The drying process of porous media is a subject of scientific interest, and different mathematical approaches can be found in the literature. A previous paper by the same authors showed that the celebrated Martin correlation for hot air jet heat and mass transfer yields different degrees of accuracy (from 15% to 65%, increasing at high values of input power) if tested on different fabrics, the remaining conditions being the same. In this paper the fabric drying has been experimentally investigated more in depth. A dedicated experimental apparatus for hot jet drying was assembled and operated, in which a hot jet impinges perpendicularly onto a wet fabric. A calibrated orifice was adopted to measure the jet flow rate, with an accuracy better than 3%. The drying power was determined by continuously weighing with a precision scale a moistened patch exposed to the drying jet. The effect of the time of the exposure and the initial amount of water has been evaluated for each sample. During the hot jet exposure, the temperature distribution over the wet patch has been observed by an infrared thermo-camera. A mathematical model of water transport inside and outside the fabric was developed, in order to evidence the governing transport resistances. The theoretical predictions have been compared with the experimental results, and showed the necessity to modify correlations and models accounting for fabric properties
Experimental investigation on influence of porous material properties on drying process by a hot air jet
FILIPPESCHI, SAURO;
2012-01-01
Abstract
The drying process of porous media is a subject of scientific interest, and different mathematical approaches can be found in the literature. A previous paper by the same authors showed that the celebrated Martin correlation for hot air jet heat and mass transfer yields different degrees of accuracy (from 15% to 65%, increasing at high values of input power) if tested on different fabrics, the remaining conditions being the same. In this paper the fabric drying has been experimentally investigated more in depth. A dedicated experimental apparatus for hot jet drying was assembled and operated, in which a hot jet impinges perpendicularly onto a wet fabric. A calibrated orifice was adopted to measure the jet flow rate, with an accuracy better than 3%. The drying power was determined by continuously weighing with a precision scale a moistened patch exposed to the drying jet. The effect of the time of the exposure and the initial amount of water has been evaluated for each sample. During the hot jet exposure, the temperature distribution over the wet patch has been observed by an infrared thermo-camera. A mathematical model of water transport inside and outside the fabric was developed, in order to evidence the governing transport resistances. The theoretical predictions have been compared with the experimental results, and showed the necessity to modify correlations and models accounting for fabric propertiesI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
