Cire Technologies Blog

The Primary Components of an Impingement Dryer – Part 1

Dryer Housing

Dryer Design Characteristics that Affect Dryer Heat Transfer Coefficients

Good dryer design requires the designer to weigh the three factors that go into the quantity of heat transferred to the product with the rate that the product can accept the drying force without adversely affecting the product characteristics. The three factors are seen in the fundamental equation of forced convection heat transfer defined in an earlier paper.

q=H•A•(T_A-T_S)

Because T_S for a given product, the temperature of the web during the evaporation phase, is the same regardless of the dryer configuration we see that the quantity of heat transfer is affected by the heat transfer coefficient, H, the drying area of the dryer, A, and the temperature of the supply air, T_A. For each product dried there are limitations on the supply air temperature and rate of heat transfer, H, that can be applied without harming the finished product. These can be determined by experimentation or experience.

After you determine the heat transfer coefficient that you need to dry the product without adversely affecting its properties you will need to design the dryer configuration to meet that H value. There are five variables that go into the impingement dryer design that impact the resulting heat transfer capability of the dryer. Depending on the design of the dryer most of these will be fixed by the dryer design, typically three. Good design weighs these variables and their trade-offs to yield the most efficient system, thus minimizing operating cost. The design variables are:

• Nozzle spacing in the direction of web movement.
• The width of the nozzle opening.
• The throw distance between the nozzle and the web.
• The velocity of air leaving the nozzle.
• The supply air temperature.

The temperature of the supply air has a small effect on the heat transfer coefficient with lower temperature dryers yielding higher heat transfer coefficients than high temperature dryers, with all other variables equal...

Calculating the Product Load

The product load is determined by totaling the energy needed to heat up the various constituents of the product to their dryer exiting temperature. These include the web substrate, the coating solids and the coating solution liquid. In order to perform this calculation we need to know the width of the web, the speed of the web, the laydown rate of the coating and the make-up of the coating solids and solution liquid including the percent by weight of each in the coating. From this information we can calculate the pounds per hour processed of each component per hour.

The calculation of the product load for both the solids and the substrate are straight forward:

Product Load_{(substrate or solids)} (btu/hr)=lbs/hr x sp ht x (T_exit-T_entry)

Where:  lbs/hr = The production rate of the coating solids or web
             Sp ht = The specific heat of the coating solids or web in Btu/(lbm·°F)
             T_exit = The temperature of the solid or web leaving the dryer
             T_entry = The temperature of the coating solution or web entering the dryer

The calculation of the product load