Fabric Moisture Uniform Control to Study the Influence of Air Impingement Parameters on Fabric Drying Characteristics

Summary

Presented here is a protocol that guarantees uniform distribution of initial moisture inside of a fabric and investigates the effects of hot-air thermodynamic parameters (velocity, temperature, and direction) and thickness on the fabric's drying characteristics (e.g., temperature variation) under the condition of air impingement.

Abstract

Impinging dryness is now a widely used and effective way for fabric drying due to its high heat and mass transfer coefficient. Previous studies on fabric drying have neglected the contributions of moisture uniformity and diffusion coefficient to the drying process; though, they have recently been shown to have a significant influence on drying characteristics. This report outlines a step-by-step procedure to investigate the effects of air impingement parameters on a fabric's drying characteristics by controlling the uniformity of its area moisture distribution. A hot air blower unit equipped with an angle adjustable nozzle is used to generate air flow with different velocities and temperatures while the drying process is recorded and analyzed using an infrared thermograph. In addition, a uniform padder is adapted to ensure the fabric's moisture uniformity. Impinging drying is studied under different initial conditions by changing the air flow temperature, velocity, and direction, then the applicability and suitability of the protocol are evaluated.

Introduction

Impinging drying is a very effective drying method due to its high heat, mass transfer coefficient, and short drying time. It has attracted extensive attention due to its numerous applications including chemical industry, food¹, textile, dyeing², paper making^3,4, etc. Now, impinging drying is widely used for its enhanced transport characteristics, especially for the drying of textiles in the heat setting process⁵.

Fabric is impinging dried by the nozzle array for the heat setting. Nozzle layout affects the unifo....

Protocol

1. Experimental rig set-up

NOTE: See Figure 1.

1. Hot air blower unit
   1. Ensure that the hot air blower is connected to the air nozzle through a high temperature resistant silicone pipeline that is heat-insulated with asbestos material. Gradually adjust the air nozzle to the desirable incline angle to control the air flow direction. For this work, the incline angle, α, varied between 60° and 90°.
   2. Switch on the air blower fan and the resistance wire.
      NOTE: The order in which the fan and resistance wire are turned on cannot be reversed.....

Results

The data presented in Figure 2 are typical temperature contours for cotton fabric at different drying stages under the condition that air velocity and temperature at the nozzle outlet are 20.0 m/s and 120 °C, respectively. It can be figured from Figure 2A,B,C,D that under the air impingement drying, temperature decays from the center to the periphery and forms sets of concentric circles. Meanwhile, temperatu.......

Discussion

This section provides a few tips necessary to ensure reliable quantitative results. First, the fabric specimens must be kept completely dry to ensure the initial weights are correct. This is achievable through the drying process (i.e., using a suitable drying stove). If possible, an environment humidity that is kept constant benefits the experiment.

Secondly, the fabric specimens must be well-processed to ensure that the moisture at each region of the fabric is uniform. This can be done by man.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Air Blower	Zhejiang jiaxing hanglin electromechanical equipment co., Ltd.	HLJT-3380-TX10A-0.55	Air Volume: 900 m3/s;
Anemometer	KIMO	MP210	Measurement range: 0-40 m/s; Accuracy: ±0.1 m/s
Drying stove	Shanghai Shangyi Instrument Equipment Co., Ltd.	DHG 101-0A	precision: 1 °C; Temperature control range:10-300 °C
Electronic Balance	Hangzhou Wante Weighing Instrument Co., Ltd.	WT1002	Precision: 1 °C; Range: 100 g
Fabric Style Measuring Instrument	SDL Atlas	M293
Fabric Touch Tester	SDLATLAS Ltd		Fabric thickness tester
High thermal resistance board	Baiqiang		Flame resistance, Heat resistance is greater than 200 °C
High-temperature resistant silicon pipeline	Kamoer	18#	Temperature range: -60-200 °C
Infrared Thermogragh	Hangzhou Meisheng Infrared Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd.	R60-1009	Temperature measuring range: -20-410 °C; Maximum measuring error: ±2 °C
Padder	Yabo textile machinery co., Ltd.		Roller pressure: 0.03-0.8 MPa; Stable pressure; Easy adjustment
Personal Computer	Lenovo Group.	L460
Temperature Sensor	Taiwan TES electronic industry co., Ltd.	1311A	resolution: 1 °C; Temperature measuring range: -50-1350 °C