Comprehensive Evaluation of Drum Dryer Flight Designs in The Matlab Environment
Abstract
This article considers the comprehensive evaluation of flight designs used in drum dryers and the justification of a new three-section flight design. For the analysis, straight radial, inclined, 90° right-angled, 120° angled, hook-shaped, two-segment, optimized two-segment, three-segment, inclined-flight, notched/opening and curved/notched flight designs were selected. These designs were chosen on the basis of real technical solutions reported in literature and patent sources and were evaluated according to their ability to lift the material, redistribute it, disperse it into the gas stream, direct it along the drum, intensify heat and mass transfer, and limit aerodynamic resistance. The comprehensive analysis was performed using a heatmap, radar diagram, 3D surface plot and moisture-profile graphs. The results show that simple straight radial and inclined flights can effectively perform some individual functions, but their ability to simultaneously lift, redistribute and disperse the material into the gas flow is limited. The three-segment design and the proposed three-section flight have high compatibility coefficients in zones 2–4 of the drum and are therefore evaluated as the most suitable structural solutions for intensifying the drying process.