 237 Rimming speed. 640 Rotating cylinder. 643 Rotating jet spouted bed. 339.340. 342 Rotation, 440 Rough rice, 34 I

676

Index

Rubber granules, 430,43 1 Runge-Kutta method, 614 Sampling, 101 Sapwood, 101, 125, 127-135, 148, 182, 185, 186-190, 192195, 199-20I, 203,204, 223,225,251 Saturated vapor pressure, 144 Saw tooth, 368 heating, 366,370 Schedule, 261 Schmidt number, 97,330 Scorch temperature, 496,497,5 16 Seafoods, 483 Secondary variables, 25,26 Second critical drying rate, 200 Second drying period, 104, 113, 130, 199,485,486,488, 493,5 13 Second order convergence, 30,99 Second stage, 204 Section transfer coefficient, 579 Selective energy absorption, 446 Semi-continuousmovement, 429 Semi-discretematrix system, 579 Semiempiricalcorrelations, 341 Semipermeablemembrane concept, 340 (see also Permeability) Sensitivity analysis, 353 Settling, 4 I9 Shape functions, 580 Shear stress, 556 Sherwood number, 97,235 Shock type structures, 5 12 Shrinkage, 133,191,312,364,582 SIMPLEC algorithm, 549 Simpson numerical integration, 351 Simulated schedules, 599,602,603 Simulation, 99, 114, 116, 117, 132134, 139, 147, 169, 190,342,429,614 Simultaneous heat and mass transfer, 324 (see also Heat transfer Simultaneous heat and moisture transfer, 182 Single board model, 182.20 1 Single-kernel drying models, 3 10 Single particle heat trmsfer equation, 341 Single particle simulations, 559

Single phase flow, 552 Sinusoidal heating, 366. 368.372 Siphon, 639 Size press, 6 I5 Skin friction, 543, 556 Sledge microtome, 148 Slip flow, 89 Smoothing techniques, 43 Soaking, 295 Softwood, 5.84, I I I , 114, 1 15, 126, 136, 137, 146, 181, 223,225,226,23 I drying, 125 physical parameters, I54 SOLA algorithm. 646 Solid density, 328 Solid diffusion, 519 Solid drying analysis, 328 Solid drying problem, 33 I Solid drying, 328 Solid energy equation, 387 Solid local equilibrium moisture content, 33 I Solid phase, I58 Solid temperature, 396 Solid wall, 553 Solid-fluid interface, 33 I Solution methods, 455 SOR, 5,41 Sorption data curves, 66 Sorption equilibrium isotherms, 452 Sorption isotherms, 159. 170.520 Sorption region, 454,465 soups, 483 Source terms, 32, 187.54 1 Southern pine, 239 Soybean drying, 3 12 Soybean kernels, 3 13.328 Soybean, 334 Sparse matrix, 4,28. 36.39 Spatial average, 86 Spatial integration, 19 Specific evaporation flux. 160. I6 I Specific heat, 234,387 Sphere, 3 14 Spherical particles, 470 Splitting, 239 matrix, 4 I Spouted-bed dryers. 340, 539 Spouting and heating schemes, 348,366 Spray dryers, 539 (see also Dryers) Spruce, 128,147,269

Index

677
Sweep direction, 38 Sweeping method, 394 Symmetric, 38 Synthesis of superconducting materials, 485 System of nonlinear equations, 24

SSOR,4 I,%, 59,62

Stack, 195 Stages of drying, 3 13 State variables, 24,25 Static annular regions, 360 Steady-state aerodynamic drag, 543 Steady-stateregime, 144 Steady-state solution, 163 Steady-state vapor profile, 174 Steam-condensate-cylinder interfaces, 628 Steam injection, 180 Steel industry, 582 Steep drying fronts, 43 Steeping, 295 Stefan equation, 620 Stiff, 351 Stiffness matrix, 268 Stochastictrajectories, 545 Stochastic velocity distribution, 545 Stokes number, 560,564 Stomates, 101 Strain, 264,266 component, I9 1 Streamline plot, 552 Stress, 148, 149, 191,264-266, 271,272,314,582 analysis, 190 distribution, 190 models, 192,264 reversals, 269 tensor, 644 Strongly convective flows, 6 Structured mesh, 38 Styrene compound, 468 Sublimation,482,484,489 interface, 488,502,511,512 Superheated steam drying, 46, 84, 103, 104, 108, 110-112, 114, 117, 119, 120, 121, 126, 129, 131, 132, 537, 538 of a single particle, 547 Super-linear, 3 1 converence, 35 Surface checking, 190, 191 diffusion, 451 dry out, 245 moisture content profiles, 369 tension, 232,445.45 1,639 Surgical transplants, 483

Tangential direction, 222.234. 239 Tangential permeabilities, I25 Target error, 32 I Taylor series, 32 TDMA. 549 Temperature, 7, 72, 74, 112. 114. 116. 120. 123. 126. 129. 131. 132, 136, 189.212. 289,301,382 constraints in freeze drying, 497 field, 142 gradient, 118,303 measured, 635.637 profiles, 52. 55,68, I94 schedule, 594,598 Tempering, 364 Tensile stress, 270. 27 I Tension, 190, I9 I Textiles, 3 10.440 Theoretical models, 639 Thermal runaway, 138, 140,443 Thermal conductivity, 13,234 Thermal equilibrium. 340. 341 Thermocouple, I03 Thermodiffusioneffects, 328,343. 460 Thermodynamicequilibrium, 187, 510 exits, 228 function, 5 I I Thermometers. I80 Thermophysical properties, 34 I Thin-layer drying, 326 kinetics, 422 models, 310,312 Third order polynomials, 43 Third period drying, 200 Third stage of drying, 204 Thomas algorithm, 38 Three-dimensional model, 148 Three-phase system, 4 16 Tightly coupled, 262 Timber drying, 260 Timber stack, 196 Time step, 44.63.64.65.560.633 adaptation. 43

678

Index
Two-node control volume cellcentered approach, 16 discretization, 19.2 I gradient approximations. 2 I scheme, 20.70 Two-phase simulations, 158. 564 Two-phase turbulence model, 540

advancement,27 Tortuousity terms, 384 Total dielectric power absorbed, 455 Total flux, 162 Total gaseous pressure, 7 Total liquid flux, 14 Total moisture flux, 187 Total pressure, I 13,493,510 (see also Pressure) Total strain, 265,268 (see also Strain) Total stress, 268 (see also Stress) Tracheids, 101, 148, 185,225 Trajectories, 560,566 Transfer codes, 149 Transfer sensitivity, 399 Transient stresses, 272 (see also Stress) Transient temperature distribution curves, 360 Transmitted power, 140 Transpore, 2 ,7,99 Transport and equilibrium relationships, 349 coefficient, 6,232,236,237, 244 equation, 233 of free liquid, 232 mechanisms, 262 model, 226,227 phenomena, 46.22 I , 228 properties, 182,222,227,245 of air and water systems, 349 Transverse diffusivity, 23 I Transverse permeability, 113, 133 Treatment of coefticients at control volume faces, 22 Tri-diagonal systems, 420 Trolley drier, 429,433 Turbulence energy, 556 Turbulence models, 557 Turbulent flow, 545,551,568 Turbulent kinetic energy, 541 dissipation rate, 54 1 Turbulent transport, 545 Two-dimensionaldrying, 239 model, 222,605 Two-dimensionalturbulent flow, 550 Two independent variable model, 228

UM-CV, 16,21,22,25 Unconditionally stable, 288, 420 Uncoupled solution strategies, 4, 27,28 Under-pressure, 48 Under-relaxation. 236 factors, 549 Undimensional, 343 Uniform mesh, 35 I Unpenetrated depth, 463,466 for heat and mass transfer. 462 Unstructured mesh. 20. 70,71 Upstream weighting, 23.25 Upwind differences, 646 Upwind scheme, 393

Vaccines, 484 Vacuum chamber, 482.489 Vacuum drying, 90.91. 100, 102. 135. 136, 137,483 Vapor convection, 262 Vapor diffusion, 262 Vapor flux, 161, 164 Vapor movement, 186 Vapor pressure, 1 I (see a/so Pressure) Vapor mass conservation. 384 Variable diffusion coefficients, 3 I3 Variable order, 35 1 Variable selection, I3 Variable substitution method, 14 Variation in thickness, 648 Vector nonlinear function, 25 Vegetables, 445 Velocity. 727. 382 profiles, 652 for film, 648 vectors, 324 Vertex-centered scheme, 3, I7 Vigor, 368 Viscoelastic deformation. 260 Viscosity, 491.507,556 Viscous dissipation, 384 Viscous forces. 644

Index
Viscous sub-layer, 650 VOF method, 646 Volume density of absorbed dielectric power, 455 Volume fractions, 227 Volume shrinkage, 472 Volumetric heating, IO,445, 576 Warming-up, 622 Warping, 239 Water activity, 171 concentration, 160 release, 587 vapor, 6, 182,225,506 (see also Vapor, convection)
flux, 161, 164 Web, 615

679

Wood, 6, 8,46,47,49,84, 101,

118, 133, 147, 183, 190, 212,221,222,228,245, 26 I , 3 IO,445 (see also Specific types) anatomy, 185 density, 184,188 drying, 48 (see also Drying) model, 250,321 products, 440 species, 25 I staining, 187 . two-dimensional, 2.7 veneers, 467

Xylem, 101 Yale sparse matrix, 37 Yankee cylinder, 636 Yellow dent corn, 349,353,367 Youngs modulus, 264,270 Ytong, 103, 140

Wet bulb temperatures, 1 18, 185,

203,261,273 Wet region, 454 Wet spots, 195