TITLE OF EXPERIMENT

Experiment 3 - Tray Drying

OBJECTIVES OF EXPERIMENT

i. To carry out drying test on solids.

ii. To study the effects of air velocity on drying rate.
iii. To achieve heat and mass transfer analysis of a drying process.

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Materials Equipment
Sand Tray Dryer
i. Temperature sensors (T1-T4):
 T1 Dry bulb temperature inlet
 T2 Wet bulb temperature inlet
 T3 Dry bulb temperature outlet
 T4 Wet bulb temperature outlet
ii. Axial fan
iii. Heater
Distilled Water Electronic Balance
Gloves Trays

Table 1: List of Materials and Equipment

 Axial Fan Heater Door

Speed Controller Temperature Temperature

Indicator Controller
Figure 1: Tray Dryer

PROCEDURES

Start-Up Procedures:

1. The wet bulb sensors (before and after the tray) were moist with water.
2. The power supply was turned on.
3. The axial fan speed was set to 8Hz and started.
4. The heater was turned on and set to 55oC.

Experiment 1: Determination of the Drying Profile of Moist Sand

1. The axial fan speed was set to 8Hz and started.

2. The tray was cleaned and weighed with electronic balance. The data was recorded.
3. A layer of dry sand was placed on the tray evenly.
4. The tray and dry sand was weighed with electronic balance. The data was recorded.
5. Some distilled water was sprinkled on the dry sand evenly.
6. The tray and moist sand was weighed with electronic balance. The data was recorded.
 7. Then, the tray with moist sand was inserted into the drying chamber.
8. The initial temperatures (T1-T4) were recorded.
9. Every 3 minutes for 18 minutes, the temperatures (T1-T4) were recorded first and the mass
of the tray with moist sand was weighted later. The data were recorded.

Experiment 2: Determine the effects of air velocity on drying rate.

1. Steps 2-9 from experiment 1 procedures were repeated twice with axial fan speed of 10Hz
and 12Hz.

Shut down Procedures:

1. The heater was switched off and let for cool for approximately 10-15 minutes.
2. The axial fan was switched off.
3. The mains was switched off.
RESULTS AND CALCULATIONS

Operating Conditions: Heater Temperature: 55oC

Experiment 1: Determination of the Drying Profile of Moist Sand

Mass of Tray: 0.254 kg Mass of tray + dry sand: 0.761 kg

Amount of water added: 0.024 kg Mass of tray + wet sand: 0.785 kg

Axial Fan speed: 8Hz

Time Mass Mass of Water Evaporated (Kg) T1 (oC) T2 (oC) T3 (oC) T4 (oC)
(min) (Kg)
0 0.785 0.000 43.6 40.9 40.4 28.3
3 0.782 0.003 44.1 41.2 39.7 27.2
6 0.778 0.007 43.6 41.4 39.5 28.3
9 0.775 0.010 43.9 41.0 40.0 27.1
12 0.773 0.012 43.8 40.5 39.4 27.1
15 0.770 0.015 44.5 41.3 39.6 27.2
18 0.767 0.018 44.0 41.4 39.7 27.0
Average 43.92 41.10 39.76 27.46
Total Water Evaporated: 0.018kg
Table 2: Mass of tray with moist sand and temperatures over time with 8Hz fan speed
Mass of Tray: 0.255 kg Mass of tray + dry sand: 0.695 kg
Amount of water added: 0.023 kg Mass of tray + wet sand: 0.718 kg
Axial Fan speed: 10Hz
Time Mass Mass of Water Evaporated (Kg) T1 (oC) T2 (oC) T3 (oC) T4 (oC)
(min) (Kg)
0 0.718 0.000 45.6 42.1 40.6 28.1
3 0.714 0.004 49.6 44.8 41.5 27.2
6 0.710 0.008 48.6 44.7 41.4 27.1
9 0.706 0.012 49.1 44.4 40.4 27.0
12 0.703 0.015 48.8 45.6 40.8 27.0
15 0.700 0.018 49.0 46.1 41.3 27.2
18 0.697 0.021 47.9 46.3 41.2 27.2
Average 48.37 44.86 41.03 27.26
Total Water Evaporated: 0.021kg
Table 3: Mass of tray with moist sand and temperatures over time with 10Hz fan speed

Mass of Tray: 0.255 kg Mass of tray + dry sand: 0.651 kg

Amount of water added: 0.026 kg Mass of tray + wet sand: 0.677 kg
Axial Fan speed: 12Hz
Time Mass Mass of Water Evaporated (Kg) T1 (oC) T2 (oC) T3 (oC) T4 (oC)
(min) (Kg)
0 0.677 0.000 48.6 46.6 42.1 28.0
3 0.671 0.006 45.4 44.5 40.1 26.6
6 0.666 0.011 44.4 44.0 39.7 26.2
9 0.662 0.015 45.1 44.1 39.7 26.3
12 0.658 0.019 46.9 44.8 40.5 26.4
15 0.655 0.022 48.4 46.4 40.9 26.6
18 0.653 0.024 48.6 46.5 40.7 26.9
Average 46.77 45.27 40.53 26.71
Total Water Evaporated: 0.024kg
Table 4: Mass of tray with moist sand and temperatures over time with 12Hz fan speed
 Graph of Mass of Water Evaporated (Kg) Vs Time (min)
0.03
Mass of Water Evaporated (Kg)

0.025

0.02

0.015

0.01

0.005

0
0 5 10 15 20
Time (min)

8Hz 10Hz 12Hz

Linear (8Hz) Linear (10Hz) Linear (12Hz)

Graph 1: Graph of Mass of Water Evaporated VS Time for Axial Fan Speed 8Hz, 10Hz, 12Hz

Axial Fan Speed (Hz) Line Equation Coefficient of Determination

8 y = 0.001x R² = 0.993

10 y = 0.0012x R² = 0.992

12 y = 0.0015x R² = 0.960

Table 5: Line equation and Coefficient of determination from graph 1

 Sample Calculation

Moisture content and Drying Rate

From table 2, 0min:

Initial weight = 0.785kg-0.254kg (tray) = 0.531kg

Final weight = (dry sand) = 0.507kg

𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 − 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡

𝑀𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡(%) = × 100%
𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡

0.531 − 0.507
= × 100%
0.531

= 4.520%

𝑘𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 − 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡

𝐷𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒( )=
𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙

0.531 − 0.507
=
180

𝑘𝑔
= 1.333 × 10−4
𝑠
 8Hz 10Hz 12Hz

Time Moisture Drying Rate Moisture Drying Rate Moisture Drying Rate
(min) Content (%) (kg/s) Content (%) (kg/s) Content (%) (kg/s)
0 4.520 0.000 4.968 0.000 6.161 0.000

3 3.977 1.667×10-5 4.139 2.222×10-5 4.808 3.333×10-5

6 3.244 2.222×10-5 3.297 2.222×10-5 3.650 2.778×10-5

9 2.687 1.667×10-5 2.439 2.222×10-5 2.703 2.222×10-5

12 2.312 1.111×10-5 1.786 1.667×10-5 1.737 2.222×10-5

15 1.744 1.667×10-5 1.124 1.667×10-5 1.000 1.667×10-5

18 1.170 1.667×10-5 0.452 1.667×10-5 0.503 1.111×10-5

Table 5: Moisture content and drying rate of Experiment 1 and 2 across time

Graph of Moisture Content (%) Vs Time (min)

7
Graph of Moisture Content (%)

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 5 10 15 20
Time (min)

8Hz 10Hz 12Hz

Graph 2: Graph of Moisture Content Vs Time of Experiment 1 and 2

 Graph of Drying Rate (kg/s) VS Moisture content (%)
0.00004

0.000035

0.00003
Drying Rate (kg/s)

0.000025

0.00002

0.000015

0.00001

0.000005

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Moisturer Content(%)

Graph 3: Graph of drying rate against moisture content

Calculation of Heat Transfer

From table 2 & 6
For axial fan speed: 8Hz
Mass flow rate = 1.667×10-5kg/s
The average temperature
T1=43.92 oC T2=41.10 oC
T3=39.76 oC T4=27.46 oC
From psychometric calculator:
Enthalpy before tray = 175.208 kJ/kg
Enthalpy after tray = 86.536 kJ/kg
𝑄 = 𝑚̇(ℎ𝑜 − ℎ𝑖 )
𝑄 = 1.667 × 10−5 (175.208 − 86.536) × 103
𝑄 = 1.478𝐽
For axial fan speed: 10Hz
Mass flow rate = 1.944×10-5kg/s
The average temperature
T1=48.37 oC T2=44.86 oC
T3=41.03 oC T4=27.26 oC
From psychometric calculator:
Enthalpy before tray = 211.437 kJ/kg
Enthalpy after tray = 85.542 kJ/kg
𝑄 = 𝑚̇(ℎ𝑜 − ℎ𝑖 )
𝑄 = 1.944 × 10−5 (211.437 − 85.542) × 103
𝑄 = 2.447

For axial fan speed: 12Hz

Mass flow rate = 2.222×10-5kg/s
The average temperature
T1=46.77 oC T2=45.27 oC
T3=40.53 oC T4=26.71 oC
From psychometric calculator:
Enthalpy before tray = 216.000 kJ/kg
Enthalpy after tray = 83.043 kJ/kg
𝑄 = 𝑚̇(ℎ𝑜 − ℎ𝑖 )
𝑄 = 2.222 × 10−5 (216 − 83.043) × 103
𝑄 = 2.954𝐽
Humidity ratio from psychometric calculator:
Axial Fan Speed (Hz) Humidity Ratio
Before tray After tray

8 0.0509 0.0181
10 0.0629 0.0172
12 0.0653 0.0164
Table 6: Table of humidity ratio regarding to axial fan speed

Dryer Efficiency
𝑇1 − 𝑇3
𝜂=
𝑇1 − 𝑇𝑎
T1= inlet (high) air temperature into the dryer, oC
T3= outlet air temperature from the dryer, oC
Ta= ambient air temperature, oC = 27 oC
43.92 − 39.76
𝜂=
43.92 − 27
𝜂 = 00246

8Hz = 0.246
10Hz =0.343
12Hz =0.317
 Speed of air velocity
From the model of motor: 68RPM-1020RPM, 5Hz-75Hz
For 8 Hz:
By interpolation:
(1020 − 68)(8 − 5)
𝑅𝑃𝑀 = + 68
(75 − 5)
𝑅𝑃𝑀 = 108.8
Assuming Radius of fan = 0.4m
𝑣 = 𝑟𝜔
𝑣 = 𝑟 × 𝜔 × 0.10472
𝑣 = 4.557𝑚/𝑠
For 8Hz = 4.557m/s
For 10Hz= 5.697m/s
For 12Hz= 6.836m/s

Graph of Drying Rate(kg/s) VS Air Velocity (m/s)

2.50E-05

2.00E-05
Drying Rate(kg/s)

1.50E-05

1.00E-05

5.00E-06

0.00E+00
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Air Velocity (m/s)

Graph 4: Graph of Drying Rate VS Air Velocity

 Axial Fan Total Mass of Water Drying Rate Heat transfer Air
Speed (Hz) Evaporated (kg) (kg/s) (J) Velocity
(m/s)
8 0.018 1.667×10-5 1.478 4.557

10 0.021 1.944×10-5 2.447 5.697

12 0.024 2.222×10-5 2.954 6.836

Table 7: Overall mass of water evaporated, drying rate, heat transfer and air velocity regarding to
axial fan speed