Secagem convectiva de sólidos em secador tipo túnel: modelagem e simulação.

Abstract

The present work aims to study theoretically the drying of holed ceramic bricks in a cross-flow tunnel dryer. It was proposed a mathematical model based on mass and energy balances, written for a differential volume located in an arbitrary position of the solid layer. For the numerical solution of the governing equations, the finite volume method in an explicit formulation with the "upwind" squema as interpolation function for the convective terms was used. The methodology was employed to describe the drying of hollow ceramic bricks with industrial dimensions in different operating conditions. Results of the moisture content and temperature of the product, and absolute humidity, relative humidity and temperature of the air along the bed at different times of the process are presented, analyzed and compared with experimental data reported in the literature. A good agreement was obtained. Results show that drying process at moderate temperatures and relative humidities produces good quality products.